Hey all. I thought a good introduction (new user here) would be a quick overview of how my health anxiety started, and where I am now. Perhaps some of you might find it interesting, although I seriously doubt you will relate to it... :P You probably won't. But still, might be helpful.
I'm in late teens. I never had health anxiety in my life, and every doctor I've been to has said that I am healthy, so I never really had any worries whatsoever, but then exactly a year ago, just as I thought I was invulnerable, a health scare happened.
I was chilling out and watching some YouTube videos one evening, and then all of a sudden, like a switch being turned on, my heart rate accelerated really quickly, up to 120 beats per minute - for no reason! I don't drink energy drinks, I don't smoke, I don't take pills, I don't do drugs.
I went to the ER, and after checking me out for 15 minutes and finding nothing wrong, they decided to send me to a hospital for further testing. So I was taken there, and they told me I would need to stay overnight while they do all kind of testing on me.
In the morning I was woken up by a doctor who told me that they found "nothing of concern" and that they have no idea what is going on, but that it will probably return to normal soon enough. So I was sent home.
The next few days, I was very stressed out, because I couldn't have peace of mind at all. The heart rate was fast all of the time, even when I was doing nothing. I couldn't sleep, and when I did fall asleep eventually, I would wake up in a cold sweat and have the heartbeat of a marathon runner.
This didn't last for a few days - even though that in itself is a hell. It lasted for six months. I can honestly say, that it was the worst period of my life... zero doubt about that. During this time I visited more doctors and none of them could explain what was happening, it was hopeless.
I spent most of the days googling for solutions, and then I somehow convinced myself that I have something called "Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia" which is a very rare heart disease, where heart surgery is the only cure and even then many of the people never have a normal life again.
This really pushed me to the bottom, because I really thought that is what I had, I was certain of it. Then after six months of hell, as suddenly as it came, it all ended and returned to normal. I fell asleep, and in the morning when I woke up, the heart rate was normal. I am perfectly fine now, and even though I still have no explanation, I am very happy that it ended. Just writing about this makes me really uncomfortable.
But, as you can imagine, this horrific experience left a scar, and that scar is health anxiety. Ever since this happened, I have never been able to get that feeling that I am "invulnerable" no matter how much I work out and eat healthy, I am always afraid of diseases and in a constant state of anxiety when it comes to health issues.
That's it... I bet no one else has THAT story to tellBut all in all, that is why I registered here, would like to participate once in a while
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