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View Full Version : Found out I might have a serious disease. Extreme anxiety levels. Please help. :(



Blackwoodforest
05-11-2016, 08:04 PM
What a huge week I've had!

As I've written in previous posts, I've recently been diagnosed with anxiety. As a routine, the doctor also got a full blood exam done for me. I thought everything came back normal, but yesterday the final blood results came. It's an ANA test which is basically a screening for a number of autoimmune diseases including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogrens Syndrome, scleroderma etc. I don't know if this means anything to anyone here, but the ANA was positive 1:320 with a mix of speckled and homogenous cells - from what I've researched, this is a pretty strong indicator that something is going on - most likely lupus.

I found out while at work and had an extreme panic attack at my desk and I ended up having to go home for the day. As soon as I got into the car, I completely lost it and was distraught and hysterically crying.

They're running furhter tests, but I won't get the results for another week. I'm absolutely terrified and I'm not sure how to cope. All of my previous anxieties seem so incredibly trivial compared to now that I'm potentially dealing with a lifelong, debilitating, potentially life-threatening serious disease.

Has anyone else out there had a similar experience when it comes to medical tests? How do you relax? How do you deal with everyday life in between waiting for results?

Please help. I'm absolutely devastated. :(

Kirk
05-11-2016, 09:33 PM
The worst thing to do is to research any illness on the internet as it paints the worst case outcome according to my internal medicine and
GI physician. I have had a few real health issues in my life. At age 21, I had a compression fracture of the 10th thoracic vertebrae and was
hospitalized for 6 days and had to wear a brace for months, at age
46 I had an esophageal ulcer which was very painful and at age 52, a basal cell carcinoma on my nose, which was removed by a Mohs surgeon.
It is never easy waiting for test results. I would try to distract yourself with things you enjoy and hope for the best.