bulan
15-07-14, 03:54
Sometimes health anxiety becomes worse when different doctors give you different reasons for your symptoms... I've had several doctors explain my symptoms differently, all of them saying, "It could be <fill in the blank>" while none of them did tests to find a solid answer.
Taken altogether, my symptoms do seem confusing. Maybe someone here can shed some light on what I'm dealing with?
EAR (right only)
1) feeling of stuffiness in my right ear (right ear only)
- I could also describe it as a 'clogged' ear
- I have a deep, low sound way down in my ear when I scratch the area nearby or when it's bumped
- the doctor says there's absolutely no wax in my ear
- my hearing is fine otherwise
2) earache (right side only)
3) last week the doctor said my middle ear was very swollen
- she prescribed antibiotic ear drops
- today she says the swelling is completely down
- however, I still have earaches and headaches on the right side
HEAD
1) headaches on the right side
- around the right ear
- behind my right eye
- at the back of my head
NOSE
1) partly congested, but Ear Nose Throat (ENT) specialist didn't see anything wrong
FACE
1) pain occasionally in sinus area behind cheekbones
THROAT
1) burning and soreness
- last week the ENT found white spots and mucous at the back of my throat, but today another doctor found nothing like that
- last week a doctor found redness on my right tonsil, but later the ENT didn't see that
- soreness when I swallow
- soreness in what feels like the middle of my chest cavity... must be the esophagus?
- I've had a gastroscopy which found nothing
- the ENT did a scope down past my vocal chords
- all my ENT saw in my throat was redness; he believes I have acid reflux, and nothing more -- but that doesn't explain the pain in my right ear and head :(
2) tightness / constriction at the base of my throat
- it comes and goes
- sometimes it feels like food is almost getting stuck on the way down, but it manages to pass through after a while
- general aching at the base of my throat, near the thyroid
- while my ENT things I have acid reflux, my family physician thinks I either have anxiety or seasonal allergies and told me to try over-the-counter allergy meds :wacko:
3) hoarse / slowly losing my voice
- every morning seems a bit worse
- but because my voice is mostly back to normal by the time I see my doctors, they're not concerned
EYE (right only)
1) headache behind right eye
2) outside of right eye feels a bit swollen when I move my eye, but to look at my face, you wouldn't see anything abnormal
3) cataract
- I'm only 36, but my optometrist recently found a very small cataract on my right eye
- I see a glare whenever a bright light shines on my right eye from any angle; it's noticeably worse than my left eye
4) tearing up / watering
- comes and goes
5) some pain with eye movement
-------
So... I don't know if any of this makes sense to anyone. The one thing I haven't mentioned yet is my health anxiety... I'm afraid of the worst case scenario (naturally, right?)... a mass or tumor on the right side of my head.
And I'm wondering, what questions should I ask of my doctors so they'll be more likely to order a scan? How do I get to the bottom of this when my doctors disagree on the cause of my symptoms?
And, to anyone who's recovered from health anxiety about brain/head tumors, how did you recover (besides CBT)? Did it take a clear scan to bring you peace of mind?
---------- Post added at 22:54 ---------- Previous post was at 22:19 ----------
I forgot one of the most important points:
ALL of these symptoms have been going on for 3+ months.
Most advice I've read says to see a doctor if symptoms like mine persist for more than a week.
So, adding to the fact that my doctors can't agree on what's bothering me, the length of time I've had them is also adding to my anxiety.
Has anyone else gone through something like this before? :shrug:
Taken altogether, my symptoms do seem confusing. Maybe someone here can shed some light on what I'm dealing with?
EAR (right only)
1) feeling of stuffiness in my right ear (right ear only)
- I could also describe it as a 'clogged' ear
- I have a deep, low sound way down in my ear when I scratch the area nearby or when it's bumped
- the doctor says there's absolutely no wax in my ear
- my hearing is fine otherwise
2) earache (right side only)
3) last week the doctor said my middle ear was very swollen
- she prescribed antibiotic ear drops
- today she says the swelling is completely down
- however, I still have earaches and headaches on the right side
HEAD
1) headaches on the right side
- around the right ear
- behind my right eye
- at the back of my head
NOSE
1) partly congested, but Ear Nose Throat (ENT) specialist didn't see anything wrong
FACE
1) pain occasionally in sinus area behind cheekbones
THROAT
1) burning and soreness
- last week the ENT found white spots and mucous at the back of my throat, but today another doctor found nothing like that
- last week a doctor found redness on my right tonsil, but later the ENT didn't see that
- soreness when I swallow
- soreness in what feels like the middle of my chest cavity... must be the esophagus?
- I've had a gastroscopy which found nothing
- the ENT did a scope down past my vocal chords
- all my ENT saw in my throat was redness; he believes I have acid reflux, and nothing more -- but that doesn't explain the pain in my right ear and head :(
2) tightness / constriction at the base of my throat
- it comes and goes
- sometimes it feels like food is almost getting stuck on the way down, but it manages to pass through after a while
- general aching at the base of my throat, near the thyroid
- while my ENT things I have acid reflux, my family physician thinks I either have anxiety or seasonal allergies and told me to try over-the-counter allergy meds :wacko:
3) hoarse / slowly losing my voice
- every morning seems a bit worse
- but because my voice is mostly back to normal by the time I see my doctors, they're not concerned
EYE (right only)
1) headache behind right eye
2) outside of right eye feels a bit swollen when I move my eye, but to look at my face, you wouldn't see anything abnormal
3) cataract
- I'm only 36, but my optometrist recently found a very small cataract on my right eye
- I see a glare whenever a bright light shines on my right eye from any angle; it's noticeably worse than my left eye
4) tearing up / watering
- comes and goes
5) some pain with eye movement
-------
So... I don't know if any of this makes sense to anyone. The one thing I haven't mentioned yet is my health anxiety... I'm afraid of the worst case scenario (naturally, right?)... a mass or tumor on the right side of my head.
And I'm wondering, what questions should I ask of my doctors so they'll be more likely to order a scan? How do I get to the bottom of this when my doctors disagree on the cause of my symptoms?
And, to anyone who's recovered from health anxiety about brain/head tumors, how did you recover (besides CBT)? Did it take a clear scan to bring you peace of mind?
---------- Post added at 22:54 ---------- Previous post was at 22:19 ----------
I forgot one of the most important points:
ALL of these symptoms have been going on for 3+ months.
Most advice I've read says to see a doctor if symptoms like mine persist for more than a week.
So, adding to the fact that my doctors can't agree on what's bothering me, the length of time I've had them is also adding to my anxiety.
Has anyone else gone through something like this before? :shrug: