where do i start?? health anxiety is taking over my life!

[leah22]

Hello everyone!

well it all started just over 2 years ago when i was 25 i thought i found a lump under my arm and as i am petrified of the doctors i didn't go until a week later and as you can imagine i was in a right state. I finally went and it turned out it wasn't a lump and was nothing to worry about! 3 weeks later i took my daughter to see a musical when we got home i got into bed and had a severe chest pain i couldn't move and in the days after i was getting pins and needles in my arm, i was convinced i was going to have a heart attack, at this time i was seeing my doctor every friday so she could check how i was feeling as she thought i was depressed (i wasn't) and for 8 weeks i thought i was going to die until i finally told her what i was thinking, she asked how long i was feeling like this and i told her, she replied with "it don't take 8 weeks to have a heart attack" and now when i look back i can have a little giggle of how silly i must of sounded but back then i believed it was going to happen. At that time i was very over weight so i joined slimming world and have since lost 8 stone.

i no longer worry about my heart but i am in constant fear of cancer in the last 2 years i have thought i might have breast cancer, cervical and now i am thinking i have bowel cancer, for over a year now i have had piles they are very uncomfortable but i have shown my doc (several times) and said she can refer me to the surgeon who will have a look to see if he can remove them but i have put it off as i am scared of being put to sleep just incase i never wake up again! but finally 4 weeks ago i give in and have asked the doc to refer me to the hospital, but since 4 weeks ago i have started to have very loose bowels (no direohea) which is a change in my bowel habits they are so loose that i don't even feel the discomfort from the piles, my brain is working over time i am in constant fear that i will die young and leave my kids with out a mum. please help!!

Also i cannot read or watch the news because all this jade Goody stuff is frighting the life out of me!!

[blackbadger]

Hello Leah,
You know acute anxiety can give you very loose stools. Have you ever had diarrhoea before a dentists appointment or when you have been shocked by something? Well, its the body's way of making your frame lighter so that you can quickly flee from the problem, a very basic instinct we humans have. It is definitely a symptom of anxiety but having said that, we are advised that any change of bowel habit that persists for more than two weeks needs investigation.
I do understand how you feel. I had all the symptoms you have and all the irrational fears when I was your age and here I am 30 years on and still alive and none of my fears materialised. I still worry like hell about my health and a story like poor Jade Goody sends my anxiety sky high. Try to be reassured by your doctor(she seems nice) and don't forget the body has strong powers to heal itself...it does not submit to disease easily and will always strive to resore the body to full health. Take care and keep posting.X

[David_1]

Hello Leah

I can really relate with your story like you every symptom i have i link it to cancer i get very anxious depressed and withdrawn i have 16 month old girl and one on the way in june and i'm always worrying i wont be here for them.
I hate myself for thinking the way i do and the jade goody story just makes it more real for me.With the loose bowls it could be IBS the worry can trigger it off i know it does for me.

Keep us posted!

[kaysheldon]

oh gosh this post really made me pay attention... The Jade goody thing has been terrifying me. Its awful as i feel bad for caring about myself when she's going through hell but as soon as i hear her name my stomach drops. And, it seems at the minute that you cant escape it. also, i have Polycystic Ovaries so i often get totally accounted for abdominal pain. GRRR its frustrating isnt it x x x

[cleonagh]

hi leah i totally feel like you i think have cancer every day of my life and the thing with jade goody i cant bear to read newspapers or magazines as i feel as if i have it to

[cleonagh]

thanks for the reply its really good we are not alone and it just shows us how many people suffer like us i hope we all get the help we really need i just want to live a normal live for me and my children hope to speak to you really soon

[vikkij21]

hi, can completly relate to this, I to am in constant fear of cancer and haven't been able to pick up a paper or magazine in weeks, I had myself completly covinced I was dying last week and ended up at the emergency dr cause I couldn't calm down, worst panic attack i've had, was awful. have calmed down a bit since then and although still constenly worried def not as panic stricken, although it's awful it is really good to know that im not the only one who feels like this, take care xxx

[Liverbird67]

when my lads were little I went through a phase were I was worried about Cancer due to some problems with my breasts it was horrible I went to see a consultant at the local hospital and on the bus on the way home I had envisaged a funeral, writing a will the absolute lot. I didn't have cancer and my lads are now 20 and 21 and I went onto have another child, but at the time I made myself quite ill with it suffice to say that fear of leaving my kids has never really left me and when really ill with anx all the old fears and feelings do come back its horrible I think it is some sort of exaggerated response to illness and leaving dependents.

Hope you start to feel better soon it will improve once your anxiety levels drop.

[leah22]

Thank you to everyone that has replied to my post, although i wouldn't wish anxiety on my worst enemy it is comforting to know that it's not just me and is actually quite common! keep posting people x

[Jan63]

Yes I also suffer with the fear of cancer too and every pain I get I think it might be cancer related.:weep: Cancer is my worst fear.:weep: I think what Jade is going through at the moment has brought it all home to us - well I know it has for me anyway. I had a breast lump which I found just before Christmas and I convinced myself it was breast cancer but fortunately after having mammograms and ultrasound at my local hospital breast clinic they diagnosed it as a cyst.:) I am trying my best not to worry about it though. It's hard when you have kids and you are so scared of leaving them.:weep:

[blacksheep]

you may have irritable bowel syndrome (which isnt serious) that causes your bowel habits to change, I have it and one day can go from having the runs to being blocked up like a drain!!! piles can be treated with cream. I doubt after a year that it will be bowel cancer and you haven't listed the main symptom of it here (and I wont as I dont want you to go looking!) I have had HA for years and thought I had bowel cancer even had a camera up my behind (twice!) and it was all clear....IBS does give a whole range of symptoms that mimic other things, its good to get it checked but bear in mind, of all the things that can go wrong down there cancer is probably the rarest cause.