changing symptoms

[cornishmaid]

first i was checking my blood pressure and pulse all day long,was all i thought about to be honest,if it was up a bit id panic or if it was bit lower than what i thought in my mi9nd to be normal off i go panic again,when it was perfectly ok all the time,so after that i focused on my heart,had chest pains ,palpatations etc etc,forgot a all about the blood pressure checking ,then got over the heart thing and was food allergys and medication allergic reactions(never had any tho) and didnt give 2 thoughts to heart probs and symptoms went away,now its headaches,(got sent to opthamologist other day,and after a good check over she said everything was fine and didnt need brain scan)so that was ok for couple days ,,they said my headaches come from neck muscles which was having physio for,still got headache slightly but i keep thinking maybe they should done the brain scan even thio my doc and the consultant in the hospital said it wasnt needed as i was showing no other signes of anything bad,now normally that would be enough to quash my fears, but no not for me ,damn this health anxiety,i swear i will beat you eventually :yesyes:

[bev41]

Your story sounds very familiar to me!! Last year I had a bad panic attack and this triggered off my anxiety. First I thought I had cervical cancer and was self checking obsessively when I went to the loo, then I thought it was bladder cancer - a scan showed that to be fine. Then I decided it was ovarian cancer and prodded my stomach for a few weeks for pain/lumps etc!! Then I lost the sight in my right eye - not totally but could only see bright light/ flashes. Went to docs and my BP actually was through the roof! Admitted to hosp for tests - a brain scan was mentioned but bloods etc came back fine so hypertension was diagnosed and brain scan wasn't done. I was sent home on BP meds but then convinced myself I had a brain tumour, was having a stroke - you name it. I even thought the 'bladder / cervical cancer' was secondary and I was months away from death. Back to GP - prescribed sertraline 50 mg for anxiety and had a great 12 months - anxiety still popped up at times but I was able to rationalise with myself. 2 weeks ago - out of the blue, anxiety came back with a bang and I'm back on the brain tumour theory. In my saner moments I know it's anxiety that causes me to feel and think like this but it's so horrible!! Hang in there Cornishmaid x

[charly]

A friend of mine with terminal cancer said to me recently that the first thing he thought of at hearing the diagnosis was "god I wish I hadn't wasted time worrying about my health before now" he spent years convinced he had every disease under the sun when the one he got he had never even heard of. It may be tough love to say it but there is a (metaphorical) bullet with your name on it and you will never know who is holding the (metaphorical) gun, anxiety tries to apply a warped logic to this impossible puzzle and its not ever going to be right. You will never know what is going to finnish you off, you just have to enjoy every second you have before you find out. Like my friend wishes he had done.

Dr Charly prescribes you both a holiday and some time in a floatation tank. I am no expert but these symptoms sound like Anxiety manifestations to me.

I speak from experience, I have (in my head) had cancer, MS, AIDS, and DVT in the past few months and looking at it from the other side I can see I caused all the symptoms myself.

[cornishmaid]

thanks for replying, its a right pain in the rear,i hate the way it goes then comes back when u least expect it ,the lady i seen for cbt last week (was first session) said thats prob a cause of my anxiety ,am worried thats it going to come back so i fret and worry until it does reappear

[cornishmaid]

and Charley,i too have had most of them things in my head too ,,and what u write is totally true,i read a post on here other day and it did make me feel stronger,i was scared of having my hair coloured in case of allergy to the hair dye!!!,i even cancelled my appointment last week,but yest,i thought what the hell,i need it done,im going get it done,i been having it done for 10 years ,same place,never had any probs,so in i went and am now all nicely coloured,what i made a fuss for about that i do not know,but thats only one hurdle ,hope i can keep it up

[charly]

You sounds like you are making progress, don't underestimate how far you have come. I realised a lot of my anxiety was linked to my being overweight, now I refuse to stop losing weight and excercising no matter how bad it gets, it is my constant, maybe you could find a constant thing not linked to your anxiety to keep you focused on something else?