Never ending neurological disease fear

[screddie]

I haven't posted or even been on NMP for about 2 months. I have been doing well; new girlfriend, job going great and promotion and lots going on in my social life. Basically i'm totally happy and in no way stressed or plagued with worry. Until of course i start feelings rubbish again for no reason!!!! And because there's no reason i think it is more than anxiety again.

I have posted loads of times before over the last 2 years about tremors, head sensations, muscle aches and weakness and exercise making me feel bad. I also get this very regular feeling of pressure/tension behind my eyes and around me nose and dizziness. Yesterday i saw the article below about a 19 year old being diagnosed with early onset parkinsons. Linked from that was the second article. They really scared me as both said it took years to diagnose. The second one sounds so similar to me - lack of energy, trouble sleeping well, back to the doctor time and time again only to be sent away and being told to grit my teeth and keep working at it. Now i'm scared again!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8650715.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7425182.stm

Need some reassurance - should i be worried??? I can never get past the feeling that something is wrong and it will take years to find.

[guitarpants]

Well here's what I try to tell myself, and it's true. Don't worry until you have something to worry about. Stay in the present. You're worrying about something that doesn't exist now, just something that might at some point in the future. Worry, stress, and anxiety are unhealthy, by worrying you are making yourself more prone to disease. And by worrying about something that doesn't exist, you are lowering your quality of life right now. You are missing out on life for really no reason if you think about it.

Yes, unfortunately some people get diseases. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about it. However, anxiety is one of those things that can be treated and can recover from. That's the good news. Your disease is fear of problems that don't really exist. The link between body and mind is profound. Those with depression, anxiety, and chronic stress do in fact tend to develop health problems more often than those that don't. But again, that's nothing to worry about because it takes many many years and it's preventable.

However, I understand there are some diseases that just happen whether you are of healthy mind and body or not. Yes, it's unfortunate, and a bit worrisome. However, this is extraordinarily rare. Those articles you posted, things like that happen virtually never, that is why they are interest articles. It's something mostly unheard of. In life you don't get any guarantees, but you have to make the most of what you have.

I empathize because I share common fears. I push them down but I do sort of fear parkinson's due to my muscle twitching, lyme disease, brain infection, epilepsy, etc. etc. I think we share a fear of losing our mental functioning. It's simply a fear of being disabled, having our lives slip away slowly. But the fact is that we are fine. If it ever does happen, most likely it'll be at the end of our lives anyway, and even then it's unlikely. I don't want to wait until then, dying at 99 years old with no real health problems, and look back on my life and realize I wasted it worrying.

I wanted to add, a lot of things are going to change in modern medicine over the next couple of decades. One of the last major advancements were antibiotics. Think about how profound that is. It took plagues, terminal diseases and infections, incurable afflictions, and now they can be cured with a pill. They went from life-threatening to being inconveniences. I think within the next few decades we may have true anti-viral medication and not just ones that prevent virus replication. Gene mapping and stem cell research is going to change a lot. I think a lot of disease like parkinson's will become not only more treatable, but reversible, and curable. within 100 years or so, people will be commonly living to 100-120 years old.

[screddie]

Hi NinjaXero - thank you so much for your reply. It was extremely pleasing to see someone had responded, and even better when i saw how thorough it was. Great post and really helped me. You are right that we share the same fear. I guess i have trouble controlling the mental rationalisation when i feel such strong sensations/symptoms.

You are right though. Living in the future simply doesn't help. Thank you.

[Going home]

Hi there, to be honest your symptoms also sound alot like low blood sugar, the trembling and weakness etc are just signs that your engine is knocking a bit...especially if you work out too. I would think at your age its not likely to be Parkinsons. Look up the symptoms for low blood sugar and see if yours also match this? I would think its allowed to google this one as its not life-threatening so you're unlikely to read anything nasty and you've obviously googled Parkinsons anyway

Take care
Anna xx

[guitarpants]

And even if it is low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), it is easy to manage, detect, and you don't need medication. Keep in mind also that anxiety causes periods of low blood sugar.