tired of the worry

[randd]

Im new here. I am a 53 years old, female. I have had health anxiety for atleast 20 years now . My latest health scare is a so called intercostal muscle strain in right side of rib cage. I really hate whenever I get a symptom near a major organ. In this case my lungs. I started with a cold, then I thought I had the flu, tested negative for flu and pneumonia also. I have been to the dr about five times. the rib pain started about two weeks into the stupid cold and cough period. I woke up one morning with sharp pain on right side of ribs under breast bone. I went to ER , they did chest xray, ekg, and ultra sound of kidneys, gallbladder etc. all normal. they said it was intercostal strain. My dr understands my anxiety and told me that these pains can linger for months. But my gastroenterologist who does not understand my anxiety...and is an alarmist) said that if the pain does not go away that my dr should order a cat scan of lungs. I am a mess now. worrying that this damn pain will not go away and I'll have to get another test. thinking I have lung cancer. I read a post recently about a guy who had pain in chest and back and his chest xray was normal but the catscan showed lung cancer. I should not have read it. and im angry that they even posted it. the only relief I am getting is that the guy also had a rash on his back and a fever. the type of cancer he had is rare also. But still. my anxiety tells me all kinds of scary scenarios. any feedback will be appreciated..thanks for reading

 

[triceps]

Hi and welcome randd. Your coughing easily, well not easily, could cause an intercostal muscle strain. It's a very common baseball injury and if the diagnosis is correct, it does take weeks to heal. The many tests that came back normal should be given more credence and believability than some guy posting a rare form of lung cancer. You don't need a catscan, you just need more faith that the chest x-ray would've picked up anything unusual. Again, welcome and try not to let your health anxiety bully you.

 

[crz1100]

Im new here. I am a 53 years old, female. I have had health anxiety for atleast 20 years now . My latest health scare is a so called intercostal muscle strain in right side of rib cage. I really hate whenever I get a symptom near a major organ. In this case my lungs. I started with a cold, then I thought I had the flu, tested negative for flu and pneumonia also. I have been to the dr about five times. the rib pain started about two weeks into the stupid cold and cough period. I woke up one morning with sharp pain on right side of ribs under breast bone. I went to ER , they did chest xray, ekg, and ultra sound of kidneys, gallbladder etc. all normal. they said it was intercostal strain. My dr understands my anxiety and told me that these pains can linger for months. But my gastroenterologist who does not understand my anxiety...and is an alarmist) said that if the pain does not go away that my dr should order a cat scan of lungs. I am a mess now. worrying that this damn pain will not go away and I'll have to get another test. thinking I have lung cancer. I read a post recently about a guy who had pain in chest and back and his chest xray was normal but the catscan showed lung cancer. I should not have read it. and im angry that they even posted it. the only relief I am getting is that the guy also had a rash on his back and a fever. the type of cancer he had is rare also. But still. my anxiety tells me all kinds of scary scenarios. any feedback will be appreciated..thanks for reading

I’ve been a mess as well lately. Seems like a lot of us are in the same boat. Hope all is well with you and you gain peace of mind being that your tests have come back negative. If you need someone to talk to give a guy a shout