Is it really health anxiety or is it actually something physical

[charlie1986]

Hello all, been a long long time since I last posted on here. Thought most of my dark days of health anxiety was long gone,then boom,everything is in a mess. Firstly prepare yourself as this might be a long drawn out one. I've always been health conscious,even when I was little id panic if I got cut or poorly,cant really say why I was like it. Even in my teens I went through health worries of thinking I had everything from a brain tumour(turned out to be tension headaches)to CJD. Have had a swallowing thing on and off since I was 12.last time I had it was January this year,always goes away itself,like my mind gets bored of it. I've always had a fear of having the c word too.when I was 23(I'm 30 now) I had piles and convinced myself I had BC. Had little wobbles in between all this( i suffered with an eating disorder when I was 26)but always managed to get through it. Now my story starts. Early July was doing my usual fitness class,don't know why but I just came over dizzy,like almost drunk dizzy,somehow I managed to get through it,mum said she has it now and again,nothing to worry about.had it most of that day,not bad,but it eventually went.never had it since. Early last month I was doing my spin class(done it for 3 years) had this sort of slight stitch in my right side,between my rib and hip,didn't think much of it,it's the norm in exercise to have these now and again. But it got worse in the aerobics class after,felt like I needed to do the biggest fart,was just hoping it would go. I had to sit out the rest of the class,was really quite painful by now. Had it most of the day,felt like a bad stitch,couldn't walk much with it around ikea that evening,even thought the pain went and returned.the next day I still have it,not as bad but it's there,goes down into my hip and top of my leg....strange.cant really relax with it.start thinking it was maybe mega bad trapped wind cos I had that stabbing pain up my bum all that afternoon,never had it since.roll on a couple more days and I can sort of feel it in my left side now,also goes round to my back on both sides and shooting pains at top of my stomach.i start getting a little worried now....I Googled....i know,I could slap myself. Came up with everything from gallstones to the c word. I did start thinking gallstones tho,was admitted to hospital 10 years ago with a mystery pain,thought that was gallstones,turned out to be nothing.never had a answer for that one. Went to my doctors,this side and stomach pain was really bothering me. Saw a new young doctor,I didn't like that. Anyway,he asked me questions about bowel habits,they where normal,a little bit looser,but don't know it that was me being nervous.He took my temp which was slightly high and also examined my tummy and did a rectal examination :blush: said he couldn't feel nothing. He referred me for bloods and an ultrasound. Had my bloods done a few days later.had to book in with doctor for my results. During this time I started feeling full quickly,didn't have an appetite. These pains where horrible,just happened and twinged when they liked.started feeling really worried and upset of what they'd find.couldnt eat right.if I ate my stomach felt really stretched and almost painful.i just didn't want food.then I get the pains down the tops of my legs and in my buttocks and lower backache. I Google ..comes up with ovarian cancer.PANIC!!!!!! Convinced that much I have it I have a private ultrasound. Bearing in mind I get my bloods back....fbc,liver test,ca125 all normal. I'm not convinced tho,read some awful horror stories online about misdiagnosed people. Get my ultrasound.looks at my kidneys and stuff and I also have a trans vaginal.everything was fine.felt OK for abit but still sort of felt unsatisfied due to the fact I was still getting "them" pains and still felt bloated . Questions pop into my head if it was done right and stuff.i go on Google....stomach cancer.....I get a bloated,pains,feeling sick,heartburn. Convinced I have it. Start reading stories of how people where diagnosed with it people my age,younger scares the life out of me!! By this point I have stomach pains,pains in my shoulder blades,indigestion,heartburn,bad wind,no appetite. Life seems bleak,feel trapped in a nightmare. Been to my doctors twice since this,told them my fears. Had my tummy felt again,nothing sinister.no red flags. The heartburn is getting worse,sometimes I have this awful hot almost cold feeling in the back of my throat,doc says it's my anxiety but put me on some lansoprazole.not doing much if I'm honest. Food feels like it's getting stuck half way out my stomach.still get the pains now and again, feel like something it stuck in my throat sometimes. Doctor won't let me have a camera,says it's unnecessary.at the moment my symptoms are made up of mild heartburn,mostly in my throat,feels really weird and uncomfortable,gets me really upset,slight indigestion, still get them twingy pains in my sides,stomach pains pains in shoulder blades and excess wind and stomach gurgling.im literally a shell of what I used to be.feels like one big nightmare.im waiting for CBT cos doctors think it's my anxiety causing the symptoms. Scared I have the c.even scared I have Gerd,read it can cause Barretts esophagus which can lead to cancer of the esophagus. My life is one blur,doctors make out I'm barmy. I think it's physical.i have been on 20mg fluoxetine for 10 years too.any help much appreciated :hugs:

[SLA]

Someone else who thought they had CJD as a kid. Nice to meet you!! :hugs: I had that. Brings back memories. How did yours turn out in the end? Mine went, and I expect yours did too!

First of all, it's horrible being in this situation. It can consume weeks, if not months of your life.

You have had two tests which have come back with nothing to worry about. Embrace those to start with.

It sounds like the stress and anxiety has most likely contributed to mild IBS.

There is so much in that post to deal with, I don't know where to start!

You are stacking up lots of different ideas in your head, and you have convinced yourself there is something wrong. The thing that is wrong is that you are letting your mind run wild again.

Start by breaking the cycle. Take some time out to put all these worries aside, if only for 10 minutes to start with.

Start small. Rationalise small parts of what you are going through first.

The dizzyness, since it hasn't returned, was most likely low blood sugar, or just a normal displacement of blood in the brain for a brief second.

You have listed at least 5 things that have all not manifested themselves as actually being true. So you are zero for five so far.

Do not trust your health anxiety. It is an unreliable doctor!

If your real doctor was that bad, he'd be struck off the register!!

[charlie1986]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose I do have a trust thing with doctors,don't think I helped myself by reading things online about misdiagnosis stories. Sometimes I feel I get sort of ridiculed by my doctors,because I've been on fluoxetine for a long time and have suffered with lots of health anxiety probs,I feel like they think I cry wolf alot. My symptoms do come and go,have them everyday but It's like which symptom is making a show today.

[SLA]

Start by not calling them symptoms! :D

Not everything is a symptom of some underlying problem.

My legs hurt at the moment. I don't have arthritis. I've been sitting down for too long!

[Slogan]

Hi Charlie

just letting you know I have every single symptom you have mentioned... bloods normal. An ultra sound on the way soon. My life has also paused and I cant get on with my life... nightmare trying to break the cycle of symptoms..

[charlie1986]

Hi, thank you for your reply

I went to my doctors again yesterday,I was in such a state. Told me they'd test for h.plyori....Firstly I'm on lansoprazole and id have to be off it for 2 weeks to get a accurate result....don't understand why they just didn't test for that anyway to begin with. My life is on hold,I'm screaming to be the person I was. I've convinced myself I'm terminally ill.

[Mercime]

You don't have cancer. You've been checked out, had clear bloods, clear ultrasounds - what you have done is terrified yourself beyond belief by reading these horror stories of misdiagnosis. You know that Googling brings up the worst, and probably skewed, things out there. Please don't put the misdiagnosis stories at the front of your mind, put your clear results there instead. Nobody would have a misdiagnosis with the tests you've had x

[charlie1986]

Hi mercime, thanks for your reply. I'm starting to freak out about why doctors want to test me for h.plyori,with there being a link to stomach cancer. I'm sick of feeling them pains in my sides,it's like weird,sometimes it sticks right under my ribs and goes through to my back,I even get stomach cramps now and again.yesterday I nearly threw up in the supermarket,first time I've felt nausea with this.When I had my ultrasound,I think she only checked my kidneys then my lady parts. Doctors keep telling me that my bloods would have shown up something if there was a problem but that's quite debatable on here cos some people say it doesn't. I'm absolutely terrified of what I have.its been four weeks since this all started.ive also woke up with heartburn cos I missed a dose of lansoprazole last night,don't know if it's for real or me.:weep: I'm so scared I have stomach or pancreatic cancer.it can happen at 30,uncommon I know but I don't want to be that small percentage. I don't want to leave my family:weep::weep::weep:

[Mercime]

They want to test for H Pylori because it's a perfectly treatable condition which causes heartburn, bellyache and all manner of nuisance symptoms! Forget about "debateable", scans show up tumours. Bloods show raised markers which are flagged up, and investigated immediately. You're frightening yourself, and that alone will cause stomach symptoms - it's often the tummy and bowels that react most strongly to having an anxious owner!

I often see the words that you have written, the fear of leaving your family. But while you ignore your clear test results and hunt for other scenarios, you're not with them anyway - can you see that? Your HA is pulling you away from them. Don't let it xx

[charlie1986]

Thanks for the reply.:hugs: hopefully all this can be sorted soon. My minds been going between stomach pancreatic and now bowel cancer......:wacko: it's them strange stitch type pains under my ribs thats really getting to me. All this upset because I started with a horrible stitch in my right side....oh,also have become really constipated in the last 2 days,don't know if that's because I haven't eaten much. HA is awful,it really is.its such a horrible thing :weep: I also keep getting a feeling like food is stuck at the back of my throat after I eat,takes about half an hour to go.