Can anxiety/depression do this to me?
Q.I have experienced anxiety and depression in the past, typically related to something going on in my life at the time (death of a friend, challenges with my handicapped child, etc). However, what I'm going through now is completely new to me. I've been having overwhelming fatigue for the past 6 weeks and am barely able to make it through the day. I take a shower and have to rest, can barely make it up and down steps, etc. I'm also have significant shortness of breath, especially with any exertion. I just feel like I can't "catch" my breath. I had an appointment with an internist last week and my EKG, pulse-ox, and pulmonary function tests were fine. Physical exam was also normal. I'm waiting for blood test results, including thryoid function, and will go for a chest x-ray as soon as I'm up to it. I'm just wondering if depression and anxiety have ever caused this extreme set of symptoms in anyone else in the group. I don't *feel* depressed, except for the fact that I'm not getting better. Nothing is going on to make me unusually anxious, although I know that anxiety can occur for no apparent reason. I will pursue testing but while I wait just would love to know if this has happened to anyone else and what the final result was. I did start Prozac a week ago on the guess that my illness may be depression based. Any input would be so gratefully appreciated.
A.your symptoms can be caused by either anxiety or depression or a combination of both-please due persue some additional medical tests including an endocrine scan a comprehensive blood work up a neuro exam and a titer for epstein barr as well as lymes disease Welcome to ASAP!! Depression and anxiety can cause the symptoms you describe but so can alot of physical disorders. It is very wise that you are having a bunch of tests done. When I was having problems with my thyroid, the fatigue I experienced was awful. I went to the doctor thinking it was just anxiety, thank god he ran a bunch of tests and found it was my thyroid that was making me feel so bad. My Mother has experienced severe fatigue, she has Epstein Barr. Were you sick with a cold or the flu before this fatigue started? I don't hear the word *anxiety* among your present symptoms, just *fatigue*. If other causes are indeed ruled out you may have CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) or ME as it's sometimes called. This is difficult to diagnose and more difficult to treat as there is no known cure yet. It is recommended to live healthily (regular scheme, good nutrition etc.). Of course fatigue can be and indeed often is part of an anxiety disorder but when it's the *only* symptom it wouldn't be very logical to think of that IMHO. One site was a message board about depression. I read curiously since I did not feel that I suffered from depression. I did not want to kill myself or huddle up in a ball on my bed all day. After all, here I was in my pajamas on a Saturday afternoon watching TV and chain smoking. I am not a basket case, just sick of everyone else since they are all idiots. The more I read, the more I believed that it was possible that I had depression and afte reading other symptoms I was convinced that that is what I had. Anxiety and/or depression can most certainly cause fatigue and shortness of breath. The tests you have had make it even more likely that this is the case for you. I have severe asthma as well as anx./panic, so it is often difficult for me to tell what the symptoms are from. I have a small rather cheapo device called a spirometer, which I use to monitor my asthma. For some reason it requires a prescription, but you should have no problem getting one. When I feel shortness of breath, without any evident cause, I use it. Very often I am having a hard time breathing, but the meter says I am well within my good range, then I know it is anxiety. Of course if it shows my breathing is actually bad, I take the appropriate asthma medicine. I think these little gadgets would be useful for many anx/panic people as well, to assure them that there is actually nothing physically wrong.
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