Is this Anxiety? Or am I sick help

[Johncon94]

Hi,

I think I'm having a relapse of health anxiety which I suffered from the age 17-21 which I overcame but is now back with vengeance.

All started this August when I noticed I was feeling the need to urinate alot which included discomfort. Didn't fell any anxiety at the time went to gp and pushed me away with antibiotics.

Anti biotics didn't do much for me so I went back and he referred me for a ultrasound of my testicles bladder and kidneys which all got the all clear.

Month after with my urination not being normal, I started getting back pain and numbness in feet and legs which sent my anxiety sky high and I was doing the typical go to Google ( which I know I should never do) and look up symptoms none stop.i was convinced I had kidney stones which turned out to be all clear.

Now I'm convinced I have cauda equina from the numb like feeling in my glutes and toes but no extreme sciatica pain you would normally associate with it.

Now I'm obessed, I spend most my day in my thoughts and worries or locked into Google.
Thinking I must have this or that which has left me with a constant feel of worry and fear , my chest feels heavy , really fast breathing , unable to control my thoughts, upset stomach cramps, waking up through out the night with racing heart beat and panic.

My latest symptom which pushed me over the edge was my finger tips going numb , pins and needles which came days after I saw something on Google and days after my anxiety skyrocketed. I couldn't understand why would my hands start going numb and convinced myself I had a new set of illnesses. I would wake up from my sleep in pure panic that my hands are numb and rushed myself to hospital. They did a urine test, blood work. Checked my strength and reflexes in my hands and all was normal.

3months ago, I was active , working, socialising and happy and now I'm in bed all day googling symptoms focusing on the sensations I feel on my body which seem to get worse.

is it possible I had a massive relapse of health anxiety which I haven't had for 6 years and my urination issue being a trigger which is spiralling my anxiety out of control?

Sorry for the long type up I just wanted to give some background of what happened.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Johncon94,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for your post and sharing what's happening with you. It does sound like so much of what's going on is causing you anxiety and I can see the anguish of constantly googling symptoms and diseases just to try and make sense of what's going on.

To answer your question - it's absolutely possible that these symptoms are all part of anxiety, even the really bothersome ones. You wrote in your post that days after searching something on Google you suddenly got pins and needles - this to me is really indicative of health anxiety.

Whenever we have health anxiety (and you'll see so many posts like it here), there's generally a cycle - symptoms either appear/get worse which makes our anxiety high which makes things get worse... and while I understand the need to Google, it really does add fuel to the fire.

Would you be open to the idea that everything could be a form of anxiety? What would that be like to receive?

One thing that might help in the meantime is that when you have these symptoms, write them down. This works as a plus for doctors as well as understanding your anxiety more. It may even be helpful to use this journal/notebook as a (even temporary) replacement for Google - as you can record your symptoms there, write down questions/tests you feel like you need to talk to your GP about, but without getting that feedback from the internet.

RT

[Johncon94]

Thanks for your insight and advice it was much appreciated.

The idea of all my symptoms being apart of anxiety does make me feel some sort of relief but the hard part is convincing yourself that it's all anxiety and you are fine but the hard part is when you have these troubling symptoms popping up making you think otherwise.

I have never been diagnosed with anxiety by my GP. Even when I suffered with it 6 years ago. I'm scared they will brush my symptoms off as anxiety and not do any tests on them.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Johncon94,

You're very welcome.

I can understand that completely. It's hard when our brains are so convinced of one thing - the idea that it could be something else can feel impossible; especially when we may not always seem anxious at the time. Although I do think that acceptance is a really key part.

That's a really good point. I think that with any GP it's their job to consider everything - whether there is something that's there or not. If someone presents to the ER with a panic attack, it's still their responsibility to check that it's not a heart attack. Likewise, when running tests - they still need to think about the pros and cons. Urine tests, blood tests and ultrasounds are all easy and low risk tests; but they work in ruling out things. I'd still encourage you to chat with your GP anyways; if they are a good one they'll take everything seriously.

RT

[Nellanxiety]

Hi,years ago, I was having extreme anxiety and I was under a lot of stress and all of a sudden, half of my face went numb. I panicked and called an ambulance. When I arrived at the hospital, they ran tests and couldn't find any health issues. They put it down to anxiety. The numbness lasted about a month. My GP couldn't explain it. I had MRI,s and many tests.

Maybe it was a relapse. I suppose I hope this story helps you to realise that anxiety is powerful and can really take over your body. I'm glad you're doing tests to help convince yourself that you're ok. Actually, I just joined this group today because my anxiety has returned after 4 years. It's bad again so I'm going to do some heart tests this week in the hope that it will convince me that I'm ok. Finding it hard to breathe these days. Half of my brain knows it's anxiety but the other half has doubts. Hope you're better soon. I totally understand how you are feeling. 😉