Hi everyone,
This is my first post here but I've been lurking for awhile. I'm struggling and need some input.

I have severe anxiety, especially health anxiety. Things came to a head for me a couple of weeks ago. I was struggling with my anxiety and not managing very well and then BAM! I had four panic attacks in four days. Part of that panic was around some weight loss I experienced (about 7 pounds in 10 weeks.) Now that I see that typed out, I can totally see that is not really a cause for alarm. I had made some adjustments to my eating habits but I hadn't initially set out to lose weight.

I went to see my GP (the second health care provider in a week) for just a check-in about my symptoms. He wasn't concerned at all about the weight loss or the heartburn (he recommended Pepcid for the heartburn and said it wasn't uncommon with anxiety.)

That same day I saw my GP, I also got in touch with my psych NP who got me a prescription for Effexor XR. Now, I have been on this medication before, but at that time we had taken a very long time to titrate up to my maintenance dose (four weeks to get to 150 mg.)

This time around, she had me titrate to 150 mg in about nine days. Holy side effects, Batman! Or at least I hope that's what I'm experiencing. In those nine days, I totally lost even more of my appetite. I woke up for six consecutive days with heart pounding panic. I get crazy air hunger yawns, etc.

I'm at the point now where I can eat, but it's not very much. I feel hungry but I just don't want to eat.

Here we are today when I was at my endocrinologist's office (I'm a diabetic) and at my weigh in I was a full 9 pounds less than I weighed twelve days ago at the GP's office. Cue anxiety spiral (though not nearly as bad as it could be because I think the Effexor is starting to do it's job.)

So if you've gotten through this rambling mess, I applaud you.

TL;dr version
I'm freaking out about weight loss and digestive symptoms. I feel pretty convinced that I have bowel or gastric cancer. I've lost a total of 16.5 pounds in 12 weeks. I've changed some of my eating habits on purpose, but lost most of that weight in the last twelve days when I started on Effexor XR (150mg). I've been to four health care providers in the last month (GP, internist NP, psych NP, OB/GYN) and none of them had any concern about my symptoms or weight loss.

I really hate health anxiety.