scalise530
20-08-18, 16:02
Hi All,
I have not posted on here in a while - but I am in severe distress lately over what has been several months of symptoms shifting all over my body, keeping me off-balance and uneasy about accepting that these are all stemming from my health anxiety. It started in May...I went to a driving range with a coworker of mine over lunch and the next day noticed a twinge in my side. "Must have pulled a muscle" I thought. The twinge continued to get worse, and my imagination got the better of me. Within days I was at my doctor thinking I had kidney cancer. My doctor reassured me that the area of pain was not close to my kidney, and convinved me the pain was a pulled muscle and to take some pain releiver and give it two weeks.
From there, things have truly spiraled out of control. The twinge in my side disappeared and became stomach pain...then nausea...then constant belching (a symptom I've struggled for years on and off with). I gave these feelings a few weeks to go away and when they didn't, I visited my gastroenterologist. Who of course wanted to perform an upper endoscopy (I've had 3 in the past 10 years) and again found nothing much but some very mild inflammation. I asked him point blank if his findings could at all explain my symptoms and he flaty said "no".
Within days, the stomach/belching symptoms disappeared and became sharp pains in my head and then mild dizziness or what I can only describe as brain fog/fuzziness. Again I gave this some time but after a few weeks gave in and visited a Neuro who diagnosed me with migraine disorder. I begged him for an MRI which he relented and this also came back negative.
Almost overnight, the dizziness and headaches subsided and now I am back to the constant belching, tightness in my throat/globus/etc...I am at my wits end. I have seen a psychologist for almost 10 years and while I respect him greatly and appreciate the things he has taught me, I feel he is no longer helping me anymore. Of note: In 2017 my youngest son was born with down syndrome. He had a congenital heart defect and a rare colon disorder called Hirschsprung's disease. To say the least, we have had a very rough year dealing with his various health issues, surgeries, etc...
I guess what I would like to ask the community is: Does anyone suffer from similar patterns of symptoms shifting at the drop of a hat? How do you deal with it? In the past, my symptoms would stay with me for a few months...I'd go see a doctor/get a test which would reassure me everything was find...and then I would be relatively symptom free for months. In the past 2 years, this pattern has eroded to symptoms shifting all over the place with no respite or periods of relief. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I find it hard just to get through the days and look forward to the late evening and sleep which is the only time of day I don't seem to deal with any of it. Should I seek a new psychotherapist? It seems my current dr. is no longer helping me...maybe I need a new perspective or someone with a different method. Sorry for the long post - just want to throw this out to others who I gather may have dealt with similar issues in the past. Appreciate any replies.
Thank you
I have not posted on here in a while - but I am in severe distress lately over what has been several months of symptoms shifting all over my body, keeping me off-balance and uneasy about accepting that these are all stemming from my health anxiety. It started in May...I went to a driving range with a coworker of mine over lunch and the next day noticed a twinge in my side. "Must have pulled a muscle" I thought. The twinge continued to get worse, and my imagination got the better of me. Within days I was at my doctor thinking I had kidney cancer. My doctor reassured me that the area of pain was not close to my kidney, and convinved me the pain was a pulled muscle and to take some pain releiver and give it two weeks.
From there, things have truly spiraled out of control. The twinge in my side disappeared and became stomach pain...then nausea...then constant belching (a symptom I've struggled for years on and off with). I gave these feelings a few weeks to go away and when they didn't, I visited my gastroenterologist. Who of course wanted to perform an upper endoscopy (I've had 3 in the past 10 years) and again found nothing much but some very mild inflammation. I asked him point blank if his findings could at all explain my symptoms and he flaty said "no".
Within days, the stomach/belching symptoms disappeared and became sharp pains in my head and then mild dizziness or what I can only describe as brain fog/fuzziness. Again I gave this some time but after a few weeks gave in and visited a Neuro who diagnosed me with migraine disorder. I begged him for an MRI which he relented and this also came back negative.
Almost overnight, the dizziness and headaches subsided and now I am back to the constant belching, tightness in my throat/globus/etc...I am at my wits end. I have seen a psychologist for almost 10 years and while I respect him greatly and appreciate the things he has taught me, I feel he is no longer helping me anymore. Of note: In 2017 my youngest son was born with down syndrome. He had a congenital heart defect and a rare colon disorder called Hirschsprung's disease. To say the least, we have had a very rough year dealing with his various health issues, surgeries, etc...
I guess what I would like to ask the community is: Does anyone suffer from similar patterns of symptoms shifting at the drop of a hat? How do you deal with it? In the past, my symptoms would stay with me for a few months...I'd go see a doctor/get a test which would reassure me everything was find...and then I would be relatively symptom free for months. In the past 2 years, this pattern has eroded to symptoms shifting all over the place with no respite or periods of relief. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I find it hard just to get through the days and look forward to the late evening and sleep which is the only time of day I don't seem to deal with any of it. Should I seek a new psychotherapist? It seems my current dr. is no longer helping me...maybe I need a new perspective or someone with a different method. Sorry for the long post - just want to throw this out to others who I gather may have dealt with similar issues in the past. Appreciate any replies.
Thank you