Bastett
12-01-18, 14:59
I want to share my story for my fellow HA sufferers.
In 2013 I broke my wrist and had a cast put on. I didn't think twice about it. It hurt a lot and occasionally did hurt through the following years. I couldn't put my weight to it. I was so busy worrying about imaginary illnesses like many kinds of cancer, HIV, autoimmune diseases, etc.. that I totally neglected what truly was wrong. I didn't think much about my painful wrist because I KNEW I had broken it and that maybe it would hurt for the rest of my life.
In the end of 2016 I fell again on that wrist and thought I broke it again. But the CT in the hospital showed that I haven't broken it again - it never did grow back where it should and wrist had already developed tissue necrosis in my bone! I ended up having an acute surgery and now have a metal screw in my wrist. If I hadn't fallen again I would have eventually gotten worse and worse till the surgery would be imminent. I may have even have disability due to the necrosis.
My point of writing all of this is - I was SO concentrated on more fearful diseases I might develop that I totally ignored the problem I really did have. Because apparently wrist trauma is not that serious as brain tumor, lymphoma, etc. I had none of the diseases I feared but instead ended up with necrosis just because I neglected my wrist as something minor compared to my other "symptoms".
With this post I don't intend to scare you and try to think of necrosis when it is not there. Just that health anxiety makes it so easy to concentrate on symptoms that might resemble a deadly disease and to forego existing problems that your mind does not pick up as serious just because it's not something really sinister.
I wonder why is that. I am not happy I had necrosis but I am happy that my wrist doesn't hurt anymore. Doctor did not give me guarantees that the screw would hold my wrist together for whole my life and I may need another surgery in the future but hey I can even do push-ups on it.
But I have noticed that I have started to neglect it again. Due to my numerous concerns about my health in general (self diagnosed diseases, of course), I haven't even rechecked my wrist with xray again apart from the scan 3 months after the surgery. Because it's not that serious it cannot be deadly. I hate this way of thinking, I really do. I will check it asap after the baby is born.
In 2013 I broke my wrist and had a cast put on. I didn't think twice about it. It hurt a lot and occasionally did hurt through the following years. I couldn't put my weight to it. I was so busy worrying about imaginary illnesses like many kinds of cancer, HIV, autoimmune diseases, etc.. that I totally neglected what truly was wrong. I didn't think much about my painful wrist because I KNEW I had broken it and that maybe it would hurt for the rest of my life.
In the end of 2016 I fell again on that wrist and thought I broke it again. But the CT in the hospital showed that I haven't broken it again - it never did grow back where it should and wrist had already developed tissue necrosis in my bone! I ended up having an acute surgery and now have a metal screw in my wrist. If I hadn't fallen again I would have eventually gotten worse and worse till the surgery would be imminent. I may have even have disability due to the necrosis.
My point of writing all of this is - I was SO concentrated on more fearful diseases I might develop that I totally ignored the problem I really did have. Because apparently wrist trauma is not that serious as brain tumor, lymphoma, etc. I had none of the diseases I feared but instead ended up with necrosis just because I neglected my wrist as something minor compared to my other "symptoms".
With this post I don't intend to scare you and try to think of necrosis when it is not there. Just that health anxiety makes it so easy to concentrate on symptoms that might resemble a deadly disease and to forego existing problems that your mind does not pick up as serious just because it's not something really sinister.
I wonder why is that. I am not happy I had necrosis but I am happy that my wrist doesn't hurt anymore. Doctor did not give me guarantees that the screw would hold my wrist together for whole my life and I may need another surgery in the future but hey I can even do push-ups on it.
But I have noticed that I have started to neglect it again. Due to my numerous concerns about my health in general (self diagnosed diseases, of course), I haven't even rechecked my wrist with xray again apart from the scan 3 months after the surgery. Because it's not that serious it cannot be deadly. I hate this way of thinking, I really do. I will check it asap after the baby is born.