How many "illnesses" have you self-diagnosed in past several years?

[Dch]

This is my list:

- skin cancer
- lung cancer
- retinal detachment
- glaucoma
- undefined neurological disease (lightheadedness + mild headache, but I could not make a precise "diagnosis" because starting from that time I stopped googling my medical symptoms)
- diabetes
- and the last obsession: some ear symptoms followed by anxiety

Well, I am not proud of this list...

 

[FlipperK]

- Testicular Cancer - Injury due to baby kicking and pushing me down there.
- Colon Cancer - hemorrhoids and anxiety
- Throat Cancer - anxiety
- Tonsil Cancer - anxiety
- MS - anxiety
- ALS - anxiety
- Prion Disease - anxiety
- Rabies - anxiety
- Skin Cancer - anxiety
- Stomach Cancer - anxiety
- Sarcoma - benign growth (possible lipoma)
- Stroke - sinuses

EDIT:

I thought it might useful to also list the actual outcome of these worries. I added mine to the right of each of what ultimately it ended up being. I know a lot of people also want to know that their experience often leads to something that is not life threatening.

 

[sTeaLth]

I'd love to share my insanity.

-ALS
-MS
-Diabetes
-Brain Cancer
-Lung Cancer
-Throat Cancer
-Skin Cancer
-Stomach Cancer
-Eye Cancer
-Colon Cancer
-Glaucoma
-Brain Cyst


Most of these were over a year ago with zero symptom increases and almost all symptom total relief. So... I never had anything. Comforting to know that what I experience these days will VERY LIKELY turn out to be the same thing.

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

I'm glad that it turned out that you never had any of the illnesses on your list, Stealth.

 

[Bearcat999]

Oral Cancer
Lung cancer
ALS/MS
Brain Tumor
Pancreatic Cancer
Arrhythmia
Liver disease.

I survived them.

 

[matisworried]

oh, jeez... not all of these were full-blown, month(s)-long freak outs but they have ruminated in my brain long enough to cause anxiety. ### = major HA events

sinus cancer
brain cancer
tonsil/oral cancer ###
throat/esophageal cancer ###
lung cancer
breast cancer (and I'm male)
bowl, rectal cancer ###
testicular cancer ###
a tumor in my leg
lymphoma
als
ms ###
meniere's disease ###
unspecified progressive hearing loss (going deaf) ###
heart problems - specifically heart failure ###
copd
kidney failure/disease/cancer ###
pancreatic cancer/pancreatitis
blood clots
multiple stds (before I'd even had a girlfriend! the early teen years were strange...)
i was also obsessively worried about getting swine flu and that was only ramped up after a friend died from it.

the sad thing is i don't even think that's a complete list.

 

[FlipperK]

All,

I edited my post above to also include the outcome of each worry and what it ended up really being. I think that is also helpful for others to know. SHOCKER: mine is nearly all anxiety related.

 

[E.B]

Funny enough for me even though the anxiety is terrible and crippling at times, in the back of my mind i don't think i really have anything...at least that is what i think my beliefs are. If that makes sense.

 

[matisworried]

All,

I edited my post above to also include the outcome of each worry and what it ended up really being. I think that is also helpful for others to know. SHOCKER: mine is nearly all anxiety related.

I'm curious how you got to stroke from sinus issues!? is crazy how our brains piece things together, right?!

 

[FlipperK]

I'm curious how you got to stroke from sinus issues!? is crazy how our brains piece things together, right?!

I had an episode after I got my ears cleaned (compacted wax) where I had this sudden pressure in my sinuses and my ears clogged. Came and went within 10 seconds.

Scared the hell outta me and I called a nurse and they explained about the ear cleaning and all. Thought I had a stroke.

 

[Vandelsrock21]

Oral cancer-
Throat cancer
Stomach cancer
Ms
Heart issues
Random who knows constantly

Right now i am a kick about feeling nausea mouth watering for no reason. So thats my focus right now lol. These are my top ones i am sure that i have more. But haven't been diagnosed with anything yet so most be anxiety

 

[Dch]

I thought it might useful to also list the actual outcome of these worries.

- skin cancer – anxiety, obsessive monitoring moles and skin spots
- lung cancer – anxiety, increased muscle tension
- retinal detachment – anxiety, eye floaters
- glaucoma – anxiety, dry eyes
- undefined neurological disease (lightheadedness + mild headache, but I could not make a precise "diagnosis" because starting from that time I stopped googling my medical symptoms) - anxiety
- diabetes - anxiety
- and the last obsession: some ear symptoms followed by anxiety – anxiety, cold

multiple stds (before I'd even had a girlfriend! the early teen years were strange...)

I had AIDS when I was 12.

 

[Elena89]

- MS
- lymphoma
- brain tumor / stroke
- rheumatoid arthritis
- giant cell artiritis
- lupus
- stomach cancer
and now
- some sort of oral cancer

Aaand I'm only 28 years old ....

I had AIDS when I was 12.

I thought I was pregnant when I was only 7
(No one molested me or anything like that!)

 

[Dch]

I thought I was pregnant when I was only 7

Welcome to the club.

 

[bin_tenn]

Well, this should be fun:

* Lung cancer
* Melanoma
* Basal cell carcinoma
* Squamous cell carcinoma
* Leukemia
* Lymphoma (1)
* Soft tissue sarcoma (1)
* Heart attack
* Heart failure
* Atrial fibrillation (2)
* Brain tumor (3)
* Oral cancer
* Sleep apnea
* Testicular cancer (4)

1) I actually have several lipomas in various places. Before I knew about lipomas, I thought they were caused by lymphoma and / or soft tissue sarcoma. I showed them to my doctor at my physical in 2015, and he asked a handful of questions. Based on my answers, he said they're fine, to leave them alone. They're still fine, no issues with them, since they are just benign lipomas.

2) I worried about a-fib for a little while. Then I actually had an episode of a-fib in late 2016. Followup testing with the cardiologist indicated that it was not an issue with my heart, but was caused by a "perfect storm" of other things. I woke up around 1am one morning with terrible reflux, with acid pooled in my throat. Of course that scared me because I was choking on it. The sudden anxiety and the subsequent violent coughing fit just happened to throw my heart rhythm off, and it couldn't correct itself. After about 12 hours in the hospital for monitoring, it corrected itself and I've not had any issues since. And quite frankly, it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. That put a lot of things into perspective.

3) My brain tumor anxiety was the first fear I had that really set off my health anxiety, starting around 2012. I had frequent headaches at the time, and I did a "harmless" Google search. What do you know, brain tumor showed up, and I spiraled - and here I am. LoL! Turns out it was just due to consuming way too much caffeine, hardly drinking water, and not sleeping properly. Changing those things resulted in significantly less headaches, and I haven't worried about brain tumor since then - even when I do get an occasional (tension) headache.

4) This was actually my very first health scare, though I didn't realize it at the time. As they say, hindsight is 20/20! In 2000, when I was 13 years old, I was watching the Tom Green show (do you remember him?! ). He had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, and I recall self-checking many times, convinced that I would have it as well. That didn't last very long, but looking back I believe that was my first real sign of health anxiety.

Those things (aside from number 4) were triggered by "real" symptoms, but the problem was that I didn't understand how my own "symptoms" differed from the diseases I worried about. They were all assumptions due to Google-induced anxiety. Everything else on my list was due strictly to anxiety and how quickly my mind can run away with irrational, worst-case thoughts in an instant.

My only remaining health anxiety is related to heart health, but even that is significantly less frequent than it was in recent years. I do still occasionally wonder if my heart is failing. However, I don't spend much of my time worrying anymore. I'm generally very happy and feel well, only noticing intrusive thoughts from time to time. Funny how anxiety works, huh? It's also interesting to see how common some of our fears are, how many people share the same health worries. And some of them are the opposite, quite rare.

 

[Dch]

Turns out it was just due to consuming way too much caffeine, hardly drinking water, and not sleeping properly.

Whenever I am under anxiety, I do not care about myself enough. Although such behavior contributes to medical symptoms I experience, I connect symptoms only with my imaginary illness and not with anxiety and anxiety lifestyle.

 

[Bobnnat]

I could write a list, but it would take too ,long and I'm at work

I understand what E. B. says above; I too basically know at the time of a HA episode that in reality, I don't have the disease I fear. however the symptoms generate the fear and anxiety and the "what ifs" and the spiral begins.

 

[uawildcat]

Hmmm, let's see. Oh the fun of HA

• Stroke
• Heart Failure
• Testicular & prostate cancer - which is now
• MS
• Dementia
• Urinary incontinense
• heart attack
• brain tumor

 

[matisworried]

4) This was actually my very first health scare, though I didn't realize it at the time. As they say, hindsight is 20/20! In 2000, when I was 13 years old, I was watching the Tom Green show (do you remember him?! ). He had been diagnosed with testicular cancer, and I recall self-checking many times, convinced that I would have it as well. That didn't last very long, but looking back I believe that was my first real sign of health anxiety.

i'm not kidding. this is exactly what kicked off my "official" battle with health anxiety as well. i remember being worried about death and dying since i was really little... like, single digits... and i even remember being afraid of getting diseases when i was younger (my laughable STD fears prior to even holding a girl's hand) but it wasn't until i saw tom green's cancer special on MTV that i had my first "run to the doctor, don't forget about me after i'm gone" HA event. who woulda thunk some bizarre canadian public access show host would have triggered this in not one but two people....

 

[qwerty4]

- skin cancer (many, many times)
- heart disease
- ms
- colon cancer
- sinus cancer
- aneurysm
- soft tissue sarcoma (every time I feel a lump somewhere)
- stomach cancer
- bone cancer
- lung cancer
- lymphoma
- brain eating amoebe (I live in the Netherlands, where ZERO people have died of a brain eating amoebe)
- brain tumor

So this list is embarrassingly long! Turns out I didn't have any of them, although my current worry is still stuck at 'brain tumor' (didn't get my dose of doctor's reassurance yet for that one)