Ironman

I am actually taking Cymbalta. I switched from Paroxetine (Paxil) because of the bruxism (teeth-clenching) causing teeth problems and weight gain. Cymbalta works pretty well for me. You should start taking it as prescribed. If there are any problems, you can let your doctor know and he can adjust. When I first went to the psychiatrist, she thought I was bipolar and tested me twice.....and even put me on Lithium! It's like eating a battery, but it only caused what little OCD I ever thought I had and made it debilitating. I told the doc and was immediately off of it. Lexapro didn't work for me and I was maxed on it. Then, it was Paxil lol. I ended up being diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder with a broad affect. I can be a good actor because I can practically cry on cue hahaha.

Age can also be a factor. The old adage about joints and pressure changes....

If you haven't used muscles in a while, that can cause twitching and numbness. I have tall shrubs that I have to trim TWICE a year and the things are over 6 feet tall. I am 6'3" and am forced to stretch my arm out and sweep like frosting a cake lol. The electric trimmer vibrates and it goes right through my arm. After doing about an hour of work, I have trouble with my arms. Even exercise and straining can cause twitching.

Hello Orchidman, It sounds like derealization/deperssonalization - it just means the mind is racing faster than the body can handle. The cold sweats can be from trhe anxiety, too. It is also the panic attack that pulls us out of sleep. My heartbeat can actually race at that point, too. Welcome to the site!

Anxiety can play games with nerves. Everyone has different symptoms. I can shake and have nausea. I can't eat if i have a major panic or anxiety attack. I wouldn't bother with an MRI, though. That's a stretch. Have you seen a doc or therapist?

If there is a pattern of these not developing, then this would not be any diferent.

Each person is different, but it was about a week. It was only worse when I was first on the med to figure out how much I needed to be on. You normally start at a certain level and steadily go up.

Over the years... Celexa Paxil/Paroxetine - it worked, but I gained weight Cymbalta/Duloxetine - my current one

The longer term meds, yes. Xanax didn't work very well for me, no.

It's lack of sleep - I have been getting the headaches and fogginess, too. I get about that much sleep; it's not enough. Caffeine and ibuprofen only gets you so far - rest is best, though.

Xanax is like a short-term med, to me at least. It doesn't maintain like other meds,

It sounds like you are internalizing all of the above stress and it's causing more distress. You need to take a deep breath and step back to see what is really going on. WIth anxiety, we have the ability to scare ourselves pretty easily - it keeps the anxiety going in a vicious cycle.

To filter is to determine what you need to worry about versus who you can let go. Your stomach issues wouldn't change overnight. You could get another scan, but what good would it do if you turned around and had another fear about it. My bet is that you are worried about your stomach and that worry is actually causing the symptoms - thus you are reinforcing the nerves that cause the stress that cause the stomach issues. You have to find out what is triggering the stress. It could even be reaction to an outside event where you internalize and it causes distress. The key is the mind. I have to work on this myself, so I know the deal. Positive self-talk.....and maybe an antacid.

Anxiety all starts in the mind. The symptoms you are having are anxiety and are just physically moving around - the Nexium probably moved the acidity of heartburn to the stomach. Nausea is my #1 anxiety issue. When I am anxious, I am nauseous and it's all fueled by the mind. How you think determines how you feel - the first thing I learned about anxiety. You have to put a filter on what you can worry about and let the other stuff go. You have tests that show there is nothing wrong, yet you autmotatically keep saying pancreatic cancer. It wouldn't just pop up at once.

Stress causes anxiety....and the other way around too. You broke the cycle by getting rest!