Unsure of myself

[Acidomoduso]

Hi all,
OK... I am having a bad week and just need to get it off my chest really. My wife has been brought up to be kind of hard when it comes to the issues I have so i thought I'd chew your ears off instead!

I've had a cough for a couple of months now, coupled with strange right-sided pains. The pains are almost like you've been running and you try to breathe heavily afterwards. They seem to be in a straight line from my throat to my upper abdomen (if you draw a line from my right jaw bone down, that's where they are). They appear to be in three places - just below my rib on the soft part of my abdomen, on my chest just up and left of my right nipple, and on the right side of my throat. I also feel a little pain in the right side of my back. When I breathe in heavily, it almost tickles my throat and makes me cough. It also feels like there's a lump in the top of my abdomen, just below the sternum. It is tender when pressed and does seem to be worse when I'm a bit panicky. I also feel almost a rush feeling (probably the panic). I have felt quite sick (nauseous) this week too.

Now, as you may or may not be aware, I've had blood tests and x-rays and the only thing the x-ray saw was a line "vascular in nature" near (or on) my liver. Bloods came back clear (apart from a slightly raise liver reading - not enough to be a worry) and I've had many a doctor feel my abdomen. So, I'm pretty sure there's nothing serious going on (just not 100% sure! :D )

I've kind of become obsessed with this area and this week have been feeling a little panicky for the first time in quite a few years. My sleep is suffering and I'm sure that isn't helping. I'm not prodding daily but do seem to be checking the area every 3-4 days. Sometimes I feel OK and other times I feel quite rough.

I suppose my questions are... do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone? Am I panicking over nothing? Could I be suffering from IBS and mistaking the symptoms? Does anyone have any tips to bring myself back down?

Sorry to ramble guys but you are the only ones that will understand what I'm going through! :blush: Any advice would be appreciated.

btw... I have managed to abstain from Google for once! :yesyes:

[RosieXXX]

Hello,

Thank goodness you have managed to stay away from google.

All the doctors who have examined you, are perfectly sure there isn't anything to be concerned about - if they had the slightest doubt they would have ordered further investigation. Your blood work has come back within normal range - nothing to worry about, and your x-rays have shown nothing which causes concern; they know exactly what they are looking for, and Nothing untoward has shown up. Anxiety does awful things to our mind, and I know what it is like to focus in on something, and how difficult it is to shake off the nagging doubts. The right sided pains you are feeling could be due to some muscular tension, which is probably made worse by your general feeling of anxiety. Try not to prod, because all it does is feed your anxiety; at least you have said you are pretty sure there is nothing serious going on, so try and build on this positive thought - be strong don't allow those niggling doubts to take over. I do hope you will be feeling less anxious soon.

[Acidomoduso]

Thanks for your words of wisdom, Rosie. I know it to be true but i still have that nagging doubt. Anxiety is a pain and it's unbelievable how it affects your body. I just need to find a way to control it. It's affecting my family life. I find myself not fully enjoying my time with my family because my mind is distracted with a nagging concern. It hasn't gone unnoticed! I want to be able to have a great time and know that i'm making a difference to my family just being there and not becoming a bore! :blush:

I am about to book my first appointment for CBT so hopefully it will help me out. :yesyes: