Anyone else seem to have constant pain but too scared to see Dr?

[Darwin73]

I have suffered from HA for many years and "had" the whole spectrum of diseases, but I do seem to suffer a lot of pain and any pain I get, I always attribute to cancer. My current fear is pancreatic cancer as I have an almost constant pain in my left hand side. I am actually phobic of doctors so haven't been (I'm not one of those who finds it easy to the Dr for reassurance, unfortunately). No one can persuade me to go and nothing can appeal to my sense of logic. So, I am left worrying, shaking and anxious. I just want to sleep because the pain and worry goes away then. Does anyone else feel this way?

[carmen2012]

I can fully sympathise I have been suffering with HA for 18 months now & all my pains are real. Before the HA I would get a pain & take a pain killer or if it got really bad see my GP but since the HA even the slightest pain sets off my anxiety & into thinking that I have something very sinister.

It is very exhausting I broke down in tears to my husband yesterday as I feel so tired of it all. At the moment I have an irritaton at the back of my tongue that's been there a about 8 months I have seen 3 GP's my dentist & had a visit to ENT none of which can see anything or have an explanation the irritation come's & goes I also have an impacted wisdom tooth on the lower left but my dentist said it's nothing to do with it. I'm now waiting to see a consultant at the oral hospital & I'm freaking out with waiting the dentist said I may have to wait between 2-4 weeks for an appt my hubby said if he thought it was something bad he would have got me in sooner so I'm trying to keep this in mind to no avail though..

HA is very wearing & no matter how many time's we are reassured the anxiety & doubt is always there. At the moment I keep hearing terrible health issues with people that I know & it doesn't help :-(

I hope that you feel better but please go & see your GP as suffering with pain isn't going to help.

[Darwin73]

Thank you for replying Carmen and well done to you for visiting all those medical people! I'm sure your husband is right - if they thought it was something serious they would have had you in straight away. But you're right, it is horrible to have these unexplained symptoms and it just makes it worse if we can't find a reason for them. I have had HA since i can remember ( I remember reading medical encyclopaedias when I was 6, way before the internet!) and it never gets any better.

[carmen2012]

Have you tried CBT? I had a few with a lovely lady then I found out she wasn't a CBT therapist & when I mentioned it to my GP she told me that they didn't actually have one but felt that the therapist would be good for me.
I found her very good to talk to & we did discuss stratigies on coping with my HA. I am a stay at home mum & we discussed my interests & that maybe going back to college part time would take my mind off the HA & basically keeping myself busy instead of being at home all day while my child is at school.

I just feel like it's never ending at the moment if it's not one symptom it's another I just want to go back to the way I used to feel but it seem's so far off I doubt that this HA will ever go away ..

[Darwin73]

I had about 10 sessions of CBT on the NHS 5 years ago and it did help for a while but now I am finding it harder to rationalise again. I am also a SAH mum, but my youngest is not at school yet, so I spend pretty much all day busy with him, but it still doesn't take my mind off HA. I completely agree that HA is all-consuming and never ending.

[cassy1989]

Hi Darwin. The thing is with health anxiety we become so convinced we have some thing that we literally feel the pain but that said you should always get any pain checked out. I understand you have a phobia of the drs but at some point you will have to go and even if you don't get much reassurance from it, at least those around you will know you are well because I am sure there are lots of people who care about you xx

[Darwin73]

Hi Cassy, thank you. I know logically I should go, but in my mind I have played out the whole scenario where the doctor sends me for tests, they discover something, I go for biopsies and I am sat in the consultant office being told I have cancer and only months to live. I just can't bear it.

[Rikke]

it could be your intestines that cause problems?

Pancreatic cancer is rare, and I remember never having heard young people get it. Most often it is the elderly and alcoholics who get it.

Cancer does not hurt until the very end of diseased progress, and before it starts doing so bad, then there have been many other symptoms, and those you did not mention? ... :hugs:

[Darwin73]

Thanks Rikke. My left sided intestines are always gurgling, so I guess it could be something to do with that, though I can't imagine why it would cause pain for so long. I don't have any other symptoms, though I am not very young (40!!)

[Rikke]

In relation to pancreatic cancer, you're young. :winks:

Tension and stress (anxiety) .. sits in our stomachs and intestines.

Pain is very subjective and the more we focus on them, the more painful is it and the longer the pain will be there.

I've worked on a cancer section, and if you only have pain, you can safely go to your doctor and get reassurance, - all your scary images and thoughts - is not going to happen :hugs:

[Darwin73]

Well, that's very reassuring, thank you:). I have also worked in a cancer section and saw some pretty scary stuff while I was there, which doesn't help!

[Rikke]

honestly, from the bottom of your heart ... did you experience any patients with cancer, the place you fear, which was only 40 years?

Every 3 man get cancer somewhere, most are healed, we saw only the worst cases, or read about them. :)

[Darwin73]

No, I didn't come across any with pancreatic cancer in this age group, but you know I have read about them on the net:doh:

[Chegsy]

I have constant pain/illness. I visited the GP last week after staying away for 5 weeks. She said that anxiety causes measurable illness as the body can't cope not in it's natural state, however these are generally medically difficult to diagnose/treat as they are mild in nature and often virus related. Hope this helps

---------- Post added at 11:52 ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 ----------

Ps I had left sided pain for 7 months and have only reciently got rid of it. I have two children and work 2 days a week with people who are ill. I think the anxiety, not eating well and neglecting myself for the children contributed to the pain and the length of time I experienced it. I woke every morning and had a prod and analysed the pain....is it there? How bad is it today? I'm I going to die? What will happen to my kids? I don't want the children to grow up without a mam......yak yak yak to myself"..........no wonder I had a stomach pain for 7 months!

[Darwin73]

That is a very reassuring post - thanks Chegsy. It is interesting what your GP says about anxiety causing illness. I believe that is true as I have had a very stressful year (for reasons unrelated to HA) and I've also had loads of bouts of pain and feeling unwell.

I can also relate to what you say about waking up and analysing pain, whether it's still there and how bad it is. Frequently, when I wake up the pain is not there, but within 5 minutes it has come back. I don't know what to make of that! I have always had HA, but when I was younger at least it was just me to worry about. Now I have kids I am like you and worry about dying and leaving the kids without a mum. Did you ever find a cause for your left sided pain, by the way?

[LizeeeH]

Darwin you must be my twin:D

Im phobic about Dr's, always think their gonna tell me the worst!
Ive had a lymph node in my neck for months now, plucked up courage went to dr and he said it didnt feel "sinister" (dont you just hate that word!) but if it hadnt gone in 3 weeks and he would do some "simple" tests....well its still there, same size etc and i havent gone back to Dr's....so I just worry worry worry worry all the time! My OH said if Dr was at all worried he wouldnt have said come back in 3 weeks time but would have had me straight in for tests.....and my dentist said just keep an eye on it! The lymph flared up after a cold sore and of course Im poking it all the time too!!!

So you see you are NOT ALONE!!!!!:yesyes:

[hedgehog]

I don't have HA but fully sympathise with the way you feel about doctors. I'm not sure if I'm actually phobic of doctors or whether I just detest them having had several less than positive experiences with them.

One thing I would say is just remember you are in control, go to the doctor and see what they say, if they want to do anything you're not happy with you can always say no. xx

[kris1079]

Hi. I don't know if you are still on this board, but I just had to reply. Your post sounds exactly like my story!

I am terrified of going to the doctor. I have severe health anxiety, but most of the time I just ride out the symptoms. I have gone a couple of times for major things like heart palpitations, but it was nothing. When a new symptoms creeps in, the thing I fear the most is having to go to the doctor to get it checked out. I have panic attacks in the waiting room. It's bad.

About a week ago I started having a weird pain on my left side. It feels like it's coming from my back or ribs. Sometimes I feel it in my stomach but I think it's my back or side mostly. I am so scared it's pancreatic cancer. I googled it (big no, no, I know), and it was the only thing that fit my symptoms. I cannot figure out what this pain is. It's an annoying, dull pain. Maybe a 3,4 or 5 out of 10 in severity, depending on different times. It's not constant. It comes and goes throughout the day and is gone all night while I'm sleeping. I told you we sound alike:)

I am 33, so I know how rare it is to have it, but I can't help but be worried about it still.

How is your pain now? Did you ever go to the doctor or figure out what it was?

[justina]

I think we are many like you (unfortunately:D)!
I used to be more the "run to the doctor"-kind, but every time I go to a doctor my anxiety gets so high that it is almost unbearable... and I have instead started avoiding it.

My father died of pancreatic cancer, he must have been at least 62-63 years when it all began, and the pain was not how it started. You say that you want to sleep allthe time because when you sleep, your pain is not there...well I can tell you that my father's pain got worse at night, so much worse that he could not sleep at all, and this is common in pancreatic cancer.
So pain that you can get away from by sleeping does not sound like that at all.

[Jules147]

Sounds like IBS to me which is treatable.