pliskinsmulllet
23-08-13, 12:22
Hi there. This is my first post so please bear with me. It may be a long one.
I think I have health anxiety. It all started around six months ago. I noticed that my heart was beating quite heavily. I was very aware of it. I could feel the pulse in my back, inner elbow, behind the knees, literally all over. This carried on for a few days until I went into town shopping with my partner. It came on all of a sudden very heavily and I felt a bit dizzy and my legs went to jelly. I had to sit down and said to her that I need to go home. Anyway...that passed, although the heartbeat carried on being heavy.
I went to the doctors, which was a new visit since I have moved and they asked if I ever had a full blood test done, liver, kidney etc. I hadn't so they did one and told me to come back in a week. A couple of days after I was at home and the heartbeat came back. Again, quite heavy but this time I could feel pins and needles spreading down my left arm. I immediately freaked and thought It was a heart attack. I called 911 and went through my symptoms and they said they were sending an ambulance. It came and they did an ECG, which they said was fine, but they took me to hospital anyway. They did another ECG there and the doctor checked me with a stethoscope and did my blood pressure. She said I was fine, probably just stress related and discharged me.
I went to get my blood results which the doctor said were fine (apart from cholesterol being a bit high) and so on I went. I then started getting chest pains, like tightness across my chest muscles (i'm a bloke by the way) and an uncomfortable feeling in my armpits, not pain as such, just discomfort. Then I started to get a bit of a rough throat and instantly I thought it was lung cancer or something. I started feeling tingly and to jump up and oace about the house....legs went to jelly and a million thoughts rushed through my head...i'm going to die...I have so much to do with my life....and irrationally who will look after the cats (I have 3). Next day I booked straight back to the doctors. I told him everything and he asked if I have been stressed recently. I have, essentially because last September I moved halfway across the country to attend university (i'm a mature student) and Student Finance wouldn't give me any money for the first year of my degree. I had to find money to live, ad well as £9,000 in university fees AS WELL AS actually doing the university work itself. I've been essentially on my own as I don't really know anyone and I have the noisy neighbours from hell. I told him that I feel lumps in my throat, chest pains etc. He examined my neck, chest, back, looked down my throat and said I had a viral infection which was giving me the symptoms, and that I should calm, find something to do when the anxiety comes on (he was quite nice about it). I kept asking him if my blood was alright (I made the mistake of looking for my symptoms online and it suggested I had thyroid cancer, which brought on another attack) and he said my blood, thyroid, everything was absolutely fine. He said it could last for weeks, as it's a virus. He didn't want to give me anything for it. So again, i went on my way.
That was a couple of weeks ago and I still feel bad. I still feel like I have a bad adams apple and i'm bringing up phlegm. I had another attack two days ago (this bit may be gross but I just want to explain it) where I had a full nose, so I brought it back and hawked the phlegm from my chest and there was blood in it. I almost died on the spot, I went cold, dizzy, saw spots etc but I realised that the blood actually came from my nose (I blew my nose afterwards and there was blood there, the phlegm was clear) but it terrified me.
For the past 5 days I've had a tighness in my left temple and side of my head. I feel a pressure behind my eye, and occasionally pins and needles will run down my face. I keep thinking it's a stroke. My left nostril is usually blocked as well.....the rational bit of my brain thinks "ok...this is the virus doing what it does.....tense head....pressure behind the eye....blocked nose...phlegm etc" but then the other part jumps in ans is telling me it's a brain tumor. I wake up in the night sweating at times, I constantly think i'm on my last legs. I would go online to type in my symptoms but I know I'd see something that would bring on another attack.
I just feel like going and booking another appointment with the doctor. In one way, I kind of feel perfectly fine. I still operate ok, and was actually laughing at some comedy on TV last night. But the vast majority of my day is taken up with thoughts that any time soon i'm a goner. Whenever someone mentions illness or something on TV I instantly change the channel, I just don't want to hear it.
Sorry about the long post. I never knew there was a forum out there for discussing this. I sit here now, head still tense, eye feels like it has pins and needles etc. I'm just getting to my wits end. I just keep thinking the doctor is wrong....it's been 3-4 weeks now....the virus should have gone....if I check online about it i'll see something I dont want to.....I don't want the doctor to think i'm crazy by going back again.....
Arrgghhhh.......Anyway. That's me. Sorry about the length of the post.
I think I have health anxiety. It all started around six months ago. I noticed that my heart was beating quite heavily. I was very aware of it. I could feel the pulse in my back, inner elbow, behind the knees, literally all over. This carried on for a few days until I went into town shopping with my partner. It came on all of a sudden very heavily and I felt a bit dizzy and my legs went to jelly. I had to sit down and said to her that I need to go home. Anyway...that passed, although the heartbeat carried on being heavy.
I went to the doctors, which was a new visit since I have moved and they asked if I ever had a full blood test done, liver, kidney etc. I hadn't so they did one and told me to come back in a week. A couple of days after I was at home and the heartbeat came back. Again, quite heavy but this time I could feel pins and needles spreading down my left arm. I immediately freaked and thought It was a heart attack. I called 911 and went through my symptoms and they said they were sending an ambulance. It came and they did an ECG, which they said was fine, but they took me to hospital anyway. They did another ECG there and the doctor checked me with a stethoscope and did my blood pressure. She said I was fine, probably just stress related and discharged me.
I went to get my blood results which the doctor said were fine (apart from cholesterol being a bit high) and so on I went. I then started getting chest pains, like tightness across my chest muscles (i'm a bloke by the way) and an uncomfortable feeling in my armpits, not pain as such, just discomfort. Then I started to get a bit of a rough throat and instantly I thought it was lung cancer or something. I started feeling tingly and to jump up and oace about the house....legs went to jelly and a million thoughts rushed through my head...i'm going to die...I have so much to do with my life....and irrationally who will look after the cats (I have 3). Next day I booked straight back to the doctors. I told him everything and he asked if I have been stressed recently. I have, essentially because last September I moved halfway across the country to attend university (i'm a mature student) and Student Finance wouldn't give me any money for the first year of my degree. I had to find money to live, ad well as £9,000 in university fees AS WELL AS actually doing the university work itself. I've been essentially on my own as I don't really know anyone and I have the noisy neighbours from hell. I told him that I feel lumps in my throat, chest pains etc. He examined my neck, chest, back, looked down my throat and said I had a viral infection which was giving me the symptoms, and that I should calm, find something to do when the anxiety comes on (he was quite nice about it). I kept asking him if my blood was alright (I made the mistake of looking for my symptoms online and it suggested I had thyroid cancer, which brought on another attack) and he said my blood, thyroid, everything was absolutely fine. He said it could last for weeks, as it's a virus. He didn't want to give me anything for it. So again, i went on my way.
That was a couple of weeks ago and I still feel bad. I still feel like I have a bad adams apple and i'm bringing up phlegm. I had another attack two days ago (this bit may be gross but I just want to explain it) where I had a full nose, so I brought it back and hawked the phlegm from my chest and there was blood in it. I almost died on the spot, I went cold, dizzy, saw spots etc but I realised that the blood actually came from my nose (I blew my nose afterwards and there was blood there, the phlegm was clear) but it terrified me.
For the past 5 days I've had a tighness in my left temple and side of my head. I feel a pressure behind my eye, and occasionally pins and needles will run down my face. I keep thinking it's a stroke. My left nostril is usually blocked as well.....the rational bit of my brain thinks "ok...this is the virus doing what it does.....tense head....pressure behind the eye....blocked nose...phlegm etc" but then the other part jumps in ans is telling me it's a brain tumor. I wake up in the night sweating at times, I constantly think i'm on my last legs. I would go online to type in my symptoms but I know I'd see something that would bring on another attack.
I just feel like going and booking another appointment with the doctor. In one way, I kind of feel perfectly fine. I still operate ok, and was actually laughing at some comedy on TV last night. But the vast majority of my day is taken up with thoughts that any time soon i'm a goner. Whenever someone mentions illness or something on TV I instantly change the channel, I just don't want to hear it.
Sorry about the long post. I never knew there was a forum out there for discussing this. I sit here now, head still tense, eye feels like it has pins and needles etc. I'm just getting to my wits end. I just keep thinking the doctor is wrong....it's been 3-4 weeks now....the virus should have gone....if I check online about it i'll see something I dont want to.....I don't want the doctor to think i'm crazy by going back again.....
Arrgghhhh.......Anyway. That's me. Sorry about the length of the post.