Lyme Disease anxiety

[AnxietySufferer]

Hi,

I feel my health anxiety has been spiraling out of control recently.

Back in Nov i noticed a rash on my leg. I thought it was ring worm and tried different creams and it wouldn't go. The doc thought it was possible a Lyme disease rash. I had already worried about this myself and did 2 home kits that were negative.

The doc at the time asked me about bruising. But I always get bruises coming up on my legs so its nothing new for me. The doc prescribed me a cream to try, it semi cleared the rash up but I can still see it faintly which send my anxiety into a spiral.

I have recently noticed a lot of spider veins on my legs and stupidly googled lyme disease and spider veins and now im back to convincing myself its Lyme disease again.

:(

i JUST FEEL SAD and fed up.

When i am having a good day, I think ok. I had x2 negative lyme tests. Spiders veins are common, especially in women. My anxiety makes my hyper aware, I also had a steroid cream, which can cause spider veins.
I cant even see them looking in the mirror, i go looking for them. They could have been there ages and now I am just so hyper aware of them. I am trying to do more walkin to try and improve my circulation.

On a bad day, I link everything together and convince myself its lyme disease as the test isn't accurate.

[cattia]

I’ve been through Lyme’s anxiety also! I think the thing with it is that Lyme’s is one of those illnesses that has such a range of symptoms. You could Google Lyme’s disease and fatigue, there is a link, Lyme’s disease and headaches, there’s a link, Lyme’s disease and insomnia, etc etc, you get the picture. The fact is that most of these symptoms are far more likely to be cause by other things or by nothing at all. My legs are covered in spider veins and have been for years, as a middle aged woman this is not unusual (I don’t know your age). I think it’s a very easy disease for HA to latch onto as it has all the hallmarks of something we can worry about - vague and diverse symptoms which are common and non specific, tests that can be inaccurate etc etc.

[AnxietySufferer]

I’ve been through Lyme’s anxiety also! I think the thing with it is that Lyme’s is one of those illnesses that has such a range of symptoms. You could Google Lyme’s disease and fatigue, there is a link, Lyme’s disease and headaches, there’s a link, Lyme’s disease and insomnia, etc etc, you get the picture. The fact is that most of these symptoms are far more likely to be cause by other things or by nothing at all. My legs are covered in spider veins and have been for years, as a middle aged woman this is not unusual (I don’t know your age). I think it’s a very easy disease for HA to latch onto as it has all the hallmarks of something we can worry about - vague and diverse symptoms which are common and non specific, tests that can be inaccurate etc etc.

Yeah this is the thing. I think it was hearing a doctor mention it, for someone with health anxiety that is essentially a death sentence lol. But she never prescribed me antibiotics so I guess I have to trust that, and the fact I had 2 negative home tests. I have also always had weird skin, I’ve been prone to excema etc (I did tell this to the doctor, to this day I don’t know what the rash was she told me she thought it was something rare which freaked me out, (but this was all done via a photo of a rash). She also didn’t suggest referring me for a blood test. Also I noticed the rash 10 months ago so the logical part of me says I would feel awful by now. But then the health anxiety part of me says that it can lie dormant in the body. Recently I have been hyper focused on my veins / circulation and I freaked out and linked it back to Lyme. I am only 25 so the spider veins really freak me out. They are most prominent on my thighs.