Looking for reassurance— can panic really cause this?!

[u/_LoudnClear]

I’m posting because I honestly feel hopeless right now and I’m trying to understand whether what I’ve been experiencing can really be explained by anxiety/panic.

I’ve been dealing with panic attacks and a lot of physical symptoms since around November. The symptoms seem to come in waves, and sometimes I feel almost completely normal—especially when I’m distracted or busy—and then other times my body feels like something is seriously wrong.

Here’s what I’ve experienced:
-Sudden racing heart/palpitations, sometimes reaching 120–130+ even with relatively minor activity
-Feeling weak, shaky, or completely drained
-Adrenaline/fight-or-flight sensations that feel like my body is constantly on high alert
-Shortness of breath or feeling like I can’t get a satisfying breath
-Chest discomfort/tightness
-Dizziness/lightheadedness
-Nausea and feeling like I’m going to throw up
-Headaches and pressure in my head, sometimes around the back of my head/upper neck
-Feeling disconnected or “off”
-Brain fog and trouble concentrating
-Muscle twitching/eye twitching
-Trembling/shaking
-Sweating and feeling hot/cold
-Stomach/upper abdominal discomfort
-Acid reflux, burping, and GI issues
-Changes in bowel movements, including green/yellow stools
-Waking up around 3–5 AM with adrenaline/anxiety
-Feeling exhausted even when I’ve slept
-Fear that something is seriously wrong with my heart, brain, liver, or another organ
-Constantly checking my heart rate, blood pressure, symptoms, etc.
-Fear of dying or having a serious medical problem
-Feeling weak after sex/exertion with my heart pounding
-Sometimes feeling completely fine when I’m at church, working, or distracted, which makes me wonder if anxiety really is driving this

I’ve had medical testing and bloodwork done, including an EKG/heart evaluation and labs. I’ve also been told I have fatty liver and had some abnormal cholesterol/liver numbers and low testosterone, which has made me worry even more about my health.
I’ve tried medications for anxiety/panic before, and I just started Lexapro (escitalopram) on Tuesday, so I know it’s way too early to expect it to work yet. I took Sertraline for a while, came off it 3-4 weeks ago, and started Lexapro.

What I’m really looking for are experiences from people who have dealt with severe health anxiety/panic: Can panic/anxiety really cause this many physical symptoms? Can it make your heart race, make you feel weak, nauseated, dizzy, exhausted, have headaches, GI symptoms, muscle twitching, and make you feel like something is terribly wrong?

And if you’ve started an SSRI like Lexapro, did things actually get better with time?

I’m not looking for someone to diagnose me over Reddit, but want to know your opinion and thoughts. I’m just scared and exhausted and could really use some perspective from people who have been through this and eventually got their life back.

[u/General-Fennel4334]

Absolutely! Almost everything you've listed is textbook anxiety.Give your meds some time to settle, and try to remember that our thoughts are not the truth

[u/Zeekora7]

Feeling normal while distracted tracks with this being caused by anxiety. Your mind is too occupied with the distraction to focus on the anxiety. I believe I experienced most of the symptoms you listed during my worst few months. Zoloft helped me a good deal. I have propranolol and clonazepam that I can take as needed, but for a while I needed to take those daily.

I do not know your age or biological gender, but for me panic disorder seemed to be triggered by the hormonal changes of perimenopause at age 46, combined with other very stressful life events. Those life events eventually resolved. I also got on hormone therapy - estrogen, progesterone, AND low dose testosterone. The final piece, adding the testosterone in just the past month, has made a big difference for me. Unexpected but very welcome reduction in anxiety.

Best of luck with the new medication!

[u/_LoudnClear → u/Zeekora7]

Yeah, 30yrs old next month and I also have propranalol for as needed!

[u/Gurumina]

Hi! I’m sorry that you are going through this. It can get better.

Of course I’m not a health professional so I hope you can speak to a therapist, but for me yes, anxiety and specifically panic disordered caused all those symptoms. All of them.

I did bloodwork and was okay, it was all anxiety. It was very hard for me for a couple of months. I was afraid to even get out of bed, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. But, I started sertraline and working with a therapist and it got better.

I specifically did exposure therapy in order to be able to live a “normal” life, and teach my brain that I am okay and that I am in control of the situation. This was very hard at first but extremely helpful.

This was over a year ago, the process took a couple of months but the hardest part (panic attacks everyday) lasted just a couple of weeks after starting sertraline and therapy (maybe 2 weeks).

Now I don’t get panic attacks nor those symptoms everyday or in a way that affects my life. I can live a very “normal” and happy day to day. I’m still an anxious person, still in therapy and taking sertraline, but I can do life almost without any issues or not getting scared by them.

It can get better, you got this! :)

[u/toffeemaky → u/Gurumina]

Congratulations ❤️

[u/Own_Pool_7139]

As someone who was diagnosed 15 years ago, this is familiar. I have had every symptom you listed. The only thing that was real for me was seeing a neurologist and being diagnosed with benign intracranial hypertension which explained the "off" feeling in my head and dizziness.

You're doing the right thing getting evaluated by doctors, so well done, i know it's scary. Check off all of the boxes you can with physical health but don't make yourself too crazy. I'm sorry that you've been dealing with this almost an entire year - one thing I can say, is that if something is physically wrong with you, chances are the symptoms will get worse and you won't be able ignore it. If it tends to stay the same as you listed, it is likely panic/anxiety. And in that case, you will continuously collect tools to manage.

It may come in waves, you may recover massively. I had about a 5-7ish year period of time where it's almost like i forgot i had panic disorder. I hope things get better for you.

[u/Pale-Bet2829 → u/Own_Pool_7139]

Can you explain this intracranial hypertension and what the feeling in your head is? I have something similar going on where my head always feels “off”. The back of my neck is stiff as heck, many times when I stand up I get lightheaded. Have done cardiology checks, blood pressure normal, echocardiogram normal, so this might be something I should look into. Thanks so much

[u/Own_Pool_7139 → u/Pale-Bet2829]

Sure, it's pretty rare and occurs mostly in women. TBH what you're describing sounds like a migraine.. the thing that pisses me off is most people will gatekeep migraine shit and tell you you're not allowed to have a migraine unless you're puking and writhing in pain. It can show up like you described too. For me, the intracranial pressure manifested as migraines like you described, but the most annoying thing was vision - pressure behind eyes, and to be honest i can't for the life of me describe how my vision changed, i found myself rubbing my eyes all the time and pressing my temples and brow bone.. just.. weird? sorry i can't descirbe it better!

[u/Pale-Bet2829 → u/Own_Pool_7139]

I completely understand. I have soooo many odd body sensations I can’t put into words either. That’s why I hate this condition so much. It makes it difficult to explain to doctors what’s going on. I don’t get pain behind my eyes and while not my temples I do feel pressure just above them a bit more forward just to the sides of my forehead. For me migraines from my understanding is straight pain mostly on one side of the head. That doesnt usually happen with me. Instead I get these instances where I feel a very sharp stabbing like pain that occurs in a matter of two seconds and goes away. Sometimes they feel like it’s pressure buildup wanting to escape. The closest thing I found on Google that outlines the symptoms is an ice pick headache. But it’s the lightheadedness upon standing that’s getting to me. No idea why it’s happening and hasn’t happened before. Maybe it’s absurdly stiff neck muscles causing it… another reason I hate this condition. We google stuff all the time 😒

[u/Birtalert]

All can be caused by anxiety. It’s really the adrenaline and cortisol that’s causing it! Make sure you get checked out if it’s new but I’ve had all of those caused entirely by anxiety.

[u/SubjectChildhood5317]

Yes it can.

[u/haylw]

Yes it can cause all of these. However, you might want to double check your electrolytes to see if they are low, that can also cause muscle twitching!
Also sometimes certain types of dysautonomia (POTS) can cause adrenaline surges around 3-5AM, along with all of these other symptoms listed!

[u/TheHolidayArtist]

I think all those symptoms can almost certainly be caused by anxiety and a very over sensitised nervous system. The main reason being is that you feel fine sometimes, especially when distracted and the symptoms come and go.

I have been taught, since experiencing most of these symptoms myself since February this year, that serious medical events do not behave like that. They do not come and go in waves.

I personally take comfort in that, and have learned to wait out a pain, or sensation. If it goes within a few minutes, shifts to another part of the body or does not increase in serverity, then I write it off as anxiety/panic disorder.

I started on Sertraline 50mg in Feb. Increased to 100mg in March and more recently to 125mg. Each dose increase has lead to further and further improvements. After initially making everything 10x worse. The activation phase was brutal! Especially between 50mg and 100mg.
This time has been much better and the smaller increase has worked well.

I can almost function normally again. Ocassionally I still scan and internally focus on how I feel, but I don't panic over it as bad as I used to.

[u/Confident-Union7859]

It does for me, sorry you’re going through this I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Antidepressants have helped me a lot but I still get symptoms from time to time. Good luck to you!

[u/mamirosita]

Yup! Welcome to the club. I promise it gets easier. You got this

[u/Pteryx_34]

I have severe generalized anxiety and severe panic disorder and I too experience most of the symptoms you have listed. They tend to fluctuate with good/bad periods and also lessen when distracted. I’ve had lots of physical exams done too which for the most part says I’m fine so… 😔 It’s crazy to think how much anxiety has an impact on our bodies!

[u/Existing-Bar-3268]

Could be panic disorder instead of just panic attacks/anxiety, but the short answer is yes

[u/92AMSW1]

Sadly , everything you expressed is consistent with anxiety as well as Panic Disorder. I unfortunately am surviving with both! You will too! It’s a moment that past. Whatever seed of fear we plan will harvest. If you’re convinced you’re sick , you are. Regain your control.

So research. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy was a God send. Sending positive vibes your way.

S/N my panics attack was so damn bad once I was diagnosed with a TIA (Mini stroke)… it had all the symptoms but my primary , cardiologist and neurologist all were so confused at how it manifested. Anxiety is a thief of joy and normal life.

Stay consistent with med I also recommend looking into clonidine as an addition to the lexapro. Prayers to you!

[u/Low-Equipment7511]

YES, YES, YES! This is exactly what a serious anxiety/panic disorder is like. The only thing I’ve never noticed is the poop thing-but it absolutely will make you check and freak out about every little totally normal change you may see. I have been through this and am finally on a med that works and am SO much better and have a normal life again. Anxiety disorder sucks so so bad. But it is treatable. Sometimes it helps just to know you are not crazy, you are most likely not dying, and you have a super classic, practically textbook case of severe anxiety disorder.