If somebody walked up to you and said "I will give you a million dollars if you can tell me whether or not you are really having a stroke.", what would your answer be?

My answer would be, No. I just get migraine auras that mimic them.

Lily that is awesome!!! I will ask myself that question at times. It can work with so many anxieties. Love it!!!

Morning - good answer! Keep reminding yourself. You are not your brain so next time it screams Stroke, calmly tell yourself - "been there done that. I am not listening anymore." "Who wants to win a million dollars?" We all do!

Oh my god, i am soooo scared.... my arms and legs will not stop tingling and it scares me that im gonna have or had a stroke./...... god i am sooooo SCARED :((((

Morning, you said that if you had to guess, you would say that you are not having a stroke. And you also said that you know that your migraine auras mimic them. So you are NOT scared you are having a stroke. You want to BELIEVE you are scared of having a stroke. You want an excuse to freak out. You are addicted to life and death drama every single day and if you don't have it, you don't know what to do with yourself. This is why I say to you that you don't really want this anxiety to go away. You have created a cycle of freak out, seek reassurance, freak out, seek reassurance, freak out, seek reassurance....etc. Its the same cycle as crave a drug...use the drug.....crave a drug...use the drug...crave a drug....use the drug. You are not ready to be done with this addiction. You haven't hit your bottom yet. As uncomfortable as this is for you and as much as you hate it, it has not ruined your life enough yet for you to be able to say, "I will not live this way anymore." Some people it takes longer than others.
I am not judging you because I have been there, we have all been there. Not a single person here doesn't understand, on some level, why you react the way you do. But you have to want to get better. You have to be willing to do the hard work it takes to get better instead of taking the easy way every time and getting your worry "fix". Take care.

It's OK Morning. It is OK to feel scared and still function. Breathe, focus on just your breathing. Ground yourself. If you are typing, you are functioning. Tingling does not stop you from living and carrying on, right? Do some yoga and stretching or run in place. Move that adrenaline because it is all yours. Own it and make it work for you.

What would you say to your very best friend in the whole world who is going through this every day and you know deep down it is not a physical problem but an anxiety and panic problem?

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I also have migraines that do that. I will also convince myself that something terrible is happening. The more I think about it, the worse the symptoms get. I had somebody tell me once that if I had a stroke I would know (or that if it was so bad that I didn't know that it would be immediately apparent to my family).

Deep breathing can help, drinking lots of water and relaxation. As soon as you notice the visual auras put a sleep mask over your eyes so no light comes through. And whatever you do don't think about anything being wrong (because they are just migraines). Just let the thoughts do their thing, and go back out of your head (if that makes sense). Nap if you can. If you can't then do something to take your mind off of things.

Also (even though you posted for your anxiety) maybe you can talk to your doctor about whether you can use aspirin to relieve pain from your migraines as well as a daily low dose to help prevent them. That is what I do to help, Tylenol doesn't help the weakness or heaviness (for me). You don't know how many people I had to see for somebody to recommend that helpful advice.

Leah,
As much as i hate to say it because it is the harsh reality of this situation everything lily has said to you is spot on. If you really want to get better it has to start with YOU. This life or death scenario has become your everyday life and without it you would be absolutely lost. As sad as it is to say it if you woke up tomorrow and every symptom was magically gone you would probably still freak out as your reason to be would be missing. You have to let it go and find something else to feed your life. If you spend some time reading the posts on this group you will see every single symptom you have can be attributed to anxiety and to be fair its no suprise you have them when you CHOOSE to live your life in anxiety. We can sit here night and day firing advice at you but not one bit of it will make the tiniest bit of difference if you dont want it. The only person who can really help you is YOU and when you are ready to start taking a stand against this we will be here for you but you really must want it otherwise all the words of the well meaning people on here are wasted and falling on death ears. I do have a warning though and i dont mean to feed your anxiety but it is one that we are all feeling and someone has to say it otherwise we are not doing our job.
If you carry on with this obsession one day you will loose the control you still have over it and this will become your life full stop, Take it from me you really dont want to be there. There are people on here that have been there and as a result are in that place. Every single one of them given the chance to go back and change that would. In that place you can crave as much attention as you want and yes you will get it but you will loose the ability to fight back and then its game over. Seems a shame for someone so young with so much potential to just throw away her life when she doesnt need to. Really the choice is yours. You can take a stand now or you can choose to live your life like this. the only way you can get better is to WANT to. You really have to take a stand now and take back your life and exploit it for all its worth but like i said you got to want it and i am afraid we cant give you that. The only person that can do that for you is you and when you are ready there are loads of people on here that will support you and help you get your life back. I really dont mean to be harsh but i am concerned for you. Your symptoms are never going to go away until you want them to. Really its your choice. I have been on here a couple of weeks and i have you on IM and i have already lost count of the amount of times you have said i am having a stroke. If you were going to have a stroke or were that concerned about it trust me it would have either happened by now or else you would be in hospital. If you are that convinced that you are going to have stroke then i advise you to seek medical attention but it is my opinion (and i am by no means a gp) that this constant rush of anxiety you are putting your body through is what is causing most of your symptoms. Anxiety has the ability to MIMIC (a word you yourself have used on many occassion) a lot of possible life threatening illnesses. That is what it is scary about it and its that fear that feeds your anxiety and so the cycle continues. If you want this to stop you need to seek medical attention to rule out any possibilitys of any other illness and armed with that info take on anxiety and TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE. I know you i have you on IM and i know deep down you are a good person with a lot to offer the world and all that is wrong with you is you have got lost in a world you have created in your own mind. Those thoughts your body is converting into physicality which is what your symptoms are. Like i said i am no GP so i urge you to seek assistance from someone who is qualified to affirm this. You cant sit back and let this feed itself or else there will be no end to it.
When you are ready to take this step we will all be a hundred percent behind you and will help you take back your life and share what goodness you have inside you with the world.
I really hope you can see the message in these words and think "he's right" and start to take back your life, but as sad as i am to say i beleive you will just quantify this as someone else who has turned against you and think you are a bother so you can continue with your obsession. THIS IS NOT THE CASE I really want to help you and along with the many other poeple on this group we have the ability to do so.
Trouble is you have to WANT us too.
Its up to you

Just wanted to add also...
Every heard the term nervous breakdown? It doesnt mean you feel nervous it means your central nervous system has gone haywire. You central nervous system controls everything in your body. Your eyesight works by picking up vision and then transmits that info in the form of electric impulse along your NERVES to your brain which then converts those impulses into data read by you brain. Your nervous system controls everything including breathing heart rate etc etc it is your hub. If you mess with your nervous system it will respond by malfunctioning and then all sorts of things go wrong this is why people who have nervous problems report all sorts of physical problems many of which MIMIC serious health issues. By constantly bombarding your system with stress you are messing with this. This is why things are going wrong and then you start stressing over the symptoms and so it goes on and on and on.
I am really sorry if some of you who read this disagree with me and think i am being harsh but then in some cases you cant make an omelett without cracking a few eggs.

Your last line resonates with me! You do need a bit of tough love to realise you can escape the vicious circle. It's not easy though for we create patterns, i do it too, hence the anxiety group being the place i reside most!

Fear dominates us, the fear of the unknown and we almost feel if we diagnose ourselves that even though we are scared, that we have it sorted! An answer! But it's almost always the wrong one.

Have you looked into CBT therapy? I got help via a counsellor for anxiety related to fear and lack of sleep after my car was vandalized and my wallet was stolen. it helped me. I am planning on revisiting it for strategies dealing with fear of health issues and other fears.

No insurance i see you wrote. I'm in Australia and thankfully don't have that issue here BUT try your public library for books on it. It has good strategies for breaking down fears with logic and undoing thought processes that are harmful with things like "likelihood" etc.

You are a young girl who has been through SO much from what i saw briefly on your profile. I hope 2012 you can get control of things slowly and surely and heal. Get the life you deserve.

Migraines are a right pain, literally. Listen to the advice on healing those and your mindset and the symptoms will slowly disappear.

You know what Syndey....i aint just saying this. It hurt me to write it but someone had to. I got Leah on my IM list and she is a lovely girl with a bright future if she could only just put the past behind her and look forward to the future. She needs help but its got to start with her.

Leah if you are reading this...I promise you i will do everything i can to help you and everyone reading this are my witnesses. But you got to want it buddy. When you are ready just shout me and i will be here for you. Its totally up to you.