Health Anxiety - Part 4

[polkadotpixie]

I hope no-one minds me starting a follow up thread. I know some people were waiting for me to update so I thought I would but happy to ask MNHQ to delete if one of the long term posters wanted to start it 😊

@cripez your post sounds just like me. Hope your scan went okay.

Has anyone tried St Johns Wart for mild anxiety? I've just bought some but I'm anxious about taking it - I can't win lol

Cripez

Hope all goes well with your Ultrasound today.

I'm stressed about the lumps today. I can feel them and I don't understand how they can say they are fine if they can't see them on the ultrasound 🥺

@PotNoodles234 I tried a few years ago but I got horrible really vivid dreams so I stopped after about a week.

@cripez Welcome. We all understand and we know that when you're in the midst of something it's hard to focus on anything but that. Take your time and don't put pressure on yourself. Hope the scan went well.

I'm sitting outside GP as DH has gone in for an appt. I'm so anxious about his health now that I've had the ok from the breast clinic. It's unlikely to be something serious but of course I'm in worst case scenario mode. We actually had a discussion on the way here wondering when, as a society, we went from thinking, ooh I have a niggle, must get it checked, to ooh I have a niggle, what if it's cancer. He reckons social media has made HA worse as we get the rare and tragic stories all the time.

My anxiety is also much worse before my period too.

@AJ297 As I understand it, normal tissue appears grey and fuzzy on an ultrasound. The denser it is the whiter it appears and fluid appears black. So I'm assuming the properties of a lump that needs looking at (eg cyst or tumour) would be visible, whereas normal tissue lumps just blend in? If that makes sense?!

Hi everyone, really glad to have found you!! I realized that I'm not alone with my HA after reading some of the posts here... my anxiety has really kicked of since first lockdown.

I have a long history of chronic gastritis and right upper abdominal pain. Had an ultrasound just last week which was normal apart from a small benign lesion found on my liver, apparently called a hepatic hemangioma. Was told that it was nothing to worry about and to carry on with my stomach medication. I don't know what to think, I'm worried about if it was already there when I did my first ultrasound in 2014 but no one mentioned it yet and if it has grown since then?? If it's causing me the pains in my upper abdomen? And I'm worried if it grows any bigger. My stomach pains always get worse before my period and I get really anxious and stressed. I also am worried about having to do another endoscopy too at some point regarding my stomach issues. The gastro I am seeing is saying she doesn't see any urgent need to do the endoscopy now and just had me do an ultrasound instead which showed up the liver lesion.

To top it all off I also had my smear test done yesterday as it was Borderline the last time I did it but HPV was negative. The Gynae will also run some blood tests for me next month regarding my hormones and to see if my gastro issues are being triggered by my any thyroid, etc...

I hate going to the docs and I'm currently living abroad, it's just awful with Covid as well and I don't know how I'm going to cope...

Welcome Lul

I understand it's so worrying when we are told anything about our liver I think we panic.

I had a simple liver cyst picked up on an ultrasound and the Dr was so unconcerned but it makes us feel so anxious.

I hope they get to the bottom of your smear test and can reassure you. Are you able to access good medical services in the county you are currently in?

@argueifnecessary have you looked up postural tachycardia? I'm wondering if I have this as when I get up in the morning and have a shower my heart goes crazy when I'm just standing still. Also get it after eating. It could be anxiety or it could be POTS. The good thing is that even if it is pots its not serious or dangerous, just annoying.

My symptoms at the moment are racing pulse, dizziness and weird little muscle twitches in my abdomen that feels like I am vibrating inside! Does anyone else get that? Stupidly googled and now I think I have Parkinsons, AML or MS.

My tight chest has gone which is weird. I think my health anxiety likes to keep me on my toes and so my symptoms change all the time. I'm finding the dizziness the most worrying at the moment.

I have officially given up on CBT. Even my therapist said it wasn't working for me and she thinks my health anxiety is caused by PTSD from a traumatic health situation 10 years ago. Feel like a bit of a failure really.

I've decided I'm going to speak to the GP and have an appointment on Weds. I just think that if I can get my heart checked and tell him about my other symptoms at least the ball will be in his court and he will have to figure out what is causing it all rather than me trying to figure anything out. He is a good GP but I'm a bit nervous as I think I'll probably end up sobbing on the phone or just sound like a crazy person telling him my stomach is vibrating 🤪

Does anyone else know what I mean about the stomach twitching? It's like when you get a twitchy eyelid but in my stomach. Even DH could feel it when he put a hand on my stomach. Of course me fixating on it is making it 100% worse. I wish I could be like DH and just forget about it and then it will go away. I know that now I'm focusing on it I will stop it from going away.

Argh. Anxiety sucks so much.

Hello all and thanks for your support earlier.

Well scan went ok and she didn't see anything to worry about. I'm relieved, as have been panicking for weeks about it, but still need to work out exactly why I'm still having pain.

@KasparKat I have PTSD from something that happened over ten years ago and that is the driving force behind my HA. I've had two lots of counselling in the last year and neither really understood me, or where I was coming from, they just kept telling me I was fine - not helpful! Next stop is EMDR therapy I think, but I will have to pay for it.

I'm covered in hives and my digestive system is a state, I'm absolutely exhausted but will stick around here if that's ok, to support you guys.

Could it be fatty liver @lul37 ?

I have fatty liver and sometimes it feels almost like it's pushing up against my ribs. I take Digesteeze twice a day for it, which does help a bit, and have given up booze and sugary soda.

@cripez yes the CBT therapist said I should have EDMR. I'm feeling exhausted with it all at the moment and don't feel up to making arrangements for it yet. Mine might be covered by my health insurance so would only need to pay a £100 excess.

I'm going to see what the GP says on Weds first and then call my insurance company when I feel up to it.

Just wish I could take a pill that would cure me forever! The only thing I'm finding that helps at the moment is health anxiety hypnotherapy on YouTube. I would recommend trying it and it's free!

I like a lady called Tansy Forrest hypnotherapy and there is also a US man called the anxiety guy I think that has some hypnotherapy and also some videos about anxiety symptoms. He says dizziness is a very common anxiety symptom.

@KasparKat I definitely know what you mean about the twitching stomach, in fact I started a thread on it a couple of weeks ago and was assured it was normal. I think it's my anxiety as I've started getting them in my hands now..it's never ending

Oh that's good to hear. Is it common then? I feel like my body wants to put me through all of the different physical symptoms of anxiety one by one...

@Earlgreyandcake i have just asked my son what happened at the time. He said he had no memory of hurting it x

@KasparKat

When I google my symptoms it mostly comes back with PoTS, however, as I've now taken my pulse every time when standing up, it seems to get really fast for about ten beats and then it kind of compensates? with getting really slow for a couple of beats and then normalises. I get the symptoms during the 'compensations'. From what I can find, it seems to be a nervous system problem rather than a heart problem so now I'm thinking brain tumour of course.

I also get lots of flutterings and also internal tremors - especially right now but I am of course under a LOT of stress and it does also seem to be associated with stress and anxiety.
And you know what I'm most afraid of right now? That the GP is going to order an MRI and it will show I am full on cancer and I won't be able to spend too much longer with my girls.

I need to think that the sooner I find out the sooner I could start treatment...except then I spiral into thinking it's probably so advanced I go in 6 weeks.

Also on different topic and regarding the pill that would cure us, maybe the research into psychedelic treatment could actually benefit us in the future?

@MarthasGinYard thank you for welcoming me. Healthcare here is hit and miss...i try to go for recommendations/reputation. Ive been trying to avoid hospitals at the moment and just using clinics but might not be able to avoid them much longer...especially if I'm not getting any answers with my current gastro. Hoping to get my second vaccine dose and then maybe feel abit safer to go to hospital for any diagnostic tests.

@cripez, I don't know would fatty liver show up on an ultrasound? The report says liver is normal other than the hemangioma. I've given up sweets and limited my chocolate and coffee sadly for two months now. Will have a look at those supplements you take, are they like digestive enzymes??

Forgot to add I don't drink or smoke but didn't exactly have a healthy diet previously.

Morning ladies, sorry that some of you are having a bad time! Wish we could work out the solution to health anxiety!!

I had a bad dream yesterday about being at the breast clinic, and then a bad dream overnight about bleeding after sex! I think it was related to my spotting… And the fact I have to book my smear as I've had my letter.

Woke up and had a brief poke of a lumpy bits in my breast, which I've convinced myself with something last night before I went to sleep. It just feel like normal tissue though, even though lumpy and it's been there for months. And it's on the breast which was scanned! But you know how it is, nothing is quite reassuring enough.

Up and at them anyway, and hoping for a better day than the start.

Morning everyone,

@Skyliner001 I hate when I have a health anxiety dream, I feel like it sets the tone for the day then. Glad you sound like you are fighting against it.

Here’s hoping we all have a good day!

Morning all. Has anyone had any treatment that works for HA? CBT is doing absolutely nothing for me, it seems to be the only thing on offer through the NHS. Just been on with my counsellor now, 16 minutes I was on the call and I've come away with 'distraction techniques' 🤨

The very best thing for me in terms of managing my HA is having time and space to talk myself around. Unfortunately I don't get a lot of that.

Yesterday I got through the scan by repeatedly saying to myself (in my head) 'It is dysfunctional to avoid medical appointments because you are afraid.' Over and over again.

@AJ297
CBT did nothing for me because I just can't get over the fact there is always a chance of something or other happening, no matter how minuscule. The therapist agreed she couldn't help me much with my anxiety.

I would also like to know if anyone has actually had success with sertraline or other AD-s?

@argueifnecessary yeah same with CBT, I wish they could just zap my brain and make me normal 😂 I'm on sertraline (on and off, I'm terrible with taking tablets) and it does seem to help!