WaitingForATrain
11-26-2015, 02:44 PM
Ugh I am so stressed and freaked out right now. In brief, I have been having strange, seemingly unconnected physical symptoms for about three months now. It all started when I noticed these little bumps in the back of my throat. I immediately headed to the internet to find out what they were and of coursed self diagnosed myself with throat cancer. I am an 18 year old male, who smoked lightly for about 6 months and haven't touched cigarettes (nor do I plan to) since. I noticed the bumps about the end of august. Since then I've been tortured with these ever-changing physical symptoms (more on these in a bit). I've been to the doctor three times, he said my throat looked normal, he recommended an MRI for my head, had an EKG done, full blood panel, and all three tests say I'm fine. I also had an eye test, found out I'm a little farsighted, but everything else is fine (I have reading glasses now, which take away the eye strain, but everything else remains).
Now the thing is, ever since I noticed those bumps, I have been stressing out and spending most of my waking hours thinking about cancer and death. Like, really freaking out. I was certain I was dying. I am reasonably certain at this point, that most, if not all, of these symptoms are caused by this extreme stress and anxiety. But basically, even after pinning this stuff on anxiety, I'm still feeling most of them, and some almost seem to be getting worse. I CANT afford to go back to the doctor, unless it seems to be something actually worth checking out. My family has already spent WAY too much on these tests and visits (we're not a wealthy bunch), and we frankly just can't afford to do much else unless the situation is dire. I'm just wondering if those of you with similar anxieties have the some of the same types of symptoms that occur in the same way, and, more to the point, if you think I should go back for more tests (like a stool culture or urine sample) or if this is most likely just anxiety.
My complete list of symptoms, in the order they appeared:
Tight throat
Post nasal drip (allergies I think)
Severe headaches
Eye strain (solved)
Feeling faint
Nausea
Pain in throat (wakes me up at night) - Not really a "sore throat" like you'd get from strep or tonsillitis, it's deeper down, and more of a throbbing ache.
Bloated, strained feeling in stomach at night (also wakes me up at night, more discomfort than pain)
Neck pain, spreading into throat and back of head, fairly severe
Severe stabbing pain in lower gut, in pelvis region (has gotten a little better over the last few days)
Pain in back of upper ribcage (feels internal, not muscular)
None of these have gone away (except the eye strain), even though I've been intentionally calming myself and trying not to think about it.
So I know there must be about a million posts like this out there, but all I'm asking is whether this sounds familiar to anxiety sufferers or if maybe I should go back one more time to my doc. I haven't seen him since the abdominal pains started, so nothing's been checked out in that region, and we've never discussed anxiety. Another way of phrasing this is how do health anxiety sufferers know when they should go to a doctor, and when it's just an anxiety symptom. Thank you so much in advance for any help I might get, I know there must be 10 billion posts like this, so I apologize, but any advice would be helpful.
Let me also add that my current freak out is an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Probably not relevant but whatever.
Now the thing is, ever since I noticed those bumps, I have been stressing out and spending most of my waking hours thinking about cancer and death. Like, really freaking out. I was certain I was dying. I am reasonably certain at this point, that most, if not all, of these symptoms are caused by this extreme stress and anxiety. But basically, even after pinning this stuff on anxiety, I'm still feeling most of them, and some almost seem to be getting worse. I CANT afford to go back to the doctor, unless it seems to be something actually worth checking out. My family has already spent WAY too much on these tests and visits (we're not a wealthy bunch), and we frankly just can't afford to do much else unless the situation is dire. I'm just wondering if those of you with similar anxieties have the some of the same types of symptoms that occur in the same way, and, more to the point, if you think I should go back for more tests (like a stool culture or urine sample) or if this is most likely just anxiety.
My complete list of symptoms, in the order they appeared:
Tight throat
Post nasal drip (allergies I think)
Severe headaches
Eye strain (solved)
Feeling faint
Nausea
Pain in throat (wakes me up at night) - Not really a "sore throat" like you'd get from strep or tonsillitis, it's deeper down, and more of a throbbing ache.
Bloated, strained feeling in stomach at night (also wakes me up at night, more discomfort than pain)
Neck pain, spreading into throat and back of head, fairly severe
Severe stabbing pain in lower gut, in pelvis region (has gotten a little better over the last few days)
Pain in back of upper ribcage (feels internal, not muscular)
None of these have gone away (except the eye strain), even though I've been intentionally calming myself and trying not to think about it.
So I know there must be about a million posts like this out there, but all I'm asking is whether this sounds familiar to anxiety sufferers or if maybe I should go back one more time to my doc. I haven't seen him since the abdominal pains started, so nothing's been checked out in that region, and we've never discussed anxiety. Another way of phrasing this is how do health anxiety sufferers know when they should go to a doctor, and when it's just an anxiety symptom. Thank you so much in advance for any help I might get, I know there must be 10 billion posts like this, so I apologize, but any advice would be helpful.
Let me also add that my current freak out is an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Probably not relevant but whatever.