Chronic inflammation

[Worried_91]

Hi guys

I think I'm just after a bit of reassurance really. I've seen that many diseases are caused by chronic inflammation (cancer, heart disease, dementia, etc.) And one of the main causes of inflammation are stress.

So I'm worried that my anxiety/stress since 2017 although at times has been manageable, is going to cause one of the diseases and I'm now fixating on it. Or that anytime I'm feeling anxious or stressed I'm causing internal damage, ergh. It's so draining.

I eat very well, take supplements and exercise regularly but I'm worried the stress/ anxiety is counteracting the good I'm trying to do for my body. Obviously, I'd like to minimise and reduce the stress and anxiety as much as possible but in the mean time I feel stuck in this vicious circle.

[Worried_91]

Anybody else struggle with this?

[Hypo84]

How did you move from MND to chronic inflammation? If anyone has a chronic stress that's me as my cortisol is always high (above normal range) but not high enough to be caused by anything other than stress. But there really is not point in fearing from stress causing a disease as so many people are under stress and while it probably raises odds, what can you do about it? Minimize stress I guess, but that's easier said than done, so basically, aside from eating healthy and exercising you can't do anything else.

[Worried_91]

Hi hypo84

I think it's because the two are sort of interlinked (chronic inflammation and neurodegenerative disease).

I've now managed to terrify myself into believing I definitely have MND, thanks to Dr Google. Apparently excess glutamate in the brain can cause neuronal cell death, leading to neurodegenrative disease, I.e. MND. And what causes glutamate build up in the brain? Chronic stress, ugh.

This has now exacerbated the twitching and the fear, so I'm stuck in this vicious cycle imagining glutamate is increasing in my brain and causing loads of damage.

I absolutely hate this.

[Hypo84]

Yeah, but chronic stress is very common and neurological diseases are fairly uncommon. If you look at all those "this can cause that" things, you will go insane. I mean, red meat can cause some cancers (increase risk)? I think I've seen that somewhere. Will I stop eating red meat, no way.

[Worried_91]

Yeah I get that. I just feel I'm the perfect candidate for getting mnd now. I feel like the worry is causing glutamate to build up and I'm slowly destroying motor neurons, I know I sound crazy. But I just feel this is it. I wish this anxiety could be zapped out my brain. How are you doing with the mnd fear?

[Hypo84]

Well, I can tell you that feeling that something is true doesn't make it true. That is a fact 100%.

I am not great, not going to lie as this excessive saliva thing is constant and dropling during sleep is a new thing as well.

However, I am going to therapist tomorrow. Maybe he will put me on some med that will reduce the fear. Historically, nothing was helping me with HA.

[Worried_91]

Sorry to hear you're not too good. Seeing a therapist is a great idea and I'm sure will help. Ah, are you not taking anything for the anxiety?

Ugh, I'm so taken away with the fact that I've done irreversible damage to my brain.

[Hypo84]

I can assure you with 99.9% confidence that you haven't done anything as that would mean I did the same thing and all other worries did the same thing which is statistically unlikely.

I am not on any meds right now. They don't really work for me any longer , like clonazepam did years ago. Antidepressants never really worked for my anxiety and I am not depressed so overall they didn't do anything. I am open to try a new one if that is what therapist suggests tomorrow. We will see.

[Worried_91]

I did do a search to discover whether stress or anxiety can cause mnd, with one study saying it doesn't. However high levels of glutamate in the brain are linked to anxiety and stress and high levels of glutamate in the brain can damage motor neurons. It's just all very conflicting and I wish I didn't get into it or research but it's hard when it's at yiur fingertips?!

Ah I'm sure something will work, sometimes it's worth trying something new that may work. I'm currently on citalopram and have been for six weeks. My anxiety definitely calmed around week 4 but now I feel its back woth a vengeance.

[Hypo84]

This is why I feel antidepresaants don't work because if they did you wouldn't have these thoughts now, or you need a higher dose maybe?

Anyway, what's there to research? Stress is definitely not the cause of mnd. Is stress damaging to our health, I am sure it is and it is raising odds of bunch of diseases. I think high blood pressure and diabetes are the ones that come to mind but it's not like all people there are stressed out get those. If it raises the odds for other diseases it's a minor effect. I am almost certain that polluted air is raising your risk of lung cancer more, not that you should be afraid of that.

[Worried_91]

Yeah, I'm not sure or it might still be a bit early, who knows? It's worth a shot though.

It's frustrating because I really consciously eat a very healthy diet, I exercise and take supplements that in theory should counteract the damage stress causes. However I'm still convinced I'm on deaths door.

[Hypo84]

Those are your feelings (being convinced). You can feel whatever you want; it doesn't make it true. The issue with any anxiety, including HA, is the desire for certainty in life, where no such certainty exists. For instance, you could die tomorrow in a car accident (if you drive), but that possibility doesn't deter you from driving. In that scenario, you aren't seeking certainty; you're merely accepting that the odds are slim. When you have HA, it's challenging to accept that the chances of something adverse happening are small, all because of the looming "what if". This question arises prominently when anxiety is in play. For matters that don't induce anxiety, the "what if" question rarely surfaces. For instance, individuals with a fear of public speaking are constantly plagued by "what if" scenarios related to public speaking. The same goes for those with social anxiety in social situations and so forth.

I understand all of this rationally. What I'm yet to grasp is how to combat anxiety, especially when emotions tend to overpower the rational mind. Arguing with emotions is futile; they always win. Acceptance might be the solution to this, but how to practically accept the possibility of dying soon is beyond me.

[Worried_91]

I'm totally with you on that. It's always the uncertainty that plays havoc on our minds. I guess with HA, it's the thought that we 'may' have a disease but our minds convincing us we most certainly do, it's incredibly frustrating.

I'm with you on the acceptance. I think, if I just accept that I have MND for example, then at least I can accept my fate as the worst case scenario and time will tell..... but then I still manage to freak out.

[Hypo84]

You shouldn't accept that you have MND as that is not something you know for certain. You have to accept that you might have MND, and you might not. In my opinion, odds of you having it are well below 1% but whatever, let's say the chance exists.
You are freaking out since you haven't accepted that, and when I figure out how to do that, I will tell you.

[Worried_91]

Yeah you're right, in just utterly convinced I do have it, it's just making me miserable. I want to live and have ambition and enjoy life. But I feel like I have a dark cloud of imminent death hovering over me, its just no fun. If only there was a cure for such a terrible disease.

I hope you're doing okay, when is your appointment?

[Hypo84]

Had it yesterday. The doc said I have somatoform disease (not hypochondria) although those two sound very similar to me. Baically, my anxiety is causing physical symptoms. She said that I don't need antidepressants but should use antipsychotic "off-label" as it reduces dopamine levels and it can help.

Honestly, when reading through adverse effects, I am not so sure about it. I've managed to live with the health anxiety for the past 12 years or so and I am doing fine (aside from being anxious). I've never being afraid of taking medications in my life, just rationally, when I read what can happen, I am like, what the heck...I would only take this if if there was absolutely no other cure.

[Worried_91]

Somatoform disease? Wow, not heard of that one? Although I feel most anxiety causes physical symptoms? How do you feel about that diagnosis?

Oh geeze, yeah reading side effects of medications can definitely exacerbate symptoms, but hopefully in the long-term they'll provide relief from the anxiety.

[Hypo84]

Somatoform disorder is just a fancy term for health anxiety. Obviously there are different types of HA, and this is one of them.
You have some physical symptoms caused by something benign ir anxiety - you are thinking irrationally about them - once you do all the test you calm yourself down then you get some other symptoms - and the cycle continues.

According to this psychiatrist hypochondriacs are people who visit the doctor's office frequently and believe that their particular disease can't be detected by available tools.

That's probably a correct distinction technically, but to me, both are HA, manifesting itself in different ways.

[Worried_91]

That sounds exactly what I'm suffering from. Symptoms will stop which will subsequently stop the worry of whichever disease but then something else will crop up triggering anxiety about another disease, vicious cycle!

Having a bad day today

[Hypo84]

I think this forum doesn't help. A lot of s**t that I am now afraid of and wasn't before, I've seen here. I don't visit ALS forums, but then you read here that people read on those forums that slow onset is possible, you read about deviated uvula which I didn't know what is and it triggers anxiety again.
I'll try to quit everything, even coming here, as I am not sure what else to do. Being this afraid every day is no way to live a life when I am going to die eventually.

[Worried_91]

Right, I think the Internet and its accessibility doesn't help. I'm so fed up with it. I just want to enjoy life again pre-anxiety. I wish I could rewire my anxious brain. I'm now worried this chronic stress is damaging my heart and I'm on way to a heart attack. It just sucks