Health- To ask you to share a time you've been sure there's something seriously wrong, and there wasn't?

[heliocentric]

Sorry to hijack AIBU, I'm in absolutely panic central.

Please please tell me about a time you've been waiting for assessment or tests results and you've been so sure it's something horrendous, but it's been ok.

I am so far down the rabbit hole in my head of it being bad. Struggling to function.

DOI have health anxiety, on treatment and recently started therapy but seen no benefits yet.

@Vispa I hope you don't mind me asking, if it wasn't MS what was it x
I have these symptoms too

End of 2020 I was convinced I had breast cancer at 21. A lump I had wasn't mobile was painful through most of my cycle and was hard. Turns out it was fibrous tissue that went hard as a response to my hormones in my birth control. Few months later Feb 2021 same issue but this time with an armpit lump and was sent for a scan, all was fine. Turns out the new deodorant I was using was causing hard large pimples to form under my skin. July 2021 again same issue I was convinced I had breast cancer again on my right side the tissue was even harder and was a larger area. The dr was worried too, had a breakdown at the breast clinic but yet again- everything was fine.

May 2021 convinced I had melanoma. It was seen by GP who said it was for sure benign.

August 2021 a dent in my thigh (large dimple) convinced myself I have a thigh sarcoma. Turns out I had atrophy from a badly injected anti sickness med in labour.

In between I've had fears of abdominal masses cancers, lymphoma, cervical cancer, chrons disease, thyroid cancer all sorts. I was fine.

I'm awaiting an appointment with ENT for ongoing smell hallucinations and dizziness (vertigo) next Monday. I've been waiting a while and am fearing brain cancer or MS
But rationally I know that would be extremely rare. Each one of the times I've convinced myself through google I'm dying - I've been fine.

Health anxiety is a real thief. Gets me so depressed but staying off google snd staying productive helps.

Thank you for sharing all

Was convinced I had high blood pressure and it was dangerously high. When I went in for a routine op, I just knew there would be an anxious pause, someone senior would be called "Charlie. Look at this. Is there a fault with the machine?" and they would take me urgently to A&E. I should bring a spare nightie and dressing gown and urgent arrangements would need to be made to bring my children to school. If I died, no one would know what meds my ASD son was on or his daily schedule.

I steadied myself, having obsessed about this for some months.

So they put the cuff on & they didn't bat an eyelid at the result.

You are all my people. I thought I was the only one.

I'd been suffering from really painful aching joints that was only getting worse. Only in my thirties, so assumed something nasty and degenerating, MS, RA or similar. Especially as I was completely completely completely exhausted as well.

It was only Vitamin D deficiency and low iron. Yup, I'm good now.

I was also on the receiving end of "you have abnormal results, you're seeing the specialist tomorrow" while pregnant. Shaved 10 years off my life, but absolutely no issue.

Oh not to mention the facial numbness and smell hallucinations whatever it is I have atm is giving me ..

Probably anxiety or post covid side effects I hope

Between the ages of about 20 and 32 I had at least 4 sets of symptoms that I was convinced were something serious even when the doctor couldn't find anything. The last time, I got a second opinion and the second doctor said "my gut feeling is that it's stress-related." I wasn't even under any particular stress at the time, but my worries and the symptoms went away overnight - it was as if I'd been given permission not to worry about it. The only problem (possibly) is that I've now gone the other way. My default position is "leave it a week and see if it goes away on its own" but I will often stretch that to several weeks rather than ask, only to be told that it's nothing. In the last 20 years or so I have literally only been to the doctor when there was clear empirical evidence of something real that could be treated (which is about 4 times in total). Any vaguer symptoms have always gone away on their own. I know at some level that this is unwise and could come back to bite me on the bum one day, but emotionally I just don't seem to be able to worry any more.

A very badly worded lunchtime message from my dr's receiptionist, asking me if I could come in for an appointment that afternoon, had me convinced I was going to be told I had something terminal. I was already being treated for something that had the potential to kill me if it wasn't caught but that was very much under control at this point. The mesage made me think that with all of the tests something else had been spotted. It had, but something pretty minor in the grand scheme and that I already knew about.

I was sobbing all the way there and through the appointment and could have killed someone when the doctor said that oh no, she hadn't said today at all, just that it would be good to see me about the new thing when I was free.

I was admitted to hospital overnight from A&E with one sided pain and bleeding when 6 weeks pregnant with DS1 - suspected ectopic. I was convinced they were going to take my ovary out.

Scanned the next morning and it was all fine, there was a little heartbeat and everything. It was ligament pain and a small cyst causing the bleeding. DS1 is nearly 6 and is currently eating nutella and playing roblox.

Yes. MS, mouth cancer, brain tumour, nearly everything you can think of. It's awful isn't it

It's really hard to explain to people how this can completely take over, isn't it. And for me it's a proper mental health condition, but it isn't viewed the same as other types of anxiety.

I've been for a swim and feel less horrendous.

@VanillaAndOrange

Between the ages of about 20 and 32 I had at least 4 sets of symptoms that I was convinced were something serious even when the doctor couldn't find anything. The last time, I got a second opinion and the second doctor said "my gut feeling is that it's stress-related." I wasn't even under any particular stress at the time, but my worries and the symptoms went away overnight - it was as if I'd been given permission not to worry about it. The only problem (possibly) is that I've now gone the other way. My default position is "leave it a week and see if it goes away on its own" but I will often stretch that to several weeks rather than ask, only to be told that it's nothing. In the last 20 years or so I have literally only been to the doctor when there was clear empirical evidence of something real that could be treated (which is about 4 times in total). Any vaguer symptoms have always gone away on their own. I know at some level that this is unwise and could come back to bite me on the bum one day, but emotionally I just don't seem to be able to worry any more.

Love this. Love the "one week" rule. It's helped me a lot too.. along with staying off google. This also has made me feel somewhat better.. if you're ok, I'm gonna be ok too. Thanks for sharing :)

My health anxiety has improved so much in the last few years - I think WFH has been the making of me.

All that daily stress from going into an office has just vanished (I'm autistic and it was hugely difficult). At the start of covid I also turned my diet around and started exercise too. That's probably not a coincidence either.

In the old days, I was regularly at the doctors, had so many tests and scans for random aches and pains and terrors and never found anything properly wrong with me (apart from things like low vitamin D). Stress and anxiety do weird, weird things to you.

What's your diet and exercise life like OP? You mentioned feeling better after swimming - could you do more?

@rmummyofone

I had/have a range of quite severe symptoms (tingling/vertigo/exhaustion/visual disturbances/ringing in my ears/brain fog etc) Very scary. It turned out to be related to Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). I have been told in my case they're very confident it will all sort itself out, and it is getting much better, I'm nearly recovered. Hope you are OK
My neurologist recommended this FND website, but obviously please don't go reading and scare yourself incase it's not relevant to you

www.neurosymptoms.org/en_GB/

Is it bizarre to say thank you for this thread? I thought it was only me...

to all of you suffering

Me too. At one point during my pregnancy with DD2 I was certain the pain I was experiencing was the sign of a rare and unique terminal illness. It was simply that the little sod kept bouncing around on my ovarian cyst. Once she got into position for the birth, I felt so much better.

I can do think of three right away, there must be more though.

I spent a weekend convinced I had breast cancer, it was a wart (sexy!).

Also thought I had a concerning growth in my ear, it was a zit and just brushed off one day

Thought DS had a terrible skin condition on hit head, doctor took a quick look and diagnosed cradle cap. Rubbed oil on it and it more or less disappeared after one treatment.

OP, years ago, I coughed up some blood and went to my doctor just to check it was nothing serious. I had no pain. My doctor sent me off to the hospital for a chest X ray, and called me very soon after to say they'd found 2 shadows on my lungs. What was worse was my doctor was really worried, not matter of fact at all.

I then had a nightmare 6 weeks, being sent from one oncology clinic to another, just me and lots of cancer patients. I had multiple scans and tests. None of the specialists told me anything. My GP was so worried she'd call me after hours, as none of the specialists gave her any information either.

Finally, after 6 weeks, I was told that one of the shadows was a long-healed TB granuloma (I think like scar tissue?) from about 20 years previously (I didn't even know I'd ever had TB) and the other shadow...disappeared. Only then did they mention that there can be nodules on your lungs that are nothing to worry about and can just disappear again.

It was the most, surreal, terrifying 6 weeks of my life. But I was/am fine.

So don't worry, and don't assume the worst.

Good luck - I know how scary this is. But if you don't have a history of this, statistically it's probably nothing to worry about.

Oh gosh yes - I've 'had' inflammatory bowel disease, MS, breast cancer, brain tumours, ALS, heart problems. Except of course I haven't really.

I read Overcoming Health Anxiety in the sweet spot between being reassured about whatever had been worrying me and my next obsession starting up. I don't think it would have worked if I had been at the peak of my anxiety about something, but because I'd just seen a specialist (privately and I don't have health insurance) and was feeling ok, it did work. Everything I read made sense and I was able to stop the next cycle starting. Like I say, if I'd have been at my very worst and lowest point I'm not sure it would have hit home, but because I was feeling positive - and frustrated at myself for having done it again - it really really helped me. I've been pretty much ok ever since (8 or 9 years).

Huge sympathy to you though OP, it absolutely sucks.

I had a test for antibodies for an autoimmune disease. I was absolutely sure I had it. Had to wait ages for the results. But I didn’t.

@Vispa thank you for sharing! Im glad it's going away for you!
I have strange symptoms of on and off vertigo, smelling smoke randomly
As well as facial numbness. Nothing else really.

Waiting for the appointment on Monday snd will know more from then .. keep me in your thoughts :(
Really hoping my anxiety isn't right and im just fine.

I have had OCD, GAD and Health anxiety since I was a child. I have lost count the amount of time I have convinced myself that I am dying from some sort of illness and I get physical symptoms. I have had chest pain and shooting pains up and down my left arm, numbness and tingling in my arms and hands, pressure in head, blurry vision, flashes of light, dizziness and that isn't even scratching the surface. All of these symptoms were caused by my anxiety. Google is honestly the worst thing and the amount of time I have wasted on the bloody thing is a joke.

Oh my goodness. So much resonates with me. I'm better than I was since starting anti ds but I still routinely have a melt down. Currently waiting on ultrasound I'm not really sure why - I went to GP to query prolapse. I guess ovarian cyst / fibroids is what they'll check for but spent a good while googling. It's really hard but I have tried to Google benign causes more. This helps

I was utterly utterly convinced I had lymphoma for about 3 years and during that time and after convinced I had many other life threatening conditions but the main one was lymphoma that kicked it all off. A bit like you, I was totally thrown when the GP sent me for a scan as I assumed he would just say it’s nothing and that would be that. Cue years of specialist appointments, countless ultrasounds and biopsies, etc etc. No one was ever 100% sure there was definitely nothing wrong as my lymph nodes were slightly swollen and no one wanted to be the one to tell me it was definitely fine. It was concluded my lymph nodes are just easy to feel as I’m slim and even though they were slightly inflamed it could have been from having something as simple as a cold and they hadn’t gone back down yet. Anyway I totally understand how you feel. Health anxiety completely took over my whole life for years and only got better when I had a baby and was too distracted or too busy to be constantly googling. I also did exposure therapy which helped. In the midst of it all there wasn’t a single second of the day (and that is not an exaggeration) that I wasn’t thinking about there being something really wrong. I hope you’re able to get through it with some counselling x