how do you guys know when it's time to go to the doctor?

[matisworried]

hey everyone - i find myself in need of some input.

very brief background: i've had HA since i was a 6 or 7 - i'm 41 now. things got kinda bad in junior high (thankfully the internet didn't exist yet!) but tapered during high school. around 25, HA started creeping back into my life. things got pretty dark over the next 15 years. it's damaged relationships, caused me to lose touch with friends, impacted my marriage, cost me thousands of dollars... not to mention the medical havok: i've hopped from doctor to doctor, exaggerated symptoms to ensure i'd get the tests i didn't need, i've had countless labs drawn, CTs, MRIs, invasive and expensive tests as well as MULTIPLE minor surgical procedures... all in the name of HA... but after a year-long MS scare (thanks to an incidental abnormality found on an MRI) i was determined to get my anxiety under control and, if i can say so myself, i think i've done a pretty great job at it. the last six months have easily been my best in 15 years.

i've been to the doctor twice since the MS episode - both times for pretty clear-cut reasons (annual physical & 3+ month hip injury.) i haven't had the urge to make an appointment for anything potentially "questionable" until the last few days. i don't want to get in to much detail as i don't want to cause anyone anxiety but last wednesday i experienced seemingly-random onset pain "somewhere in my torso" that radiated from the front to back. i'd rate the pain as an 8-9 out of 10. to put it into perspective, i broke my thumb a few years back and actually heard it snap - this pain rivaled that. anway, i truly contemplated calling an ambulance or having my wife drive me to the ER. if it wasn't for the crushing financial impact a trip like that would have on my family, there's not a doubt in my mind i would have went in. unnecessary trips to the ER have NEVER been part of my HA, btw. i decided to wait it out as the pain and frequency of it gradually decreased as the evening went on. the next morning, i felt a bit sore, very similar to how one might feel the day following an injury - more of a dull ache. that was followed by a few days with no issues and a few day with the off & on dull ache. on tuesday, it felt like things were starting to ramp up again but the sensation just kinda went away. today, i'm having some random, dull achiness... maybe a 2 on a scale of 1-10. basically just painful enough to remind me there's something going on.

that brings me to the topic of this thread: how do you guys, especially those that feel they have a decent handle on their anxiety, decide when it's time to go to the doctor? especially when the issue isn't so black & white or you feel like your symptoms might be viewed as "strange" by your doc? i'm all about not rushing in. i don't google symptoms, when i catch my brain going to the dark side, i put an end to it immediately. but at the same time, it IS necessary to be seen for things from time to time. i'm just wondering how you guys balance your HA with legit health concerns when what you're experiencing maybe isn't so cut and dry, like this. on one hand, things are seemingly getting "better" but on the other hand, i'm having a hard time rationalizing pain that was that intense and seemingly came out of nowhere.

how do you guys balance things?

 

[bin_tenn]

This is a difficult question for me to answer because I don't know exactly how I determine when it's truly time to see my doc. I often think "maybe I should go" when I'm feeling some symptoms, but I almost never actually go. Why? Deep down I think I know it's just anxiety. Otherwise, if I genuinely believed something was wrong, I think I'd already be in the office.

I had an episode of afib a little over three years ago. It was scary, yes, but not as bad I ever thought it'd be. Luckily it's not a chronic problem, and not caused by a heart defect, but instead was caused by a "perfect storm" of other things. Since then, I've learned to listen to my body. I learned that my body will definitely tell me when something is genuinely wrong and needs medical attention, versus the perceived threat caused by anxiety.

Granted, even during the worst of my anxiety so far (a few years ago) I was never one to run to the doctor. Maybe I've always known deep down that it was just anxiety talking. I always go for an annual physical (for the past four years). Otherwise, I only go if I have persistent or severe symptoms such as fever that won't resolve after a reasonable amount of time.

 

[matisworried]

it's funny, when we talk about "what-ifs" in relation to health anxiety, we're usually talking about running to the doctor because WHAT IF it's something serious... but in some cases, the "what-ifs" actually cause us NOT to seek treatment because WHAT IF it's just anxiety?

 

[E.B]

Actually I have a big fear of going to the docs and literally never go and haven't for over 20 yrs except when I had a bad accident and had to go to hospital 12 years ago, so I'm not a good one to ask
I think you are smart enough to know when it's necessary though.

 

[bin_tenn]

it's funny, when we talk about "what-ifs" in relation to health anxiety, we're usually talking about running to the doctor because WHAT IF it's something serious... but in some cases, the "what-ifs" actually cause us NOT to seek treatment because WHAT IF it's just anxiety?

You're exactly right, in my opinion! The body is very good about telling us when something is a legitimate concern. But unfortunately the anxiety is enough to equally convince us sometimes. I've always felt like those who adamantly avoid going to the doctor despite having health anxiety - like myself until 2015 - truly know it's just anxiety, so no real need to go.

The whole "I'm scared they'll find something wrong" mentality. I really think that's a way of saying "I know it's just anxiety." Because if someone actually KNEW something was wrong, they wouldn't be spending time avoiding the doctor.

 

[Kari85]

I’m definitely one that runs to doctor too fast when my anxiety is bad and I always want to get in same day. The anxiety makes me feel like if I don’t get in and get something taken care of immediately, it will be too late. Then I get frustrated because they can’t find anything and it usually kicks off a streak of being referred to specialists and tests being ordered and lots of bills. This is such a challenging disorder to have.

 

[Cuchculan]

There are times I should maybe have went but didn't bother going. I think some confusion might kick in for people with anxiety. As in, we have had so much over the years and it has simply just gone away by itself. We are feeling off and we might be thinking ' this is just another one of those things '. So we don't bother with the doctor. We assume what we have will just clear up, like other things do, all by itself. Aches, pains or anything like that, I would not go near a doctor. I would simply just assume it was my anxiety. Thinking ' what could a doctor do really '. It all but took me to double over in pain and not be unable to move before I sought out medical help earlier in the year. I knew this was different than the normal sort of things that happen. Hard to describe the pain I was in. Had a lot of other issues leading up to this. Ones I wrote off and just anxiety related. Ones I know now I should of gotten help for. There was something going on inside my body and I ignored it until I doubled over in a heap. So I don't see anything wrong in visiting a doctor and asking questions. Even if it turns out there is nothing serious going on. That part I learned the hard way. But having said all of that I did see a doctor about a month before I doubled over. Have to see him at least once every six months. That is the rule. I did raise the issue of my body and how things were feeling. He showed no concern at all. When you get that sort of attitude from the doctor it doesn't make you want to run back in a hurry. So following that visit I let things get worse. Thinking he would have the same attitude.

 

[Elena89]

I’m definitely one that runs to doctor too fast when my anxiety is bad and I always want to get in same day. The anxiety makes me feel like if I don’t get in and get something taken care of immediately, it will be too late. Then I get frustrated because they can’t find anything and it usually kicks off a streak of being referred to specialists and tests being ordered and lots of bills. This is such a challenging disorder to have.

Kari it is the same with me.... I am really glad that I've found this forum so i know i am not alone with this!
My appointment with a doctor is in 2 weeks but I feel like it will be too late and I should be seen right now (and it doesn't matter that i have these symptoms for at least half a year ).
It's frustrating because half my brain says i'm dying and the other half says that I am just overreacting and this is stupid.

But to answer the question I always end up visiting a doctor.... when my anxiety is really bad I pay a lot of money to get in in a couple of days.... when it is a little better i usually wait a couple of months... I never know when i should really go except when i have a flu or somehting like that.

 

[anxiousinamerica]

I guess my general guide is...if the symptoms are new, and don't go away on their own after a couple weeks, the "what if" thoughts will inevitably start building up, and that's when I will feel the need to call the doctor. But I've never experienced severe pain that I'd classify as an 8 or 9. I think it was probably the right move not to rush to the ER, since it sounds like the pain has largely subsided. I still might visit the GP, just to hear what they say, and to make sure everything really is OK, but apart from that, it seems like how you are handling it is the reasonable way.

 

[chickentender]

If I am having a bout of anxiety along with an issue that I think I might need to be seen for, I call the nurseline on my insurance card to talk it out with someone there and determine if I need to go in or wait it out.

 

[Bobnnat]

Panic, of course I don't know but could it be muscular? I have a trigger point in my low back, left side which occasionally twinges. It can be mild or as was the case a few weeks ago, it can be so bad I can't straighten up for a couple days. So severity of pain does not necessarily translate to something serious going on.