Hi All,
I’m a 31 yr old female who has been suffering from Health Anxiety since April this year. Experienced a lot of symptoms & had a lot of tests done etc..
The past couple of weeks I’ve felt better in myself than what I have done. I think the reassurance from the Drs really helped. Also my stools have returned to normal this past week or so. Had an appointment last Friday ENT as I noticed something back of mouth, which luckily was nothing to worry about.Had a camara up my nose to check throat & he said Right side looked a little inflamed & have acid reflux, & that it’s caused by stress but don’t need to worry about it.
I’ve been eating loads better. Bilirubin levels apparently gone from 47-35. So all seems positive 😊
But for the past couple of weeks maybe 3 I noticed this dull achey pain on the Right side under rib cage area, noticed it more when been sitting a while half an hr or so.
Well the past week it’s the same on the L side aswell but feels tender in a certain area like I have a bruise on Left rib cage. Also triggered off by sitting down. Went to the hairdressers on Saturday was there like for 4 hrs😲 but literally after the first hr I was in pain. Just kept trying to change my posture. I also get small pains around shoulder blade area more like an achey dull pain.
I’ve had loads of blood tests done, ultrasound on abdomen area and pelvis area, stool samples & X-ray on chest area in the last 2-3 months.
Things were really looking up. But feel like I’m drowning again with worst case scenarios etc. I just feel like I take 2 steps forward & 10 backwards. I’m scared of the C word etc......
Suppose to have an induction tomorrow aswell , but this is going to be on my mind like crazy!
I have a telephone appointment with my Dr on Friday but that feels ages away. Just don’t know what to do!
Can anyone else relate to these symptoms?
Thanks for reading xx
Hey. The thing with health anxiety is once you get through one problem you go straight to another it’s a never ending cycle unless you find away to get on top off it which is the hard part. Those pains you are getting are just another anxiety symptom. Anxiety sucks aye 😩
I have the same exact pain in my ribs in back! It really scares me but earlier in the month I had a bunch of tests done because i Thought something was wrong with my spleen but there was nothing wrong with it. Does your rib ever feel like there is pressure when you’re sitting down and does your back feel sore or have random sharp pains because mine does too and it’s just symptoms of the sucky thing called health anxiety.
Hi Josh, hope your ok & thanks for replying.
I know tell me about it, if it ain’t one thing it’s another. I have felt so much better lately, but also get reminded that it’s still there! Like for the past couple of days I get palpitations/ fluttering that sometimes can last ages! Which I know is a common symptom of H/A bit only had that a couple of times. I just breath it through in a calming manner & it goes. Now a few weeks ago I would absolutely freak out.
My main feared illness during this H/A is having something seriously wrong with my pancreas & liver mainly, I mean there has been other worries about this & that but always worry about that area. And I get those bloody pains around the area I’m most feared about.😫 WHY WHY WHY! Just give us all a flipping break & f### Off H/A!
Take Care xx
Hi hope your ok & thanks for replying.
Yes definitely can relate to that unfortunately! I’m sorry your going through the same thing.
Yes when sitting is what triggers the pains tbh. I’m fine standing & lying down but sitting after a while can get really uncomfortable 😣. And that’s it then takes ages to get rid of the pains then. I first noticed it when I was in my car, & kept getting it when I’d been in my car. Thought it was my seat for some reason? But then noticed it when I’ve sat down on other things. It’s always the same sort of pain in the same area.
It feels like it’s inside my rib cage area so at the front, side & back. And when I’ve been sat a while it feels like something sitting on a nerve kinda feeling, like something inside is expanding & very tender and tense. It’s hard to explain. The shoulder pain feels like when you have been lifting heavy things, dull tense pain I suppose with a few sharp pains that literally come & go.
I keep feeling my rib cage area & in the left side on a certain small area feels bruised but isn’t, right on the bone. Is that how it is for you? How long have you had it for? & have you seeker any medical advice?
I’m trying to hold off until Friday & I can mention it to my Dr over the phone. But also have an appointment to see a gastroenterologist/ liver specialist on the 6th September so can mention it then.
Oh also sometimes I get a mild burning sensation on the upper middle part of my back. Like I’ve got now. But that doesn’t really play on my mind as it doesn’t really hurt or make me feel uncomfortable.
I find it so hard to believe that H/A can actually cause symptoms pains like this! But that’s all it seems to be coming back too. 😫 which yes in one sense thank goodness, but it plays with my mind over thinking & worrying always has to be worst case scenario! Hate this H/A! It’s like it doesn’t want us to get better!
Well hope for all of us we will beat this!
Take Care xx
Yep f##k health anxiety. It’s funny though aye that your liver is better now with your latest results which is good but then you go straight to worrying about it being bad again hehe. Because you are worried about your liver pancreas your symptoms are going to be around that area because you are thinking about it, always happens with me I can think I have a kind of cancer and I will slowly start getting a lot of symptoms that go with that disease. The brain can do some crazy things
YES that’s right Josh it’s a vicious circle! The mind is a powerful thing but not always for the better😫.
Take care xx
Yes that’s exactly what happens to me! When I’m driving I get back pains and and my back hurts after I’m sitting for awhile it’s also worse when I can sit and think about it. When I’m out doing things I seem to forget about it and it goes always but when I’m not doing anything it comes back. Also my shoulders did the same thing but when you have anxiety about things you tense up and change your posture without even knowing so when you don’t realize you do that and your shoulders hurt it makes it worse and way more scary, you also have a muscle that runs down your back so same for that one as well. As for medical tests I went to the er in the beginning of July because I had a panic attack then on the 13 th of July I went back again because I had a really bad side pain under my rib cage that radiated to my back, they did a bunch of X-rays, blood tests, urine tests, and an mri with and without contrast. All results came back normal except I had a little inflammation in my intestine which wasn’t a concern at all. Then two weeks later I went back to the doctor and complained again of this left side rib pain pressure that I had, it also feels a little bit bruised when I touch it on the left lower side. They sent me to the hospital labs for more blood work and a ultra sound. My blood work and ultra sound came back normal. I had never had anxiety before this all happened and I was prescribed adderall which I hated so I came off of it at the end of the school year, possible trigger? Probably, I hated it because I really love art and I didn’t have any thoughts running through my mind about things I could create or do. Also o think it’s tve reason behind my anxiety because I already learned to deal with anxiety at a young age and my brain was used to functioning a certain way and now I have health anxiety all the time I constantly google my symptoms and the worst symptoms come up but what we all have to remember is that little body pains that aren’t serious what so ever and that are normal aren’t going to show up. A lot of the time health anxiety sufferers can make their symptoms that are normal worse by googling and over thinkin about them it ruins your quality of life when you are constantly scared about every little body sensation you have. I’m positive everything will be fine for you, health anxiety sucks❤️
OMG How very similar 😮. Its sad we all have to put up with these horrible thoughts, symptoms & pains but on the other hand It’s kinda reassuring at the same time. I know there’s so many symptoms that Anxiety can cause, but when you get pain that constantly comes back & triggered by sitting you start to think it’s something else.
I used to also Google symptoms but made me freak out since having this H/A. Before this H/A I used to be into the medical side of things & used to google before for myself & others never bothered me at all. Even when I’ve suffered from things in the past like Niro virus, bells Palsy when I was 7 months pregnant back in 2010. Found out I had Gilbert’s Syndrome last July/ August time & never gave it a seconds thought.I suffered from panic attacks when I was about 12yrs that lasted no longer than a year. But that come from nowhere tbh. My trigger this time was a drop in blood pressure after applying some ointment & bang that was it the start of this horrible H/A.
I really do feel for each & every one that suffers from this & obviously other things. It can have a big impact on your life. Because you constantly fighting against yourself in a way. But it can be done, & we need to keep reminding ourselves this! I will keep you updated on how things go.
I have an appointment to see a gastroenterologist/ liver specialist on the 6 th September. Fingers crossed everything will be fine & then I will have 100% except it’s H/A & beat this. I must admit im loads better than what I was, I meant probably 95% just need confirmation again about pancreas & liver & some more reassurance on the Gilbert’s. At the mo the pains & jaundice eyes make me doubt things & worry. But like Josh has said because that’s probably my most feared areas the H/A is probably making / causing the pain etc.... which I find that so bizarre how it can’t do that. Which I do believe regarding other symptoms I’ve had & gone.
I sadly lost my mother in law last September and I always comparing myself to her. She passed away from having pancreatic C which I think went to her Liver 😢 she was only in her 50s. She was a fighter & very much Missed 😢.
Keep me updated hun & feel free to message me anytime xx