Health anxieties

[Sophiexoxo]

So I’ve been to my GP surgery today. I’ve been trying for almost a year and begging for help with my symptoms which have been dismissed as anxiety but I KNOW that they aren’t “just anxiety”. I saw a different GP who I haven’t seen before and he actually listened to me, we went through all my test results and he said there’s nothing overly concerning. He has requested blood tests for RA, Thyroid function and cortisol. He’s said it’s likely that I’ve got fibromyalgia. I’m just glad that I’m finally getting somewhere and I’ve advocated for myself even when I’m dismissed. I’m feeling a bit more positive, all be it my health anxiety still up in the air. But now I’m going down a google rabbit hole of all these terrible diseases and things I could have. To top it off and I don’t mean this to sound selfish at all because is really sad but someone we know and is a similar age to me had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and immediately my brain is like you have those symptoms. So now my brain is ready to explode. My body is aching and tingling and just hurting. I feel sick. Shakey, heart flutters. Tense shoulders and neck and just generally panicking. I don’t know what im hoping to achieve from this post but sometimes it feels good to write things down and get them all out. I don’t have another support system or anyone else that I can speak to.

 

[bigjetplane23]

First off, let me start by saying i am so PROUD of you for making the appointment and seeing your doctor. That takes courage. True courage.
I know right now you are thinking the worst, but just know the rabbit hole you are spiraling down into is thanks to your anxiety. unfortunately it does that to us.

 

[Phillies Phan]

Your test results would be all over the place if you had PC or anything bad. A few years ago, a friend I hung out with when we were teenagers got PC and passed away. Like yourself, I thought hey, I have those symptoms too. Went to my GP and he did a quick check up to humor me, then said to come back when I lose 30 pounds without trying to. He understood my feeling the way I did but assured me it was just my shock and sadness over it happening to someone I used to know very well. You are not that unfortunate person.

Fibro is very common, especially with women, and while it’s annoying, it’s in no way serious and there are meds to help.

 

[Lanchparty7]

I think part of the reason I stopped seeing my primary doctor (and as result they dropped me as a patient due to a long time without going to them) is because of the anxiety “elephant in the room”. And since I have trust issues to begin with, it makes it all the worse.

But right now I am in one of the worst, if not the worst episodes of health anxiety I have ever had. And of course, I’ve been googling a ton - and all bad stuff. I’m fairly certain that something is wrong but I am without a doctor and my symptoms are rather vague - mainly weird sensations, pins and needles type feeling mostly in my feet but also legs sometimes. My toes are often red, sometimes purple looking and cold…I think that might me Raynaud’s but worried about diabetes, poor circulation and blood clots/DVT.

I don’t have much support on this for various reasons (other than my therapist) so I need to figure it out on my own. I did find a different type of practice, you have to pay a yearly fee (and it isn’t cheap)but it is a very small office and you always see the doctor (no PA’s or med students) and have access to him 24-7. I think this is probably the best option for me and I can afford the fee but with this I have some uncertainty. But the absolute hell that is 24-7 worry and obsessing over health stuff has to be worse then making a simple phone call and seeing a doctor.