Hi everyone. I am starting to have fears that I haven't had in many, many years. AGAIN. I am frustrated with the thoughts and even more frustrated with the feelings. I know that this is my pattern, but why does this stupid pattern have so much control over me????
I have had a rough patch these last 3 months. It started with shingles, that seemed to trigger my anxiety and depression although I think the timing was rather coincidental when I really think about it. I had EXTREMELY dry eyes for 2 months, finally got that under control, although the problem is persisting. Then I started having progressively worse dry mouth. To the point that I am having a hard time swallowing and I have choked on my food a couple of times. I have had both dry eyes and mouth in the past, very intermittently and not to the point that it had any impact on my life or ability to function like it does now, and have thought for many years that I probably have Sjogren's Syndrome. Now I am convinced, but of course since I have a history of anxiety, and I am a women, my doc seems to want every single thing I feel to be anxiety related. So I have been frustrated trying to deal with these feelings for 3 months now. Some are getting worse while others are getting better and so of course this morning, still sitting here with no answers and getting more and more concerned that I will feel this way forever, ALS popped into my head.
WHY?!?!?! I hate that I go there, because I have been down this road before and I don't want to do it again. I am really having swallowing problems, plus in the last 2 weeks I have had a few episodes of my knee kinda giving out on me. And of course all of this is giving me major neck tension and that makes my arms hurt and feel weak...so ALS!I was fine just fighting to get a SS diagnosis, because I KNOW there is something really going on here, I am not afraid of it or catastrophizing, I just want a diagnosis so I can get proper treatment. But the ALS thing? That is pure health anxiety and I find for me, it's a slippery slope to complete loss of control when I start to think about the big one...ALS, Brain Tumors, Cancer. SO please, someone talk me off this ledge?
-B
I have had a rough patch these last 3 months. It started with shingles, that seemed to trigger my anxiety and depression although I think the timing was rather coincidental when I really think about it. I had EXTREMELY dry eyes for 2 months, finally got that under control, although the problem is persisting. Then I started having progressively worse dry mouth. To the point that I am having a hard time swallowing and I have choked on my food a couple of times. I have had both dry eyes and mouth in the past, very intermittently and not to the point that it had any impact on my life or ability to function like it does now, and have thought for many years that I probably have Sjogren's Syndrome. Now I am convinced, but of course since I have a history of anxiety, and I am a women, my doc seems to want every single thing I feel to be anxiety related. So I have been frustrated trying to deal with these feelings for 3 months now. Some are getting worse while others are getting better and so of course this morning, still sitting here with no answers and getting more and more concerned that I will feel this way forever, ALS popped into my head.
WHY?!?!?! I hate that I go there, because I have been down this road before and I don't want to do it again. I am really having swallowing problems, plus in the last 2 weeks I have had a few episodes of my knee kinda giving out on me. And of course all of this is giving me major neck tension and that makes my arms hurt and feel weak...so ALS!I was fine just fighting to get a SS diagnosis, because I KNOW there is something really going on here, I am not afraid of it or catastrophizing, I just want a diagnosis so I can get proper treatment. But the ALS thing? That is pure health anxiety and I find for me, it's a slippery slope to complete loss of control when I start to think about the big one...ALS, Brain Tumors, Cancer. SO please, someone talk me off this ledge?
-B
