Hello,
I've suffered from health anxiety for some time now and, compared to how I was a year or so ago, I am in a much better place. I've learnt that Dr Google is the worst doctor out there, that anxiety can cause more or less any physical/mental bodily sensation (in times of extreme stress, my eyesight has even gotten worse; that was freaky!) and that the best way to manage HA is with a calm mind, regular body movement and healthy diet. I lost at least 12 months of my life panicking from bowel cancer after I self-diagnosed myself from a funny looking stool back in November 2018. I'm more or less over this fear now, I think. If I did have bowel cancer, I would almost certainly know about it by now! Numerous doctor visits, blood and faeces tests revealed IBS. All that said, there is something that has bothered for around 18 months now, and it is a persistant, dull ache in my right side.

The pain or ache itself is difficult to describe. It's somewhere between an ache and a squeeze and I can't pinpoint the location. It's sort of focused around where my ribs are on my right flank, and can radiate up or down slightly. Find the space between your ribs and hips; it often feels like it's there as well. Twisting, poking or prodding doesn't really hurt any extra, but there have been times when I stretch in a particular way and I get a sharp, lasting, sore muscle type pain. Some days are worse than others. Some days the "squeeze" sensation makes me feel nauseus, but I've never come close to vomiting. Other days it's a minor, barely noticable irritation. But it's always there in some form. I've seen a doctor and they say it must be muscular; nothing else can cause this type of thing. Because this started around the time I diagnosed myself with bowel cancer, I've inextricably linked the two. This muscle pain must be caused by a growing tumour in my body. Or perhaps it's kidney cancer, or something else outrageous.

Does this sound familiar to anybody? I've recently moved countries and I want to see another doctor and maybe a physio to get to the bottom of this. Can poor posture, health anxiety or something benign cause something to last this long?

Very grateful for any help and kind regards.