Could I have health anxiety

[Healthmadhelpp]

25 YO male I am also very obese.
I have never worried about my health or had so many illness untill 2 year ago when I had some dodgy chicken meat and it gave me sickness. I went on to have over a year of consent abdomable pain all over, I convinced my self I had bowel cancer I started googling and looking at stories and charts working out what my odds are of having it at my age, My aunty was diagnosed with bowel cancer 8 months after all my sypotmies started so that didn't help. Ive had bloods and a colonoscopy done and small bowel MRI which was all clear and normal.

Ever since, every week there is something new for me to google and look up, another pain another illness ect.
I do suffer from a lot of illness like, Tonsillitis pains in joins, chest pains, nausea, Lower back pain, Upper back pain ect.
Every time I get over something something else comes and hits me.

This year alone I have spoken to the doctor over 30 times, I have been up A and E 8 times, Urgent care centre 10 times.
I get chest pains alot I always have ECG done and its always normal sometimes bloods and they are normal.
I sometimes go up waited 6 hours to be seen and I know they cant do anything as it might be on going condition but sometimes I think I do it for reassurance

I had headaches for 5 weeks every day and convinced my self I had brain tumour. I seen doctors who said they was sinus as it was more facial pain, But I couldn't accept it. So I went up to the A and E and was that desperate for help I lied about fainting and hitting my head, Knowing they would do some checks like CT and bloods ect. They all came back normal. I was referred for a head MRI which im waiting for results from.

I had Virial laryngitis 2 months ago and was looking up throat cancer and lung cancer, looking at statics ect, This is what I always do with every illness I get no matter big or small I google.

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[Healthmadhelpp]

I surfer with high blood pressure so I have a BP machine at home, But Recently Ive brought a oximeter, Urine sample sticks and a blood sugar machine, cause I thought I could have diabetes. I also all these things everyday no matter how I feel.

The last 2 weeks have been hell for me, Started off with tingling in feet which was only there when I was in bed, it then went up my legs and body and I started getting internal tremors and now I have all that and external tremors. 24/7 now my right arm feels weak and numb.
When I put my feet on the ground it feels like im putting them on a vibrating board

I woke up 2 nights ago 5 times with my body shaking internally I believe it lasted minute then stopped each time.
Then I woke up today only after a few hours and I stood up to shut window and my heart was doing 150 and my legs was like jelly I couldn't hardly walk. A few hours went by and it went away back to normal heart rate.

Ive had bloods done and all normal but my ESR which has been high for at least 6 years.

I dont think I have health anxiety, but the truth is I probably do have it.

Sorry for rambling on !

[Here2Talk]

Hi hmh,

You are certain experiencing a lot of distress at the moment. I think we can rest assured you do have anxiety over your health - this is displayed by the thoughts and behaviours you have described...

Wondering if I could ask some questions about you - feel free to decline them, I understand it may be invasive. I’m wondering about what age bracket you fit into, eg teenager, 20s, 30s etc. and just how obese you are? Like what is your BMI? If you don’t mind.. I am regarded as obese according to definitions, but i don’t really look like it

[Here2Talk]

Okay you already posted your age, ignore that question

[Healthmadhelpp]

Hi Im 26 stone 6ft 25yo male, I have lost alot of weight in past but always put it back on and more x

Thanks for your reply x

[Here2Talk]

It’s my pleasure 🙂

So first up, are you seeing any professionals (namely psychologists)?

How long have you had problems managing your weight?

[TheBigBlue]

Hi HMH,

You sure do have a LOT going on. I don’t have any answers, however I experienced some weird health stuff 2 years back & once I started seeing a psychologist & got my anxiety under control my symptoms just disappeared.

I had stopped eating, lost nearly 25kg, always nauseas & vomiting frequently. I had numerous medical procedures including an endoscopy but they could not find anything. It was a few months into seeing the psychologist that I suddenly realised my symptoms had disappeared, all without me noticing.

Do you think stress could be amplifying your symptoms?

Correct me if I am wrong, but do you find yourself jumping to the worst possible conclusion each time you experience a new or different symptom? Maybe if you found a way to control your anxiety your reactions would not be so extreme?

consider perhaps speaking to someone, a friend, GP or even psychologist? I don’t think whatever it is will be a nice easy fix, but I’m sure you can improve your reactions & thoughts about your health with some assistance.

Perhaps you also need something else to focus on to get your mind occupied with something else? This could be anything, sports, hobbies, study, cooking, gardening. Is there anything you could find to help distract you from your worry.

Best of luck in your journey, there will be plenty of support here if you need us. Come chat anytime

[Pip20]

Hi HMH,

I was in a similar situation and I googled a LOT (way too much) but my GP was amazing & we did some process of elimination of my symptoms, as it seams your GP is also doing.

I was also overweight (still am according to BMI) but went from 147kg to so far 110kg. I did this as I feared heart issues & diabetes.

I would panic when I got the smallest chest pain, which of course would lead to my heart racing, dizziness, hot flushes, tingled across the chest etc & 000 call, off to the ER & all the standard tests & they would all come back normal.

I also had tingles legs etc, & we found out there were 2 reasons, one was how I was sleeping, it was putting pressure on my hip areas & two, I was sitting way too much at my computer (ironically I am sitting at my computer typing this)

So I tried to find things to help calm my immediate panic thoughts - meditation just does NOT work for me, as I find my mind races too much. I have tried 20 different apps etc.

So after all the possible medical tests, I asked my GP for the free physiology appointments we get on Medicare, & started speaking to someone - remotely via Skype. I went through about 4 different physiologists until I found one I felt 100% natural with AND I talked very openly about my fears of my health, & I have huge noise anxiety & we came up with a few options.

1 - When/if I feel pain in my chest or anywhere for that matter, I had to stop what I was doing & lay down flat on my back, on the couch, floor, bed. Many times I found the pain came when I was sitting at my computer or in bed on my side. I had to take calm breaths - NOT big deep breathes, just small calming breathes only.

2 - I have a BP monitor at home which I use to calm myself down, I put it on, & my BP is through the roof, I would try & focus on getting the BP down, that was my only focus. I had to get it down, so more slow breathing & about 5 BP tests in about 10 minutes.

Nearly every time since I starting doing this with my BP monitor I got the reading down to 120/75, sometimes from as high as 195/120 (& no I don't have heart issues, I had the exercise and cardiac echo)

So by simply using the BP monitor as a tool it really did help. After doing this many times the pain would stop (at the very least my panic & anxiety would stop) & I would realise the pain was fleeting.

I really wish I could say this would help you, but you have the equipment so totally worth a try - I would also suggest a sleep study.

All the best - Pip