in a wave - left arm numbness and 'pressure' - chest tightness

[[wy...]]

I can't sleep, and this is the first time in weeks I have felt like this.

My allergies are bad right now, which could be due to the weather, but I feel like I cannot breathe and all day today I have had extreme chest tightness and my left arm feels like there is pressure inside it, like a throbbing sensation that won't go away. All I do is lay here in agony wanting this to end. I am probably going to call into work yet again in the morning, due to lack of sleep and not being able to think clearly about anything. All I can do is sit or lay here and obsess on how bad I feel. Even watching TV is not helping.

 

I felt like I was going to go into a major CLass A panic attack just about an hour ago, something which I have managed to avoid throughout all this recovery, even in the acute stages. What is going on here? I just feel so confused by how my body can be reacting this way at almost 6 months out. Docs don't believe me, and frankly, I am starting to doubt my own sanity again.

 

Please I need to hear from someone who is past the 6 month mark who has experienced this. Does anyone know what the left arm stuff is? Why does it always feel like the weird physical stuff is on my left side?

[Guest [...]]

hey there

 

i cant comment much because im still on this crap however it does sound like a panic/anxiety thing for sure.  Please go see a doctor to double check though.  I cant think clearly about anything at the moment so i know that is withdrawal for sure.  I cant focus on tv either.  Dont listen to the doctors when they say they dont believe you my doctor doesnt believe me either so dont worry about that. 

 

Hopefully someone more helpful than me will come along but im just letting you know im hearing you ok.  hang on keep strong

 

Lizzy

[[wy...]]

Thank Id1. I appreciate your concern and kind words.

 

WOke up this morning still feeling awful. Does nobody else understand what I am going through? Please, someone I need reassurance.

[[ho...]]

Hi Wylidas,

Are you continuing to have the chest tightness and left arm pain?  Or has that lifted?

Any shortness of breath or nausea?

 

I can not give you any medical advice.  My guess is that it is wd related, but just to be on the safe side I think you might want to have an EKG just to be sure it isn't heart related.  I don't want to alarm you and cause any additional anxiety.

 

If the discomfort goes away with deep breathing and diversion it is probably anxiety. 

 

Would not hurt though to have it assessed by a doc.

 

Please write back and let me know how you are doing.

 

XOX

[[Mi...]]

Hi Wylidas,

 

I had the exact same symptom after I jumped off Xanax.  A tightness in my left chest that I could feel in my left arm and down into that hand.  It was not exercise related and would come and go regardless of what I was doing.    It felt more nerve/muscle related.  There were no other symptoms and as my recovery progressed it went away.  I think it was benzo withdrawal related for sure.  But to set your mind at ease, you probably should get an EKG.

 

MiniMinnie

[[re...]]

I am still having chest/arm stuff left side at 8.5 months out.

 

It could just be wd for you. I had it really bad at 6 months. It just seems to go on forever.

 

Doctors dont know much about this. I had one tell me I was causing the tingles myself at 6 months out, that it could NOT be wd.

 

Hang in there. It will get better in time. Sorry you are suffering. I know it is hard.

[[wy...]]

CHest tightness still there but left arm pain is not as intense, although it is still there. I have not had shortness of breath or nausea with this. I was extremely nauseated a few days ago, but I am sure that was related to not eating well that day.

 

The pain sort of comes and goes depending on what I am doing. I just don't get why I feel this way after almost 6 months off. I don't think this is benzo related at this stage. I just feel like I am damaged and never will be the same again.

[[re...]]

CHest tightness still there but left arm pain is not as intense, although it is still there. I have not had shortness of breath or nausea with this. I was extremely nauseated a few days ago, but I am sure that was related to not eating well that day.

 

The pain sort of comes and goes depending on what I am doing. I just don't get why I feel this way after almost 6 months off. I don't think this is benzo related at this stage. I just feel like I am damaged and never will be the same again.

 

Your feelings are normal and part of the wd syndrome. I think most of us feel damaged beyond repair. But even the worst cases heal in time. We will too. My left bicep still hurts. Throbs at times. No rhyme or reason. It is just wd. Hang in there. It will get better. It takes years for some of us to become sx free.

[[wy...]]

UNfortunately, I cannot wait years to recover and for this to go away. I have a job that is hanging dangerously by a thread and I have HIV and many days due to these sx, I cannot take my meds because the side effects from the meds are too much to bear. If I keep not taking my meds, eventually my HIV could progress to the point where it could kill me.

 

I cannot believe taking a drug for 6 months (8 months if you include my taper) would take me years to heal. I just don't know if I believe we all heal anymore.  :'(

[[re...]]

Hopefully you wont take years to heal from short term use. You will most likely heal much faster. I had not read your sig line.

You have a lot on your plate. I pray you heal quickly and move past this phase of recovery.

[[wy...]]

THank you, recoveringfrombenzoz. I really do appreciate your concern. 

 

I just feel like my issues are so complex that this may actually indeed kill me. I will be the first person to actually die from benzo withdrawal. These are the kinds of intensely negative fears and emotions I am having.

[[ho...]]

You will not die from this.  That is the benzo brain talking.  You will heal. 

 

This whole process is brutal and cruel, wicked; but it is just that, a process.  Trust that it will lead you to complete healing.

 

We're all in this together.

 

XOX  (((HUGS)))

[[wy...]]

Thank you, Hope56. 

 

I posted on a discussion board in a Meetup I started last year for panic and anxiety, and one of the members told me to try klonopin. 

 

These people truly just don't get it. I think people have been brainwashed by the medical industry. What do people need me to do? Tattoo it on my forehead? DRUGS AREN'T THE ANSWER FOR ME. I am not saying they don't work for some people sparingly, but I got off them for a reason. Why on Earth would I go back? Stupid. Just stupid.

[[Bi...]]

wylidas,

 

I have a good friend with HIV. He came off Klonopin once, and he lived through it. I don't know exactly how much Klonopin. I think the doses varied.

You will get through this,

 

Hang in there,

Billy.

[[wy...]]

Thank you, BillyF. That does offer me some hope. I have tried posting on here and on the HIV discussion forum to see if I can find anyone who has gone through this while taking HIV drugs, and nobody yet has offered any positive assurance.

 

I am beginning to think I may be very alone.

[Guest [...]]

hey Wy

 

Just letting you know that you are so not alone.  No I dont have HIV and I seriously feel for you with having this to deal with on top of everything else.  You really dont deserve this at all.  However underneath all our Benzo withdrawal lies another story about our lives before all this.  Thats what I think people forget some time I now see I had many many issues other than taking these wretched drugs.  Damn I only had high blood pressure and anxiety thats it and a dreadful reaction to a blood pressure medicine found me taking this path.  Seriously Wy have just figured out that it doesnt really matter how we got here its that we are here that matters.  You and I can do nothing to change it we just have to live through it no matter how long it lasts.  Just this morning i was thinking oh if only i hadnt of done this or that if if if such a waste if only i had put more time into myself and not others blah blah but you know what today I woke up and felt that dreadful surge of adrenaline and then it started im doomed forever well no im doomed at the moment and so are you well i mean thats how your feeling.  I know how frightened you must be so scared and alone and I wish that we could all have a big holiday house where we could all meet and then we wouldnt feel so alone in the world. 

 

Great big hugs to you

 

Lizzyxx