Differenciating between health anx and serious symptoms

[Reemy]

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to tell the difference between health anx and serious symptoms. I have a heart condition, thryroid disease, a chronic pain illness, and an autoimmune disease and a few other milder problems. There are some serious symptoms that I have to watch out for regarding these conditions and my medication, but I get so worked up with my health anxiety that I can't tell what's important and what I need to ride out.

It's so very frustrating. My health anx symptoms can mimic so many real problems, as I'm sure all of you know. I just feel like I can't trust my own judgement anymore. I don't want to constantly go to the doctor or rush to hospital over nothing. But at the same time I get so worked up that I could die from ignoring something major that often just go anyway. (This constant fear of dying is exhausting me to my core.)

I can tell when a classic panic attack is coming on--at least now I can--and I able to cope with that. But when the random aches and pains or bizarre heart rhythms start or severe fatigue kick in, I'm at a loss.

Any advice for figuring it all out?

[lass]

You poor thing. I stress myself out worrying over whether something is worth seeing doctor about all the time, and I don't even have any reason to. It must be doubly worse for you.

Could you maybe speak to your doctor about your concerns, and see if they can tell you how to differentiate between anxiety symptoms and more serious physical symptoms.

It's so difficult knowing where to draw the line. I try to set myself time scales (ie if I've still got this in 2 days I'll see the doc) but if I get anything that really worries me then I panic and fly down to the doctors straight away.

Sorry, I don't feel I've been of much help; hopefully someone else will come along with some great ideas.

[peach]

hi reemy,

i think were all in the same boat as you here. most of us seem to have medical problems that can mimic dangerous possible issues.
over all the posts ive read, ive come across many a time that if it feel serious-we will certainly know about it, there will be no doubt.
it will develop quickly and there will be no question as to what we are feeling.my doc has also said this to me many times. she said also, she would be able to tell just by looking at me that there is something seriously wrong on the spot. even if they have the slightest doubt, they will send you for further tests. so try not to worry(easier said then done, i know!!!lol) trust your doc. my stepfather has heart problems, hes on blood thinners. he manages to work two jobs and work out, all in his 60s. he said he knows a man who has 11 stints in his heart!!! and is still doing well.
lastely, my doc said once that the body is an amazing thing, and is very very hard to kill. its resources to live are incredible.!

i hope this helps a little.

[Reemy]

Lass and Peach,

Thanks for the replies! You have been helpful, because a show of support is always helpful! And sometimes it's just nice to know that other people out there understand how this feels.

I will admit that I haven't been candid with my doctor about the extent of my health anx. I don't trust my current doctor at all. He has a reputation for being awful, and truthfully I have trust issues with doctors anyway. I've been saying for ages that I'll find another, and I really need to.

In the past when I've told him about my general anxiety, he quickly became dismissive about all other concerns and chalked everything up to anx. I felt if I had told him the extent of it, he would have never done some of the tests that have since shown real problems. And all he ever wanted to do for the anx was write prescriptions for Xanax, anyway.

I know that not talking about these things has put me in the position of not always getting the most appropriate care, too, though. I need to be more proactive about my overall care and find professionals I trust.

I just hate the feeling that I can't trust myself, either. It's so frustrating. Lately I've been trying to ride out most all symptoms, and the only way I can do it is to tell myself, "Oh, well, I might die, but I might not." It's like I have to talk myself into being okay with the idea that I could die soon, rather than feeling certain it's just the anx.

The other day I messed up and took my heart med very late for two doses in a row. The heart symptoms that followed were clearly related to that. But any other time, I just can't judge it. Maybe, until I get a bettle handle on the anxiety, I just won't be able to judge it at all.

Thanks, again for the support. If nothing else, it's nice to have a safe place to vent about it :)

-Reemy

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Reemy,

A huge :hugs: to you. I feel like we are almost living the same life. I have many of your health issues. I also have thyroid disease, chronic pain, and autoimmune problems such as CFS and fibro oh and let's not forget the migraines! I do not, however, have health anxiety.

I agree that you must find a physician that you trust to tell all to and who will do the necessary tests on you to find out your status of your health without handing out xanax.

I must say in my case I ignored a racing heart for about 3 months thinking it was anxiety and my thyroid had gone from hypo to hyper and my medication needed to be adjusted. It was just awful, I couldn't sleep, I was shaky etc., etc., etc. When you do have justified illnesses like we do I think you must not ignore changes in your health like I just stated. My doctor really gave me a talking to when I finally went in and stated I should not have ignored the changes in my body for so long.

In my opinion if you find a change or two see for a day or so but if it stays I would go to your new doctor and see about it. I hope this helps.

Laura :flowers:

[Reemy]

Laura,

:hugs: I think you're right, we've got a lot in common -- including migraines. In fact this year my migraines went from chronic but normal, to full-on strobe-light aura events. Grr. I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with so many of these same health issues. Even without the anx, it takes a toll.

You're right about everything else, too. My health anx has really left me feeling like a can't interpret those important cues from my body, but I still need to be alert to the real things. It can be so confusing. Step #1: New doc!

Your thyroid example is a good one, as they are always uping my dose (I'm hypo and thyroid resistant) so I need to know when it's me or drug. Hypo & hyper symptoms can mimic panic symptoms, too. Until about a month ago my TSH was still in the double digits--icky. I get tested monthly for that, at least, so I can never go too long. But heart issues worry me even more -- I'm like: is it my heart, my thyroid, or my panicked brain :shrug:

Thanks so much for the support!!!

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Reemy,

:hugs: back. I hope you are seeing an endocrinologist for your thyroid as you need a specialist for that. I have no advice for your heart problems but I hope they get better and don't continue to cause so many problems. As for the migraines I now take phenergan for nausea and relpax for the pain and it is not narcotic. I've had the thyroid disease for 11 years but have had migraines for at least 25 or more years. I have found that foods trigger them mine so keep a good food diary and the weather (especially rain) nothing you can do about that. Hormones also play a huge role too. Nothing beats a cool dark room to help migraines go away. I used to have the aura of lights but not so much as I have gotten older and I take precaution meds instead of meds after the fact. I saw 3 neurologists and had tons of tests and none could ever tell me why I got them except stress didn't help, duh :lac: ! Now I have found out that my Great Grandmother had them and my Grandmother got them and now my nephew gets them so I know they can run in families if you hunt enough, lol.

I'm glad you get tested for your TSH every month, I wish I did because I swear my meds get changed every 6 mos when I get tested, it is such a merry go round. I'm glad to have met someone like me but pray you get better.

You must be very brave facing all this with health anxiety too. I have enough trouble with plain old anxiety.

Hugs again,

Laura :flowers:

[looking4answers]

To be or not to be..that is the question..It seems that every question and every answer on line is me..I asked the same question not only here but to nurses and doctors unfortunately .. anxiety can mimic every known disease pretty easy .Our minds and negative thoughts are our worse enemy and well to tell you the truth it scares me to death to think that you mind can make you feel the identical symptoms of dreaded diseases and fatal things.. I know the only time in my life that i ever was free of taking test ,worrying and going to the doctor with every little thing was for about five years.I had a death wish and begged for death ,I pushed the envelope and to this day I dont understand how i lived through the whole thing.I cursed god and begged for God to let me die and didnt care about mostly anything , i faced deep seated fears such as fear of heights ,fear of driving really fast on crowded highways and mountain roads flying ,even did a hanggliding episode and also went snow skiing and drove from end to end of the country back and forth and really pushed the limit to no end physically and mentally and everyway.I had never felt so free in my life.I suffered skipped beats and knew it and begged that my heart stop and begged that I would not live to wake so many times its a wonder I am still here..but that was only for about five years..Now i found that i no longer feel that way .. I was fearless for a long time after the death wish thing but well after a few years the fearless left me and was replace by a sniveling coward and now im back to worrying about every pain and every missed heartbeat and every little thing..How does that happen I dont know..but this is something that still rings in my ears about what my mother had to say to me about worrying..She said son ."im going to live till I die" and well it holds true even today ,each and everyone of us is going to live till we die..but its so sad..we are on here posting about things that shouldnt even concern us and the fact that we have a disease worse than any physical ailment scares me to death..I think most of us could handle a terminal illness better.. So yes the answer to your question is yes yes yes ..its sad but true and there is nothing you can do about it but run to the doctor every fifteen minutes or choose to live till you die..This from a guy that is scared of his own shadow that used to never fear nothing..God our lives are sad..this isnt living. .its existing in fear.I wish i had something I could say to actually make a difference but I saw your post and it seems if i read enough on here i dont even have to add ,everything i feel and wonder about is right here in front of me..good luck to you and hope you are ok.

[Reemy]

Laura,

You're such a sweetie. Thanks for all the feedback on this.

I don't go to an endocrinologist. My primary doc has always handled it--poorly. In the ten years he's been treating my thyroid problem, I have not once been within range with my TSH, despite constant testing and med increases. He's never referred me to an endocrinologist, and I've never told him off like I should.

Will your doc not allow more frequent blood work for you? If you're always needing your meds tweaked, then you're probably out-of-optimal-range inbetween tests. I know how rotten it feels.

I haven't taken anything for the migraines (have I mentioned that I have a medicine phobia, too? LOL. I can handle my heart and thyroid meds, but I get nervous over taking the others and the potential side effects. I'm nuts, really ;) ) So I just handle the migraines as they happen--ice packs, cold dark room, no sound, misery, etc.

But recently I have seen an intergrated medicine doctor (MD/holistic), out of pocket, who wants to switch me over to natural desecated thyroid (Armour) and wants me to take progesteron drops because she thinks a lot of my problems are related to estrogen dominance. Which is probably right as all my symptoms get worse around my period. She also wants to test my iodine tolerance and treat me for adrenal fatigue. It's ridiculously expensive to see her, but I'm thinking that it may be for the best if I can somehow afford it.

Thanks for being so understanding. It's sweet of you to call me brave, but I feel like such a chicken. An exhausted, fragile chicken. LOL. I think it's amazing that with the health issues you've dealt with and the anxiety, that you've never crossed over into health anx. Very impressive!

I hope that I get the chance to show you some of the support you've shown me. If you ever need to vent, PM me.

:hugs:

Reemy

[Reemy]

Looking4answers,

Thank you for replying. I'm so sorry that you're in the same predicament. I know how hard it is. Despite all my concerns, I usually feel optimistic that there is hope for all of us. It's a long path we're on, but we'll get there. What choice do we have? Hopefully we can find a way to live fearlessly without the sort of death-wish that you mentioned. In time, with support and helping ourselves, I think we will...

Thanks for sharing your story and advice. :hugs:

Reemy

[shoegal]

Hi,

I also have CFS, Fibromyalgia and ME because I have autoimmune problems and I also find it difficult to tell whether my symptoms are part of my illness or my anxiety. When my symptoms are really severe I do tend to panic, but once I'm in a panicky state it's difficult to know if other symptoms are just fear or not. :shrug:

I don't think I have health anxiety because my symptoms are real, but I do worry about those symptoms (if you know what I mean).

Just thought I'd let you know you are not alone.

Hope you feel better soon.

Love and hugs, shoegal xxx

[Reemy]

:hugs: Thanks Shoegal! At least we're all in it together, in some way or another.

I often have the 'chicken or the egg' debate with myself concerning symptoms. Did the anxiety bring on the symptom, or did the symptom bring on the anxious response. I don't feel anxious when the symptoms start, but then sometimes they seem like typical anx things. But then again, many real things do, too. And I definitely end up anxious once a 'scary' symptom starts. Then I do my head in trying to figure it out :)

Take care.

Reemyxx