Can't tell if my symptoms are anxiety related

[popejoan]

My biggest fear is cancer and these days I convinced myself I have bowel cancer, I also think I might have ovarian or uterine cancer as I have both rectal bleeding and bleeding between periods.

I'm soo tired these days, I need at least 9 hours sleep and I have very bad shortness of breath. I literally can't breathe sometimes, I also feel nauseous constantly and I have no appetite at all. I also have no energy and even after using the stairs my heart beats so fast and I can't catch my breath.

According to my recent blood test I have normal iron, excellent hemoglobin but very low ferritin levels which might include there is an internal bleeding going on, it's not from my stomach as I had an endoscopy so I'm pretty sure it's something sinister in bowels.

I won't be able to get tested until 29th or 30th of December as my Gp wasn't concerned enough to refer me with a fast track which is just because of my age as I show all the other symptoms including change in bowel movements and thin stools.

I really don't know how I will wait until then and don't know how to deal with this horrible fatigue :(

[Fishmanpa]

So "when" your bloods come back clear, and I say when because every indication points to anxiety, will you look into treating the illness you do have?

Being on constant red alert stresses your body and causes fatigue. You're hyper-sensitive to every niggle and your mind is working overtime trying to process normal every day activities and responsibilities while simultaneously thinking about your fears. It's exhausting. Feeling depressed due to the stress is not uncommon and adds to the fatigue. That and the the fact you're posting on this forum leads one to believe deep down you know this is anxiety.

Your doctor isn't concerned and if he was, you would have been referred. Get your test and also talk about your fears. Get a referral for counseling and possibly meds to help.

Positive thoughts

[popejoan]

Thank you, I'm actually having therapy (it's been 6 sessions) and just signed up for a yoga class, I've been taking good supplements and been on a healthy diet for about 3 months.
Maybe I'm being too impatient and thinking these should have been working by now and I should be feeling better now but I'm getting worse :(
Also, having low ferritin despite the healthy diet scares me so much. I didn't want to take any prescribed medicine for my anxiety because I didn't want to be dependent on them and I've been taking 'kalms' tablets but maybe I need something stronger than that...
Anyway thanks again for you reply.

[Fishmanpa]

Healing from anxiety disorder is not like healing from a cold or bug. It takes time. Recovery is measured in weeks and months as opposed to days. It's not unlike recovery from a serious illness. Heck, I'm 20 months post treatment for cancer and I know it's years to recovery physically.

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. It doesn't come and go and gets progressively worse. If indeed what you've been experiencing was sinister, you would be very ill by now.

Keep going to therapy, perhaps print out a few of your threads to show the doctor and inquire about meds or a chill pill.

Positive thoughts and good luck!

[popejoan]

Thanks so much for your help and hope your post treatment is going all well, I will talk to my doctor for meds and won't be impatient :)

[toria]

Hi I have previously had low ferritin many times and my symptoms were similar to yours very tired eyes felt heavy and stinging breathlessness, tiredness like you can't explain lightheadness etc, I get given iron tabs and they check again after a few months they never seem worried about it and I have had low ferritin lots of times I can tell when its getting low think lots af women have this problem and if you are having bleeding that will make it worse but doesn't mean anything is wrong could be piles or a litter tear I have also had both, I currently had a smear test which came back borderline but couldn't detected hpv so have to have a repeat test in 6 months, please try not to worry we also connect all symptoms together and think we have something terrible but honestly liw ferritin makes you feel terrible hopes that helps a bit xx

[almamatters]

My biggest fear is cancer and these days I convinced myself I have bowel cancer, I also think I might have ovarian or uterine cancer as I have both rectal bleeding and bleeding between periods.

I'm soo tired these days, I need at least 9 hours sleep and I have very bad shortness of breath. I literally can't breathe sometimes, I also feel nauseous constantly and I have no appetite at all. I also have no energy and even after using the stairs my heart beats so fast and I can't catch my breath.

According to my recent blood test I have normal iron, excellent hemoglobin but very low ferritin levels which might include there is an internal bleeding going on, it's not from my stomach as I had an endoscopy so I'm pretty sure it's something sinister in bowels.

I won't be able to get tested until 29th or 30th of December as my Gp wasn't concerned enough to refer me with a fast track which is just because of my age as I show all the other symptoms including change in bowel movements and thin stools.

I really don't know how I will wait until then and don't know how to deal with this horrible fatigue :(

I can't advice much on the anxiety side at the moment as I am going through a bad episode myself, but I work in health and I know a lot of people who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. The GP's knew from talking to them that there symptoms etc warranted urgent investigation and they have been seen very quickly. I know the waiting is difficult, I seem to verge from rational to panic stricken in the space of 5 minutes. I hope you are feeling better soon. Fishman does give good logical advice about dealing with HA and our constant need for further tests etc. Take Care. x

[popejoan]

Hi I have previously had low ferritin many times and my symptoms were similar to yours very tired eyes felt heavy and stinging breathlessness, tiredness like you can't explain lightheadness etc, I get given iron tabs and they check again after a few months they never seem worried about it and I have had low ferritin lots of times I can tell when its getting low think lots af women have this problem and if you are having bleeding that will make it worse but doesn't mean anything is wrong could be piles or a litter tear I have also had both, I currently had a smear test which came back borderline but couldn't detected hpv so have to have a repeat test in 6 months, please try not to worry we also connect all symptoms together and think we have something terrible but honestly liw ferritin makes you feel terrible hopes that helps a bit xx


Thank you. I just can't understand how I have normal iron and hemoglobin but low ferritin. I had another blood test 5-6 months ago and it was all fine, it just makes me feel like I'm losing loads of blood but I can't see it all as it's hidden in my stool :( I used to be bulimic and I fully recovered 3 months ago so I thought it should be something sinister as 5-6 months ago I was bulimic, was not eating properly for years but my ferritin was ok, now I'm eating much healthier, having light periods, it shouldn't be low but it is.

I hope the bleeding is something not sinister like tear or piles like you said. And thank you, I didn't know low ferritin could make me feel this bad.

I did have a borderline pap smear test 3 months ago but I had high risk hpv as well. This was the beginning of my health anxiety to be honest. The abnormal cells turned out to be cervical endometriosis. Yours also could be that, if there's no hpv there shouldn't be pre-cancerous cells so don't worry x :)

---------- Post added at 15:06 ---------- Previous post was at 15:02 ----------


I can't advice much on the anxiety side at the moment as I am going through a bad episode myself, but I work in health and I know a lot of people who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. The GP's knew from talking to them that there symptoms etc warranted urgent investigation and they have been seen very quickly. I know the waiting is difficult, I seem to verge from rational to panic stricken in the space of 5 minutes. I hope you are feeling better soon. Fishman does give good logical advice about dealing with HA and our constant need for further tests etc. Take Care. x

Thanks so much. The doctor I've been recently seeing is a pretty good one actually, he doesn't just send you home, I think he wasn't too worried because of the normal iron and hemoglobin. Waiting is too difficult, maybe that's another reason why I'm too tired, my mind seems like it doesn't get any rest, I just can't relax and even when sleeping I dream about my symptoms, cancer etc. When I was worried about stomach cancer I had dreams when I was vomiting blood.

It should be difficult to have HA and working in health. Hope you feel better soon as well x

[almamatters]

Hi PopeJoan, I'm glad the Dr is at least listening to your concerns, if you are like me the anxiety and worry will make you feel worn out. It can be difficult having HA and working in health, it all depends on my state of mind on the day. I know GP's can tell a lot from blood tests when I went for a colonoscopy they were not concerned about my symptoms as I had normal blood results and the same went I went for a ultrasound on my liver. I have health concerns at the minute and blood results are back today and they are normal but I am still being referred for a scan. Hope you are ok. x

[popejoan]

Hi Almamatters, I think we are very similar, there isn't just one second that I could stop worrying and relax. I went to a massage last week and there was a sauna there which I love, I felt 'almost' relaxed but even there I was still worrying about symptoms. I'm glad that all your blood results are normal, it must be a huge relief, mine are normal too apart from ferritin, I just can't stop thinking about it because unfortunately I googled it and now convinced myself that my bowels are bleeding from a tumor :( Hope everything goes well and you should let us know about the results. Thank you x

[almamatters]

Hi Popejoan , we are very similar in our way of thinking (not a good thing though I fear) I am glad my results are normal in one way and I have just heard my swabs are normal as well but in my mind that just means the simple things are fine and it's got to be something terrible. This is my 6th day of mid cycle bleeding and it is showing no sign of stopping. I would of preferred it if my hormone blood test had been all over the place to be honest. I am thining of going private for my scan but have got to speak to the GP first. Hope you are feeling ok at the moment :hugs: x

[popejoan]

Yeah definitely not a good thing, but it's not bad knowing that I'm not the only one. I remember you saying you cancel important things when awaiting for test results, I'm exactly the same. Congratulations on your swab results as well. I know what you mean, it's like these came back normal but it's just gonna delay the diagnosis of underlying cancer. That's why I don't feel releived when I'm told everything looks normal. I still have non-menstrual bleeding as well, I read that stress can cause that too. I feel like mine is definitely not stress and something serious or maybe somehow related to my bowels and rectal bleeding but for you I can think more rationally and can say that if everything came back normal it must be stress. Thank you and hope you're feeling ok too :) x

[almamatters]

Hi Popejoan, I don't think my midcycle bleeding is stress neither, I have been stressed all my life to be honest and this has never happened before and yes I do cancel things when I am waiting for tests and I even don't buy as much food when I go shopping as I think that if the tests show something horrible then I'm not going to need all this food ( how terrible is that!!) I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you? I know GP's worry more about your kind of symptoms in older people so I wondered if you were quite young. Hope you are ok today. xx

[popejoan]

Hello Almamatters, I again felt like I was reading a post written by me. I don't buy anything new before certain tests and also maybe it's a bit Ocd but I don't do anything out of my routine like it's gonna affect the results or something. Of course I don't mind, I'm 30 years old, I'm not that young but literally I look like 10 years younger and sometimes I think just because I look too young the doctors think I should be fine. I know they're professionals but a person with HA is capable of such way of thinking :)

I see what you mean and we all know how our bodies work and anything unusual is like a death sentence to us. My bleeding is much less today and kind of feeling better (mulled wine helped a lot though). Hope you're feeling better too and you got clear results from all your tests so far and I'm sure you'll be fine :) Take care x

[almamatters]

Hi Popejoan, does the GP think your bleeding is hormonal? You have age on your side when it comes to symptoms like this, that is what the GP tells me and I am older than you, I would love to be able to believe the doctor's but I very rarely do. I spoke to mine on Friday and she said my bloods were normal so that is good but I only had FBC, thyroid, Kidney and hormones. I know there is one for Ovarian Ca but they didn't even do that!! I am very OCD before tests as well, I try and follow a routine before I go. Hope all ok with you, I'm glad you are feeling a bit better. xx

[popejoan]

Hello Almamatters, hope you're feeling better today. Well he didn't mention that actually, and I very much doubt that. I'm on the pill for 9 years and it suppresses the hormones doesn't it? He sent a letter to the gynecologist who performed my colposcopy for consultation. So if the gynecologist says no further examination is required, I will just live with my non-menstrual bleedings and go crazy. I don't believe the doctors either, I believe in tests, ultrasounds, mris etc... I know what you mean they just don't look at everything in blood. I went to A&E for rectal bleeding more than a month ago and they tested my blood, they told me I'm not bleeding internally and sent me home, later my GP told me I have low Ferritin and that can indicate bleeding. I told him about A&E doctors and he told me "Oh, they don't check for ferritin!". I was like, thanks, this was helpful. HA and Ocd together make everything worse. Well despite everything I feel calmer, I don't feel the dreaded panic at the moment and hoping that it doesn't come back. xx

[almamatters]

Hi Popejoan , didn't know you were on the pill so yes I see what you mean about hormones. I am not on the pill so don't know if that means they have more chance of going weird. I was talking to someone today who said there is a procedure to stop non menstrual bleeding something to do with your womb lining. Sorry I am not making it very clear but I'm sure there would be something to help you. When are your next tests? I don't know whether to believe my GP or not , I really want to but can't help but worry about it all. I know she asked me several times about my appetite and if I had lost weight. I havn't lost weight and my appetite is ok . Glad you are feeling calmer, I feel ok one minute then seriously scared the next. xx

[popejoan]

Well the doctor insisted that I should go to the sti clinic, I told him I've been with the same person for a long time and I've been tested last year when I was still with my current partner. I'm scared it's uterine cancer :( and I'm not over my bowel cancer fears yet :/ If you don't believe your Gp believe the tests. I think I will spend a long time at the hospital when I go to my country for Christmas, I really can't deal with this whole waiting process. Thank you, I recommend some lemon balm tea or tablets, it doesn't cure anxiety but it helps with the panic. I also use kalms tablet and since then I haven't had any panic attacks. xx

[almamatters]

I am also scared at the moment of two female cancers ( I can't even type their names tonight ) I have only had swabs and blood tests, and I'm sure the swabs were for things like STI's etc when I knew I didn't have any of those. Will you be seen straight away in your country? Sorry I don't know where you are from. xx

[popejoan]

I'm from Turkey and I always go private there, it's much cheaper than private hospitals here and you don't need a referral. You don't even need an appointment, if you show up early in the morning, you can see any doctor you want and get your results in a day. I think I'm gonna go for it, I can deal with waiting for an appointment and more waiting for results. xx

[almamatters]

I don't blame you for going private, while I know that tests are not the answer and it just feeds the anxiety, the waiting for tests also causes a lot of stress. I have had a lot of tests in the past and had my last ultrasound in Feb 2013 . I did have an ovarian cyst show up which had disappeared by the time they rechecked it. I hate going for tests and am terrified when waiting for results. Take Care. xx

[popejoan]

I know each time I say this is the last one but symptoms are so real that I can't just ignore. Waiting for results is the worst I had a massive panic attack when I was waiting for my colposcopy results :( You take care too xx