My friend needs your advice.

[ptahm22]

My friend has been having month long anxiety attacks about having ALS, HIV or a bird flu. He now thinks he has a brain tumor. He has the following symptoms: - trouble recalling the right word or name of a colleague - constant brain fog and headaches (seven weeks going now) headaches are relieved with ibuprofen - occasional ringing in my ears - constant post nasal drip down the back of the throats despite no blocked nose.
His doctor has given him numerous tests which he passed. He sits in his room obsessively reading tumor stories and gets a panic attack when one matches his situation.
Is there anyone who can advise him?

 

[janemariesayed]

Sorry that your friend is suffering in this way @ptahm22. It isn't a good idea for him to look at these stories if they give him panic attacks and make him somewhat paranoid about his own health. My advice there is to tell him to stay away from them completely. Tell him to see his Doctor about the symptoms that he has, not the symptoms that he can relate to that he reads about.

If his Doctor hasn't come up with any real solution, your friend can always ask for a second opinion from a different doctor. He does have actual symptoms, so someone somewhere in the medical profession should be able to find out what is wrong with him. Once he has found that diagnosis, he can get help. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Concernedgal]

Does your friend live in a house or an apartment? I ask because it kinda sounds like symptoms of mold exposure. Mold exposure causes all types of symptoms especially the loss of memory. Tell your friend to be tested for that. And if your friend had hiv he would also have night sweats too. My brother is hiv positive . It sounds nothing like what your friend is going through. I used to live in a moldy house and moved out. I soon noticed my symptoms subsided. My memory was lacking also. And post nasal drip can happen with or without inflammation which cause nasal congestion. As far as a brain tumor is cocerned... if he want to find out weather he has a brain tumor, tell him to go to the emergency room and tell them about the continuous headaches and they might provide him with a cat scan and that would provide him with a little assurance. Good luck to your freind. I hope he can find peace. Trust me. My family is full of nurses . Lol.