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View Full Version : This is long, And im sorry... But please read.



bobbyramitinme
09-07-2007, 02:57 PM
Okay im sorry this is long, But i dont know how to make it shorter while making any sense;

Well for the past 4-5 years since i was 15-16 i have thought i have had some kind of throat cancer, It has played on my mind heavily for the past 5 years of my life and so scared to go to a doctor i left the problem and turned to screwing up my life by drinking my misery away (and by drinking i mean extremely heavily, to the point where my alcohol tollerance was so high i would be drinking a litre of whiskey a night) day by day i would tell myself i was going to die. A year and a half ago i began taking drugs aswel, Extacy, Cocaine, Speed etc. I began getting terrible hangovers and comedowns, these "hangover comedowns" where extremely strange something i had never experienced before, usually i would of course sometimes feel hungover, but never this level, I stopped drugs thinking that they were the cause of this problem, But continued to drink very heavily. Day of horrible feeling when hungover next day i would feel fine and get on with my life, 6 months ago or so i came down with a viral infection and was ill for a week, i never felt like i truely recovered from this viral infection and this is when all the problems started, it was like i was hungover everyday.

waking up feeling lethargic, confused and fatigued throughout the entire days i would receive either all or some of the following; emotional swings, muscle and limb aches, shooting pains in my right eye, difficulty breathing, constant palputations, sensitive to bright lights, localised headaches on the right side never usually to any extreme degree of pain but a constant nagging pain, asif *something* is in my head, blurryness, depersonalized, sensory hallucinations, brain fog, memory loss. as these symptoms never got worse, new symptoms began to develop;

I would have terrible nightmares of dying, awake early, drenching night sweats (presumibly from the terrible nightmares), constant terror and thought of death and illness, pins and needles, irritiable (mentally and pysically). Dispite eating my normal ammount i was loosing weight, And still to this point i drop pounds and gain them back in the matter of a few weeks.

During this period (which i call the worst stage) I began to socially exclude myself from friends and avoid certain situations, places, my whole life came crashing down to a point where i just didnt want to go on with any of it. I finally decided that i couldnt go on living by myself and needed to move back in with my step father, I broke down into tears explaining what had being happening to be for the past month and finally got the support i needed to go to a doctor. Doctor simply told me i was still experiencing side effects from the viral infection i had had which but if i was still feeling the same in two weeks time i was to go back and have blood tests performed.

two weeks passed and the problems where still there, So i went and got blood tests done, Everything came back into a normal range and the doctor had no cause for concern. I still had not informed the doctor about my throat problem, So eventually i went to the doctor and explained this problem and he said that there was no cause for concern, after a medical examination. Although some of the problems i have overcome, i can go out with my friends again, I dont have nightmares, But i still have blurryness and weak legs and things like that which come and go. I am constantly visiting doctors which all tell me the same thing, Anxiety, and will not send me for further testing.

In all fairness i am not a doctor, And the only medical knowledge i have is from the months of searching on the internet going from one disease to another. Yes, I am and always have being a anxious/paranoid person and yes it has caused me problems in the past. But in very small doses, Never daily mental and physical on-going symptoms. I still strongly belive there is something medically wrong with me, And i am so annoyed that the doctors will not send me for further testing. All i require, And i know this. Is a scan of my throat/brain/chest. And i strongly belive if nothing showed up on these tests i could get on with my life. The problem with my throat has being eating away at me for years and some kind of 99% assurance from an MRI or something would settle my mind, The only problem is i live in the UK, And it feels like the doctors wont send me for this kind of testing unless i crawl into the sugery struggling to catch my breath. These too me, are REAL problems. and i am outraged that without any garentuee doctors can simply pass it off as anxiety without any in depth look.

Is there any advice you can give me atall, I.e. How can i go about getting a doctor to send me for further testing, Do i have any kind of rights where i can request the hospitle to give me these tests, Or is the only way to get around this paying allot of money for private healthcare? Has anyone had these problems?

Absolutley ANY information would be greatly appreciated.

saintric
09-07-2007, 08:55 PM
you should read my post ''making myself a case'' I think your in the same boat as me!! its messed up aint it? well I have been going to the doctors loads i actually think the doctors in my local surgery hate me because I go so much.

The only suggestion I can give you is to do what i have just done, when you see you doctor ask to be referred to a specialist at the hospital (i dont know maybe you would want ENT ear nose and throat) dont act aggressive if he refuse's just explain you trust his judgment but for your own benefit and peace of mind you would like to be examined properly and say to him/her that if all goes well at the hospital you will accept that you have anxiety problems and promise to take his advice on the next course of action.I have just done the same as i suffer from (among alot of other symptoms) pain and sharp feeling in center of my chest,lump feeling in my throat thats constantly there,sharp neck pains that make me feel sick and im convincing myself I am having a blood clot or chest anuerysm.good luck hope u can get the help you need and post back updates

CallMeCrazy
09-08-2007, 12:35 AM
You don't need any type of funky scan. Just go to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor (if they are called that in the UK) and get them to stick a scope down your throat. Actually it goes up through your nose and down your throat but it's totally painless and only lasts a little while. I've had it done and it eased my mind about my weird throat feelings as they found nothing wrong.

IWasAnxious
09-09-2007, 05:18 AM
Bobby - your symptoms are terrifying but what you have to know is that even though they seems utterly extreme they are very normal anxiety symptoms.

The fact you had a virus it also very typical. Many people get their first bout after a physical or organic trauma - the wooziness after illness can trigger anxiety as wooziness can be very distressing.

People first coming into their first anxious period simply cannot believe the massive range of physical symptoms possible. Anxiety is 'all in the mind', right?

No, it's not. However, the physical symptoms it causes does not mean you have a killer disease. Do all the tests you need but then try to work on the assumption you have anxiety.

bobbyramitinme
09-09-2007, 02:55 PM
I am aware of the mental and physical symptoms that anxiety can cause. And i am fully able to accept that i may have a anxiety problem, But i feel its unfair that doctors in the UK, due to the NHS being so cheap. They simply pass these problems off as anxiety issues without even ordering any further testing. Infact i find this somewhat of an outrage, I am not medically trained but upon ALLOT of research the kind of symptoms i am having ALSO relate to serious medical conditions!

All i want is the inner-knowledge that i am okay (if thats the case) and the only way i will feel any better is if i get some kind of testing done, But everytime i visit the doctors i seem like i'm being ridiculed and rushed out of the office...

Has anyone else had similar problems in the UK? To be fair the ammount of times i have visited the doctor;

A) probably could of paid for further testing to be done.
B) would think they would just send me for one anyway because they know im just going to keep coming back until they do something about it...

IWasAnxious
09-09-2007, 03:43 PM
Are the doctors actually doing anything for your anxiety? Have you been referred to a psychiatrist? Been offered therapy sessions?

When I was a teenager I had all these things laid on within a week or two. My GP was a rather odd aloof fellow but he did his job for me.

The psychiatrist could talk through your fears about physical illnesses and as a doctor could set them up tests for you.

I know that the NHS, particularly in the heaving city areas, is now under massive strain but you should still have help. After all, anxiety can cripple people completely.