Obsessing over linking symptoms - anyone else?

[Mel_82]

I don’t know if anyone else does this or not, but for me the past 3-days I’ve been linking symptoms, which is causing me quite a bit of anxiety.

On Sunday my back started to bother me, feels like pins and needles at time. I work a physical job so at the time I just brushed it off and moved on.

However, then I got thinking about an abnormal blood test I had about 5 months ago where my protein was a bit elevated.
Then I got thinking of my very painful ovarian cyst, which was so bad 2 months ago I had a fever ...
Then I started to think about my gallstones and maybe they’re not gallstones at all.
Then I has another blood test that said my kidney enzymes were high (likely caused by the gallstones).

So, I’ve managed to link all these things in my mind and now I’m worried I had cancer this entire time and it’s spreading, which is why my back now hurts.

I’ve had ultra sounds, X-rays, blood work, a pap, urine test to detect cancer cells, and aside from the blood findings everything was fine.

Does anyone else link and panic themselves?

[Fishmanpa]

I believe that if anxiety can make you absolutely deathly sick with fear, making you truly believe a "rabid" bat flew into your room when the windows were closed, bite you undetected and get out of the room unnoticed, it can make you do and believe anything including linking totally unrelated symptoms months apart in light of clear test results and medical professionals diagnosis and opinions. In fact, linking symptoms to anxiety is a walk in the park ;)

Positive thoughts

[Careful1]

Does anyone else link and panic themselves?

Yes, this common in people with health anxiety... Read through some of the threads and you will see you are not alone :hugs:

[tjb113]

Yup, this has been my life for probably around 4 years now. All started with an odd pain that persisted in my upper thigh years ago and it's been an endless rabbit hole of symptoms and anxiety ever since. Just a constant worry and trying to make sense of what I've felt and how it all links together or what it means.

I have good periods where I manage to push it all back for awhile, but as soon as a little symptom pops up or I accidentally brush that lymph node I've felt on my neck for years and suddenly it all comes flying back. Seems to be a definite ebb and flow to it all though, that's for sure.

[Confetti]

Literally a daily occurrence, I am very good at linking things and exploring possible connections across various concepts, chasing phantom bridges and authentic unions in equal measure, not just in matters of believing I'm about to kick the dust, I'm a detective when it comes to collecting information and storing observations but yes I am adept at shining a light on myself and connecting the dots that spell out a possible death sentence, not happened yet thankfully but I'm ever watchful!

[cattia]

I am the queen of this too. The last two blood tests I have I had lymphocytes at the low end of normal so that plays on my mind and I will often link things to lymphoma. I have recently had breast pain which I thought was breast cancer but then started to wonder if it was linked to my headaches and canacer had spread from my brain to my lymph nodes and into my breast. It is amazing what stories I can create.

[bubx]

I am the queen of this too. The last two blood tests I have I had lymphocytes at the low end of normal so that plays on my mind and I will often link things to lymphoma. I have recently had breast pain which I thought was breast cancer but then started to wonder if it was linked to my headaches and canacer had spread from my brain to my lymph nodes and into my breast. It is amazing what stories I can create.
I can totally relate to this and in my head it sounds so medically correct. I can even imagine the cells linking to these different organs. My parents think I'm being a tad crazy, I always think it's science