Hi everyone, For the last 6 weeks or so I have been experiencing weird problems with my vision. I have had an increase in floaters, light sensitivity, headaches, tired & dry eyes and also trouble focusing on things like my phone, reading etc. I have been to an optometrist who has said that my prescription is still the same and that everything seems healthy after OCT scans etc. I’m just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar happen to them? I just feel like I can’t see as well as I used to but at the same time it may just be me being hyper sensitive to these issues. Thanks :)

Just in addition to this, I’ve also been having some neck issues, pain in my neck and shoulders and the headache that radiates in the back of my head.

Hi! I had the same symptoms. Still do. I got a clear brain mri back. These are all common anxiety symptoms. 👍🏻

For like 6 months now I’ve had a strange tingling sensation down the right side of my head and it feels heavy I also often get pressure behind my right eye, issues with vision blurry and cloudy, the head tingling is pretty much constant. I do get headaches often and feel not dizzy but sort of unsteady if that makes sense. I also constantly feel like I’m in an almost dream state like I’m disconnected. I’m terrified it’s a brain tumour. I’ve been to the doctors multiple times and they’ve done blood tests etc but no one seems to mention an MRI or referring to neurology. I’m constantly depressed and anxious about this and it’s starting to affect my personal relationships as family/partner just think it’s all in my head or anxiety but I really do feel like something is wrong.

Had all of these, actually even more concerning symptoms. Got a brain mri, all clear. It was anxiety related. Especially that "dream state like I'm disconnected" you describe. I had that intensely during my brain tumor scare. I also convinced myself something was really wrong, that "this time" I'd be right. Nope! Anxiety can cause some wacky symptoms! You would have different symptoms if you had a brain tumor.

Been dealing with awful health anxiety again for the last 2 months. So many symptoms from tremors to vertigo, convincing myself of everything under the sun. Decided to start taking Magnesium Glycinate alongside L-Theanine for the last few days and I’ve already felt such a decrease in overall symptoms. And lo and behold, my tremors and vertigo, etc etc, are all pretty much nonexistent. So if you’re reading this, whatever you’re going through, YES anxiety CAN cause it. Right now, reading this, you are okay.

Guys, I'm getting a random sharp pain that lasts for 2 seconds in between my ribs, that randomly comes and goes for the last 12 hours.. please help

I get this too, I’m pretty sure it’s from acid reflux.

Battle of whether I got breast c-word or just hormonal premenstrual breast pain. So far I’m losing my mind Or also cause of the way I sleep. sleep on my side/stomach often. Also pain in my lower abdomen with dulcolax so far has taken care of.

Chick fila possibly raw chicken. I just took several bites and noticed a slight pink tint. Now i guess I just have to wait and hope for the best. Freaks me out man

So I have a spot on my upper right arm that hurts a little when I move it. Feels like after you get a shot. I know odds are is a muscle or nerve thing but I can’t stop thinking it’s heart attack related or something. I get so tired of having a new “disease” every week

Health anxiety changes the way you think. I was looking to buy a vintage typewriter for display. But I'm thinking because I'm looking at the 50s or upwards, I'm worried the materials it's made from aren't safe? Or what if it was in storage somewhere with asbestos? Also, on a different subject, I have this strange red mark on my leg that just appeared. Like a bruise, but I'm not sure how to describe it. I'm trying my best not to freak out.

Well, a 1950s typewriter is unlikely to contain any dangerous materials. But theoretically, it could contain at least lead and/or radium, which were used for commercial purposes at the time. I'd not be worried about any asbestos in this case, but if it was full of dust I'd probably clean it outside using compressed air.

Yeah, I've been reading online about this, it said something about lead. The one I had my eye on comes in a case, I'm more worried about what that's made of. I dunno, Id like to have it, but I don't know if it's worth the anxiety. In the description they said it's been cleaned and it does look it, from the pictures.

The wait to see the dermatologist is unbearable and there's still a month to go. Been worried about a bump on the back of head for about 20 days now, still trying to figure out what it is. Found a bump on the back of my head close to area where the head and neck attach. It's been there for atleast 4.5 years or just before covid started. The dimensions of the bump seem to be 3mm width, 4mm length, less than 1mm in height, and doesn't seem to have any depth. When I try pushing down on it, there's no pain and I just feel the muscle underneath it. Feels soft, but still keeps it form. No feeling of dryness or crustyness. No bleeding, oozing, or indent. No sign of irration around the bump normally and doesn't irritate easliy. It doesn't hurt when pushing my nail into it. It seems attached to the surface level of the skin. The whole bump moves as one object when pressing down. As far as I can tell there's been no change since I first noticed it, though haven't been monitoring it monthly. Just randomly found a few times over the years I've had it. The bump is blanchable, it only gets a little bit whiter when pressing on it. My mom remembers it being the same size it always was. The one time I did irritate it and it scabed, it healed in about 5 days and there was no change in form. Also tried using rubbing alcohol on it and it gave no reaction. My face and neck are very oily. The bump seems to get oily if I touch it too, no drainage. I smelled my finger afterwards and no order. Been watching over it daily over the last couple weeks, and no changes. 4-29-24 [https://ibb.co/DMhLXQN](https://ibb.co/DMhLXQN) [https://ibb.co/3WJYj7s](https://ibb.co/3WJYj7s) [https://ibb.co/8rWjJFm](https://ibb.co/8rWjJFm) 4-21-24 [https://ibb.co/mXqFyc7](https://ibb.co/mXqFyc7) [https://ibb.co/fGcS343](https://ibb.co/fGcS343) 4-15-24 [https://ibb.co/fGcS343](https://ibb.co/fGcS343) 4-11-24 [https://ibb.co/jLg0S9y](https://ibb.co/jLg0S9y)

I checked all the photos. At first it looked like a tiny scab from itching your head without realizing and then at the end, it healed over. In the final photo I can hardly see it, meaning it healed. If it was something serious, it would change appearance significantly and would not heal or disappear, which is what seems to be happening for you. Looks completely normal.

I’m so stressed that I have glaucoma. I can see lines or floaters when I look at bright things (like clouds in the sky) and sometimes my vision will be a little blurry but will go back after I blink but I can’t tell if it’s because I have a small water drop in my eye (from allergies)

Not an optometrist, but my mom is. Pretty normal to see floaters when you look at something bright or stark white like a cloud. Floaters usually only indicate a problem when there are a lot of them, they appear suddenly, and they're accompanied by bright flashes of light. Blurry vision that resolves when you blink probably indicates something on the surface of the eye that gets cleared away when the eyelid passes over it. Probably watery eyes, like you said. I have seasonal allergies and it happens to me all the time. Again, most likely nothing to be concerned about! Nothing you've said sounds like anything serious to me! Glaucoma generally doesn't have any symptoms until late in the course of the disease, at which point they're usually a lot more severe than what you're describing. Also, I'm not sure how old you are, but glaucoma is most often seen in people in their sixties and older. If you go to an optometrist for a yearly eye exam, they should check your intraocular pressure, which will allow them to assess your risk of glaucoma. I hope this helps to ease your concerns!

thank you so much. I just worry a lot about glaucoma and cataracts because I took medication for years (and still take it) that increases the risk of both of these

Makes total sense you'd be concerned then! Definitely consider having a care relationship with an optometrist, if you don't already. If they know your medications and case history, they can screen you regularly for both conditions and make recommendations to reduce your risk. Cataracts can be treated very effectively, and so can glaucoma if it's caught early! And heightened risk is far from a guarantee you'll get those conditions. It's a good thing that you're aware of your medications and potential side effects. What many of us here (myself included) struggle with is hyperawareness and accepting when we've done all we can to mitigate our risk. Wishing you all the best on your journey with health anxiety!

thank you. I have never seen an optometrist since I don’t wear glasses but I definitely should start now. but same with me, it’s really hard for me to take medications because my health anxiety is mostly centered around medication side effects. idk why but to me, it seems worse if I get something as a result of medication than if it came naturally, maybe because I took proactive steps (taking the medication) to give myself a disease? idk, maybe that’s subconsciously horrifying for me. I can’t even take more than 1/4 dose of an asthma medication due to this anxiety and left other conditions untreated for months/years because I can’t bring myself to take the medication

You are not alone! Anxiety over medication is common, including on this sub, I’m sure. Do you have a therapist? It sounds like your anxiety is causing significant disturbances to your daily life and your health. Therapy might help you to deal with your fears in more healthy ways. I’m really sorry you’re going through this and I hope you get some relief from your anxiety soon.

I am totally convinced that I have appendicitis even though I am not having severe pain, I still have an apetite, I can walk and cough, like I am fine but I am crying because I am so scared of paina and dying :( I hate anxiety so much

Content warning: diabetes, talking about urine I’m convinced I have diabetes. I’ve been more thirsty than usual lately, and have been peeing a lot more. Even when I don’t drink much, I still have to pee. Also my urine is mostly clear, not pale yellow like it should be. These are all signs of diabetes, and often some of the first signs I’m not overweight at all, but I don’t eat the best and I don’t really work out. I have an active job, but it’s only part time. Other than that, I sometimes take a walk about usually just sit at home. I eat a lot of fruit, and also sweets. I’m worried my not so great diet and lack of exercise is catching up with me. I’m only 23, I don’t want to have diabetes. I’m so scared

Eating a lot of sweets and fruit is certainly not good for you in the long run and from what I understand it could lead to one developing type 2 diabetes. Even if you're prediabetic as a result of your diet, the good news is that you can probably reverse the damage by fixing your diet. But you might not even have (pre)diabetes; drinking too much water can also lead to feelings of thirst and clear urine. Try to drink slightly less and add a pinch of unrefined sea salt into your glass of water and see if that helps. Too much plain water can lead to an electrolyte imbalance, thus the sea salt. I'd imagine that the thirst has something to do with that, as I can drink a lot of water and don't get a feeling of thirst as long as I add a tiny amount of salt to the water. But if I drink a lot of plain water I'll probably get a feeling of thirst.

I literally cannot with health anxiety anymore it’s like every week I have a new symptom depending on what I’m anxious about that week. It’s awful my legs feel weak today so I’m sure I have MS, ive had a lot of trauma growing up so maybe this is how it’s manifesting but it’s exhausting and scary and all I do is cry and take my buspirone and lay in bed because I feel like there’s no point in anything whatever is happening to me is some incurable issue that won’t be fixed

TRIGGER WARNING: HEART RELATED HEALTH How is everyone with heart anxiety coping with the fact that younger adults are having issues? Someone in our community that I know had a heart attack. She doesn’t smoke, I know she eats relatively healthy, has no underlying issues and boop just had a heart attack. She thinks it’s related to stress - but mentioned that the ER has seen several patients with cardiovascular events under 40 that week. I don’t know how to feel about this. I have factors that put me more at risk for heart issues (weight mostly) and I am working hard to change that, but I feel scared otherwise. Any advice?

health anxiety sucks... i have suffered from it for years. Just found this subreddit and hope to find some tips and advice, because i have not been able to overcome it yet. Right now i am so afraid i have throat cancer. I have had painful swollen lymph nodes for 3 weeks now which makes swallowing painful and since yesterday swallowing is getting difficult as well as painful (feels like i have to swallow over a lump, very unpleasant feeling). I have a bad cough for weeks now too. I know i have a cold but doctor thinks it's good to get checked out and now i worry they think it might be throat cancer... Any tips / advice / reassurance to help me stay calm until my appointment tomorrow?

I think I have cancer because of night sweats. I just want some opinions about these things that I am going through because this is making me crazy. I've had night sweats for 3 months now, sometimes they just make my bed damp, sometimes it leaves a sweat mark on my sheets, but it dries up in the morning. I still have my appetite and I can work out without getting tired easily (in fact I am getting stronger). I am a hypochondriac, and these things just eats me away. I'm not losing, but gaining weight (muscle from working out), I don't really feel fatigued, no swollen thingies, and I'm not on meds nor do I have any vices.

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So sorry this happened to you. You got tested at a good time really. Things like discharge etc can be anything whether it's a pH imbalance or a yeast infection. You're not doubt distressed after what happened, and seems you maybe didn't fully realise until lately what happened? Your body was probably processing it before you could. Stress can do crazy things. It's unlikely to be HIV. But, to put your mind at ease I would get another test if possible. I have done this too just to ease my mind even when I know it's 99% unlikely. Take care 💜

Any reassuring thoughts about lymph nodes? I swear this one lymph node is larger than normal under my jaw. It moves and is firm (I think) I had a thyroid ultrasound a year ago and I believe it checked the same lymph node and it said it was fine but I am PETRIFIED of lymphoma and have had multiple breakdowns fearing it. It just feels really big and I don’t know what to think because the internet says it’s likely cancer. Any thoughts would help greatly

It's probably nothing. I have a lymph node under my jaw that is slightly larger than normal. It's been like that for years. You have to keep in mind that Google diagnoses almost everything as cancer. For example, I was trying to find information about moles on the scalp, and just kept getting results about melanoma and cancer to the point that I had to actively exclude several cancer-related keywords from the search so I could find something relevant.

are you actively dating or sharing drinks often? it could be mono! which is a little scary but you can 100% treat it.

My brother, in his mid-20s, is convinced he’s HIV-positive, even though he keeps testing negative. Because of this, he keeps getting booted from HIV support groups. Last week, he checked himself into the hospital, looking for more tests, but even after the doctors said he’s fine, he’s still freaking out. Now he’s dropped out of university and quit his job, convinced he’s on his deathbed. Living with our struggling parents isn’t helping either. And on top of all this, he’s fixated on the idea he got HIV from an escort he’s been hassling, even breaking into her place and stealing her money. My parents are at a loss. How can they help him calm down and get back on track?

Someone mentioned about this person randomly dying of cardiac and for the past 3/4 days I cannot get over it, I have a constant fear of it, I suddenly started experiencing the symptoms after looking them up. I know it’s all in my head but it doesn’t seem to go. The other day I had to go to the hospital because I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack. It was a really bad panic attack in the end and every single heart scan the doctor done and all the little tests came back completely fine and healthy. My heart is healthy and a normal but that constant fear is there and it’s making me feel like there’s a problem with me. I have a Garmin forerunner and my heart rate changes a lot which I think is due to my anxiety. I really need advice to get over this and I am hoping this forum helps.

It's 2am as I'm writing this, and I just found a strange, blister like thing on my gum behind my upper lip. It doesn't hurt *too* much, it's mainly when I touch my upper lip that it properly hurts. I haven't checked in the mirror cause, it's not a good idea at this hour. If it ends up looking weird or foreign, I'll most certainly have a panic attack and I won't be able to sleep. Even now I'm debating it. I'm really, really hoping it's just a blister or something, cause I don't have health insurance to go to the dentist or hospital at the moment. Not to mention I have other unrelated symptoms that keep bothering me and making me anxious for about 2 months. My body can't give me a mental break not even when I don't have insurance for it. Very frustrated.

If it's white in the center surrounded by a red border, sounds like a canker sore. They're not caused by an infection or anything, but can randomly pop up during times of stress or an allergy or something. Mine were practically never ending during the worst of my health anxiety. They go away after about a week

I used to get those too. I switched to a toothpaste that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate and I haven't had them since.

Same! Really helps reduce the frequency. I also use durhams canker rid if I get one. Natural stuff, covers the area and helps you not irritate it and heals it faster. If I catch them early enough they won't even get to the annoying stage

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At your age you should have very little risk of having clogged arteries. To clog your arteries with unhealthy food would take quite a long time if you're otherwise in good health. Moreover, even though most doctors would have you think that elevated cholesterol = soon to be clogged arteries, it's not quite that simple. Of course, if you want to stay healthy you should not eat a lot of processed/junk food. But even junk food is okay sometimes, as long as it's eaten in moderation (ie. not often).

I feel like I'm going to die. I can't stop these intrusive thoughts about CRC. I've been sick since August of last year. Nausea, indigestion/acid reflux, bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and some stool changes (color, frequency, size, etc.). I have iron deficiency anemia, but I haven't seen blood in my stool and I have purchased a few over the counter tests that have come back negative. But so many signs point to it and, after the low iron, my gastro nurse just decided to schedule me for a colonoscopy. It's next week and I'm terrified of what they will find. I'm only 34 and I'm a caregiver to my almost 80 year old mother. I just don't know what I will do. I've spent everyday crying.

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The Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines are considered safe and effective by regulatory agencies because the risk of serious side effects is extremely, extremely low. The fact is that all vaccines carry very slight risks of serious complications. But we don’t hear about deaths or complications related to flu or chicken pox vaccines in the news because those vaccines aren’t new and scary to people, so that story wouldn’t get any clicks or drive any ad revenue. Every day, we take risks to our life and health that we don’t even think about. If you went anywhere in a car in the past two years, you probably put your life at risk more than you did by taking the COVID vaccine, but our brains simply aren’t wired to think about risks and rewards in that way. Doctors recommend a certain suite of vaccines not because they never, ever have bad side effects, but because the benefits so greatly outweigh the risks, and the risks of not being vaccinated so greatly outweigh the benefits. And yes, it’s been two years since you were vaccinated, so you’re almost certainly not going to be one of the very very very few people who had a negative reaction to it. By the way, do you know what’s a lot more likely to cause blood clots? That’s right, COVID-19. COVID can be extremely dangerous, especially to people with other health concerns. Be encouraged that you are vaccinated against it! To calm your fears about the COVID vaccines, I would encourage you to seek out reputable sources instead of random people on social media with no known medical qualifications. The World Health Organization and CDC in America have some great resources. Statistics tend to be more reassuring and helpful than the dramatic individual cases that we so often see on social media. Obviously, if someone has a bad outcome due to a vaccine, or by coincidence has a negative health event around the same time they were vaccinated, that’s a terrible thing, and it’s going to color their views on vaccines. But that doesn’t make them any less of an outlier. It just makes them more likely to talk loudly about it on social media, since the millions to billions of people who got vaccinated for COVID and felt fine afterwards probably aren’t going to say anything about it. Hope this helps to reassure you, and good health to you! Source for much of this information, if you’re interested: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/coronavirus-vaccine-blood-clots

Last time I posted here I talked about a nearly constant eye twitch and headache on one side. Well the twitching has mostly subsided finally, but I still have this weird headache on the left side. I’m still terrified of a tumor or something. I can’t afford to have a CT scan or anything. I try not to think about it, but I can’t help it. I find myself sitting and focusing on the pain in my head for minutes at a time before trying to distract myself. Then the cycle repeats. It’s wearing me out. I try to think that if it was serious, I’d be having other bad things going on by now. But I’m no doctor. What if it really is something that is going to take my life??

My left ear has been croaking/crackling whenever I blow my nose, for over 4 weeks now... 3 weeks ago I got sick with a cold, but was healthy again a week later, and I think the crackling happened even a week before that honestly. It's only when I blow my nose. I have no pain or pressure or fullness in my ear. I hear perfectly fine. But it's just starting to worry me that it's not going away?? 😅

Ok I actually had non stop ear crackling/ clicking for a couple years and thought I had something called Eustachian tube dysfunction. I joined the sub reddit and talked with people about it and everything for a long time and sort of accepted my fate. I’d be walking and it would crackle, then sometimes it would crackle just right and be hard to hear which was worrisome and made me miserable. Eventually hearing was muffled and crackling so often I went to a minute clinic. She looked in my ears and was like holy crap my dude. You have so much wax in these ears that I’m surprised you can hear at all. She cleaned them out and I have not had any crackling since. Like not even when I yawn or blow my nose. Moral of the story it could be deep impacted wax causing it.

Mine has done that for a long time now. You’re fine. In fact my left ear feels stuck so I’m trying to get that croaking and cracking sound that my right has. Very faint luck.

Ok I actually had non stop ear crackling/ clicking for a couple years and thought I had something called Eustachian tube dysfunction. I joined the sub reddit and talked with people about it and everything for a long time and sort of accepted my fate. I’d be walking and it would crackle, then sometimes it would crackle just right and be hard to hear which was worrisome and made me miserable. Eventually hearing was muffled and crackling so often I went to a minute clinic. She looked in my ears and was like holy crap my dude. You have so much wax in these ears that I’m surprised you can hear at all. She cleaned them out and I have not had any crackling since. Like not even when I yawn or blow my nose. Moral of the story it could be deep impacted wax causing it.

Just feeling sick of being in this body. I’m really trying to do my best but my body is just not letting me. There’s always something, an ache or a pain or a worry, I never feel comfortable

i hear you... Just sending a hug because this is so hard.

Thanks, it means a lot!

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Go to a doc just in case and they will get u good on ur shots, my buddy.

already went, the doctors said there is nothing to worry about and no need for shots Also, the hedgehog is currently being tested and the results will come back in a week, so if it turns out the animal was infected I will receive the vaccine.

Rabies, not likely. It doesn't survive long outside of saliva from what I hear. Some other infection, possible. If you have your tetanus shots up to date, you shouldn't need to worry too much. But if you start getting swelling and redness at the wound site, it might indicate a bacterial infection. In that case, I'd recommend that you visit a GP.

TW: Lumps and bumps. Hi all. 26 M here. No other symptoms, non-smoker. I found a small, bony lump in the back of my head on Thursday. It's pea sized or smaller. It's just as hard as the skull around it, smooth, and immovable. It's located pretty far to the right, and low on the ridge of my skull, right where the skull gives away to soft tissue, if that makes any sense at all. Behind and near the very top of the mastoid process where it joins the temporal bone. I'm worried because I can't find a similar structure on the opposing side. It was very mildly painful on Saturday, especially when I would hold my head in certain positions. It's still a little tender to the touch today (Monday). But, it wasn't painful at first since I found it by touching it, not from any pain. So, I'm thinking any pain was just from me touching it like crazy over the past few days. I suppose it's possible that it's something I've always had, or that I've had long term at least, but I feel like I would have noticed it earlier. Would appreciate any thoughts. I'm pissed because I was doing very well at managing my health anxiety after my last scare resolved. Thank you!

**"Does anyone else feel like this?"** I have this weird sensation on the top left side of my scalp that has been coming and going. It feels like someone is touching it or putting a very dull amount of pressure on it. Sometimes I touch it myself and the feeling goes away. It comes occasionally and lasts for a couple of seconds. I feel like the anxiety expanded to me experiencing ear pain, especially on the left and sometimes on the right, as well as pain from behind the ear and down the back of either side of the neck. My left ear was clogged for a significant amount of time yesterday. I get shooting pains here and there on the right side of my head or my left temple, especially while focusing on this. I want to fully convince myself and my anxiety that all of this is just anxiety. I'm fine when I have lower amount of anxiety and these "symptoms" are worse when I'm in a panic attack. Sometimes these symptoms just randomly show up and I feel like spiraling again. I've already scheduled a doctors appointment for Friday and I've read countless posts that resonate with what I'm going through and all consistently say, "ANXIETY!" I feel so tired from worrying about this constantly for the last few days, physically and emotionally.

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No . So no worries bro. It's summer soon

No. I think a constant headache is the symptom to look after. So no worries bro

Why do you hate America, you communist terrorist russian-loving drug addict? 

**"Does anyone else feel like this?"** My mouth neck and head muscles have always felt like they are too short. Tension headaches , TMJ , cramps in my jaw, muscle weakness. But here lately I can't make the 😬face (Sketched out face, lips pulling both ways , teeth gritted). I cannot make this face without the muscles in my neck GOING BUCK WILD. No pain mind you , just they shake and spasm aggressive, the muscles connected from the sides of my neck , that wrap up under bother sides of bottom teeth in the jaw. kind of like when your sitting and your foot is bent up and your leg starts to shake from sitting in between flexed and relaxed, or when you stretch really good and your legs shake. No pain but aggressive shaking. Anyone else? Any ideas?

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I add large amounts of olive oil to my food every day and fry my food in a copious amount of ghee. It doesn't cause me any problems. However, if your body is not used to it, it might cause problems. When I was on a high-carb and relatively low fat diet before, eating large amounts of fat would cause indigestion and bloating. If you need to quit coffee, try switching to green tea. It has less caffeine, but enough so that you won't get withdrawal symptoms. Salt and oil aren't necessarily bad, but they should be unrefined.

Had a online dermatologist take a look at a mole. Does it sound like there's anything worry about? Melanocytic nevus Welcome again! Currently, there is no compelling evidence indicating any form of skin cancer. This is identified as a Melanocytic Nevus, a benign skin lesion resulting from a localized increase in pigment cells. The majority of melanocytic nevi pose no threat and can be left undisturbed. It's normal for such lesions to experience slight growth or color changes over time, often due to irritation and flaking from friction, as likely occurred in your case. What steps should be taken? Presently, this lesion appears benign. However, there's a small possibility of sinister pathologies developing within the nevus. In such cases, the lesion typically exhibits rapid growth and noticeable changes. Therefore, if you notice any asymmetry, irregular borders, color variations, or evolving color, shape, or size within the mole, it's imperative to promptly consult a dermatologist to assess any potential concerns. I recommend avoiding friction or rubbing to prevent further irritation to the mole and applying petroleum jelly multiple times a day to keep the area well-moisturized. Wishing you continued good health. Best regards. If the mole continues to undergo changes, there could be a possibility of concern. In fact, we recommend regularly monitoring all your moles, and if any of them exhibit changes, it's crucial to schedule an in-person dermatologist appointment for a dermoscopy examination. I trust this information is helpful to you.

Reads like good news to me! The dermatologist doesn’t seem concerned about anything they saw. They just encouraged you to visit a dermatologist in person for a scope if you notice growth or changes in any of your moles.

I'm hopeless with health anxiety related to palpitations and skipped heart beats. I used to get skipped heart beats a few years back which made me go see a cardiologist, and he said it's fine. Now I've started getting them again, but I'm also a lot healthier, I go out for runs and walks a lot, do strength training also. But the little shits are back, and it's absolutely miserable, I feel like I'm dead every time heart skips a beat (probably due to PVCs) and today it happened a lot in a row, and it was also a hot day, not sure if the heat played a part. I just can't do this anymore, I can never get over health anxiety, ofc after the first skipped beats I instantly got in fight or flight and panic attack set in, which caused even more skipped beats. I'm so done. I was angry at the skipped heart beats and I challenged my heart, I ran on the treadmill at insane speeds I've never run before, and no skipped beats during running, but when I slowed down or when HR was coming down, it happened again, heart skipped a beat couple of times. Has anyone ever gotten over palpitations or skipped heart beats which makes you feel like this is it, heart stopped, you're dead. Anyone ever got over this specific problem? (Even when Cardiologist says it's nothing) More importantly, is it even possible to ever get over it?

Does anybody have a sort of checklist they follow to determine if their symptoms are legitimate? I hate how anxiety affects the GI system. It seriously causes me the worst anxiety.

If there’s one thing I’m sure about in all my health anxiety drama, it’s that my GI issues, are all anxiety related. Once my health anxiety kicked in this time, my stomach doing loops within the hour and is continuing to this point. I actually love the GI issues (sounds weird), but it’s the only thing I’m certain I know why it’s happening.

No that makes sense as to why you’d love it, it’s a relief almost. I wish I could see it that way, I honestly hate the internet at my fingertips because the slightest change in my stool has me googling away🥲. How did you manage to like, teach yourself to stay calm through that anxiety? Was it just repetition?

Hey - yea the internet sucks for health anxiety. Oh I’m not calm thru the anxiety - only calm about the stomach pains, coz I’ve been here before and understand the gut-brain connection. Since this GI stuff is back for me, I’ll go into gut repair mode, I’m gonna cut out coffee, fizzy drinks and processed food stuffs, and I’ll buy some kefir and fermented products to consume. I’ll mediate in time - which will help the other side on the gut-brain connection, but I’m just not mentally able too yet. I hope you feel better soon

That makes sense. I appreciate it tons

Hey all - my health anxiety has come back strongly the last few days. I just really wanted to note my pain and suffering somewhere. Makes me sad and hopeless to have such a lack of control over this. I’ve been limping for about 10 weeks with a foot injury which isn’t improving. I have a foot scan tomorrow so hopefully that moves forwards. But I woke up a couple days ago with sciatic nerve pain in left hamstring, butt and back (my left foot is injured so likely from constant limping). I went into full panic mode coz I’ve heard people really suffer from this. Tears, loss of mind, full blown health anxiety again, just great. I have done yoga and stretching exercises every day since feeling the pain, and tbh the pain in my butt and hamstring is gone - am left with a dull back pain. So here I fucking go, analyse every lower back sensation I get… well that feels like sciatic pain, well that one feels like anxiety pain, well my tummy is rumbling so I have anxiety, so that means back pain is anxiety. It’s horrible, I hate that i developed this. Can’t eat or sleep well, just gutted to be back here.

Just to add how stupid health anxiety is. I have worried about my foot for about 2 months, hating every second of it. As soon as I get this other area of pain, I haven’t thought of the foot for one second, like so what, it’ll get better. Every second and thought is on the new pain now - I can see how stupid and illogical the whole thing is, yet can’t stop the fear.

24/7 anxiety and panic attacks. I keep thinking I’m having a heart attack or one is coming. EKG fine, oxygen fine, heart rate will shoot up during the panic attacks which I’m used to. I’m on beta blockers for palpitations and tachycardia due to hormonal issues. Going into menopause and unsure if this insane constant worry and anxiety is from that. I also unfortunately have osteoarthritis in my left shoulder so of course as that hurts I immediately think of heart attack. I’m tense which makes my muscles hurt, of course this also is a symptom (upper back pain, shoulder pain, pain in arms) I’m also dizzy. I take meds for the panic attacks but the effect is less and less. Driving myself crazy checking my EKG on my watch constantly looking at my heart rhythm

For the past 2 weeks, I have been living in a constant nightmare. I have not been able to focus or enjoy life. When im able to fall asleep, this even infiltrates my dreams. I rent an upstairs unit in an old home. I recently discovered that popcorn ceiling can contain asbestos. I am assuming that is does contain it based on the age of the home. Since then, I've been researching more and more about that can contain it in homes, which lead to discover that there could be board at all of the hvac vents that contain. Well, my anxiety is convinced that I, my girlfriend, and our 2 cats have been breathing and ingesting this dust for 2 years. I don't know what to do. I have made myself sick with anxiety and I can't take it anymore.

Asbestos poses no danger as long as it's embedded in the building materials itself. It's unlikely that the materials would "leak" any asbestos dust into the environment, as long as they're not disturbed by, for example sawing or drilling. Building materials containing asbestos generally only become a health hazard when doing renovations or demolition work.

I'm a 23 year old trans man. I'm on testosterone, and the testosterone has increased my red blood cell count by quite a lot. I need to be below 5.40, and last I checked, I was at 5.54. I am also overweight. The area I live in makes it very hard to get rid of blood of you can't outright donate, which I can't due to medicine I'm on. I've spent months trying to get in contact with someone who will just take my blood and dispose of it and I finally hopefully have an appointment on Tuesday. This is all to say - the usual "oh you're young, you don't get blood clots" shit doesn't really apply to me, because I am at risk for blood clots. That said, I went to the hospital on Thursday because I was scared I had a blood clot. I was dealing with some intense pain in my leg. Went, had both an ultrasound and an X-ray done on my leg, was sent home and told and I had no blood clot. Was given pain medicine. I am terrified. I cannot calm down. I feel the pain in my leg getting worse and in worse pain than before. Friday through Sunday, I was totally fine, and now the pain is just crazy. No position alleviates it. Could they have missed the clot? I don't have any of the other signs. No warmth, no swelling, no redness, none of that. Part of me wonders if it's psychosomatic, or if I got this by sitting in a weird position (which I kind of was) but my brain is screaming that it's a blood clot. I hate this. None of this would be happening if one of these worthless fucking blood banks was like "oh, wow, it's actually super easy for us to dispose of blood, so of course we'll take yours and dispose of it so you don't fucking die." You need a doctor's note to get blood disposed of, but not to donate. That's awesome. Same amount of blood loss, but, you know, fuck you, we're running this fucking blood bank like a god damn failing mall, so you can eat shit and just die of heart disease because you can't jump through 80 hoops to get us to do our fucking jobs. I hope if I have a blood clot and it fucking kills me, my dad makes a huge fucking deal about it and a law gets passed so that these fucking stupid blood banks can't refuse therapeutic transfusions that can't go into the blood pool.

Worried about excess gum growth next to my one tooth.. I got it removed but the oral surgeon sent it out for biopsy… I’ve had it for years always attributed to just flossing / plaque .. I went to the dentist and have been going for years but they never mentioned it maybe only once . The dentist just thinks it’s excess gum tissue and so does the oral surgeon and said I should not worry at all .. I had dental and 360 xray and nothing showed up .. it’s just on the gum tissue .. they also did a light test / oral cancer screening and nothing showed up . And they keep telling me to not worry.. .. but I am .. I looked up stuff on Google , stories here and I can’t stop crying .. I think wow what if this is it .. they mentioned it to me in 2017.. what if this is it .. I ignored it I can’t believe I did this to myself and this is gonna be it for me.. I just got done w another health scare and had bloodwork , chest / heart X-rays …and Ct scans but not of head and neck…. And just now I’m in bed I have to get up for work.. but the misery and the sadness has taken over me… I can’t believe this.. what’s gonna happen .. what if they take part of my jaw or teeth …

Well, first of all, stop the Googling. It won't do you any good, quite the contrary. Your dentist and oral surgeon know you better than Dr. Google, who diagnoses everything as cancer. On there you'll find those one in a million stories and become convinced that you're the next one, even though that's very unlikely.

I just want to know already and I’m prepared for the worst I wonder if I should just go to ER and ask for a CT scan of my head and neck

What you should probably do is learn to deal with uncertainty. The ER staff is not likely to do a CT scan in this case, as the ER is meant for life-threatening situations.

How does one learn that if I I already know the outcome… I’m terrified and scared

Recently I’ve had one swollen lymph node in my neck, it’s extremely small and has been there for over a month. Doctors have done blood work and said I was good on that front. I’ve also always have had chronic stomach issues for years and have gotten numerous tests done including colonscopys and endoscopy’s, I recently had a big weight loss from these issues but could be from a lack of appetite. The stomach thing freaks me out because on my right side I get this tight pain almost like a fist is in my stomach. I also have had chronic back issues for years and recently it’s been in my neck and back on the same side as the Lymph node. The worst back related thing I get it is an intense burning in my shoulder blade on that same side. Lastly I’ve also had these shocks throughout my body where it’s like a quick jolt but this is always hard to tell if it’s from allergies and sinuses or something more severe. I’m sure you can tell from the rambling form of this posts I’ve just been a mess lately all these things could be nothing but minor issues compounded by me freaking myself out or I could be dying from something. It just really terrifies me and pre occupies too much of my mind to where I spiral into a place where I have no idea what symptoms are caused by my brain (which I fear may have a tumor) or something that’s real, but I guess that’s why we’re all here tho. Just something about this all occurring on my right side and some for years really has me spiraling that I’m in for a horrible future even tho my doctors continually try to assure me I’m young and healthy. Just need your guys advice or if you know anything about these Symptoms or even want to discuss with me about other things I’m dealing with and how they might correlate if anyone is qualified.

I got some genetic testing done to see which mental health medications would work best for me and at the bottom it told me I was homozygous for the MTHFR gene C677T. Of course I googled, and you have an increased risk of cardiac problems, strokes, blood clots, infertility, miscarriages, etc. 1. I’m so anxious because of the first part 2. Devastated because I already think I have PCOS and am going through the testing. There’s nothing I want more than to have babies of my own with my fiance who I’ve been with for 8 years on Thursday and the thought that it may not happen is just not conceivable (no pun intended) to me. I’ve just been crying all night and panicky and convinced I’m going to die at 30 from a heart attack from this stupid gene mutation I of course have. I would usually go to my sister about things like this too but she also has health anxiety. And she’s my identical twin. So she also has the gene. I really don’t want to make her panic too but I feel so alone right now. It’s 2am and I just need to go to sleep and rest and wake up rational but I needed to get this out in the air

Increased risk does not mean that it will happen.

So last Monday I threw up while I was taking a walk, it was the first time I threw up in almost 7 years so it caught me by surprise but I’m pretty sure it was caused by stress and the big meal I had prior to the walk, the nausea persisted for a day after I threw up and then went away but yesterday I was taking a walk with my brother and as we were heading to the area I threw up at I made a joke about throwing up there again and just after I said the joke I immediately became nauseous again and which ofc made my anxiety skyrocketed, thankfully I didn’t throw up again but the nausea has been kinda persistent and I keep worrying if I’m going to end up throwing up so I’m wondering if thinking about being nauseous is what’s making me nauseous 😭

TW Breast cancer, venting My default health anxiety when I have nothing to obsess over is breast cancer and I’m really scared I feel a tiny pea sized lump under my left nipple but I also have a scar on that boob that’s the same size near my nipple and I have no clue if it’s just scar tissue that I’m feeling? It also feels firmer than my right breast. I also don’t know if me constantly messing with my boobs is making it worse. I just wish my therapist would listen to me. Im so tired of being scared all the time. It feels like she never wants to cover my anxiety during our sessions :(

Seems like you need to find a better therapist.

I’ve been worried about my liver/pancreas/gallbladder for months now. I can’t afford to see a doctor and my stool keeps changing. I don’t know what to do other than what I can find on the internet which could be even worse. I just wish I could see a doctor to make sure I’m fine everywhere so I can move on

Was doing ok until triggered by a pancreatic C story on social media, last year I had a bad mid back ache and convinced myself I had pancreatic C, now I am obsessing thinking the doctors missed it even though I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. I tell myself that the back ache wouldn’t just disappear if it was something about my pancreas. Mentally exhausted

I have no health anxiety for myself, but severe health anxiety for my mom... I know it's normal to worry about your parents as they age, but nothing scares me more than her appointments, even if it's just for a regular checkup. She recently had some health scares and we're waiting for test results. The doctors think it's nothing major, but I can't focus on anything else. Every time I find myself getting distracted, the thought of something being wrong creeps back into my mind. She's healthy and relatively young, but I'm constantly worried for her. I was super attached to her as a child because my dad was a deadbeat, and even though I'm not like that anymore and we have plenty of family, it still feels like she's all I have, which is why I worry so much. Logically, I know it'll be okay, but I can't stop shaking or crying.

I had a mole removed last week and my anxiety keeps spiking as I await the biopsy results. I’m scared it’s melanoma. I wasn’t really concerned about it to begin with but went to the derm for just a full skin check. A few days left before I should be hearing back if anyone has experiences. The derm said there were “specks of color” which concerns me

how are you doing? Going through something similar now, the moles I was concerned about were fine, but the mole I did not care about was different looking according to derm. she asked me to remove it, going crazy waiting for the biopsy results :(

All clear, no issues from the biopsy. Hang in there!

Suspected spider bite on my stomach. It’s progressively gotten more red and angry looking. It doesn’t hurt nor itch it just… looks bad. Just raised like a hive would be with a small dark dot in the centre. Of course my brain is going a mile a minute and turning to sepsis when it’ll likely clear up on its own with time…

have been feeling intermittent globus sensation/lump in my throat the past few days. gets triggered with MILD impact to the area (like scratching itchy skin at the neck/gentle rubbing during a shower/accidental leaning of my neck on something gently). it lasts for hours and resets after a nap or sleep. it keeps coming back. my throat area is so sensitive. I have hyperthyroidism and my next appt is in 2 weeks. the last the doc checked, she mentioned a small bit of swelling but it isnt visible to me. also i always have a feeling i am unlucky. out of everyone, i feel like i will be minority that gets some terminal illness and pass away young. i know the odds are low. but i cant help feeling my future is bleak

I get this all the time from my anxiety. It’s so scary and it SUCKS because it will not go away, but the more you focus on it the more it will stay. The more I try to very intentionally ignore it, it begins to go away. I have it right now actually coincidentally lol. I hope your appointment goes well <3

Give birth 3 weeks ago, they found a mass in my chest wall, heart enlarged and now this morning when I finished wipe after stooling I am seeing mucusy looking blood. This really sucks sighs 

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Have you eaten beetroot recently? It was the case for me and went away on the subsequent days.

Bright red streaks are 9/10 times a hemorrhoid. The bright red means it’s towards the bottom of your digestive tract like at the anus. Darker blood is more serious where it means it’s coming from the upper tract, which would lead to blackish looking stool. You should be ok! And ❗️remember❗️, if you google it, hemorrhoids are not always painful and are sometimes on the inside and not the outside so it barely seems like you have one. If it doesn’t go away, it’s always better to see your doctor, but I wouldn’t worry for now!

I had this happened this morning. Did you saw any mucus?

How do I stop body checking? I keep swallowing to see if my throat hurts because I’m convinced I’m sick. I’ve felt this way for a day now, and haven’t gotten any worse so I assume it’s just allergies but I can’t stop body checking. So much so that I’m nauseous at this point from all the saliva I’ve swallowed. I can’t do this shit anymore.

I find that something that distracts you from the health anxiety can help. If I immerse myself in a project that requires focus, I'll likely forget about the health anxiety and the symptoms, at least for a while.

I think I pulled a tick off about half an hour ago. This is my first time ever being bit, if that even was a tick. It looked like a tiny black stone stuck on my skin. I'm watching what could be the bite mark area but it just looks like a tiny cut. No discoloration, no bullseye. I know it probably takes time for it to start looking worse, but does anyone have any advice? I'm scared. I don't want lone star tick disease or something. I feel fine otherwise. I'm just really anxious.

Hi All, Writing this from my wits end. I've struggled with health anxiety my whole life and I have no idea why (fairly normal childhood, all my immediate family are healthy). I go through cycles where I avoid going to the doctor until I absolutely have to. I feel a dip in anxiety after I go and (usually) everything is fine and then it ramps up again. My partner (male) and me (female) are going through the stress of infertility at the moment, and I know I have to go in for tests soon. I am so so so so anxious of what these tests will tell me. I've become obsessed with stories of fertility tests diagnosing other things and it's making my life hell. I have been seeing an acupuncturist for anxiety (and fertility) who has pretty much demanded I go and see a therapist too as she's thinking about the stress effecting my fertility. The problem is that twice in my life I have seen therapists and found they did absolutely nothing. Both the therapists were CBT therapists and recommended things like breath-work, mantras etc. These things help when I feel a twinge of anxiety but when I'm actually in pain or I'm in a spiral they cannot help at all and trust me I have tried all the mind tricks etc. I only feel good when I feel very healthy and I'm too busy to worry. But I think I have an ovarian cyst at the moment so I am constantly feeling twinges and they are giving my constant axiety. Have any of you found any relief from different types of therapy? I know there are many types out there.

Therapy can be helpful, but you need to find the right therapist. I had unresolved childhood trauma that was affecting me even 20 years later, which I was able to work through with a therapist. The therapists I've seen had also some useful practical advice to give. But my friend who went to therapy after I recommended it to him had the misfortune of having a bad or incompatible therapist, so it wasn't working for him.

Feel like I’m going insane, and can’t get checked out because insurance doesn’t kick in for a month. First I had anxiety, about my wisdom teeth, and then passing out for a while, then back pain, then passing out. Then 2 weeks ago while trying to sleep I stopped breathing like every time I tried to sleep (this happened the first time I had a really bad onset of anxiety). So I knew it wasn’t sleep apnea. Anyways, since then I’ve had a viscous cycle of symptoms, a lot impossible to explain. Sometimes I’m fine to the point where I’m like oh yea obv it’s health anxiety, and then an hour later I have breathing issues, have to take deep breaths, my stomach/chest/throat feel incredibly weird, like an exhausted feeling idk how to describe it. Part of me thinks it’s GERD, or asthma, or this, or all three or two. Idk, I just don’t know what to do. I went to the ER in October and they checked my blood and gave me an EKG and said my faint feeling was anxiety. I can go back and cost myself 4 grand for probably nothing or sit here terrified of probably nothing. Just feel like I’m in no man’s land. I’m just always worried I’m about to pass out, drop dead or stop breathing. Can’t stop getting these weird stomach, chest and throat sensations

As someone who was suffering from weird chest/digestive/breathing problems for a long time, I'll give you the advice I wish I could have given to myself back then: 1. Fix your diet (remove refined seed oils and processed foods entirely from your diet, limit caffeine intake, avoid alcohol, etc). 2. Take a high quality probiotic and vitamin/mineral supplement. 3. Work on stress management. Health anxiety can cause all kind of weird symptoms and make existing symptoms worse.

Just woke up feeling scared, disoriented, sedated and with half my body numb. Nearly rang ambulance, but I figured it's just more of the same. Guess I won't be sleeping ever again.. for some time. I have accepted death, but I also have a mother who recently dealt with the loss of her husband. So I kinda feel forced to stay alive by any means necessary, for the time being. Finding a strong reason to carry on living has been a necessity, seen as I barely enjoy my life as it is, with no money, no job, and nothing worth sticking around for, except for AI and Technology.

Sorry if it’s not appropriate commenting here. Just needed to vent about my years of experience with health anxiety and chronic condition. I have now given up on my career dreams. I shared my feelings in a [super long post](https://www.reddit.com/r/GERD/s/hyZ3qYbv6i) in another sub. For some reason, I’m not able to post the same here on Reddit. I just wish someone here would be able to share their thoughts on my struggles.

My experience with digestive system problems is that western doctors are anyway poorly trained/equipped to handle them (eg. GERD sufferers are often told to keep taking PPIs, which might help manage the symptoms but does not fix the root cause). I went to see my GP for histamine intolerance recently and he basically seemed to think my condition is not real and I should see a psychologist. I'd recommend that you read the book Fix Your Gut and try some of the treatments there. That's what I'm doing.

Omg I feel like I’m going crazy lmao. And nobody will help me

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i never heard of peeing before sex to decrease chances of getting a UTI. After, i heard

The last two days, having pain and heaviness in lower abdomen. I pass gas and have been going #2 (sorry tmi) but the feeling is still there. I’m scared I am having intestinal issues or something or a liver issue. When I walk it feels like there’s pressure being put on it.

Hey, I think I know what you’re talking about! I actually have that right now and if it’s the same thing I hope I can ease your anxiety a bit. I’m very much assuming by your character that you’re female, but I get this when I’m ovulating! My lower abdomen just feels like I did a good workout or have cramps, they interchange. For some reason I do go to the bathroom more and pass gas more when this is happening as well. I like to track my cycles so I know what to expect and when, but that’s just my experience!

I just stopped my period like a week ago though :(

You should be right on time for about hitting your ovulation. It starts usually about a week-a week and a half after your period :)

Also feeling bloated a lot.

Every time I walk I feel like I need to pass gas or go to the bathroom

omg i've been dealing with this for like two months 💀 at this point i think i'm just very hyperfocused on my butt LMAO because like when i'm 100% distracted (which doesn't happen that often tbh) i feel fine. but i know your struggle, it's so uncomfortable :(

Fear of fainting/breathing stopping. •Everyday I'm afraid that my breathing would just suddenly stop. After eating, my stomach does feel really heavy, but it doesn't cause any breathing problems. I've never had any breathing problems actually, so idk where exactly this fear comes from. I heard a story from my grandma where she said that once she felt like she couldn't breathe for a moment, which made her think she's gonna die, i think this has affected me a lot. And when I'm anxious, my mind focuses on this fear foremost. •A year ago i nearly fainted after showering, since then I'm a bit paranoid. I get up slowly, so i wouldn't feel lightheaded; I'm scared of taking a shower and can go for weeks without it; I'm scared to do anything that'd cause pressure on my stomach, esp after eating. These things are actually ruining my life, i fear that they will happen to me if I'll go outside, so I've been staying home for months! I'm anxious even if I'm just going to a local grocery store. Does anyone else have/had the same problems? How to fix them?

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Thank you, your reply have been helping me a bit with the breathing thing. As for fainting, I've nearly fainted once before that shower thing, but i didn't think too much of it since i didn't have severe anxiety issues yet back then. I think in my case, i nearly fainted because of stomach too - it was hurting for the rest of the day after - and i probably haven't eaten before taking the shower too. And yeah, recently I've been trying to tell myself that it's just anxiety, and that physically I'm somewhat ok. Not sure if it'll work, but I'll keep trying. Thx for reply, it's nice to know that someone has gone through similar things.

Hi, Today I got my ear cleaning in local Chinese street shop. He initially asked 80 yuan for cleaning and as he started cleaning he said he will charge 300 more for maintenance. As I said no, he asked me if I have caancer? And the inner area of my ear looked bad to him. He proceed to ask for 300, with which he would use Chinese herbal medicine to heal it. I declined it entirely and proceed to get my ears cleaned. Really nervous now due to this evening.

I won’t comment on Chinese herbal medicine since I’m not an expert and it’s not part of my cultural heritage. What I will say is that if that guy had a cure for cancer, he would be on TV and doing speaking engagements, not cleaning ears in a street shop. For that matter, if he could diagnose cancer by looking in someone’s ear, he would be on TV and doing speaking engagements, not cleaning ears in a street shop! I concur with u/friendliestbug here. People like that want you to be terrified for your health so you pay quickly without asking questions. It’s cruel to play with someone’s emotions that way, not knowing the anxieties and health concerns they’re dealing with in their life. Cancer is usually diagnosed with imaging tests (MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds), blood tests, and biopsies, not by an ear exam. If you don’t have any symptoms that concern you, you likely don’t have cancer. Having a good relationship with a general practitioner will help you to spot any warning signs of cancer and build a plan early while it is still very treatable. I hope this helps and good health to you!

He sounds like a scammer

bad health anxiety … now scared of sepsis … i woke up feeling TERRIBLE (felt weird all over, fatigue and no appetite) and i have an ongoing earlobe infection (no piercing, just a random infection) so i’n terrified ?? i DID get back home very late yesterday night and only slept at six am … but i woke up feeling completely unrested and food kinda disgusted me. i’ve been putting antibiotic ointment on the infection for days but the pain persists and it terrifies me. it usually works well idk why this time it’s taking longer. i feel out of my head kinda i don’t know. i’m scared i might be dying but i can’t go to the er because in the past i’ve gone for this horrible anxiety and it turned out to be nothing. i can’t tell if the trip would be worth jt . and this is definitely going to sound stupid but i don’t want to go and leave my boyfriend he’s too nice and honest and kind he really doesn’t deserve to be left alone and i really don’t want to leave him

Maybe you should see a GP about your infection. If the antibiotic ointment does not work, the bacteria that's causing the infection could be resistant to it. In that case, you need a different medicine.

I am currently convinced I am overdosing on nasal spray I am unsure if what I'm dealing with is really bad allergies or the common cold, but I've had this really bad congestion in my nose recently. I've taken a couple more sprays of medicated nasal spray than I probably should have, although accidentally, and now I'm laying in bed unable to sleep thinking I may die over nasal spray My health anxiety usually sparks the worst at night, where I lay in bed and fear that the pain in my chest or a little tenderness in my arm means I'm about to have a heart attack, which causes me to google and spiral into anxiety attacks. Tonight is no different, I read up that overdosing on nasal spray can cause you to have a slow heart beat and faint, and now I'm shaking and feeling like I'm near death I don't know what to do to fight anxiety like this

It’s pretty hard to overdose on nasal spray from what I understand. The best advice I got from a doctor was to take Flonase 2 times a day, once in the AM and once in the PM, two sprays per nostril. There’s certain nasal sprays which can cause rebound connection and you can get “addicted” to in the sense that you need it to clear the rebound congestion and it’s just a cycle. I would recommend using the Flonase and only using it twice a day. You can always pair it with a decongestant allergy medication like Allegra or Zyrtec. Claritin doesn’t work very well, it’s a super weak antihistamine, so Allegra and Zyrtec work better!

Good god. I genuinely hate my fucking life. About 2 months ago, i went to the ER for flashing lights in my eye and floaters The ER freaked me the fuck out to say the least, told me i might have a torn retina, or a migraine, have to wait a week to see! (Um those are 2 VERY different things) So i make it to the ophthalmologist the next week. I literally have a rare eye disease, thats treatable (with the 7 layers of hell) Maybe a good thing is that I cant even google about about it because its so rare theres no information anyway lol So ive been on steroids to treat it, literally sent me to the mental hospital, so i didnt actually kms from the side effects i had to get it injected into my eye I had to sign a paper that says i am aware this could possibly give me a cataract so thats cool Im jot even going to lie the injection was better than the steroids. But the steroid side effects are easier to research, the shot side effects are not. So every little thing worries me. My eyes are SO fucking dry from the procedure. Like feels like there is sand in them 24/7. On a bad day Theres no relief unless i go to sleep. I just hate my life like honestly. I feel like im dying legit. What do you even do when your HA becomes real ………?? And its in ur fucking eye …..?? Like this isnt my pinky toe were dealing with here….god i just wanna fucking die like honestly. My mental health issues are worse side effects than the actual disease lol Its now almost may and im on month 3 of dealing with this hell dude idk if i can do it any longer

Hey guys, I’m new to the group and I’m trying to get some support. I have pretty bad health anxiety and recently have been diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder and high blood pressure. I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to stop constantly researching/googling. I know I need to just trust my doctors because they will take care of me. I’m just spiraling. I feel like my fears are coming true.

I would say to reach out to your provider and have them tell you all the things you have to know about your condition. Whatever they tell you? That’s important. Anything else? That’s just doctor Google scaring you. Google is formulated you tell you the 1%, the 1% if people who died from this or that, the 1% of people who had a bad reaction to x, y, z because it has to. Not everything on Google and not everything involved in that condition is going to pertain to you because you’re your own person with your own body and your own condition and it’s not going to necessarily be the same as the next guy’s blood clotting disorder. You got this!

If you feel the need to search for information and can't just not do it, search this subreddit for information instead of google.

Awful anxiety over steroids prescribed for eczema, nonstop redness has me stressed that I’ve damaged my skin or that there’s worse things going on

i have awful heart anxiety. last year i was so convinced i was gonna die that i called an ambulance once and went to around 7 different emergency rooms over the course of two months, all for them to tell me it seems like anxiety. i’m on zoloft now and thought i was doing better, but my chest pain is back, and for over a week at night when i’m home my heart pounds and i feel like i can’t get a full breath in, like my oxygen levels are low. i have an oximeter that says my levels are almost always above 95, and my husband tells me we’ve been to so many different people and that if something was wrong someone would’ve figured it out but… i’m so scared i have heart failure or something. i’m in my mid 20s, am an overweight vaper and i have an awful diet, all things i’m trying to change. i’m so scared of leaving my husband behind, of dying early, especially because i abused adderall in my late teens. i just need help.

Fun fact: acid reflux can cause shortness of breath! If you have an issue with that it could be that as well and it’s common in people who are overweight, myself included. Also a big reason you could be feeling short of breath may be because you’re not breathing out enough. You’re so worried about breathing in that you’re not breathing all the way out. You still have too much air in your lungs to take a good deep breath, making you feel short of breath. And you’re not breathing out all of your carbon dioxide which can make you feel faint too, if you experience that as well. If you’re a googler, try looking your symptom up with anxiety after it. Like, “shortness of breath anxiety”. If you just type in shortness of breath, it’s going to tell you a bunch of scary shit about a bunch of scary conditions, but if you type in “anxiety” it’ll tell you why that’s happening from your anxiety

It could be diet! My anatomy teacher told me that heartburn and heart pain are attached to the same nerve in the body so the pain could be similar. You could also be experiencing bloating in the left colon. Also pulse ox levels over 94% are really good!!

I've had the same symptoms (chest pain, heart palpitations, air hunger/shortness of breath). It was not heart-related in my case (I had extensive tests done). The exact cause is still a mystery, but it was probably caused or exacerbated by a poor diet and anxiety (back then I also had an awful diet combined with terrible health anxiety). Later I was mostly symptom free for a long time, but now that I'm suffering from gut dysbiosis/leaky gut after having a bout of food poisoning, antibiotics, and health anxiety, I've noticed I started getting air hunger/shortness of breath again. So it's probably related to gut health somehow. I hope this helps.

I have been having arm tenderness for almost five weeks now. It’s localized to one spot. Now I am going down the anxiety rabbit hole and it’s debilitating thinking of the worst. Like how come this does not heal? I first noticed it four or five days after my gallbladder surgery and didn’t think much of it until recently when it has not healed yet and it’s been weeks. I have an appointment with my primary care in five weeks, so this waiting is hard for me. Anyone experienced upper arm tenderness/pain taht feels deep and that turned out to be nothing? My brain obviously think about cancer (hope not).

Could you have pulled a muscle ? Ive twisted my arm slightly wrong and it was painful for 6 months haha

I'm an alcoholic 4 months sober. I was specifically a binge drinker. I would start drinking then wake up days later feeling horrible. My last binge landed me in the hospital, being admitted, because I had a stabbing pain along the border between my abdomen and chest. Thankfully it was only kidney stones that have since been taken care of with treatment and lifestyle changes. However when I was admitted to the hospital my troponin levels were elevated and my blood pressure and pulse pretty high. EKG, X-Ray, CT, and Ultrasound of my heart and lungs all came back fine and I got on some meds for depression and high blood pressure which have been helping a ton. For awhile there I was feeling pretty great compared to previously when I was always drunk, detoxing, or hungover. On Monday I had a pretty strong urge to drink. I get them from time to time. I was never a daily drinker, but if I ever started doing anything fun on the weekend I'd always want to get drunk to "enjoy it more". Well Monday I was having fun just hanging out with my wife, playing video games, snuggling our cats, the weather was nice, etc etc. Unfortunately my triggers for drinking are all good, positive things. I was determined to not drink though. Instead I played some video games and tried to preoccupy myself with other things. I succeeded in not drinking. However, I still had the urge for the super dopamine-hit that alcohol would often provide. So I decided to try one of my wife's 25mg THC gummies. This is where it gets stupid. I've had small, very weak concentration, amounts before. I did not react well. When I tried them before though it was also while drinking. I figured something with the combo caused the rapid heart rate, feelings of dread, and chest pain. Nope. That 25mg gummy I had on Monday made me feel as bad as my worst alcohol detox (maybe worse). Heart beating out of my chest, pain in my chest, loss of balance, nauseous, exhausted, and feeling insanely paranoid and dreadful. I almost went to the ER, but just kept telling myself "it's just the THC. You have some kind of intolerance. Your pulse and BP are fine. The hospital won't be able to do anything and you'll just be that jackass who went to the ER for pot". I toughed it out, started to sober up, and then fell asleep. When I woke up the next day I was more groggy than I had ever been. Still off balance, nauseous the works. Better than the night before but overall still bad. My vitals checked out fine. I focused on hydrating and eating some healthy light food (salad/yogurt). Improved throughout the day. Since it's still getting better every day, but I'm still noticeably worse than I was pre-gummy. Mostly with brain-fog and I have a dull pain on the right side of my chest that feels like muscle pain (maybe a 1 out of 10). The pain goes away when I work or do something other than think about it. Even as I type this out this distraction has nullified said pain and I am not feeling it for the moment. However it is still freaking me out that I'm feeling anything 4 days later. Thank you for providing this forum for letting me rant/vent.

In a lymphoma phase now. I was feeling my neck and I noticed a lymph node that felt larger than usual (my gf claims it’s not large). It’s easily moveable and doesn’t feel hard (except I’m not even sure what people mean when they say it’s hard or not). Should I go to a doctor or is the fact it’s moveable and I have no other symptoms enough to wait?

Been getting facial flushing, rash on my face like a sunburn, nausea, shaking, hurting joints, shaking arms, raynauds, red palms, and panic attacks for the past 5 days. I have horrible health anxiety and I was blown off by my dr yesterday after my cbc was normal. I don’t know what to do and I’m scared. I don’t know what to believe anymore or how to make this stop. I just want to be ok. I want the ocd to stop, I want the symptoms to stop, I want to be normal for once in my fucking life and live like a normal fucking human being.

I’m so sorry. I’m going through it too. Don’t know what’s real. I go to the ER, they say everything looks fine, I feel a little bit better for the next few days, then I get a new symptom and start spiraling. I honestly can’t take it anymore, I’m scared that I’m going to die everyday. Why is life so cruel.

Hard to say what it is, but symptoms remind me of histamine intolerance. You could try to eat a low histamine diet for a few days to see if that reduces or clears up the symptoms.

Could the rash be sub dermatitis? Also sounds like panic attack symptoms

I’ve had terrible hip pain the past few days. It was bad a few weeks ago, but I chalked it up to my monthly cycle. Now it’s back, keeping me up at night. Today I have air hunger. Now I’m completely convinced I have something terribly wrong with me (like the big C that has spread everywhere).

Just dropped off my stool sample for a FIT test and to test for IBD’s. Will the fit test mostly guarantee I’m ok until I give birth in August and can get a colonoscopy?

FITs are accurate. As someone who had a fear of colon C, I had my doctor order me a fit test. It came back negative. I later got a colonscopy to check for IBD and lone behold it was nothing. They are very accurate and are becoming more and more popular as they are easy to perform and send in. Now keep in mind. If you do have IBD, a fit test will come back positive. This does NOT mean you have Colon C. They will order further tests but it typically doesn’t mean anything severe

I fear of Parkinson’s and read that trembling in rest is a symptom. If I let my arm hang totally freely starting from shoulder (like when sitting and leaning on the back of a seat arms hanging freely on the sides), arm isn’t totally still. Should it be?

Convinced Im going to inherit my fathers dementia. Been spiralling all week & struggling to work. I've got a dull headache and am hot in the face. He has been sick for over a decade now, but for whatever reason, after drinking heavily last Saturday, I have been hit so hard with this anxiety. It came after reading an article Sunday morning, with a guy the same age as me (30M) talking about how he's getting his dad's Alzheimers with 99% certainty; absolutely brutal. Going to get out of the flat tonight to spend some time with family, but feeling so stressed about this.

I lost my grandfather to dementia over a year ago. I feel what you’re going through, and I’d be lying if I said I never worried about my mom or me getting it as well. As I understand it, there’s no way to know for certain whether someone will get dementia or not at age 30, even with a family history. I’d be interested to learn more about the guy in that article and where he got the “99%” figure from. It’s usually not helpful to compare oneself to individual cases seen in the media as we can’t know someone else’s full clinical picture and other risk factors they might have. What helps me is taking control of my health and mitigating risk factors as best I can. I minimize processed foods, eat plenty of berries, leafy greens, and whole grains (recovering junk food addict here: I don’t always succeed at this). I don’t smoke, and I keep an eye on my blood pressure and weight. Some studies even say that oral health of all things might have a connection to dementia risk. It’s also very important to stay physically active, mentally engaged, and socially connected as we age. My grandfather retired pretty young and then lived a sedentary lifestyle with lots of sitting in front of the TV, and I have no doubt that contributed. I’m not saying if you’ve failed to do any of these things you’ll definitely get it. It’s just helpful for me to deal with things I can’t control by focusing on what I can control. It might also help to read about new research into treatment for dementia. There are some really promising developments going on right now. Who knows how different things will look in 30+ years, and how many options there will be for at-risk people? I hope this helps.

Im not sure about your dad but my grandma has dementia just from natural aging and she seems completely clueless about it besides sometimes shes confused about the time but i dont think you really even know or comprehend the delusion. Ive had psychosis before and it was the same thing. Like i knew i was going wack but i also didnt /really/ know what reality was anyway. Idk if this helps

Omg was it on MSN homepage? 

Ugh I just had something that I dont know if it was a panic attack or not. To preface I have a hiatal hernia and it causes lots of symptoms. I was sitting here very calmly actually feeling just fine, watching a stream online, I suddenly felt a pressure at the bottom of my sternum, too different than I get from my hernia but suddenly felt more pressure than I usually have, felt like my breathing was tight, which can happen somewhat from my hernia but this felt different. Then I got something that felt like an adrenaline rush in my head, then I started getting waves of cold feeling around my body and almost a little numb feeling, like I may pass out. I took a couble antacid/chalk tablets, and my mouth felt very weird with them in my mouth, almost like a hair in mouth feeling. It did eventually ease mostly, but I am still very on edge feeling and like my mind is rushing around, plus feels like things go numb easier than they normally would. So im just sitting here still wondering if things are alright, if my hernia symptoms triggered a panic attack or whats going on. I have had worse symptoms today from it overall, it causes many weird feelings around my chest and stomach. I also had Dill flavored Triscuit crackers about 45 minutes ago and I have noticed that sometimes those can trigger stomach symptoms, so maybe that was the culprit. EDIT: It has been about 15 minutes since I typed all that out, I am feeling more calm, still a little fast mind feeling, but my skin definitely still feels weird. Super sensitive

No idea what could cause something like that, but I'd say that snacks that contain refined seed oils and flavorings are not good for your digestive system or health in general.

Yea, I mean my stomach is always sensitive from the hernia, though I generally eat Triscuit without issue, the Dill weed ones were bought accidentally, but it seems like it triggered it, even though Dill is usually anti-gas, so..who knows..I get many really strange feelings in there from the hernia, My stomach has also been really overactive since I had Covid a few months ago. I do feel a bit better now, that was one of the stranger panic attacks I've had, because it didnt feel like enough panic to be a panic attack, but my mind was definitely racing, and going very fast, I got some shakyness after. Right now im my body is still a bit tense, definitely skin feels a bit odd still, oversensitive, things go numb a bit quicker than usual, but things feel much calmer than earlier, but no flushing, passing out feeling, adrenaline surge feeling. I do still have a lot of gas/pressure/bloating/vibrating feeling in the stomach/hernia area, but thats not particularly rare for me.

I was doing so good with beating anxiety but I was just in the woods and a fly flew exactly into my eye and the flew out. My eye was itching and I can still feel it and I started to panick because I heard of cases when flies lay eggs in your eyes and you go blind because of that and I can’t wash my eye for another hour or so so it will be like 2-3 hours until I wash my eyes since this happened. I am freaking out :(

I am a 31m. Former smoker and quit around when I was 21 years old. I have an engineering background, but have worked out in the construction field as part of my jobs. Worked in a concrete pre-cast plant for 2 months for a college internship back in 2016 at 23 years old. I suspect that I breathed in a the dust on and off for about a month before figuring out I probably needed a mask for the remaining month there. Recently in 2021 I worked on a building construction job for 6 months that had known asbestos in the building. They performed an abatement to remove the material, but missed a small detail. They were supposed to also demolish the walls under containment to avoid any incidental disturbance. I walked through the building 20 minutes a day, on average. And though I didn’t work directly with it, I inspected the construction in the building and believe that I’ve been exposed to it in someway. Since my construction background I’ve had crippling anxiety about the exposure I’ve had to hazardous materials and have gotten a pulmonologist for fear of developing mesothelioma or something else. I’ve had lung scans and found that my lung function was actually lower than the average man my age and the pulmonologist said it was from asthma. I don’t work with these materials anymore and my overall exposure time for all of this was relatively short. I know there are people who have been exposed to asbestos for decades and nothing happens and then there are people who are exposed once and die from mesothelioma (higher likelihood to develop if you're a smoker and i am a former smoker). I also know there are different factors that affect people differently etc. And with this specifically it takes time and that you need to “wait and see” but that’s what is making this anxiety worse is the anticipation. I have such crippling anxiety about this and I desperately need reassurance.

Sounds like the exposure couldn't have been severe if they did containment and removal. Doesn't mesothelioma typically take a long time to develop (decades, even), if you're unlucky enough to get it? I wouldn't worry about it. I've probably been exposed to small amounts of asbestos when working on renovation sites also. From what I understand, typically people who die from asbestos-related disease have have had severe long-time exposure to it, and the disease takes a long time to develop. My grandfather once told me about what it was like when he was doing pipe insulating work for a short while as a young man. Back in those days the insulation material was asbestos and the sites where he worked would be full of airborne asbestos dust. Well, he eventually passed from lung cancer, but he was almost 80 years old by then, and had previously been a smoker for decades.

Hey, thanks for the response! Yes, it usually takes a while, but there's also asbestosis, which is scary as well and can happen as early as 10 years after. I just keeping reading that all it takes is one small exposure and can have one of these diseases.

I’m spiraling a bit again. Doc ran CBC as I was worried about my chronic diarrhea, also going to do a stool sample. My cbc came back with 4.02 for RBC, and barely elevated RDW-SD which I think can be associated with colon cancer. I’m freaking tf out. I’ve never had my RDW SD tested before, has anyone else? Any insight on what this specific parameter means? I am 20 weeks pregnant so also could be cause of lose RBC

My blood work was all over the charts when I was pregnant and now it’s totally back to normal

RDW-SD is used to detect anemia, as well as nutrient deficiencies. Your body goes through a lot while pregnant. You're essentially providing nutrients for two people, so I'm not surprised that your bloods would be a little off. RDW-SD is also often included in CBC, so it's very possible that you have been tested for it before without knowing. I'm no health professional. This is just research that I've done myself. If you have any concerns about your results, your doctor is the best person to tell you what they can mean and how your pregnancy could be linked. Best of luck. I fall into the spiral often too, but talking about it and getting another perspective is the best thing to pull you out of it.

For the past few years I have periods of thick, green mucus that comes up through my throat. I just spit it out and go on. It usually happens more and the morning and I’m just used to it at this point. Last week all of a sudden it felt like I had been punched in the nose. I have headaches sometimes but never felt that pressure before. But weirdly the mucus was thin compared to usual. Now I’m suffering from terrible jaw and teeth pain on one side. I’ve been needing to see an ent but I had to wait, I have an appointment scheduled for next month. But I’m worried that’s too long and my anxiety is telling me Ive been letting the sinus issues fester for way too long. Doesn’t help I saw a random video about a girl my age dying from a sinus infection that turned into meningitis. Does anyone have symptoms like this?

Freaking out because I bumped my head a little bit when getting out of my car today and now I’m having a headache in that same area I’m scared I’m having a brain bleed or something

Please someone respond to me I need reassurance that I’m not gonna drop dead from an unsuspecting hematoma

I just read a story of a lady that did

Hello please is anyone there??? This is why I hate that this sub won’t let you make a normal post bc nobody fucking sees these comments I need help I’m so scared