CFS/ME and yup you guessed it, more cancer fears! :(

[snowflake293]

Hi guys

Tried to go back to work today and got sent home (I shouldn't have been in anyway cause my sick note doesn't run out 'til next week)

I have been ill for a week so far with shingles but picked up yesterday. However, the early start and cold weather and walk to and from train stations today has wiped me out.

Logically, I know this is shingles and I am still sick - but of course now my brain is worrying and my fears have reared their ugly little heads again :(

I had a full blood count done a month ago and it was fine. I have seen roughly one doctor a week for the last month and none of them were in the slightest concerned over cancer but...

My glands have been swollen in my neck for a while and I have been so tired for about a month too, I know the most likely explanation is that I have been run down building up to the shingles but I am so scared of lymphoma! I also keep getting night sweats, it has happened 3 times this week. Doctor said its due to shingles but when I Googled it is not a well know symptom? I know it is a symptom of lymphoma so really panicking now.

Because I am so tired and exhausted I am terrified of CFS/ME now, I have a colleague who has recently been diagnosed and I am worried it'll be me next.

Sorry if it seems like I am wallowing, I just want to get back to normal though. I feel so tired and achy and the muscles in my back are so tense!

Sorry to moan, I know there are a lot of people in much worse situations but I am really worn out physically and now I am panicking I have something worse than shingles.

Thanks for reading this and any support is appreciated as always xxx

---------- Post added at 12:53 ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 ----------

also I have about three mouth ulcers at the moment :( worrying about this too that its a sign I have cancer somewhere! :(

[Mindknot]

Night sweats are common when your immune system is trying to fight something off, I think the problem is they are very rarely described as such. Shingles is a virus, and it will cause your body to react feverishly - swelling nodes and giving you feverish symptoms i.e. hot/cold sweats, probably you are getting them during the day as well but only noticing at night because bedding+extra people in bed (aye aye :winks:) mean that you are extra warm.

On the subject of tiredness, that can also just be anxiety wiping you out. I felt like a zombie for months on end, still do in fact... This is quite useful reading, but don't y'know, click around it's best for anxiety if you open, read and close again :) http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/09/17/push-pause-button-adrenal-burnout/#close

[snowflake293]

Night sweats are common when your immune system is trying to fight something off, I think the problem is they are very rarely described as such. Shingles is a virus, and it will cause your body to react feverishly - swelling nodes and giving you feverish symptoms i.e. hot/cold sweats, probably you are getting them during the day as well but only noticing at night because bedding+extra people in bed (aye aye :winks:) mean that you are extra warm.

On the subject of tiredness, that can also just be anxiety wiping you out. I felt like a zombie for months on end, still do in fact... This is quite useful reading, but don't y'know, click around it's best for anxiety if you open, read and close again :) http://drhyman.com/blog/2013/09/17/push-pause-button-adrenal-burnout/#close

Thanks Mindknot :)

I keep reminding myself if something was up, it would have shown on my blood test results and the doctor I saw less than a week ago confirmed that - I need to hold onto that fact.

I am really anxious about the night sweats. It isn't enough to warrant me getting up and changing my nightie but I will wake up and my chest is very sweaty but I feel cold. My boyfriend gets the odd night sweat too that he puts down to his under-active thyroid and being on citalopram! He is soaked though when it happens to him.

I am just worried the doctors are 'missing something' :( have such a fear of being ill and now I actually have something physically wrong it has sent me into anxiety over-drive (even though initially my HA actually subsided a little) just so worried something more serious is going on.

I will read that article now, thank you :) I am feeling extremely tired and low energy and have done for a while. I am working on this by getting to bed earlier, cutting down on booze, eating better food and taking a vitamin/mineral tonic my friend recommended. I am also doing some gentle yoga stretches each morning :)

xxx

---------- Post added at 14:39 ---------- Previous post was at 14:31 ----------

Really useful article! Like the idea of his 'Ultrabath' lol :) might try lavender oil myself as I love the smell and I also love having a bath! xx

[Mindknot]

I keep reminding myself if something was up, it would have shown on my blood test results and the doctor I saw less than a week ago confirmed that - I need to hold onto that fact.


Yup, write it down - make it extra-fact :)



I am really anxious about the night sweats. It isn't enough to warrant me getting up and changing my nightie but I will wake up and my chest is very sweaty but I feel cold.


Sounds like just a fever to me, if you think about it for night sweats to be an actual symptom, it would have to be pretty extreme... and regular. Humans sweat all the time, sometimes more than others, like when you have a virus and your body temperature is all out of whack :)



I am just worried the doctors are 'missing something' :( have such a fear of being ill and now I actually have something physically wrong it has sent me into anxiety over-drive (even though initially my HA actually subsided a little) just so worried something more serious is going on.


That m'dear is HA for you... we all think they are missing something but in reality they have been through years of training and hundreds/maybe thousands of patients before they got to see you, they know what to look for.



I will read that article now, thank you :) I am feeling extremely tired and low energy and have done for a while. I am working on this by getting to bed earlier, cutting down on booze, eating better food and taking a vitamin/mineral tonic my friend recommended. I am also doing some gentle yoga stretches each morning :)


All good moves, be kind to yourself :hugs:



Really useful article! Like the idea of his 'Ultrabath' lol :) might try lavender oil myself as I love the smell and I also love having a bath! xx

Baths are a good idea, just be careful what you put in it if you skin is sore or broken from the shingles! :)

[snowflake293]

Thanks Mindknot, all sound advice there. It is frustrating cause sometimes I feel I am really kicking HA's butt then other times I feel the butt is sat on me lol! I am learning more about my mind though and how it works. Writing stuff down is a huge help to me.

Haha yeah will watch out what goes in the bath, my skin isn't too sore but I had such bad thrush recently I am scared of setting it off!

xx