paul80
22-12-13, 09:19
I'm really glad to have found this forum.
My parents and younger sister all died young (from different conditions) and I know this triggered my health anxiety.
I once suspected I had skin cancer and it turned out to be eczema. I was convinced a sore throat was cancer of the oesophagus.
My problem is that I am rarely ill, so when I do get something, I always suspect the worst first.
Now, my latest problem. I've always suffered from excess wind since I was a boy, but about two months ago, I got really bad trapped wind and my abdomen swelled up. It also started gurgling loudly. It eventually went away and I thought that was that. But since then, it has returned. It comes in waves, so I have good days and bad days.
The wind hasn't affected my appetite, energy levels or my toilet habits (once or twice a day) and I'm finding it hard to shift the extra stone and a half I'm carrying...
I was getting increasingly anxious about the problem not going away and made the mistake of using Dr Google. I noticed that bloating is sign of colon cancer in people my age (mid fifties).
I went to the doctor two weeks ago, and she had a quick check and then arranged for blood and stool tests for the following week.
After seeing the doctor, my anxiety level shot up; I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep and my wife said I was acting like a nervous wreck. It got so bad that I called my doctor and screamed down the phone that I knew I had Stage 4 colon cancer. Then, to my eternal shame, I told my wife and my brother that I was dying of cancer. The distress I caused them is appalling.
My doctor arranged to see me that same day and I went along with my wife. My doctor wanted to know how I could possibly know that I had colon cancer before I had even had any tests? She told me off for looking at Google.
We talked a lot about how I had been under a lot of stress this year (family and financial) and she said this could be the trigger to my problem.
She said that on the evidence she had seen (she didn't find any lumps) and the fact that I wasn't in pain (just discomfort from the wind), hadn't lost weight, didn't have diarrhoea or constipation, and was still eating okay, didn't suggest that it was. She added, "If I had thought you had cancer, I would have sent you straight off for tests."
I went away feeling reassured and that evening, my wind magically disappeared and I slept really well for the first tme in days.
But, as I'm sure other health anxiety sufferers will recognise, the demons soon returned. I tell myself: I'm too old to have IBS, I can't see how stress and anxiety can cause such havoc to the digestive system, so I cannot see what else it can be but colon cancer.
Now, I can't tell whether I have wind or if my stomach is in knots from my anxiety.
I went for my blood and stool tests last Monday and I'm due to see the doctor again on New Year's Eve.
I'm really trying hard to hold things together over Christmas and keep the anxiety in check, but it isn't easy. Thank you for reading this.
My parents and younger sister all died young (from different conditions) and I know this triggered my health anxiety.
I once suspected I had skin cancer and it turned out to be eczema. I was convinced a sore throat was cancer of the oesophagus.
My problem is that I am rarely ill, so when I do get something, I always suspect the worst first.
Now, my latest problem. I've always suffered from excess wind since I was a boy, but about two months ago, I got really bad trapped wind and my abdomen swelled up. It also started gurgling loudly. It eventually went away and I thought that was that. But since then, it has returned. It comes in waves, so I have good days and bad days.
The wind hasn't affected my appetite, energy levels or my toilet habits (once or twice a day) and I'm finding it hard to shift the extra stone and a half I'm carrying...
I was getting increasingly anxious about the problem not going away and made the mistake of using Dr Google. I noticed that bloating is sign of colon cancer in people my age (mid fifties).
I went to the doctor two weeks ago, and she had a quick check and then arranged for blood and stool tests for the following week.
After seeing the doctor, my anxiety level shot up; I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep and my wife said I was acting like a nervous wreck. It got so bad that I called my doctor and screamed down the phone that I knew I had Stage 4 colon cancer. Then, to my eternal shame, I told my wife and my brother that I was dying of cancer. The distress I caused them is appalling.
My doctor arranged to see me that same day and I went along with my wife. My doctor wanted to know how I could possibly know that I had colon cancer before I had even had any tests? She told me off for looking at Google.
We talked a lot about how I had been under a lot of stress this year (family and financial) and she said this could be the trigger to my problem.
She said that on the evidence she had seen (she didn't find any lumps) and the fact that I wasn't in pain (just discomfort from the wind), hadn't lost weight, didn't have diarrhoea or constipation, and was still eating okay, didn't suggest that it was. She added, "If I had thought you had cancer, I would have sent you straight off for tests."
I went away feeling reassured and that evening, my wind magically disappeared and I slept really well for the first tme in days.
But, as I'm sure other health anxiety sufferers will recognise, the demons soon returned. I tell myself: I'm too old to have IBS, I can't see how stress and anxiety can cause such havoc to the digestive system, so I cannot see what else it can be but colon cancer.
Now, I can't tell whether I have wind or if my stomach is in knots from my anxiety.
I went for my blood and stool tests last Monday and I'm due to see the doctor again on New Year's Eve.
I'm really trying hard to hold things together over Christmas and keep the anxiety in check, but it isn't easy. Thank you for reading this.