Fearing ALS

[Fishmanpa]

It's not a question of disliking you, Seymour.

This reassurance seeking isn't good for you, though, and nor is the constant Googling. I know it's tough, but you need to try and help yourself recover.

I agree. It's not dislike, it's frustration. It's frustrating seeing someone self-destruct, continually shoot themselves in the foot, ignore common sense and scientific fact to feed their real illness. Look at the other serial posters on here, the pattern they follow and you're following the exact same pattern. You've been diagnosed by three medical professionals with health anxiety. Based on your posts and the fact you're here, they're 100% correct.

Positive thoughts

[BlueIris]

So, you need to start working on dealing with the fear. We can't control what happens to us, but we do at least have a measure of control over how we deal with it.

[Seymour]

I know I absolutely have health anxiety. I have only seen doctors in June though before all that weakness and burning so I haven’t been evaluated for that and cleared.

I’m scared of my upcoming appointments because these symptoms seem progressive and are not going away so I’m thinking it’s something chronic.

Is there any way all this could be benign even though it aligns with symptoms of serious diseases?

[BlueIris]

Of course it could - did you see my recent thread?

I had a (measurable, visible) symptom that mimicked that of a serious disease so closely that when I described it to a doctor on a phone consult, they wanted me to seek help within 24 hours.

Turned out to be a simple minor infection.

[Seymour]

Yeah I have seen your thread I’m glad all went well for you.

When I Google my symptoms I only find progressive chronic diseases and all that medical information and diseases that mimic each other is completely overwhelming. Now I’ve seen that muscle twitching and my other symptoms fit with a type of spinal atrophy too and I can’t get my head around the fact that I could have all these symptoms that point perfectly to a disease but not have it.

[BlueIris]

If you Google the rash I had, you'll find plenty of places that say it can only ever be Lyme, which can have some really scary consequences.

The thing is, nobody is ever going to have your precise combination of bodily sensations and lived experiences. All you can do is trust the professionals, and then get on with living your life - this gets a whole lot easier if you make sure you have a life to be getting on with.

[Seymour]

Yeah I’m in this place right now of waiting for appointments to come and living with major health anxiety and worrying symptoms that never fade. I’m off work and staying at home all day.

And I know tests will take time and more uncertainty. I’m scared that a neurologist will think something is very wrong.

[BlueIris]

Seriously, Seymour, get back to work? It'll keep you distracted.

Don't worry if you can't always focus (I know I can't all the time), just go in, interact with people and do your best.

[Seymour]

I’m signed off until November as my doctor is going away and didn’t want me back in the wild in her absence in case something happens.

[Seymour]

Also my legs are so painful that it makes it hard to be normal.