my anxiety keeps jumping from one ailment to another

[wth67]

my anxiety keeps jumping from one ailment to another.

i have just turned 42 and i seem to be going through the symptoms of every terminal ailment. it started 2 years ago when i went for an ultrasound on a swollen node, the reason it was swollen is cause my ear was infected.

Anyway the whole experiance was very scary.

My anxiety jumping from one thing to another, so much so it manages to create pain.

I had an upset stomach, so i thought i had stomach cancer, then guess what...pains in my stomach....

I had dizzy feelings, so i thought i had brain tumours....guess what the feelings became more noticable...

I had mussle spasm below my chest(left side)....i thought i was having heart issues.....guess what, my focus was only on my heart and the feelings of pinching/spasms etc became more and more....

i could go on and on....when i get over one, i have a few quiet days and then on to the next ????

i have been taking Effexor 75mg for 4 months, not sure if it helps, so my dr. put me on to Cipralex, been on it for 2 weeks.....

lets hope for a bit of peace.

Oh, yeah another thing, we are expecting our first child anyday now.

Any thoughts, any similar stories ?

[Erin685]

Hi wth67,
I'm new to this forum. I'm only 24 but i've been going through what you are for 2 years now. It's overwhelming and devistating and i'm so sorry that you are going through it.

It started when I felt like I had a urinary tract infection, but no bacteria was ever present. I had the pain and everything. I was put on different antibiotics, I spent way too much money on a specialist, then after months of not getting a diagnosis and feeling extremely emotional I went to the ER. I was hoping with one day, I would come out with a clear diagnosis and my worries would be over. This was the beginning of the nightmare. I put myself through getting a CAT Scan and nothing turned up. Many months later I diagnosed myself as having cystitis, because it runs in my family. Since altering my diet I don't feel it anymore.

A month later I developed really bad shortness of breath. I was convinced I was having a heart attack. Back to the ER and ANOTHER CAT SCAN. (For which i'm horrified i'll be getting cancer from these scans) Showed nothing... I realized two days later that I had just started a new birth control but I NEVER put two and two together until it was too late.

Right after Natasha Richardson died I was at Six Flags and my head ended up getting rattled between the cushions of one of the roller coasters and I was convinced I had sustained brain bleeding. I then developed insomnia. I thought it was from the "head injury". I was craving an MRI of my head to show what had happened.... No one gave it to me. I ended up sleeping again after a few weeks and excepting that I didn't get a brain injury.

After noticing bruises taking a long time to heal and that I felt tired a lot, I thought I had leukemia.

And that brings me to the worst of them all.... What's happening now.
About 6 weeks ago I out of nowhere developed shortness of breath and a rapid pulse rate. I was at home visiting my parents with my new husband. These symptoms i'm feeling are VERY Real and this is what scares the crap out of me. How can this be in my head? I get winded walking stairs in my house, talking, I feel as if I can't fully breathe.

I've had an echocardiogram, holtor monitor, ekg, blood oxygen test.. And everything is normal.

Because of all of this, i've become an increasing wreck the past 6 weeks between originally thinking I had a heart attack to then thinking I had an embolism. I cry most every day and I don't understand what's happening to me. It all feels so real.

Any way, I just wanted to share my nightmare.. Anxiety runs in my family, but I still don't know how to fully admit that this is what's wrong with me... It's all so.. real feeling.

[holly1986]

all i can say is if you read the forum, you will find that there are hundreds of members who can identify with every symptom you have just described. You would be the only person in the world to defy every single medical examination if there was anything more than anxiety wrong with you. you are experiencing these symptoms because your anxiety feeds off of negative energy you become tense, and tension can gather in your chest, making you out of breath. sometimes you will find when you are relatively calm, that although your symptoms are still very much there, you will find you experience indigestion - which is a sign of relieving tension.

i can explain the medical ailments all day, but the bottom line is that until you accept that this is anxiety and there is nothing physically wrong with you, you will continue to experience these symptoms and many others. i am no-one to preach, and i can assure you i have experienced every single one of your symptoms.

best of luck.

[Gwenhwyfar]

I've spent my entire life thing that something was wrong with me and that I was going to die. You're not a freak in this, trust me. It's just such an intense fear! It seems to me that everyone with anxiety has thought they were dying of various different ailments.

Heck, even when I was a child and had to get my TB shot, I could have swore for a month after that I had Tuberculosis. But being 20 now, I'm going to assume I really did have it. And my childish mind even could succumb to such worry.

Since then I have though I was dying of anything I would ever hear of because I always suspected there was something wrong with me. I thought I was bipolar. I've been afraid that I had cancer or bleeding in my brain or that I was dying of some unknown illness or I was going to be abducted or harmed by someone if I was outside alone by myself. I still feel those things.

Anything different ever causes me to assume the worst.

You're not alone. You just need to take deep breathes, know that what you are feeling will not kill you, and make sure to have a good diet and exercise.

And thank you for sharing because it is helpful to me to be able to say these things to you, since I find it hard to say them to myself. Even saying them to you is a big step for me.

I wish you well,
Gwenhwyfar

[ThePhoenix]

Yup, definately been there!

I jump from one to another all the time, so much it does my head in. I have been through pretty much all the ones you mentioned there at sometime. Just when I feel normal and ok il find something new to worry about, sometimes this goes on for weeks or months until I move on to something else!

[jennycat78]

Sounds just like me

Mine seemed to start when my son was being tested for a rare genetic disorder. It was awful and so scary (my son is adopted and he is my world)and the poor little guy was just one at the time. He had a seen a series of specialists and it turned out to be nothing other that a kypsosis on his L2vertabre (a abnormal bone). He is a perfectly healthy 3.5yr old and has no limitations.

Since this experience though my anxiety has peeked for the last 2years or so. I have had some testing done for high white blood cell count (which hematologist says is fine). I have a few other minor things that need to be looked at but am terrified to do so.

The past couple of years I have thought I had lymphoma,leukemia,skin cancer,breast cancer,ovarian cancer,uterine cancer and there have been more.

I seem to focus on Cancer as I have lost many family members to this awful disgusting disease. The problem is that I am terrified of going to the doctor. I am not afraid of the doctor himself I am afraid of him ordering tests and what those tests will say. I hate the waiting and the whole time I am a wreck.

My rational side says go to the doctor and make sure everything is ok....but it takes so much energy and self talk to get there....canceled appointments, long talks with my psychologist and putting my family through hell with my worry and catastrophic thoughts.

Anyone else fear going to the doctor?


:(

[ThePhoenix]

I know what you mean about being afraid to go to the doctor, just walking into the place is a bit off putting. Most of the time I talk myself out of my fear but in the even something worries me too much I make myself go along because I cant relax. Then if they do order tests I am freaked out until the results come back because I feel like "well they have to test me, therefore they think something could be wrong"

[Ace123]

Man I cant tell you how much I feel this thread is me, and written by me.
I have shortness of breath, I have lung caner right, or my heart is failing. I have sharp pains in my groin, so I must have some sort of cancer there to. I pee more freuently and small ammounts so I must have prostate cancer or something is wrong with my kidneys or bladder. I have a lump in my throat so I must have throat cancer. I have white things on my tonsils so I have cancer there to! I cant swallow either! Its all too much.

[Crush]

Man I cant tell you how much I feel this thread is me, and written by me.
I have shortness of breath, I have lung caner right, or my heart is failing..

It's funny I can look back and laugh at this.

It's too bad there wasn't a user group. The stories are actually quite funny once you are 'cured' or are doing better.

I thought I had digestive issues so get this - I only ate hotdogs and tums. Yes you heard that. For weeks.

Naturally I got constipated so my poo turned black. So naturally I looked this up and sure enough, the worst case scenario - internal bleeding! I got worried so decided I'm going to have a drink and forget about it. I found some wine and drank it. Half a glass later I feel really tipsy. Wow. Really dizzy. Where was this coming from?

I know! I must be bleeding inside my intestins, which is causing the feces to turn black, and furthermore.. get this.. the alchohol from the wine is being directly ingested into my bloodstream from the open wounds in my bleeding intestines! That's why I'm getting so tipsy and dizzy from half a glass.

These stories honestly I can say I find funny looking back on it. I think the more people share their stories, the more it can help other people be put at ease that they aren't the only ones.

[Ace123]

What sucks is I still actually feel like this. Right now I feel like I cant breath. All day long. And sometimes when I go to talk to someone I feel like the breath in my lungs is sucked right out and I have to take a deep breath before I can finish talking. And I feel like I have a lump in my throat and indegestion keeps pushing the lump back up to my throat.

Actually ALL antacids can cause your poo to turn black. Tums will actually make it turn pitch black if you eat enough of them.

[Crush]

What sucks is I still actually feel like this. Right now I feel like I cant breath. All day long. And sometimes when I go to talk to someone I feel like the breath in my lungs is sucked right out and I have to take a deep breath before I can finish talking. And I feel like I have a lump in my throat and indegestion keeps pushing the lump back up to my throat.

Actually ALL antacids can cause your poo to turn black. Tums will actually make it turn pitch black if you eat enough of them.

Oh trust me that's what would happen when I ate the tums. I had them a lot. My waste would also be harder causing bleeding.

So here I was, black hard waste, some bleeding, and then reading about what black waste meant. And to 'see a doctor immediatly' by googling. I got freaked.. still passed it off as nothing because there was lost of symptoms I didn't have. After half a glass of wine I was convinced that my dizziness was from the wine going into my blood stream directly. The next day I woke up and wow. I was so light headed I went to the ER. I thought I was dying.

I hope this helps someone. It's really funny looking back at it.

But I realize that people are not in the frame of mind to find these things funny right now so I should be more sensative.

I remember going to my brother and feeling his chest. I could hear thumping. I was like 'look I can feel your heart thumping too!'

He said: "Yes. Thanks for proving I have a pulse".

We all laughed. He wasn't suffering from anxiety. I was just so out of my mind and paranoid. Then that stuck with me and replayed in my head like 'wow what must people on the outside think of me?'. I really am making myself crazy.

Now I'm sober minded, feel great, going to restaurants, have my zest for life back and am happy to be alive. The old me has come back.

I'm so happy I can look back at this and laugh. :)

[ThePhoenix]

Man I cant tell you how much I feel this thread is me, and written by me.
I have shortness of breath, I have lung caner right, or my heart is failing..

It's funny I can look back and laugh at this.

It's too bad there wasn't a user group. The stories are actually quite funny once you are 'cured' or are doing better.

I thought I had digestive issues so get this - I only ate hotdogs and tums. Yes you heard that. For weeks.

Naturally I got constipated so my poo turned black. So naturally I looked this up and sure enough, the worst case scenario - internal bleeding! I got worried so decided I'm going to have a drink and forget about it. I found some wine and drank it. Half a glass later I feel really tipsy. Wow. Really dizzy. Where was this coming from?

I know! I must be bleeding inside my intestins, which is causing the feces to turn black, and furthermore.. get this.. the alchohol from the wine is being directly ingested into my bloodstream from the open wounds in my bleeding intestines! That's why I'm getting so tipsy and dizzy from half a glass.

These stories honestly I can say I find funny looking back on it. I think the more people share their stories, the more it can help other people be put at ease that they aren't the only ones.

Haha, good story! I am sure plenty can relate!

[jennycat78]

What I fund especially difficult is when there is an actual ailment or something "pops" up unexpectedly in a routine test.

Like a year ago I had a high white blood cell count (which I have had for years) . My new doctor wanted to "be sure" it was nothing so I went to a hematologist who said he was 99% sure I just run a bit high as there are no other abnormalities in my blood work. He even sent tests off to do some DNA testing and all came back clear. Through this whole time "I was dying of leukemia". I get so scared.

I have also had some microscopic blood in my urine so immediately I fear I am dying of kidney cancer or disease. Although I have read that I is pretty common and the majority of the time it is nothing major and some people always have it. However I must be dying of some sort of organ cancer right.

Thinking about what I put myself trough and my family on a daily basis is frighting. I have times where I can be myself but it just takes one little trigger and the cycle begins.

I just want to be able to walk into the doctors office and feel ok, like I use to. I want to not panic and cancel or put off the appointments for months on end.

I have a son who is my life...I love being a mother and was so blessed that we have this amazing child. He is 3 now and I am wanting to adopt another child in the not so distant future . Part of me says just get better and go for it, another says "whats the point you are going to be sick and die, you don't want to leave another child motherless".

I feel so mixed up and frustrated.....I just want to be me again. :cry:

[ThePhoenix]

[quote="jennycat78"]

I have also had some microscopic blood in my urine so immediately I fear I am dying of kidney cancer or disease. Although I have read that I is pretty common and the majority of the time it is nothing major and some people always have it. However I must be dying of some sort of organ cancer right.

Iquote]

Been there. That threw my anxiety outta control for probably a good three months, in fact that probably triggered a whole anxious pattern of thinking for me for a fair while.

[wth67]

have not looked at this site for a few weeks as we have had a little baby girl :D

i go and see from time to time a Korean Dr. who is amazing at getting my body working like it should. I had not been to him for a while and since that time, i got myself into this anxiety situation.

Anway, when i told him what had been going on he was not pleased that i had not come to him....he told me straight away to get of the meds as they were doing me more harm than good.....he is not against meds as they help some people just not me.

he worked on my body to get the blood circulating better...by the way the treatment kills....

he also gave my 100% pure ginsing root powder...smells horrific but does the job...i take it twice a day.....

so all in all i am doing very good


thanks for all the responces.

take care and have peace of mind....thats all we want right ?

WTH

[Jillp]

I am having the same problems. I am crying right now just knowing that others feel the same way. I had a big scare with breast surgery and now I am pushing on my lymph nodes at least 20 times a day. The same lymph node in each armpit is now detectable and I am sure it's lymphoma. My husband wants to kill me because I don't stop, seeing me act like this in front of my kids can't be good, my mother says I need help and I am sure my Drs are tired of me. Anyone want to talk?

[ThePhoenix]

I am having the same problems. I am crying right now just knowing that others feel the same way. I had a big scare with breast surgery and now I am pushing on my lymph nodes at least 20 times a day. The same lymph node in each armpit is now detectable and I am sure it's lymphoma. My husband wants to kill me because I don't stop, seeing me act like this in front of my kids can't be good, my mother says I need help and I am sure my Drs are tired of me. Anyone want to talk?

:) I have done that as well! Are you getting help with it at all? If your doctors have seen you and cleared you of anything then you have nothing to stress about. Aside from that nodes can come up if you constantly press them anyway and if left unattended they will most likely vanish in a couple of weeks. Even if they dont I have heard of a few people with lymph nodes that stay up for years and it is nothing at all.