Concerned about my health

[Worried-jen]

Hi, well i dont really know where to start, i do suffer from bad anxiety which does make me more aware of physical things going on and i am trying my best to think about things rational, but i am worried there is something wrong, it did start out with my leg i had a very noticed vein at back of knee that was causing me pain, then i hadpain on my thighs and noticed i was getting to get those spider vein things and then same happened to my other leg and thigh, went to docs was told phlebitis took anti biotics was still in pain went back and they told me varicose veins, went to another doc as i am getting soreness in joints and to find out whats happening about varicose veins he told me i dont have varicose veins and he done a blood test for rheumatoid arthritis which came back fine, so i dont have a clue whats going on, my legs still in pain, still have strange veins and pain in joints with swelling, i have a terrible habit of checking my face and have noticed red wiggly lines when i pull the bottom of my eyes down, i do generally feel unwell, had noticed a change in my skin a couple of months ago and feel like my skin getting a bit tighter, so with all these symptoms i have googled and came up with auto immune diseases like scleroderma, telangiestasic and they seem serious and now im panicking, and the telangiestatic said nose bleeding in childhood was a symptom and i always had that! i feel i shouldnt waste anytime and get checked but at the same time im thinking ok i know my anxiety bad but i know these symptoms are real and dont know what else they could be?
Anyway thoughts on this please am i over analylizing? All these changes i know were not there before, surely anxiety cant cause all this? X

[Worried-jen]

anyone please? X

[Annie0904]

Hi...I think you are going to keep worrying about so you should go to your doctors for reassurance. The worst thing you can do is google, it usually comes up with the worst when it is more likely to be something simple. See your doctor and tell him what you are worried about. He is the only one who can really reassure you. :hugs::hugs:

[lo89]

Hi, I have similar symptoms to you. This current bout of health anxiety was brought on by leg pains like what you are describing, went to see a gp as I was convinced I had leukemia, had q few bruises on my legs which I couldn't remember having also.
I have visible blue veins which are pretty thick close to the surface of my skin on my thigh which are apparently genetic as my mum has them, hers have developed into varicose veins now but that is only since having two children. My veins sometimes itch or ache but apparently they are normal.
Anyway, went to the doctors about aching at the inside of my knee and swelling at the knee, she had a feel and couldn't find anything suspicious, I started to panic and mentioned tiredness and pale skin, so she suggested it may be anaemia and offered a full blood test, which came back normal so nothing to worry about! She suggested more exercise as I had decently stopped going to the gym, this has deffo helped me and my legs are no longer a worry =].

[Worried-jen]

Hi, thanks for replys, im just really worried about it as i have never noticed these things before, i do lots of walking so its not like i dont get exercise, i also recently noticed on the back of my legs its like white streaks if that makes sense almost resembling stretch marks but i know there not, dont know what to think anymore just an endless worry, i got docs next week so im gonna need to list everything im scared i might have :( x

[lo89]

I think what happens with me is that I have a small symptom which most people would ignore - such as a slightly stiff knee - and instead of accepting the fact that I have a stiff knee like a "normal" person would, I need to know WHY I have a stiff knee, so I google stiff knee. I then read about pulled muscles, banging your knee etc and dismiss them - afterall I would remember banging it wouldn't I? Then I see that it could possibly be a symptom of leukemia so I search for leukemia symptoms ... And see that a pain in your side is another symptom. I then remember the pain in the side I had a few weeks ago and panick. The next morning, I will wake up with a sore side so I google leukemia again until I end up with all of the symptoms. Pluck up the courage to go to the doctors who does a blood test which comes back normal, which leads me to worrying what else it could be, going back to google and finding a new illness which I could have. A lot of my old symptoms are then replaced by new ones for the new illness. This continues with different illnesses. When I eventually have a moment of clarity and realise I am well, a niggling voice at the back of my head says "what if you are wrong though? What if you are ill and you are not getting treated?" don't know how to break this cycle!

Sorry for the hijack btw.

[nervousmummytobe]

hey i think like lo89 said you have become fixated on these symptoms and its a visious cycle! i do it too i always do actually I am the worst!! if i have a sore back i never ever jump to a conclusion of ... ' bad posture' ... im pregnant .... i know things happen physically yet I would still attribute back pain to a disease and not even think of pregnancy - this is serious HA!
think of all the people who have aches, pains, bumps, veins etc and dont think twice they just see it for what it is and if it becomes troublesome they deal with it as a matter of fact thing! We google, worry, google again, worry again, go to the doctor, google again, go back to the doctor google again and during this tiem we are uncovering a vast amount of symptoms that we start to trace back (well i do anyway)...... i look at the list of symptoms for X disease which i have stumbled upon because of my bad ... (insert body part/sensation here).... and begin to think 'oh my god I had stabbing hip pain last week, oh my god last month i had a fever and felt fluey, oh my god i remember i did actually start to feel nautious around the time of blablabla .....
its a visious circle and people without HA dont give things with their body a second thought unless warranted. My bf has had a pulsating throbbing pain in his left knee on and off for 2 weeks and i look at him and think 'how are you not freaking out, how can you just assume its because of your carpentry work that you kneel alot and maybe its oevr worked???? how can you not get this confirmed?' .... because he doesnt suffer with HA ... to him a sore knee is a sore knee .... a varicouse vein ... a varicouse vein or a rash is a rash....... I WISH I COULD BE LIKE HIM!
anyway I hope you get the reassurance you need, maybe go to your doctors! when i thought i had an auto immune my doctor ran a extensive blood test on me i rember having like 10 bottles taken that day for everything.... ask to be tested for :
-calcium
-phosphate
-bone density
-rbc
-wbc
-electrolytes
-ANA / ENE (autoimmune antibodies)
-rhematoid factor
-b12
-vit c

if you have a autoimmune (which i really doubt you do - the ANA should show up ) so if it doesnt you might feel more reassured!

xxxxxxxxx

[lo89]

That sounds so like me! I was the same when I was pregnant (convinced worry caused me to lose the baby) to the point where I was crying during an ultrasound as I was convinced they would find cancer! Totally ridiculous! If you look hard enough for a pain, a symptom, a lump or a bruise, you WILL find one! I wish I could apply this to myself.
My boyfriend is cool as a cucumber about his health, he smokes which stresses me out, I found a lump behind his ear and he said "I have had that for ages, it is fine" he had a rash and put some cream on it, a constant sore neck which he thinks is because of sitting funny at work. Wish I could be as relaxed as him! Then again, what if his symptoms are something to worry about and he is just being too relaxed?
Instead of not understanding why I have health anxiety, I cannot understand why people wouldn't have it!

[Worried-jen]

Thank you everyone, some really good thoughts, just need this to be over and done with now, hate feeling like this everyday and worrying whats wrong with me, will tell doc everything next week and probably more dreaded blood tests! Xx