Hi everyone,
I'm new here and am a long term health anxiety sufferer.
I have been suffering foot cramping that has progressed in frequency for 18 months. It is now every day. The scarier symptom is muscle thinning on my lower legs which I noticed a few weeks ago. I have had a "normal" strength and reflex test by my GP and have a neuro referral in 3 weeks.
I am going out of my mind with worry. I have lost a lot of weight, and really struggle to maintain a normal life, (I took early retirement). I have a constant pit in my stomach and I struggle to keep my heart rate down.
My big, BIG, mistake was researching on the internet, obsessively. My symptoms don't fall neatly into any diagnosis, rather they are "suggestive" of several really scary ones!
I started taking Citalopram 10mg 3 weeks ago but they don't seem to be working yet. I am in touch with a CBT therapist I had last year (for the same issue, before it got this bad..) who is happy to talk to me while I am on the waiting list for therapy again.
I feel I am in a "sub category" of health anxiety. I am not constantly seeking reassurance for every ache and pain thinking it is the worst. I have real symptoms awaiting a diagnosis that I cannot for the life of me think might be other than a catastrophic outcome! I have been trying meditations, mindfulness, welcoming intrusive thoughts and observing them, trying to do "normal" things to retrain my mind, reminding myself to "follow the plan not the mood", but to be honest nothing is working consistently. Every minute of every day is a struggle not to body check and go on the internet.
I have read many people's stories on this forum and can identify with their pain and suffering. I was reluctant to post, particularly in the symptom section because it could potentially feed into the reassurance seeking aspect of my anxiety, but I've done it now!