What /haven't/ you had?

[mc2000]

Sometimes when I relapse into health anxiety it comforts me to think of all the things I thought I had but now know I couldn't possibly have had. This condition can feel quite isolating and every relapse "it's real this time!", so I thought it might be nice if we could share our stories of things that have not come to pass.

Here is a small selection of mine:

- I thought I had bowel cancer about 6 years ago, pretty much 1-in-a-million. If this had been the case I would have become extremely ill or died by now.

- I thought I had a pneumothorax due to some chest pain and shortness of breath. X-ray was clear and symptoms disappeared.

- I thought my first racing heart beat was acute myocarditis. If it had been I would have spent a while in intensive care, but none of those symptoms developed.

[Amy2Crazy]

When my HA started four years ago, I thought I was having a heartt attack. I read something someone said that was basically "if it is, then I am having the world's longest heart attack" :)

[Rachel1979]

I had blood in my stool once and convinced myself I was internally bleeding and had minutes to live. Half an hour later I'd moved on from internal bleeding to colon cancer. Turned out to be nothing!

I used to get a pinching pain in my head (apparently a common anxiety symptom) and was certain I had a brain tumour. When my GP kept turning me away saying it was just a muscle spasm, I became more & more obsessed that she was mis-diagnosing me. In the end I went for a CT scan which showed up all clear. Naturally the pain went away after that!

If I have a bruise or graze on my body that I can't remember how I did it, I'll panic that I've been bitten by a deadly spider and am about to go into cardiac arrest. Most nights I go to bed dressed in something that I'd be willing to go to hospital in because I'm certain every night something bad is going to happen and I'll need emergency help.

Gosh there is so much more in my memory bank. The silly thing is, as a new "symptom" presents itself, I go through the whole checking process again and obsess on it like I've never been anxious about health before. It's such a strange ailment and never seems to get any easier. Makes me sad actually. At the moment, on an almost daily basis I've been having a racing heart with the occasional ectopic beat thrown in just to make me all the more uncomfortable! I'm in my early 30's now and looking back on the last 10 years all that I see is threads of anxiety through what should be some of the best years of my life. I'm loving this site though. So many fantastic & helpful things to read about. It's comforting knowing I'm not alone in this.

[emmasaurus]

Most nights I go to bed dressed in something that I'd be willing to go to hospital in because I'm certain every night something bad is going to happen and I'll need emergency help.

I do this, too! How silly we are...

I've worried about aneurysms, clots, MS - I seemed to be worrying my way through the medical dictionary at one point.

[Melon1]

Morning All

Over the last 3 years, I have thought I had Ovarian cancer due to stomach pains. Scans showed nothing and symptoms disappeared overnight. I had two OC worries and both times I was fine.

I had a peristent cough so was convinced I had Lung cancer. Had a chest xray and all was fine. Again symptoms disappeared quickly.

My latest is lung and throat again. It's funny, (well not really) but any symptom I have, be it an itchy area on my back (must be skin cancer!), irregular period (must be cervical C), blood in my stool (must be Bowel C)... it just goes on and on.

The brain is a poweful thing. I feel sad about it too and so far my 30's seem to have consisted of worry. Hitting 40 in a couple of years and hope that my outlook changes...
X

[Jamesk]

Basically all of the cancers (throat/mouth/skin are perennial favourites), heart attacks, strokes and not forgetting HIV.

Today I have really weird giddy/head sensations and so am convincing myself I have vCJD :weep:

[pearl79]

welll where to start!!!!

HA first started 5 yeaars ago when i miscarried and hemorraged and lost 4 pints of blood.. from then on ive been a huge worrier, I thin my first major worry was a brain tumor, my doctor knew i didnt have one but i kept worring so got sent for a ct sscan.. all clear.. worries gone.... Until.... i got pregnant with my third child and my waters broke 3 weeks early and my son was in neo.. shocking my head was going bonkers, i had high blood pressure and i just had that horrible internal nevousness all the time. within this time which is about 3 years i must of visited the doctor 3 times a week, never a positive test, bloods , swabs, xrays.... but it was always tests asked for by me.. the doctor never thought i needed them. i suffered an episode of vertigo, thought i was having a stroke, i thought ive had all femle cancers, had scans, ultrsounds, thought i had spine cancer, mouth cancer,skin cancer. Then 2 years ago my best friend/nextdoor neighbour called me over to her house one morning cuz her baby wasnt responding, unfortuanately with all the attempts from me and her to save him , he died aged eight weeks, i will never forget holding him in my hands. So that made my HA sky rocket and my then son aged 6 months, was watched like a hawk, i could never settle. last year my he fell and broke is leg when he was 18month old, infortuantely diagnosed with the tumor condition of neurofibromatosis 1, now at this point i thought i was going to go mad...... it was then that my doctor decided to step in... since then i have thought ive had all cancers , kidney failiure, heart issues, muscle rotting, oh you name it if had it, but all test ive had in all this time are normal. in two months , ive had full bloods , renal ct scan, ultrasound all fine.. bur no one is convincing me i dont have a urinary cancer of some sort.. ... i seriously hate HA xx

[swgrl09]

For me it's more like what haven't I thought I had? That list is probably shorter.

Lymphoma a million times ... so far I'm always wrong about that one.
Oral Cancer 2x - first time ended up being a tonsil that I mistook for a tumor, second time ended up being a mucus cyst.
Ovarian Cancer - Pulled muscle
Some rare lung disease - don't even remember the name - but really just allergies
Sinus tumors - Allergies
Skin cancer - nothing, doctor couldn't even see what I was talking about
Blood clots - spider veins and a pulled muscle
Head and neck cancer - sebaceous cyst

There are more, just can't think of them all.

[katie23]

I can't think what I haven't had!!!
I've had a brain tumour for ten years! And I also have deep rooted psychiatric problems when it's just health anxitey! Asking the Dr if I have post natal physcosis is not my finest moment! x

[kristy5095]

This is such a good thread :)
In the past 10 yrs my most memorable death sentences have been :-
1. Brian Tumour - Tension
2. Inner Ear Tumour - had vertigo on/off for many years, BPV diagnoses !!
3. Sinus Cancer - Still dont know what is but not cancer:unsure:
4. Pituary Tumor - Tension/Sinuses
5. Skin Cancer - Mole removed as GP thought looked suspicious...it was a mole, but shows they do a good job and dont take risks !
6. Ovarian Cancer - 2 x Scans (negative)
7. Facial Cancer - God knows !!! but thing my nose is moving and changing shape !
8. Cancer of various parts of my digestive system
9. Menieres Disease
10. Peri- Menopause
11. Damage to neck causing diziness (even bought a cervical collar once) - Tension !
12. Lupus
13. Lung Cancer
14. Some form of Heart Disease(life threatening if not treated) causing palps.

Loads more but when I look at the list if I've recovered from this lot I am the luckiest person alive !!!:roflmao:

[livethelife]

I have kept a journal of all of my things that I thought I had since 1996. This is of great comfort to me when I start getting symptoms again because when I look back it is usually symptoms that I have had before.

Right now I am worried about having a brain tumour. Today I went back through my journal and found 5 other times since 1996 when I was convinced I had a brain tumour. I journaled about having a headache for a few weeks, having sharp pain in my head, it is worse when I lie down etc. These are all symptoms I am having now so it helps to know that I have had them before and I was fine. Nevertheless I am going to go to the doctor.

Does anyone else keep this kind of journal?

[Beyonderz]

I never thought of keeping a journal but I think it's a great idea.

My HA (or that type of concern feelings, I can say) started when I was extremely little. Some friends of my mom gathered in our house and they were talking about pregnancy. Then it was explained to me and I had anxiety symptoms like cold sweats, chills and fast heartbeat, thinking it's going to happen every female even though they don't want to have baby.
I know it sounds so funny :) My mom thought so and they all laughed, without noticing that it was actually a very early sign of HA...

I've had HA worries from time to time all my life, in some periods of my life HA is on the peak.
I've had worries of Meningitis, Breast Cancer (well I had a reason for it though, I had lumps in my right breast 3 times), Heart attack, brain tumor, blood clot, lung cancer, HIV, aneurysm, and this, and that...

Still trying to heal it. Sooner or later, I will succeed. You all too.

[Katie*]

LOL, let's see.



1. deathly liver failure
2. fatty liver
3. cancer, stomach
4. cancer, ovarian
5. cancer, cervix (I did have abnormal cells)
6. cancer, brain
7. MS / ALS
8. cancer, leukemia
9. cancer, breast
10. some heart-disease
11. fibromyalgia
12. minor stroke