I am a hypochondriac. How 'bout you?

[SillyMe]

I was getting migraines. I really thought it might be a brain tumor. So, I saw a neurologist... Had an MRI. Thank God, no brain tumor. Just migraines.

I was having heart palpitations. I just knew I had some major heart defect that would surely require open-heart surgery. So, I saw a cardiologist. He did a sonogram of my heart.... even hooked me up to one of those heart monitors for 48 hours. It turned out that I did not have a major heart defect. I was only having benign palpitations. Miraculously, the palpitations immediately disappeared after the reassurance from my cardiologist.

I am scared to death that I might have breast cancer. Seriously.... I do not want to perform self-exams because I am SO frightened that I will find a lump. I am thinking of making up some sob-story so that my doc will order a mammogram. (I'm only 30, so I'd have to have a really good reason for insurance to pay for one.)

The heel of my foot itches. I am thinking there might be some nasty parasite nicking away at my feet. Maybe I should see a podiatrist.

I am scared that I could possibly have hepatitis. No, I'm not at risk for the disease. But, I really think I need to get tested... Don't ask why, it's just the illness-du-jour. I'll have to think of a good reason, though, for asking my doc for the test.

[Loon-A-TiK]

i'm not a hypochondriac.

i think that could potentially be an obsessive-compulsive disorder. i'm not sure. ask your pdoc.

[Angeljasmine]

I sometimes wonder whether I am a hypochondriac but I don't think I am. Or maybe I'm an unusual one.

I have symptoms of things which I then go on to self diagnose. For example:

- I think I'm developing some form of arthritis because I have started getting joint pains.

- I get a mild pain in my heart area which I think might be angina.

But I don't go to a doctor because I'm scared of the consequences. Maybe I do have arthritis, maybe I do have angina. Maybe I am getting heart disease and maybe it will lead to surgery, and so on. I avoid getting a diagnosis for fear of actually having these diseases. I have this mentality that if I avoid / ignore things and be in denial, that these things do not exist.

I also think that if I had cancer, I'd rather not know. I don't want to be in the situation where I know I am going to die. I'd rather not know. I'd rather just die.

I know it's wrong to think like this. I know that it's best to seek treatment early for things, as delaying treatment can have bad consequences, if you leave it "too late". ie if your joints freeze up from arthritis when you could have prevented that with early treatment.

I guess I will continue to self sabotage my life.

[BenzoBabe]

I am not a hypochondriac but have a close friend that is one. I have known her for wow...7 years and I am running out of ways to support her when she is afraid of yet...another major illness. She will not see a T....SO I was wondering what YOU would like to hear from someone who cares as far as support? I am just at a loss anymore and could use some tips...And yes I agree with Loon its a form of OCD..I read that somewhere long ago

[LikeMinded]

I have a conversion disorder that comes in attacks and then remits about 90% each time. The attacks are about 4-6 months apart. I generally don't like to think about it unless I'm discussing it with someone else, or if I'm in the ER in the midst of an attack.

Now to get an ER doc to actually do an MRI during an attack.

[Thomas]

I'm just the opposite. I won't admit I'm sick even when it's obvious. Tried to go to work when I had a kidney infection that kept me in the hospital for 4 days. My wife stopped me and made me call my doctor who had me go to the ER.

Tommy

[LikeMinded]

I'm just the opposite. I won't admit I'm sick even when it's obvious. Tried to go to work when I had a kidney infection that kept me in the hospital for 4 days. My wife stopped me and made me call my doctor who had me go to the ER.

Tommy

That reminds me. I'm weird that way. Halfway.

Whenever I go projectile vomiting (this seems to be every 3-4 months), it's off to find the nearest dose of Bonine (meclizine) to shut my stomach up. Unfortunately, that once did result in an ER visit, as the nurses at the nurses' station at the hospital next to which I work informed me that only a doctor who was formally seeing me could dispense any sort of med.

I also tend to get a high (103-104F) fever along with the vomiting... nothing that a push of 1500mg acetominophen can't take care of (just once though, any more and I might get liver damage). Those episodes only last 1-2 days so I know I'm out in the clear in that case.

In contrast, whenever my neurological conversion disorder* pops up, I head straight to the ER, thinking it's something serious.

*These conversion symptoms could be due to organically-identifiable autoimmune brain damage that was not visible on an MRI performed June '06, 2 months after my third attack. But I'm bipolar, so they're conversion symptoms. I call this constellation "psychological multiple sclerosis", or psiMS for short.

[Boz-pot]

I am scared to death that I might have breast cancer.

I was scared of getting cancer when I was a child. Then at 15 I was diagnosed with...cancer! I'm not trying to scare you by saying this, but I understand how you feel.

I am now desperately trying not to think about having MS because there's a tiny superstitious part of my brain that believes thinking about it will make it happen, just like with the cancer.

Ah well, at least none of us have Housemaid's Knee. (This will be wasted on anybody who has not read 'Three Men In A Boat')

[learningtolive]

I'm not a hypochondriac - I legitimately do have a lot of health problems! But when I was younger, I used to spend a lot of time worrying about what serious illness I might have. I tend to think that was OCD related.

[jacomus]

Old thread, ya I know..

When I was around 19 my left testicle was a bit sensitive to touch and seemed larger than did the other. I though that it must be testicular cancer. Well I had it checked out, and the doctor said it was nothing. I still didn’t believe him. I would spend hours each day examining it and reading about cancer.

A few years later I noticed some swelling above my naval and automatically assumed that the cancer had spread to my abdomen. The doctor said it was nothing. I thought he was just overlooking a deadly illness.

Later down the road I began to develop a lump in my throat. It was a swollen tonsil, just one. The cancer had spread to my lymph system, and I also had a small lump in my lip now. So, I did some more reading and discovered that these symptoms could also be due to HIV. Well, that’s when shit hit the fan.

I then began to have night sweats, which is a symptom of lymphoma, and I also started seeing stars when I got up quickly and when I sneezed. Cancer had now spread to my brain. By this time I was sure that it was terminal.

I have had hundreds of tests done that have all come back negative, but I am still convinced that I have something terrible. Taking Luvox has helped a bit, though it still happens from time to time.

[LikeMinded]

I had that whole cancer scare a few months ago (but then again, so did the doctors!). I wonder what the term is if both patient AND the docs have irrational fears about a disease.

Now that the mild brain rot has been discovered (c.f. my post above, made in 11/06), it's the "LOOK! I WAS SICK!!! AND I WASN'T IMAGINING!" I'm starting to wonder if it's SOP in the ER to brush off any MI who comes in with neuro symptoms as having some sort of hypochondriasis. There have been a few papers published on that subject, and the authors did emphasize that many of these people (like me) actually have "organic", serious neurological illness.

I did use to be a true hypochondriac when I was little. I thought at various points that I had it all... diabetes, cancer, you name it.

My mom's a hypochondriac, but then again, psychosomatic disorder is common in her [Asian] culture. Her severe GAD came as palpitations and shortness of breath. She thought she had arrhythmias, and multiple Holter tests proved this false. She's now doing quite well on Zoloft and low-dose Xanax, mind y'all.

[Stew]

I thought I was a hypochondriac for a while but I realized that I was just reacting to being oblivious to so many symptoms and winding up really sick so often that I was thinking mroe about varuious feelings trying to figure out if they were indicative of an illness or infection. I do get psychosomatic things on fairly regular occasions though-- especially back spasms from stress/tension.

[invictus61101]

Yes. I have diagnosed myself with every illness known to man.

[Guest Guest]

I'm positive that I have at least a mild form of hypochondria.

I'm convinced that I have PCOS. I see the symptoms staring me in the face. But then, in my more rational moments, I step back and think, "How could this possibly be seen as symptomatic?"

I post on blogs and boards and ask for advice. Over and over. But I don't go to the doctor; I'm certain that he'll think I'm a hypochondriac! (Vicious cycle much?)

I went through a year of being convinced that I had something horribly wrong with my throat. I couldn't swallow. I had a tube-cam put down my throat. I figured out every disease that would match the symptoms. Then, one day, it disappeared.

I'm still going through a phase where I just know that I have diabetes. I swear that I do. I've bought glucose monitors to check my sugar. (It was high, but still normal.) I've done pee tests. At one point, I went through a "grief session" where I bawled my eyes out from the horror of "having diabetes." I told myself, "If I don't have diabetes, then something's wrong: I shouldn't have this much fear and torment over a disease I don't have." I still worry.

I worry about my joints popping. I wonder if I'm developing a joint disease. Someone asked if I had bursitis, and now I'm focusing on that idea.

It's frustrating, because otherwise I'm not that prone to major anxiety.

[Lynn]

I'm constantly convincing myself that I have some serious disease, illness or health complication that's going to kill me. I've had to force myself to stay away from health-related sites (especially lists of symptoms for various conditions) because I'll just "diagnose" myself with something new.

Of course, none of my self-diagnoses have ever turned out to be something serious. I'm sure my doctor thinks I'm nuts.

I have OCD and I wouldn't be surprised if it's related to that.

[Phoenixrising]

I am really struggling with hypochondria. I worry incessantly about any number of medical problems. I always think I have something medically wrong with me. I don't know how to handle it. I try some techniques like deep breathing and trying to distract myself but it doesn't help. I am sure that I have some terrible illness or something.

[Lynn]

My hypochondria is back in full force and it's driving me crazy. Every illness I hear about, I'm sure I have....

What helps you get through it?

[goldfinch]

I used to be a hypochondriac - for 40 years! Sometimes I couldn't function due to my anxiety about my health. Luckily meds worked great for me and I haven't had an "episode" in 7 years. First zoloft, then lexapro + wellbutrin, and now straight wellbutrin. I know that wellbutrin makes anxiety worse for some, but luckily it works for me.

[Zippy]

Yes, I am convinced that these meds are killing me. I don't really believe my blood tests are normal when I am told they are. I am sure they are missing something or forgetting to check something.

[galore]

I'm a combo of a hypochondriac and a person who minimizes it when they are really sick. However, I was pregnant 3 times in the past 5 years, and when you're preggo, the doctors don't fool around. High blood pressure at your monthly checkup? Go to the hospital to be monitored for several hours. Occasional heart murmur? Go get an EKG at a specialist. And each time, there was nothing wrong. That sortof put my hypochondriac feelings into perspective.

My husband told me that he read about a new term for people who are hypochondriac, but they look up their symptoms and self-diagnose on the internet, but he can't remember what the term is. He said, "That's you, except with you, half the time, you're right." Anytime any of my kids or me has symptoms, I'm either googling it or checking someplace like WebMD. I worked for a veterinarian for several years, so I have some medical knowledge- a lot of meds are the same, and a lot of the lab tests are the same. Whenever I see something about a human taking Buspar, I laugh, because that's what the vet prescribed for cats who peed all over the house (when it wasn't caused by a UTI and it was considered to be behavioral).

And, I have correctly diagnosed a couple illnesses- when my daughter was a baby she had a textbook case of Roseola, I took her to the doctor anyway, but it's a virus, so they didnt' do anything for it except tell me to give her Tylenol if her fever got too high.

Also, I'm the type of person who wants to know what is wrong, I can't just say, "Oh, I fell and now my arm really hurts, but I'll give it a few days." I'd rather go get it checked out and see if it's sprained or broken. My husband is more stoic than that, I'm guessing it's a guy thing, or maybe it's just him, because he won't take medication for a headache even (maybe he has issues with self-neglect?).

And I agree with what someone else said- it's nice when there are times when there is a diagnosis and it's like, "Oh, it's not just in my head- I have hypothyroidism!" or something like that. Makes me feel validated.

[Guest tiffany27]

iam a hypochondriac but mine comes and goes, when it comes it is really bad, i go to the emrgency room and lie about the severity of my smptoms so i can get MRI's an CT'S right then and there, i self diagnose myself all the time, i have convinced myself i am dying of a brain tumor about 3 times, each episode lasts months, i also was absolutley positive i had lupus for about a year, some other things i have diagnosed myself with are diabetes, HIV, oral cancer, ms, als, enciphilitis, leukemia, ohh and right now iam convined that i have ovarian cancer, iam going for an ultrasound next week, went to the obgyn today and he said he thinks everything is fine but that isnt good enough for me, iam only 26 i hope i can find help to overcome this, i laugh about it with my friends but i cant stop, the internet is my worst enemy, lol. oh and the worst thing is i have become a hypochondriac for my kids, i take them to the er and doc for everything, it is ver unhealthy, my daughter tries to hide it from me when she doesnt feel good because i overreact and she is only 7.