first post... why do we have these symptoms??

[Aleisha920]

Hello,

I have been struggling with pretty bad health anxiety for the past 6 months now and I have come to this site many times and have found that im not alone with all these weird symptoms!!! I'm a 27 year old nurse and often i think my job, as much as I love what I do, makes my health worries so much worse. I have just started working with a therapist as I have had enough of going in and out of my doctors office with another weird symptom, having labs done, and everything being fine. I'd like to share a list of symptoms that I've had recently that haven't had any other explanation other than my brain playing tricks on me:

joint pain - mostly my hands and wrists
Left side/rib pain
pins and needles in my fingers - mostly pad of thumb or pinky finger
neck/back pain and stiffness
armpit/breast pain - sometimes one side at a time, sometimes both
pelvic pain
weird headache - left sided mostly, sometimes would come on as a "twinge"
lump in throat feeling

from all of these symptoms Ive diagnosed myself with: Lyme, leukemia, lymphoma, MS, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, PID, brain tumor, thyroid cancer.

usually i dont feel anxious when these symptoms start, but as soon as one starts i focus on it, freak out, run to dr google (worse decision almost every time) run to a real doctor, have tests done until I can accept that its nothing, and eventually it goes away, and something else starts the cycle again.

has anyone ever received an explanation from a health care professional on why these random symptoms occur??

I try to google it but can't come up with anything and i also dont want to accidentally stumble upon something thats going to tell me its not anxiety and im actually dying. I have asked my dr and she said that this is just how anxiety can sometimes manifest itself.

one thing i really want to work on with my therapist is how to make these symptoms stop happening, which I assume will be to address the underlying anxiety. Im trying to focus on going to the gym as often as i can as my therapist told me that 30 minutes of cardio three times a week can significantly help balance the chemicals in your brain that affect anxiety/depression

does anyone have any self help tips that i might be able to try at home? Or any vitamins or herbs that have helped?

thanks for letting me share my story, i hope that with therapy and talking to people like me on this site that this will all get better!!

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya Aleisha920 and welcome to NMP

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way

[Aleisha920]

thanks! I briefly looked at the articles section but I will look again now.

[flipsake]

If its any help my pattern is exactly like yours. I end up stuck in a cycle, don't want to see Dr again for non existant problem. Annoyed with self that another mystery problem has appeared. Struggle to convince myself that it is just another one, because 'this time it might be a real thing'.

I also share your hopes that this will get better and I'm starting with a therapist tomorrow.

Since I have a fear of the docs and hospitals I was interested to read your post. I suppose HA can affect anyone. I'm always quite jealous of all the people happily waling around the hospital doing their jobs while I creep along like a wreck.