major health anxiety, anyone else??

[carisa]

Hi there! I was wondering if anyone can identify with me. For as long as I can remember, I have always had major health anxiety. When I was little, I was always afraid I had the stomach flu, but now it has progressed into me being sure I have cancer. I am always checking my temp to make sure it is not high. I have night sweats and have been checked out by my doctor several times and I am ok, but I am still convinced I may have cancer.

Does anyone have any helpful hints? I am so sick of always being so worried.

Carisa

[Mom2Bryson]

I can totally relate to what you are saying.  I too have been very anxious about my health since childhood.  I remember getting stung by a bee and thinking I was going to die.  It got better until about 1 year ago.  I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the ripe old age of 23...lol.  Anyway, I am still battling hard with anxiety issues over my health and everyday I diagnose myself with something new.  You are not alone so at least feel better in knowing that.  What makes you think you have stomach cancer?  Do you have stomach pains or nausea and vomiting?  

[396SS]

Yep, I do understand.  I am in the medical field and it actually makes it worse.  I have tried to take my dad's advice - "Kid, nobody makes it out of this world alive, so enjoy it while you're here...don't waste it on worry you might be gone tomorrow."  Sounds morbid but true, people are sick all over the place (I work in a hospital I know) and here I am making myself sick.  I hate it and fight it all the time, but I am getting better at pushing away the anxiety because it's true, we're all going to pass away, which is the ultimate fear right?  Well, I don't go to church, but I am spiritual enough to have finally decided not to be afraid of death.  Suffering is what sucks, and I have suffered enough with anxiety so I tell myself to stop and try to keep busy.  If I get an illness, I think it would be easier than anxiety!!!!  Anxiety has made me sicker than any illness I've had!  But I do feel your pain, just take what I say and think about it, maybe we can kick this BS, it's really annoying and I feel silly sometimes.  Nice to know that other people understand, but I hate that others have to go through it too.  I have a great shrink who doesn't allow me to think about health issues - he stops me literally in my tracks if I start talking about a symptom of something and asks me why I am focusing on body symptoms again.  There is usually a stressor or trigger in my life that revs me up into the health anxiety and then we talk it out and I feel better.  He has become my general doctor almost with all my complaints!  Take care you're in good company in this forum.

[3dognewt]

I do this all the time, but usually I focus on my heart. I was 11 when my father died of a heart attack. He used to always feel my pulse and I guess that turned me into sort of a cardiac phobic. I can go from feeling great one minute to be convinced I am having a heart attack in a matter of minutes. Don't quite know how to get over this, but I am trying, It sure is scary, but good to know that I am not alone.

[carisa]

Oh thank god i'm not alone! It can really interupt your life! I'm 28 yrs old and I have been going through this since I was in elementary school.
My focus, right now at least :), is that I have lymphoma because i have been having night sweats for a few years now, I've been checked out by my doctor a few times and everything seems to be ok. I always just feel like they are missing something. I understand the thought of everyone will die at some point, but I can't seem to stop from focusing on it daily. It really is a problem. I try not to talk about it too much around my hubby. I don't want to make him crazy too.

Carisa

[ScaredHetero]

I am in the same boat and it sucks. I totally shut down and surf the internet and see doctors for the most ridiculous stuff that I am at a super low risk for. My main focus is STD's (mainly HIV) and I really struggle with it. I have been convinced of my infection, losing my grasp on everything, only to find out, through medical testing that I am fine. My problem is, once I find out I am ok, I go back and put myself in the same predicament. I've lost friends, girlfriends, and relationships have suffered, but I continually freak out over very low risk events. Why do I think I am a doctor, why do I even have a laptop? Other than this site, most just scare the ever loving s**t out of me. Why do I put myself through this, hopefully I will end up ok, but the damage I do in the meantime is almost too much.

[396SS]

Being serious here but I just wanted to add that Zoloft helped me and my husband (he was OCD about cleaning and other things).  I think it's similar to OCD because we obsess over things:)

[carisa]

Yes, I am on Celexa and it has helped with everything but the health anxiety. I was depressed when I was younger and I have been on it for a long, long time. I have not felt depressed for about nine years, I am now 28, so I have been pretty good for most of my adult life. It's just this darn health anxiety!

I know all too well about the laptop google searches for diseases. OH MY!! People like us should never own a computer. My husband is always telling me to get off the computer! Poor guy, he loves me though. We laugh about it a lot because I will always diagnose myself online. It's very disturbing. I really do try not to talk about it to him because I don't want to drive him crazy, so far I've done pretty well.

[fearfactor]

Yes!  I have had health anxiety ever since I was a little kid.  I started out thinking I had cancer, then brain tumors, now it's been heart arrhythmia for a long time because I have heart palpitations.  It is a struggle, and I've been thru a cognitive behavioral therapy focused on health anxiety which really helped.  I refuse to take SSRIs (or any other psychiatric drugs for that matter) because - guess what?! - I am afraid they will give me a HEART ARRHYTHMIA!  So, I'm sort of stuck with being too scared to take meds that might help me!

[azqtpies]

Wow how I can relate myself.... I have suffered from panic anxiety for 22 yrs... I had my panic attacks under control for many years. 5 yrs ago I started getting heart palpitations and still have them. They scare the h** out of me I tell the docs and they just say if I am not passing out ,i'm fine. They never seems to listen. 2 yrs ago I found a lump in my throat turned out I had 2 thryoid nodules one on each side rather  large.. scared to death I faced  them.... after 2 yrs one turned suscpisious.. I convinced myself I had cancer. I had surgery in Jan and had to have half my thryoid removed and it was benign.. but it seems like since 1 month b4 my surgery I have been consumed with the fear of having cancer , luekemia or something fatal.. my glands are swelling up and down. I finally went to the doc this past monday and he told me all my symptoms  where stress related and in my head...l I had him run my blood work, so I am awaiting  the results.. waiting makes me worried sick!. I think I need to me on meds but cant seem to find a good doc... I just want to be happy with being alive and stop these complusive thoughts of being sick and dying!. Why do these thoughts happen..?

[carisa]

I totally relate to that! I have had all sorts of symptoms, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I am now medicated and doing ok in that department. I have been having a racing heart now for about a month or two now. It scares the **** out of me. I have been wearing a heart monitor for three weeks now, I go in to see the cardiologist tomorrow to discuss the results. He did call me once to say that I do have tachycardia which is a fancy word for racing heart. I think it could definitely be anxiety or stress. I just went through my very first in-vitro fertilization and that was very stressful on me. Lately I'm convinced I have lymphoma! When will this ever end. If my ivf works and I do get pregnant I don't know how I'll cope with a pregnancy. Every little thing I will worry about!!


Carisa

[azqtpies]

I hope all goes good with your invitro... I too want another baby but will need a tubal reversal , I am so hoping  that if all that goes well, that this feelings will subside, because of being so involved with the excitement of the baby....
Hopefully it will work that way for you! I did get me results on my labs back yesterday wow!@ that was a heart stopper when they call. Mostly all is good , my thyroid is under active which will cause my mood swings and some of my symptoms.. but yet they arent willing to do anything about it!
My feelings of despair and having lymphoma havent gone away as I hoped! though they did my CBC and all was great!. I would love to keep in touch, again good luck on your IVF baby dust to you!

Kelly

[carisa]

Yes, it is a heart stopper when the doctor calls with the results of any test. I always assume the worst. It really drives my husband crazy. I had my cardiologist appt today and he diagnosed me with tachycardia and said that I should have beta blockers to slow down my heart, but since I may get pregant he does not want to put me on any at this time. He said not to worry, it's not dangerous, but me being the person I am, of course I'm worried! My heart races! Oh, and yes, if I do get pregant I am hoping that the excitement of that will overshadow any thoughts I may have of having lymphoma. I find out on Tuesday if my ivf worked, and of course I'm already assuming that it didn't take. :) Tuesday could not come fast enough.

Good luck with figuring out your thyroid. What did your TSH numbers come in at. Mine was almost at 7 when I got put on medication for it. Now it is around 2.

Carisa

[AUGmoon7]

I just want to tell you that I have been a hypochondriac since I was 12 and I am now in my 40s.  I have been through every clinical test available. I have “had” everything from MS to ALS, Guillaume Beret to Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Life was so very dreary and dark. I spent so much money on doctors! In about 1987 I read about Prozac. I asked my neurologist to prescribe it to me. She asked how to spell it because she had not yet written an Rx for this new drug. MY GOD! I had suffered YEARS and now I was CURED by a small green and ivory pill. PLEASE do not fear SSRIs. Your OCD is caused, most probably because of the level of serotonin reuptake. You could be cured. Now there are many if Prozac is not for you.

[carisa]

Hi, that's great that prozac worked miracles for you!! I'm jealous :) I am now 28 and have been a hypochondriac now for most my life. I am on celexa, but the one thing it has done nothing for is my hypochondria. Is that a form of OCD? Is that what you said?

[azqtpies]

My TSH was 4.75 which was much higher than it had ever been 1 1/2 months ago it was 2.2 so not sure why it changed. My system is so hyper sensitive.. it reacts to everything!  I too have tachracardia I have been on a beta blocker for almost 5 years it has helped my panic attacks.. I still get racey allot but it is not as bad as it had been prior to lopressor. Mostly suffer from the heart palpitations which I think is worst... i absolutely hate it when my heart flipflops.

My docs did not say anything about having to go off the beta blocker if I were  to become pregnant!, well hang in there I hope you IVF took  =)  So why do you think you have lymphoma?  my glands in my armpits keep swelling I think? when I am stressed it seems as when I feel them and they hurt.. but my labs all came back good. I try to keep telling myself I am fine but it just does not seem to sink in, I get bad sinus headaches, follwed by nausea, then it all dissapears as quickly as it comes on .I dont know if this is all related to my thyroid and that is why this seems so much more intense, or I need daily meds for these thoughts. Do you take any meds for the thoughts?  

Kelly

[Ree28]

I have been having health anxiety and panic attacks for about a yr now I started with stomach problems that I thought was  gallbladder attacks tests proved that I was fine with that.  Then the panic attacks and anxiety all the time, I couldn't breath I thought I was having a heart attack. I would be up till 4am checking my bp and heart rate, then I would calm down and be able to sleep. Now I belive a brain tumor and I give headaches and nausea, but if I'm busy and don't think about it at all my symptoms go away! I think this is crazy does anyone else belive that we can make ourselves feel just by thinking we have all this?

[Amri10]

hey Ree, I had the same symptoms of breathing as well related to anxiety and I used to think about it all day, and im just 17!!..The doc told me to just be and stop thinking and get occupied, 1 week later I just felt nothing, but if I think about it it slightly comes but it has just dissapeared and im so happy!! All you got to do is just be and stop worrying..Stop all the thinking and do something you like in order to forget all this, theres just no point thinking, you make a fool out of yourself coz the doc says there is nothing wrong with you.

[Ree28]

Thank u it's good to know I'm not alone makes me feel alot better, sometimes I do stop and symptoms go away for awhile and then around that time of the month and my hormones go wacked and I start it all over again. It's very frustrating to me, I just want to be happy. But I am so glad u wrote and it makes me feel better.