Help, these symptoms are really getting to me

[VegettoVai90]

I've been having so much anxiety lately. I keep thinking I have some form of cancer, usually in the colon or the brain, and I can't seem to convince myself that that's so unlikely. It's the symptoms I've been experiencing that have been getting to me though -

Headaches and earaches (both sides)
Lower abdominal aches
Bowel problems ~
- feeling of incomplete defecation
- sometimes bright red specs on toilet paper (sorry, I know it's gross)
I get lightheaded a lot, but it's much worse when I'm sitting
Muscle twitches
Muscle aches
I'll get moderate night sweats from time to time (usually once a month or so)
Congestion
Inability to concentrate for long

I typically feel much better when I'm being active. i.e. when I'm walking or talking to a friend I generally feel much more normal. It's when I'm not active that I feel the worst.

The thing is, some of these symptoms are not related to anxiety or hypochondria, like bowel problems, and that's what's really scaring me. I haven't lost weight, I have a good appetite (unless my anxiety gets really bad), no fever, no swollen lymph nodes, and my urine and complete blood count came back normal. I keep getting myself worked up about the possibility of cancer though, and I just can't seem to shake that thought. It sucks, I don't enjoy my life as much now. I used to be a much more social person, but ever since my fears began to emerge about a month ago I can't go a day without being terrified and fearing for my life at some point. I need some reassurance. Is this just anxiety?

And what of the bowel thing? The stools are usually normal size, and I only go either once or twice a day. I get good fiber and water intake usually. I'm also less comfortable with the bathrooms in my college than I am with the ones at home, so I tend to go less when I'm at school.

[FunPie]

You might be feeling the aftershocks of the possibility of having a serious disease. It may subside. What you have is IBS, common in people with stress problems. Lets get this stratight, if you have a full blood test, and it shows up normal, you do not have colon cancer or even an inflammatory bowel disease. Why, because Inflammatory BS or cancer usually elevates the white bllood cell count and sed rate, which is tested in the blood test.

Red specs on the toilet paper with a normal blood test is usually a sign of an anal fissure, which can come if you have IBS. Meaning, if you go to the bathroom a lot, it can cut the lining of the anus, but it is always benign.

The rest of your symptoms can be easily explained by stress.

Now for the anxiety. Most people with hypochondriasis don't seek mental health because they feel they have a legitimate physical illness. Their anxiety is fairly justified, since the symptoms they feel are real, but they are the result of anxiety or some benign disorder, like IBS. As a result, they do not trust their doctors. "How can they say I'm fine when I feel this pain" I personally consider hypochondrasis different from other anxiety disorders because their fears are "justified", meaning, they are in touch with reality and anxiety to an actual physical symptom. What isn't "justified" and rational however, is that they still believe they have a problem even when blood tests and multiple doctors say otherwise. That being said, I will tell you, you do not have a physical illness related to the colon. I've been through IBS as well, with blood on the tissue and everything, and it is enough to make anyone become a hypochandriac. Normal blood test= no colon caner, and usually no cancer in general.

[Headcase]

Hi,

I have very very similiar symptoms for years, I have also been to 4 doctors & all said stress and anxiety related IBS.

My symptoms are greatly relieved and sometimes even disapear after excercising, then the anxious thoughts come back and guess what so do the pains. I too have had the occasional blood on the paper after the runs or a lot of pooing, but I also get a stinging butt with it. I have also had a small haemaroid a few months ago when i was constipated during a bad prolonging anxiety period.

The problem is we are on the anxiety merry- go -round. You get anxiety which brings on symptoms which makes your anxiety worse which makes your symptoms worse. you have to get off the merry go round somehow.

I have booked myself in for a colonoscopy, i went to the Gastroentologist (excuse spelling) today who also said I had classic IBS symptoms, he said due to my anxiety that we should do the colonoscopy to once and for all rule anything else out otherwise my mind would be constantly asking has it been checked out properly???

Unfortunatley i dont think i would stop the worrying until i had the proper checks, then I can work on settling down the anxiety.

[northstar]

hi there, just wondering have you looked at your diet as a possible source of the problems? it could be something as simple as a food/caffeine intolerance, low blood sugar problems, eating patterns or not enough of the nutrients your body needs to run properly. if you're having problems with your bowels then in my opinion the logical thing to do would be to look at what you put into it! if you haven't done so already then it'd be a good idea to look into getting an appointment with a nutritionist :)

i often hear that IBS is one of the symptoms of anxiety, but personally i tend to think that the anxiety AND the IBS are actually both symptoms of a problem with diet. it's simply your body's way of telling you it's not happy. my own anxiety problems were solved with diet, so i know from experience that diet & anxiety are closely linked - you are what you eat, as they say :)

[VegettoVai90]

Here was my diet yesterday -

Breakfast -
Lucky Charms w/ skim milk
water
Low fat chocolate milk
Apple, grapes, watermelon pieces

I drank a 20 oz. bottle of water

Lunch -
Burger w/ lettuce, tomaotes, onions, and bacon
Fries
Mountain Dew

Dinner -
Just a salad and water (my anxiety got really bad and hindered my appetite)

I got back to my room and ate half a bag of Ritz crackers with a lemonaide slushie. I had some yoohoo as well

My diet had typically been one that is not low in fat, however it is high in fiber and I have around 3-4 glasses of water a day. I also usually have around 2 cups of coffee that have quite a bit of creamer and sugar (yesterday I tried to do without it, but I ended up being more lightheaded than usual). Do you think this diet could cause my symptoms? How should I change it (Other than obviously reducing the fat intake)?

Oh, and I think you guys should know that, after I got a stomach virus last month, I lost about 5 lbs, so I changed my diet to include a lot more calories to gain that weight back. Other than that, my diet's been the same since I changed it back in October (before that, I would basically eat nothing but really fatty foods, and little fruits or vegetables).

[northstar]

there are several things you need to think about here, but please remember i'm NOT a nutritionist, the best idea is for you to visit a professional who can give you correct guidance and a diet that is personalised for your own needs :) i only know what i've learned from my own recovery from anxiety.

firstly about the stomach virus and loosing weight - my own problems got incredibly worse after i had an ear virus that left me unable to eat (the virus made me constantly dizzy and nautious, i couldn't eat because the motion of chewing made me feel sick). a long time afterwards i realised the reason the anxiety & panic had gotten worse was because i hadn't been eating very much at all, which is just as bad for you as eating the wrong things, it drains your body of essential nutrients and puts it under extreme pressure (which drains even more nutrients lol). so if you also suffered unable to eat with a virus then it is possible that you're just a little malnourished and need to use your diet and maybe vitamin supplements to replace what you've lost and set your body back on track again. the best way to do this is simply to eat an all round healthy diet, and maybe to take a good quality multi vitamin for a while - again, the best person to tell you exactly what you'll need is a nutritionist :)

looking at your diet only from yesterday there are a couple of things you might like to consider that should help with the anxiety. firstly the sugar and caffeine content needs to be greatly reduced - this means no lucky charms, chocolate milk, mountain dew and coffee with sugar in it. this doesn't mean not to ever have them again, but to reduce your intake so that there's not so much sugar going into your system.

sugar and caffeine cause all kinds of problems which include anxiety and panic. the sugar will send your blood sugars into a rollercoaster of highs and lows, when it's low it can result in all kinds of things like anxiety, panic, heart palpitations, mood swings, headaches, shaking, sweats, ringing in the ears, exhaustion etc. the best way to keep your body happy is to eat a diet that will keep your blood sugars stable - this means eating whole foods that will burn up slowly in your body, releasing energy at a steady pace, and eating regularly through out the day like snacking on nuts and seeds in between meals.

the fruit you're eating with breakfast is great, but my own feeling is that the natural sugars of the fruit combined with the sugar from the cereal & chocolate milk will just send your blood sugars into a big peak and then spiralling back down again, that's when you start to feel anxious. the fries you eat with lunch will also have this same effect, they burn up quickly in your body and so are not a good choice if you're aiming to stabilise your blood sugars. there are a million and one other reasons why sugar is not good for you, but i found the blood sugar connection the most important one in my battle with anxiety.

the caffeine is a problem because it's an irritant to anxiety, it's a stimulant - when you're anxious the last thing you need is a stimulant, instead you need to relax and take it easy, but the coffee you're drinking will only put you on edge. i understand it's incredibly hard to overcome a caffeine addiction, especially as the withdrawal symptoms can often make you feel worse for a while, but in the long run it's totally worth it. again a professional can help you with this, giving you a diet that will support you while you come off the caffeine :)

what's great is that you drink plenty of water, this is important :) you may also want to consider introducing more essential fats into your diet like the good kinds of fats and oils you get from nuts, seeds, fish and eggs. these are important for the production of hormones in our body that help us feel good naturally. if you're not geting them from your diet then you can take them in supplement form.

i'm not surprised you found yourself feeling anxious at the end of the day yesterday with all these different things to consider, but the worst thing to do is to not eat very much at all - as i explained earlier this just puts your body under even more pressure, your blood sugars will fall further and it'll just make you feel worse. a better idea is to eat little but often, as much as you can, if you can't manage a whole meal just nibble on some nuts and fruit, maybe have some wholemeal toast with peanut butter on it. i'd also suggest that you start your day with a breakfast that is a little bit better for your blood sugars, you need to remember that after not eating for so long while you were sleeping that naturally your blood sugars are gonna be low so you need to top them up with a good healthy breakfast - i eat a boiled egg with some wholemeal toast every morning and it helps me really good :) i also have a glass of orange juice, although technically this is not really ideal becuase of the natural sugar content, ideally you would dilute the juice, but at this stage i'm feeling fine so i don't have to worry too much about it.

ok i think i've waffled on a bit too much here now lol. but i think i've given you the general idea - eating to keep your blood sugars stable & cutting down on irritants like sugar and caffeine. these are just basics, a nutritionist will give you a much better idea of what suited to you :) but i hope you find this a little helpful at least! you may be interested in a book called 'new optimum nutrition for the mind' by patrick holford - it's a great book, simply written for people like you and me who aren't nutritionists to understand, and he goes into detail about how you can help anxiety, stress and depression with diet. wishing you the best of luck :)

[VegettoVai90]

I see, the thing is though, I've been eating like this for a while but it's only been recently that I've been feeling these effects. I've always consumed a lot of sugar and caffeine (been drinking coffee since I was 15), but it's never phased me until the past few weeks. I normally only eat two meals a day though (we get a "meal plan" here at RIT, and I can only use 12 a week, though I can go home on the weekends, and I can spend some of my school debit on snacks...the snacks aren't healthy though). I keep thinking that a physical illness is causing me to react to my diet this way, but the therapist I spoke with today is convinced that my symptoms are stress related. I got referred to the health center and they're going to prescribe some medication to help me cope with this hypochondria. I get so scared I have a brain tumor though, with all the lightheadeness and tension headaches. Do you think if I get a CT scan or MRI done that I'll feel better? Should I get referred to a neurologist?

[FunPie]

Do you think if I get a CT scan or MRI done that I'll feel better? Should I get referred to a neurologist?

Unfortunately for some of us our body's reaction to caffiene changes as we get older. Caffiene is for many people a primary cause of IBS, so I would suggest getting rid of it if that is what you have.

Raise your soluble fiber intake. Lots of insoluble fiber w/o soluble fiber only exacerbates IBS!

I think you would be wasting your time getting an MRI. The reason is, and the doctors won't tell you this, (usually they are in a rush so they don't tell you the exact reasons why they think you don't have something, which only fuels hypochandria IMO), is because a blood test will measure your sed rate, which is a quick method to tell if you have inflammatioin. Cancer will almost always cause inflammation, which causes your blood to change its form in order to combat this. This will cause the blood to drop faster in liquid, and the rate it drops is the sed rate.

In other words, if your blood test is normal, I can almost guarantee you 99.99% that you do not have cancer, anywhere. You are simply wasting your time and money getting an MRI. I would suggest instead that you invest in a good therapist that uses CBT (most do).

Tension headaches are common in stress.

[northstar]

I see, the thing is though, I've been eating like this for a while but it's only been recently that I've been feeling these effects. I've always consumed a lot of sugar and caffeine (been drinking coffee since I was 15), but it's never phased me until the past few weeks. I normally only eat two meals a day though (we get a "meal plan" here at RIT, and I can only use 12 a week, though I can go home on the weekends, and I can spend some of my school debit on snacks...the snacks aren't healthy though). I keep thinking that a physical illness is causing me to react to my diet this way, but the therapist I spoke with today is convinced that my symptoms are stress related. I got referred to the health center and they're going to prescribe some medication to help me cope with this hypochondria. I get so scared I have a brain tumor though, with all the lightheadeness and tension headaches. Do you think if I get a CT scan or MRI done that I'll feel better? Should I get referred to a neurologist?

it happens all the time that our bodies change this way, once upon a time i could drink all the tea and eat all the chocolate i wanted, but years of incorrect eating & nutrition and too much of the wrong kinds of foods will eventually take its toll, especially if you're stressed from illness and life in general. stress puts your body under extra pressure, one of the best ways to help yourself is through diet. some people get lucky and they never have problems, some people have intolerances from birth, but most people like you and me will eventually just end up unable to eat the same things for the whole of our lives simply because it's not healthy and our bodies just won't tolerate it. it's not uncommon at all! so just because you once could eat like this doesn't mean you will always be able to. if you've been consuming a lot of sugar and caffeine for years the chances are your body is just tired of the rollercoaster blood sugar highs and lows & being constantly under pressure from the caffeine, coupled with your recent stomach virus i really don't think it's unusual that you're feeling bad.

diabetes is a good example of this, it's becoming epidemic because of our bad diets. people continue to consume more sugar than the body can handle and eventually it just can't take it any more. i don't mean to scare you into thinking you have diabetes by the way, i just mean to use it as an example of the body changing it's reaction to a particular diet!

i don't know what you mean by the diet plan or using 12 a day? does this mean what you eat is restricted? does the school you're at offer healthier choices (e.g. something other than lucky charms for breakfast)?

worries about health are incredibly common with anxiety, you're not alone in thinking you have a brain tumour or something worse. if you think it would help then go for the MRI, but believe me if it was any chance it was a tumour your doctors would have sent you for the scan a long time ago and it's likely that you'd have far more extreme symptoms. i think the rational part of you know already knows that it's not anything physical, it's about listening and believing this rational side to yourself - the counselling should help you with this, and also if you work on improving your diet then this will also support you in body and mind and help you feel better.

if you like have a read of this other post i wrote, it's got lots of tips on how i worked through anxiety and you may find it helpful: http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087