Physical anxiety - feeling poisoned / toxic

I don’t have panic attacks or increased HR but I do get a horrible feeling of being poisoned all over. I get inner vibrations and this gnawing burning, itching or electric internal feeling all over that makes me want to lie down and not move. It’s caustic, feels like battery acid in my veins sometimes. I sometimes compare it to a feeling of an exposed tooth, dull toothache in my CNS. It’s really hard to stand it Makes me want to run away from my body.

 

Has anyone experienced that?

Yes,

 

Especially early in withdrawal… many times I would tell my mom that it feels like someone is trying to poison me… feeling of breathing toxic air, feeling of toxicity in my body…. But that has lessened immensely.

 

I am now 2.5 years post jump and lately what has remained:

Extreme anxiety attacks with feeling that I am about to collapse, dizzy, followed by palpitations, increased BP, chest tightness, choking sensation, feeling of gasping for air, Tingling in hands, total fear of dropping dead…

Slight chest tremors/jitters

Feeling of doom, constantly on edge, like something bad is about to happen

Some mornings still get the cortisol rushes

 

Overall I am functional, able to work and workout, but still feel some symptoms daily…

 

Still waiting for 100% back to my old self…

Intermittent tinnitu

I don’t have panic attacks or increased HR but I do get a horrible feeling of being poisoned all over. I get inner vibrations and this gnawing burning, itching or electric internal feeling all over that makes me want to lie down and not move. It’s caustic, feels like battery acid in my veins sometimes. I sometimes compare it to a feeling of an exposed tooth, dull toothache in my CNS. It’s really hard to stand it Makes me want to run away from my body.

 

Has anyone experienced that?

 

Members describe all sorts of physical/bodily sensations.  What you describe sounds akin to cortisol surges or perhaps, akathisia, both common withdrawal symptoms that ease up and fade away as you recover.  If you do a search of the forum you'll find many references and descriptions of cortisol surges and akathisia.Search Instructions

 

 

Here's what the Ashton manual says about bodily sensations:

 

Bodily Sensations

 

"All sorts of strange tinglings, pins and needles, patches of numbness, feelings of electric shocks, sensations of hot and cold, itching, and deep burning pain are not uncommon during benzodiazepine withdrawal. It is difficult to give an exact explanation for these sensations but, like motor nerves, the sensory nerves, along with their connections in the spinal cord and brain, become hyperexcitable during withdrawal. It is possible that sensory receptors in skin and muscle, and in the tissue sheaths around bones, may fire off impulses chaotically in response to stimuli that do not normally affect them.

 

In my clinic, nerve conduction studies in patients with such symptoms revealed nothing abnormal – for example, there was no evidence of peripheral neuritis. However, the symptoms were sometimes enough to puzzle neurologists. Three patients with a combination of numbness, muscle spasms and double vision were diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. This diagnosis, and all the symptoms, disappeared soon after the patients stopped their benzodiazepines.

 

Thus these sensory symptoms, though disconcerting, are usually nothing to worry about. Very occasionally, they may persist (see section on protracted symptoms). Meanwhile, the same measures suggested under muscle symptoms (above) can do much to alleviate them, and they usually disappear after withdrawal."

The good news is she healed as far as I know. And had a healthy baby. This resolved!

I think it is insane how our scale of functionality changes with this. What we call functional after some horrors is nowhere near what I even needed a break from and took sick leave for and then ended up on this or anything a normal or even naturally ill person would consider functional. Wow.

Yes, I feel like a human-sized exposed nerve on legs, I can feel the electricity

Try his is a nightmare. Only ice packs bring relief-for about an hour then BOOM! Here we go again…