Why do I do it?

[Gee_88]

Why do I diagnose myself with every possible disease and ailment there is? I can't believe how badly this effects my life.

Over the last 5-6 months I've been having terrible anxiety about having deadly and disabling diseases.

First, I was on steroids for a problem I have. They have lots of possible side effects that are all horrible and the ones I diagnosed myself with are osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis. The doctor gave me a treatment to help prevent osteoporosis, and one of the possible but rare side effects was jaw bone death.

More recently, I've had strange symptoms that my doctor doesn't really seem concerned about which seem to come on after meals. The one that comes on no matter what is an increased heart rate, sometimes as much as 120 if the "reaction" is severe. I get dizzy and disoriented, feel weak, sweaty and get palpitations. Doc thinks it's a food intolerance which it might very well be, but I diagnose diabetes and start preparing for a diabetic lifestyle (bought a glucose monitor, arranged doctor appointments).

Chest pains come on and I diagnose all possible heart conditions at once. Not that worried about the lungs though (strange?).

Also, a possible side effect of another treatment I've had is blood disorders. I have NO idea what that means (anyone know?), so I diagnose things like leukemia.

So I've got:

All heart conditions (at some point)
Osteoporosis
Jaw bone death (Osteonecrosis of the jaw)
Multiple Sclerosis
Diabetes
Blood diseases
Brain problems from headaches
Pancreatic problems (cancer, pancreatitis which kills within 7 years)

The one that was by far the scariest was diabetes. I had actually convinced myself beyond doubt, that I had it. I was terrified like never before, these words do not do it justice. Even though diabetes is high blood sugar and I was scared of being low, I diagnosed it.

The weird thing is, my anxiety came on around the same time as the above mention food intolerance thing. I really do think that whatever this "intolerance" is, it is causing my anxiety. I know it is because when I don't get any of the symptoms from eating, I get no anxiety. This is almost always in the morning after not eating for the night, I have no symptoms and no anxiety, even though I've woken up with the symptoms at times.

Anybody else ever had this?

[northstar]

hi gee88, glad to have you here :)

your worries about having deadly diseases are very common with anxiety, you might be glad to hear that you are not alone in this! i used to read the little leaflets that come with medications and freak out that i would get all the side effects too! i worried incessantly that i had contracted HIV or had some sort of cancer.

i want to talk to you about your reactions to food, the heart palpitations, dizziness, sweats and panic symptoms. have you ever heard of hypoglycemia?? and before you start to freak out there's no need, it's not a deadly disease and is very very easily treated by taking care of your diet :)

how soon after eating these do you experience symptoms? and do different foods affect you differently?

the symptoms you describe are very similar to what i often experienced and can actually seem very similar to diabetes. they are caused by highs and lows of blood sugar and can cause all kinds of problems like the heart palpitations and sweats. the simplest way to balance this out is by eating a diet that will keep your blood sugars stable for longer. if you have a look at this thread you will find out more information and links to further websites that will explain things more fully: http://www.anxietyforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4087

i also reccommend that you read a book called Optimum Nutrition for your Mental Health by Patrick Holford and he explains it in more detail and gives great advice about diet.

another option might be for you to visit a nutritionist who will help you solve any food intolerances and also talk to you about stable blood sugar.

it's not difficult to do, it just involves eating regularly, never skipping meals (especially breakfast), eating lots of complex carbohydrates (like brown bread/rice or different kinds of beans) and avoiding too much stimulants like sugar, alcohol, sodas or coffee (all these things put your nervous system on edge and don't help at all with anxiety).

i hope this helps a bit :)

[Gee_88]

Hi northstar,

Thank you for replying :)

Hypoglycemia is actully what I was terrified of having. That why I ordered my glucose meter and had a blood test with my GP. It is strange because I know diabetes is high blood sugar, and I thought I was low, but I still diagnosed myself with diabetes... strange what anxiety can do to us!

I have been testing my blood sugar in the morning after fasting (12 hrs), 90 minutes after meals, and at bedtimes. My glucose level is always normal, never high or low.

Another weird thing, when I actually told my GP about all those symptoms and said I think it's low blood sugar, he just wasn't having any of it. Somehow he just knew it wasn't that. He's a great GP.

Anyway, back on track... I experience these symtoms in varying degrees of severity, sometimes as little as 10 minutes after eating, and sometimes upto an hour. Still not figured out how long they last, as I usually have my next meal before they wear off. They're almost always gone when I wake up though.

The symptoms I get are:

Heart rate increase (usually around 100-105, sometimes upto 120)
Palpitations
Dizziness/disorientation
Sweating
Weakness
Trembling
Pain in my chest (not heart related)
Pains in my left arm (not heart related)

The more sever the "reaction" or problem, the more symptoms I get, and the more severe they are.

If I get a reaction, the one symptom that I get no matter what is an increased heart rate. Usually around mid-high 90s.

Following that is usually palpitations, then dizziness, then if it gets even worse, weakness, and then if it gets worse still, sweating and trembling.

I have a funny feeling that these symtoms are also related to an increase in adrenaline. My "weakness" is not a true weakness, the trembling also comes with adrenaline, so does the heart rate and palpitations and so does the sweating! I don't know what the pains are though.

I think whatever is affecting me is causing my body to release adrenaline. The more of it I eat, the more adrenaline, the more severe the symptoms? I don't know :(.

My doctor did say it could be some kind of food intolerance, and by that I thought he meant things like MSG, additives and such. I am still only in the early stages of experimenting with food, but the anxiety makes it hard because I get scared to eat food! lol.

One thing I do know, though, is after I ate 3-4 handfuls of M&Ms the other day, I got "severe" symptoms which incuded a load of panic attacks!

Thanks :)

[CindyE]

I do a lot of the same things you do, and have the symptoms. I actually have had low blood sugar readings, and do have a brother with type 1 diabetes. I changed my way of eating a long time ago, and it does help. Now I wonder if I was having anxiety all along, and it caused the low blood sugar. Good nutrition is helpful in so many ways. I can really tell if I am straying too far from my healthy eating. I think this self-diagnosing is pretty common for us! Also, I was taking a med one time (Celebrex) that made those after-eating symptoms worse. Hang in there, try to relax and tell yourself it is just the stupid anxiety doing this to you! Heck, I try to laugh at myself- it's better than the pity-party I was on last week :)

[MindPieces]

Don't worry, you're not alone. So far I have diagnosed myself with HIV, heart disease, a stroke, a brain tumor, and have pondered things like liver failure, mercury poisoning, etc. I've had a zillion tests, and I appear to be in excellent shape.

I had similarly bad food reactions a few times, but mine started after my anxiety issues, so I think it was more related to that than actual food intolerance. I can't say if yours is anxiety or an actual reaction to food, but I recommend testing out smaller meals and a diet change.

[northstar]

have you ever thought about keeping a food diary gee? if you write down what you eat and when you feel anxious & how strong with the anxiety is then after a couple of weeks you may notice a pattern based around the foods you are eating.

i still think that a trip to a nutritionist would be really wise for you as they will be able to help you pinpoint much quicker what the intolerance is. many people do figure it out by experimenting with leaving certain foods out of their diet for a couple of weeks, but i think if you are having such severe reactions that you would be much better off having a professional help you figure it out and hopefully in a much faster way!

i think you should perhaps watch out for the amount of sugars you are eating (this inclues hidden sugars in foods like bread or cereal bars, natural sugars like certain fruits, vegetables and their juices and obvious sugars like those M&Ms). sugar is a stimulant and can set your nervous system on edge which doesn't help at all with anxiety and perhaps explains why you had a huge panic attack after those M&Ms the other day.

also i really think you should pick up that book i mentioned by holford, educate yourself on diet & mental health if you believe that diet is the cause and learn about how diet affects your body and mind, it will help enormously :)