Just Another Hypochondriac

[Bugga]

Oh man. I have had a long few weeks. I am a pretty even-keeled guy, so I am not used to experiencing high levels of stress/anxiety. The last few weeks have been tough though. I certainly do have reasons to be stressed/anxietal, problems with my father, school, general 20 year old issues. So this could have been boiling up and exploded with a panic over mild health symptoms. I had minor tonsil inflamation and some back tension over my spine. This was all I noticed for the first week, but each day that passed I started to worry more and more. I forget exactly when I first noticed them, but by the first 10 days or so I noticed a few lymph nodes that popped up in my neck. At this point I had already used livehealthonline.com, which was referred by my insurance. The doctor I spoke to said that all my symptoms seemed normal. I asked about the lymph nodes in an email later, and she said those too were probably normal but she obviously couldnt tell from online. She said I certainly could wait until I saw a doctor two weeks later. Through those two weeks I kept worrying and worrying. It seems crazy, but in the moment I was really scared of these sudden problems. After two weeks the feeling in the back of my throat was gone, the back "pain" was mostly unnoticeable. So you'd think at that point I would have come to my senses and gotten over it. After two weeks of worrying, and the few lymph nodes still being swollen, I was still in an anxietal state. At this point every ache, pain, twitch, or itch freaked me out. One night, about 3 weeks into this ordeal, I got in a very anxious state, not a panic attack, but extremely anxious. I got my doctors appointment moved up to the next day. This was last tuesday, and he said he didn't have any worries, but that maybe I had mono or another similar infection. He did blood and urine, and just yesterday he said I was positive for some infection, but that I could wait a week and see how I felt. So obviously the infection I might have isnt serious enough for any concern from him.

I was actually pretty good the day of the appointment and the following couple of days. Thursday night, I had some twitching, and I have had some muscle strain in my neck most of this time. So I went from thinking I had cancer, to being calm for a couple days, and Thursday night I was CERTAIN I had ALS. Google is a horrible place for someone with anxiety of health issues. Last night (friday the night after the ALS freak out) I was told about the infection, and at first it was comforting, but I quickly got anxious again and started to feel weird in the left side of my body. It is hard to discribe the feeling, maybe tingling in my finger tips, weird muscle feelings in my leg, slight ankle swelling. I also felt like my tongue was swollen, but I dont think it actually was. My discomfort felt like it coincided with my anxiety, but this didnt make me feel any better about it. I am 22 years old so having ALS would almost be like winning the lottery in a bad way. So I am pretty certain that what is going on has to do with an infection, and LARGELY due to anxiety.

I looked up a list of anxiety symptoms, and pretty much everything I have felt (with the exception of the lymph nodes) is on there. I am not sure why I came on this forum other than for some reassurance, because it seems so weird that simply worryinng could cause some pretty prevalent physical symptoms.

Thanks.

[dphilippe]

Bugga,

I would like to begin by saying that you are not alone. I know what it is like to get extreme panic, anxiety, and overthinking. It is most certainly a hard time to go through, especially when you are not absolutely sure what to expect.

In times of anxiety and extreme panic, you can practice self-relaxation exercises such as deep breathing, or you can try to clear your mind. Also, getting a good night's sleep is also important to reducing anxiety levels.

What helps me when I am anxious or I need to calm down and relax is a shower. It helps to calm me down and feel better. It is something that maybe you can try and see if it works for you as well!

It is important to remember that whatever happens in life, things are going to work themselves out and everything will be okay in the end. Every day is a new day.

dphilippe

[Mark Melhoff]

Hey Bugga. I know exactly how you feel. I began having anxiety and fear in my 20's after my grandparents suddenly died. It has been 7 or 8 years, and I am still a basket case. I am a national recording artist and a few weeks ago I ended up giving myself some mild form of a concussion by head banging really hard during a tour rehearsal. I spent the next few days freaking out that my brain was bleeding and I would hemorrhage out. Obviously, I didn't and I am still here, but no matter what I did, those thoughts would never go away. Just yesterday, I fell into another panic after my wife and I cleaned out our garage and found some rat droppings and a couple little furry friends. I spent all night on Google convincing myself that I would contract some kind of incurable disease from the rats. I am still freaking out about this as I write, but I am probably fine. My wife looked up the species of rats and she said they were house mice and not deer mice with a white belly. House mice do not carry diseases. Deer mice carry a disease known as HPS, but only 600 people have contracted it in the U.S. since 1993. Even if we came into contact with this species of mice, the odds of getting HPS are astronomical. Yet, here I am still having anxiety issues. Please do not feel alone. There are many of us who have these same issues.