Hypochondriacs: you are not alone

[Rinka]

Hi @Rinka,

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I totally agree - health anxiety is the worst! While I sympathize with people suffering from any kind of anxiety, I must say we HA sufferers really have a rough go of it -- it can completely consume your thoughts at all hours of your day, and then (as an added bonus) keep you up at night.

I've had the cervical smear just under a year ago (last February), and that came back normal. So of course my thought is that like 2 weeks after I had the smear, the cancer started forming and I've been living with undetected cervical cancer for close to a year now (Irrational, I know...or is it!?)

I actually did get my ultrasound results back today and the news is mixed. Your intuition was spot on - the doctor said I do have a cyst on my left ovary (and the left side is where I was having the pain), but then she said "I'm not completely sure that the cyst is what's causing your pain." (!?!?!) She suggested either waiting to see if the symptoms resolved on their own (ha! like a person with health anxiety would ever say yes to that!) or to proceed with another ultrasound and/or a CT scan. If the next round of imaging doesn't turn up anything, she suggested seeing a GI specialist. I messaged her back and asked her if the ultrasounds that I got would have shown if I had any ovarian/cervical/other cancer -- which is my main worry -- and I also asked what led her to believe that the pain was not caused by the cyst. (I kind of don't want to know the answer to those questions now that I think about it!). I'm definitely going to go for the 2nd round of imaging, and just trying to stay positive in the meantime. I feel like if there was anything on the scans that she was worried about, she would have come out and said it, so I'm holding on to that thin strand of sanity until it can be confirmed where this pain is coming from.

Thanks for your concern regarding my tests. It feels so nice to be able to talk it out with people who understand where I'm coming from I hope all is well with you, as well!

Ah good to hear that the scan came out actually ok.
Well I’m not convinced however about a cyst not being course of your pain. Depending on where you are in your cycle, the ovarian cyst can get bigger and smaller. When they are bigger, they can course even heavy back pain.
I think it’s definitely a good idea to investigate further though.
In regards to the smear test, in the UK they are recommended to take place every three years. That is because the cervical cancer takes a long time to develop and grows slowly.
I would suggest, you go through with the scan and have regular health checks, to keep on top of your health and your anxiety.
The funny thing with people with health anxiety is, that a lot of them get so anxious that they do not go to check ups at all and even if they think that something developed avoid the doctor.

 

[janemariesayed]

if I do have any disease, it's "worry cancer".

Your Husband is right and he has the perfect name for it too. 'Worry Cancer' And be careful too as we are what we think about. Get it right out of your head I could say but I know how hard it is. You are in the right place here on this friendly forum as there are many of us that suffer from health anxiety.

I worry about it but I don't let it get to me. I dismiss it from my mind and just hope for the best. I believe in reincarnation so death itself it not a concern, just how I die. I don't want to die in pain. lol

Death comes to us all. But we have to tell ourselves that we are currently living and try to not think about it.