I am a 29 YO female who has suffered from health anxiety on and off for the past 5 years. You name it, I have feared it...MS, brain tumor, ALS, Parkinsons, breast cancer, stomach cancer, heart palpitations. Long story short-for the past 4 months I have been obsessed with the idea that I either have MS or a brain tumor. My symptoms included:
-blurred vision
-floaters
-bright flashes of light
-bright blind spots throughout the day
- dizziness..sometimes extreme
- off balance
- head pressure
- auras
-images vibrating in my peripheral and in direct sight
-racing heart
-difficulty sleeping
-difficulty staying awake
-shaking hands
-tingling/numbness in hands and feet
-headaches
-over stimulation an inability to focus
- having diffiulty walking
- feeling as if I am about to pass out/blackout
- shallow rapid breathing
After visiting my PCP regularly since April and trying a combo of medications. I finally saw a neurologist 2 weeks ago and they ordered an MRI. Guess what...completely clean and not even a blip of a problem in sight. My neurologist has diagnosed me idiopathic ocular migraines with and without pain. Dizziness/off balance, and "visual disturbances" are the most common. He put me on a high dose Vitamin B2 and Chelated Magnesium. This takes 6 weeks to have a 50% reduction in symptoms and he assured me that the remainder of those symptoms were caused by all of our friend...ANXIETY.
So for those out there who are in my boat. We are in this together. I have been in CBT for over 5 months now and I take Buspar and Xanax. Now I have to change my frame of mind and accept that there is nothing wrong with me. Visit your PCP, share your concerns and know that if they dismiss you it is for good reasons and that is because you are fine.
I've been there it's ridiculous. Here are my top 5 worse ones.
1: convinced myself I had inhaled carbon monoxide when my co2 alarm went off in house. Was coughing all morning and body was sore. The battery needed changing!
2: have had kidney stones before, wen speaking to my neighbour about them he had them and then I convinced myself I had them off then back of that!
3: after not eating all day once I went to get lunch and legs felt very weak. Led myself to believe I had diabetes.
4: felt a pulse on right side of chest - thought I had broke science and my heart had moved place!
5: woke up one morning and I have a cupboard above my left eyeline, not my right. Could see the ceiling with right eye and not left (forgot about cupboard) and assumed I had gone blind in my left eye!!
What a joke...
At the time it's so real though. Hopefully that has brightened you up.
Thankfully I don't suffer from health anxiety but see it a lot on this forum and really feel for you, I've got my own anxiety and realise we all have that in common just different thought processes and triggers.
Im currently doing a CBT course as a group and enjoying it, much deeper than previous CBT courses.
Neil
Good luck hopefully you will be feeling more normal soon, whatever that is.
Remember health Professionals are in partnership with you when dealing with health concerns
BOB
This is so helpful.
I have been haveing most if not all of these symptoms. WOW.
I have had a ct scan done, bloodwork etc.
I have talked to a psychologist they said I had agorphobia/depression/anxiety.
I thought THEY were crazy and I insisted something had to be wrong with me.
The only thing that has gotten me through all of these symptoms is the fact that I have my faith. Faith that it will get better with the help of my God.
I know many are not religious, but its something that helps me.
As weird as it sounds im HAPPY I read your post because I fear the same things with the same symptoms. The one that bugs me mostly is the vision and seeing auras, and eye floaters...
Thank you for this post. Seriously... It helped me through a stressful day I was already having... (You know the kind of day you have a million things at work, but all your focused on is your symptoms)
THANKS
Hang in there!! Always feel free to reach out if you need reassurance or someone to talk to. I HATE my floaters and auras, but knowing that they are harmless and not a sign of a more serious condition(according to Neuro, PCP, and optometrist). The hardest part is ignoring them, but try your hardest.
We are all in this together.
Very interested in your in depth cbt.
Is it online or face to face?
any info would be helpful.