Please help I cant take much more this is ruining everything

[kirstynic]

Hi

I suffer really bad from health anxietys I have convinced myself I have ovary cancer, breast cancer, brain tumour and now mouth/oral/jaw cancer.

Most recently I had to stay in hospital due to headaches and twitches that the doctor was worried about, they did an MRI last week and all was clear. However I am still gettin jaw ache and head ache. I went to the dentist today who did an xray, he is also referring me to the hospital for a OPG scan which is a more detailed scan of the jaw and teeth as he thinks I may have tmj.

Tho after googling symptoms and why opg scans are done and what they diagnose I am convinced I have oral or jaw cancer.

My husband is going crazy at me saying last week it was a brain tumour and now this I am driving him and myself mad. He tries to tell me that the MRI i had done would have picked up on any cancer in my head area but I know it wouldnt have.

I havent got my scan till the 5th october and go on my honeymoon next week how can i control my out of contro; anxietys?????????????

[katiep]

Hi Sorry that you are feeling as bad, anxiety does have a habit of doing that, and although we feel every single symptom our partners and family can do the one thing we cant and thats think logically. we think the worst about any pain and symptom we have when mostly its nothing at all... your husband is right about the mri scan, if the doctors found anything you would know about it by now.
please try to believe that the mri scan is ok or u would know every time you think something bad and that way when you keep doing that the anxiety will almost definately move on to some other symptom, remember anxiety is a bully... go and enjoy your honeymoon and you never know it could be just the thing to help you relax and feel able to tackle your anxiety when you get back
take care xx

[TomTom86]

Hi Kirstnic,

I know this sounds extremely difficult and I know it is as I was feeling the same after various hospital visits and traumatic experiences, but try not to feed into the anxiety! I feel exactly the same about an x-ray I had recently relating to chest pains etc. Because I have already been diagnosed with ectopic beats I was convinced that I was going to die of a heart attack or it was just going to stop one day and I thought all the pains were the signs of all my fears coming true. That was only a week ago! Now I am back to work and feeling much better! I was suffering so badly for 4 weeks but after taking control of my anxiety (a bit, not completely as I am now worrying about other symptoms...which is just down to my current mind frame) I am feeling much better. The chest pains have died down considerably and I am no longer in agony all the time. My breathlessness has eased when I go for walks now and I am actually sleeping! Some nights better than others but that's how it's going to be for a while until I can better manage my anxiety. I had really bad jaw pressures, head pressures and neck pressure up until last friday when I started working on my anxiety and accepting that I am suffering quite badly with it. The doctors are very good and wouldn't say your scans were all clear if they weren't absolutely sure. I am still trying to accept this fact as well but I understand that it is very difficult. Just try your best to distract yourself. I find coming on here is a big relief for me as I now see how anxiety can manifest itself in so many different ways. I know you are probably fed up with people saying you are anxious, as am I! But, anxiety is most likely aggrevating all of your symptoms like it did to me...and still is doing! Have you tried calling anxiety uk? They may be able to help, I am going to call them tonight as I really would like to attend a group to help me with coping with it all.

Enjoy your honeymoon and try to distract yourself as best as possible! And a big tip to help battle anxiety...don't use google!!! I have banned myself from it as all my really bad days are due to a morning of self-diagnosis! Trust the doctors, if you are unsure about anything though, don't be afraid to go and ask them. That's what they're there for and they will help to reassure you. Write everything down and all your concerns so that you remember everything when you go in so that they can tackle all of your issues. I will be doing the same this friday. I have the day off anyway (as it is my birthday) and the doc said to come back if I had any concerns. I saw her last thursday and if I last until friday it'll be the longest I've been without seeing her in 4 weeks! It will be a big achievement for me. Little accomplishments like that might help you too.

I wish you all the best with your anxiety and I'm confident your tests will be fine :)

[kirstynic]

Thank you for your replies I appreciate you taking the time to read my post.

I undersatnd the MRI cleared me of my brain tumour worry but it would not have picked up any tumours around my jaw/ mouth or anywhere would it??????

What is anxiety UK i am at my witts end and really need help for this without taking pills or anything.

[Anxious_gal]

Everything causes cancer and every symptom is cancer.

You really need some help therapy wise for your anxiety.
It is a thought pattern which can be unlearned with the right therapist.

I personally never had the cancer fear but I do get health anxiety and panic about symptoms getting worse.

Logically if your only symptoms are headaches and facial twiches it could indeed be TMJ.
Do you know if you grind your teeth at night?
Does your jaw feel stiff or your bite feel off?
Do you get tense head and neck muscles?
Do you get pain around your temples?
Does your jaw click or pop?

I have TMJ, I get facial twitches when the muscles in my jaw area get too tight, I also get numb eyes and eye twitches.

[kirstynic]

I am fed up of feeling like this, I have completed a course of counselling relating to ocd and depression that the doctor reffered me to a councellor for, now I feel alone in this, my husband tries to help but is getting fed up of my constant dear and obsession.

I dont know why I google everytime it makes it so much worse its like an addiction.

[kirstynic]

Its just being sent for this OPG scan has made me panic at what they may find and what they are looking for! I have to wait nearly a month for it and just want to get on with things till then but this anxiety and fear is stopping me doing anything

[white2001]

I am sorry to hear you are feeling like this. I do empathise even if my issues are different, anxiety is the core course to most of our health issues. Anxiety eats at you giving you symptoms or making current symptoms worse.

It is a fact that if you concentrate hard enough on a certain area it will feel worse. I have been convinced I have the most awful things over the years and gone for tests, etc. If you have a test coming up for something worrying you then at least you are being checked. I'm pretty sure everything will be fine. In the meantime the key is to try learning to relax. It is amazing how different you can feel if you just stop caring about the issues in hand.

An amazingly good quote I once heard that I try to repeat to myself is 'mind over matter - if I don't mind, it doesn't matter' This is so true! I hope you can do this at least for your honeymoon and concentrate on happier things.

Oh and never google symptoms no matter how tempting! It NEVER says anything positive EVER!


Karenx