My anxiety gets the best of me sometimes

I can’t diagnose anybody or say exactly what type of reaction they had to something; neither can online patients who were floxed. But you said yourself that you were free of pain and symptoms when you weren’t worried or reading about floxing. So why continue to worry or read about it, especially when you already know that people can and do heal? You’ve even seen a member on this board who healed, and you reached out to them to see what helped. You’ve had a week without pain - why not have another one? Your doctors are all aware of your concerns, correct? And your therapist, of course. You aren’t crippled or getting worse - in fact, you’re having nice amounts of time without symptoms. You need to identify ways to continue feeling safe and happy. Take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally.

 

Yeah stupidly reading about floxing made me think it is the potential cause of my back pain and tight calves I guess even though it seems unlikely and there is no way to test for it but my constant tight calves and tight lower back could simply be from anxiety

 

Remember your pain-free week. And that reading about floxing doesn’t help. Continuing to worry about or dig into the floxing topic isn’t going to further benefit you from here. I’m sure you’re already aware of the advice on supplements and etc. There aren’t tests or breakthrough treatments that anybody - including you - is missing out on. Your symptoms go away when you calm down. Now is a great time to work on finding ways to feel safe and let go of the fears.

 

Do you think tms contributes to recovery on that. My anxiety is so bad right now its trying to convince me that I have cipri poisoning when I likely dont. Just because it's rare doesn't mean its gonna happen to me.

 

Stop worrying. You already know how anxiety affects you. Have another pain-free week. You’re alive and doing well.

 

Yeah your right worrying about it is going me no good I literally didn't sleep on Sunday night only for like an hour or two because of how anxious I was my legs felt weak and numb warm almost.
I have never had issues sleeping with anxiety since I was 14 or 15 but that went away even when I've been anxious in the recent months I didn't really have trouble sleeping

So from now on back to the positive thinking I fell so dumb for worrying about something that is super rare. When I've been getting better for the most part through positivity. That was merely just a distraction to make me think negative and what has it done ? Its increased by anxiety and my pain so screw that I'm not letting my anxiety win

 

You are spot on. You don't need to put yourself through more worrying. You're going to be OK. If I were you, I'd trust my therapist. You had a reaction to a medication, but that doesn't mean it's going to forever be a problem or that it's responsible for every single symptom you experience from here on out. I'm no doctor and cannot diagnose anyone, but I can indeed say that. Don't torture yourself. The mind is powerful. You are OK.

At this point, you're putting yourself through obsessive thought loops. I've been there myself - asking more people for their opinions, feeling incredibly empowered when they would confirm that I'd be OK, but then needing more validation a few days or only hours later because I was so obsessive and fearful. This is not the way you want to live, and it only makes you feel worse. This stems from your desire to feel safe, but an inability to know how to do that right now (this can be fixed!).

My best advice to you is to find ways to cope with those obsessive thoughts. Your therapist can help with this! That's what you need to be focusing on, and that's what's going to ultimately help you get to a much better place - not more research on floxing or talking to more floxed patients. Do not subject yourself to horror stories from people who may have very different circumstances than you, or people may be just as anxious as you are. You did not end up crippled or damaged, nor will you. You already know what you need to know, which is that you are indeed capable of having many pleasant days in a row without symptoms, and I believe that you will enjoy many more pain-free days once you tame your anxiety. This is your ultimate proof of the fact that you are not permanently messed up. Your body is capable of running just fine!

Instead of asking your therapist whether she thinks you've been floxed and are at risk for long-term issues (you already know that her answer is no), I would ask her to help you come up with coping strategies for obsessive thoughts and ways to help yourself feel safe. The body is incredibly resilient and is designed to heal - now you just need to consistently believe in that on a daily basis.

 

Thanks your definitely right I'm obessed or addicted with reasurrence from strangers on the internet who aren't doctors. I need to stop googling stuff it's just creating problems for me. Almost every time I've googled something i thought I had I almost always experiance some of the symptoms and freak out thinking I have it and then it usually goes away .

I guess the only reason why I'm so scared of cipro is alot of the symptoms I've experienced over the last year or so match up with cirpo toxicity but it apprently also has 30 -40 potential symptoms so who knows if they are from that or something else.

My anxiety is most likely causing all of these to distract me from living me life free of fear.

 

That is definitely classic anxiety. But that's OK because anxiety can be overcome! The brain is incredibly plastic and always changing.

And because I realize what I said earlier may have been confusing, I feel the need to clarify: I'm definitely not saying you need to try any supplements or tests - I'm saying that there's likely no new knowledge for you on this topic because it's clear you've done quite a bit of research on it. There's nothing new for you to gain in investing more of your time in this; further investment only drives you crazy and throws you back into the loop of obsessive and fearful thoughts. Combine that with the fact that your symptoms go away when you aren't anxious, and there really just isn't any benefit in continuing to research floxing or talk to floxed patients. You already have your answer, which is to relax.

You are going to be OK. Don't forget that. If you do forget it, don't research floxing or talk to floxed patients - talk to your therapist, a trusted friend, someone on this forum who understands the mind-body connection, etc. People who will remind you that you're safe. You can also watch a TV show you like, pet an animal, listen to an upbeat song and dance around the room, eat some cookie dough ice cream... whatever makes you happy (and doesn't encourage obsessive and fearful thoughts)! And you have every reason to be happy because you're alive, having pain-free days, and OK!

 

Your right i need to just move on from this I wouldn't be surprised if some people that had toxicity also has tms it would be interesting to hear from anyone on this site who has recovered from it via tms. I talked to someone on here who said it probably did.

 

I wouldn't be surprised either. Remember that emotions can cause all types of issues, from pain and other bizarre symptoms, delayed wound healing, sensations of pain even after a wound has healed, etc. This is all scientifically documented, and it's not rare. You said that floxing has 30 to 40 potential symptoms? Well, guess how many anxiety has? Endless, but the good news is that they go away when one is relaxed. You know that.

 

That being said I am visiting my doctor on Tuesday see what she thinks about this . She is probably going to say it's just anxiety like she always does.

 

That's fine! Input from a trusted medical professional is always important. I think that's an excellent way to put your mind at ease.

Remember:

• Any doubts you have stem from wanting to feel safe
• Reading about floxing or talking to floxed patients won't make you feel safe (and those people might be dealing with anxiety as well, or other issues that have absolutely nothing to do with your situation whatsoever)
• Support from your therapist, trusted family and friends, and people who understand the mind-body connection can help you feel safe
• Your symptoms subside when you aren't anxious
• You've always had anxiety (example = fear of choking on food as a child) - it's nothing new
• Neuroplasticity can help end anxious and patterned ways of thinking

You can do this. One thing that helped me was writing a letter to myself explaining why I was OK and how emotions were causing symptoms (an example for you could be reminding yourself of pain-free weeks when anxiety was absent). I read it when I had doubts and needed to feel safe.

 

I know I was doing so good there for abit and reading about it kind of set me back abit but I know I'll get through it.

 

Yeah i just need to get back to not fearing and just enjoy life start working out again (I was scared of injuring a tendon but I realize its probably fine. Eat abit better healthier still want go enjoy some foods like chips chocolate etc.

 

I have also realized that I took cipro ear drops in December 2016 before i took the pills in april 2017 I'm freaking out

 

There is no need to freak out. Panic causes you to get symptoms. Remember that this is all stemming from a desire to feel safe. You are not going to die, you are not going to end up crippled or disabled, you're going to your doctor who can confirm that your tendon and anything else you're concerned about isn't injured, and you are capable of having pain-free days.

You're forgetting that you're safe.

You said it yourself:

Go enjoy a few chips or a piece of chocolate and remember your pain-free week. You can have another one if you just relax.

 

It is scary though because I dont know if my symptoms are anxiety fear stress or if its cirpo poisoning either way I need to calm down it's not helping

 

I deleted my super long post because it was probably confusing. Simply put: there are people who claim they never recovered from anti-depressant withdrawal, even after many years. One of the few doctors who specializes in this area did some research and found that their serotonin receptors had recovered a long time ago. So why were they still having symptoms? They were stuck in a cycle of stress, fear, and obsession. Don’t let that be you. Your reaction to a medication does not mean it’s permanent or harming you now, and as humans we will always have health symptoms of some sort - don’t become convinced that everything is linked to Cipro.

My mom used to send me articles about women who were so convinced they were with child despite not being pregnant, their bellies grew, they felt a fetus, their periods stopped, some of them even produced milk, etc. Your brain is powerful.

Emotions can delay the body from healing, or make symptoms continue even after the body has healed, making you not realize you healed long ago (the brain is capable of this; without the brain, there’s no pain). This has been scientifically documented and proven many, many times.

I’m going to leave this thread because it’s clear I’m not going to convince you. Please make sure your doctor and therapist are aware of how you’re handling stress. You just want to feel safe, which is why you’re continuing to ask this exact question, even after you’ve spoken to another member who healed. You know healing is possible, but you’re continuing to doubt yourself because the uncertainty makes you feel unsafe. I get it because I’ve been there and know all too well what it feels like. Personally, I believe you are safe, but you have to believe it yourself. And that starts with changing your response to this. All the supplements in the world (take them if you want, but your anxiety is pretty powerful in generating more symptoms) and asking the same exact questions to different people won’t help you with that. Your pain-free week after minimal anxiety is proof of your body’s ability to run fine, and that’s what I’d keep in mind if I were you. The body is designed to heal. People can and do heal from what you’re worried about - all the time.

Have your doctor check out your tendons and anything else you’re concerned about for a peace of mind. Just remember that pain-free week and the countless people who healed. Thinking about anything else is self-flagellation and keeps you in the loop of fear and obsession. Focus on breaking out of that.

 

It's all about the anxiety. As long as you engage with your symptoms as a physical issue, the anxiety will continue.

I forget if you've listened to Claire Weekes mp3 talks. They've been invaluable for some of us here.