Do symptoms wax and wane significantly when you have a real health condition?

[HealthAnxiety12]

Would it make sense for me to be able to have two days where I'm almost entirely symptom-free if anxiety wasn't the root of my problems? Do your symptoms wax and wane too, and do you have a correlation between your anxiety and your symptoms? I know that people with chronic and serious health problems have good days and bad days, but do they have days that are pretty much completely good?

I'm a little worried because technically I haven't had a doctor tell me that anxiety is causing all of my symptoms except for my psychologist and an ER doctor who was irritated by me. Now I want to call my neurologist just for reassurance, but I know that this is only going to feed my anxiety.

[BeckyBop]

I find anxiety symptoms definetley come and go. I might feel great one day then awful another. Thats just anxiety though and I know it because I have been checked by a doctor! Also if I feel more relaxed I find I either dont get symptoms at all or I do but I try accept them and move on and if I do they soon go away. I was free of one symptom for ages until one day I thought about it again and it came back! Im pretty sure if you had a serious health condition you wouldnt have two great days you would be like it all the time. You can be pretty sure its anxiety :)

[HealthAnxiety12]

I find anxiety symptoms definetley come and go. I might feel great one day then awful another. Thats just anxiety though and I know it because I have been checked by a doctor! Also if I feel more relaxed I find I either dont get symptoms at all or I do but I can accept them and move on and they soon go away. You can be pretty sure its anxiety :)

Thank you, BeckyBop. Was the doctor who told you this a medical doctor? I had someone tell me recently that they didn't think that anxiety could cause all of my symptoms and that it seemed to them to be indicative of a serious health problem, so now I'm alarmed and am tempted to get more testing done. However, I don't understand how I could have two days where I feel almost completely normal if I do have an actual health condition. It's times like this where I wish that I had a medical background.

[BeckyBop]

Was this person of a medical background? If not pay absolutely no attention to it only a medical professional can properly diagnose you. You can always have tests done just for peace of mind :)

[Althea]

Was that someone a trained medical professsional, though? And if they weren't, why would you give them more credit than the medical professionals who've examined and tested you?

[HealthAnxiety12]

Was this person of a medical background? If not pay absolutely no attention to it only a medical professional can properly diagnose you. You can always have tests done just for peace of mind :smile:


Was that someone a trained medical professsional, though? And if they weren't, why would you give them more credit than the medical professionals who've examined and tested you?

They don't have a medical background as far as I know, but my internist, neurologist and endocrinologist never actually did mention anxiety as a possible cause. (This was before I had all of my tests done that came back normal, though.) Do you think that some doctors avoid mentioning that they think that the problem is anxiety-related to avoid offending the patient?

[BeckyBop]

Well if they arent a medical proffesional pay absolutley no attention! Why would one persons opinion be more relevant than NORMAL test results! Perhaps they felt they didnt even need to mention it was anxiety! If they know you have anxiety then the fact they didnt even have to tell you it is anxiety pretty much proves it IS anxiety. They probably assumed you already acknowledged it purely as anxiety and saw no reason to tell you it is. :) If they thought anything was off they would definetley tell you. So just relax and accept your symptoms as purely anxiety and nothing more. You will find as you accept them they will lose importance and soon will go away :) x

[HealthAnxiety12]

Well if they arent a medical proffesional pay absolutley no attention! Why would one persons opinion be more relevant than NORMAL test results! Perhaps they felt they didnt even need to mention it was anxiety! If they know you have anxiety then the fact they didnt even have to tell you it is anxiety pretty much proves it IS anxiety. They probably assumed you already acknowledged it purely as anxiety and saw no reason to tell you it is. :) If they thought anything was off they would definetley tell you. So just relax and accept your symptoms as purely anxiety and nothing more. You will find as you accept them they will lose importance and soon will go away :) x

Thank you. :) I love this forum. You're all so kind. I do seem to be gradually getting better, but I always go back to "What if I do have [insert health condition here]? What if I'll have chronic pain for the rest of my life?" and then I become more anxious and my symptoms inevitably worsen. Maintaining a positive mindset is really hard. I even stress about getting an illness like cancer which I have absolutely no symptoms of. I worry a lot about my loved ones getting ill, too.

[BeckyBop]

Thats ok :) Me too I mean the amount of anxious thoughts I have had about my health! And I too worry a lot about my loved ones getting ill. Do you notice its all what if? Every single thought starts that way. Thats the hard bit. Learning not to worry about the what ifs and live in the present. As soon as we learn to quell the what ifs? we soon get better :)