[Guest]

i know this sounds silly - but i worry that i am becoming paranoid about my health!I have a really nasty ulcer in my mouth at the moment - round the back - it hurts to talk, eat and swallow - i went to the dentist today fearing it was the beginnings of oral cancer - especially as i have recently fallen off the non-smoking wagon!i have a mole on my leg which sticks out a bit - and i constantly worry it is skin cancer and watch it closely for any growth! i am so paranoid about everything! I think the only thing i am no longer paranoid about is IBS!! i really believe i have ibs and nothing worse! I used to worry it was worse but i have accepted it now. I have a test in October which should confirm it for me - but i sometimes wonder why i am going as i am happily convinced now that it is classic ibs.I don't understand why i get so worried and panicked it is so silly and really annoying! how can i snap out of it!i think step one is to stop reading so many health magazines!!! any more suggestions!!??

it comes to something when you worry about your health so much that you actually worry about being a hypochondriac!!! These things are all very real to me! I don't want people to think i am just making a fuss all the time!!!

 

[JennT]

I worry about it, too. There's a fine line between hypochondria and what my GI specialist calls "hyperawareness".------------------JennT

 

[e-Fiona]

Hi EnnaI feel exactly the same way! I told my doctor that I feel silly telling her all my symptoms because I dont want to sound like a hypochondriac, but she understands my fears. She also noted that until recently I've only visited her once a year most of the time. I don't go to her when I have anything minor.I have a huge (3cm x 2cm)growth on my gums which I thought was cancer too (but it's not). Then I started with the anxiety attacks which I was sure was a heart attack, but it wasn't. Now it's the IBS symptoms and instead of jumping to conclusions, I've convinced myself it's IBS until I get the tests done and they confirm it (just like you!).I don't know how to stop being so worried either, but I think it's better than ignoring the symptoms! I figure if I just keep seeing the doc for all my symptoms, everyone will be happy. The doc makes money and I stop worrying and driving my family crazy!I think also that the availability of info on the Net makes it quicker for us to self diagnose ourselves, but the info we see always shows the worst case scenarios as well. When I typed in some IBS symptoms on a web site a month ago, the auto response from the site was "Emergency! Go to the doctor immediately!" Now that really freaked me out!

You're definitely not alone on this!

Fiona

 

[Mindy5124]

I know how you feel too. My doctor looks at me like I'm making all my symptoms up. When I'm having a good day and ibs is not in control, I always seem to find something else that hurts to complain about. I went to the ER 3 days before Christmas last year becuse I thought I was having a heart attack. Got sent home with 2 motrin and a $1200.00 bill!!

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

Who, me? No way. As a matter of fact I was talking to my wife last night about the results of my hair follicle analysis, showing that the accumulation of rare earth metals in the follicles has been found to suggest a possible precursor relationship may exist with the future possibility of cardiovasular disease, while the article I was reading in the john (which caused me to discover a spot of blood in my stool so I already scheduled an emergency endoscopy for this afternoon so I have to leave in a minute, so I cna be sure to check my route for public restrooms in case I get a D attack on the way to the diagnostic outpatient center), anyway the article I was reading before the hemorrhaging began described how men of my age whose urine stream clearance rate is reduced by more than 10% compared to the clearence rate when they were in their teesn might suggest a relationship between prostatic hypertophy and their tendency to go bald. And I am of course a bit concerned becaseu I have misplace my urine-clearance-stream rate chart after all these years and have no basis of comparison, but i am CERTAIN it is substantially reduced. Which I already know indicates a predisposition to hypertension in males dwelling in the souhtern USA within (2) kilometers of any body of predominantly salt water, who ingest more than 15 gms saturated fat per day in their diet, and do not consume the required (2) glasses of wine per day so as to achieve the antiaoxidant benefits, so, anyway I asked what she thought and she was able tor eassure me from her ZZZZZZZZZZ response that I really am on top of things with my health. Sure feel bad for people who have to deal with hypochondrial tendencies...it must be a terrible burden.Oppps... gotta go now its 1:00 and my 'scope is at 5:00 so I need to allow enought itme to get over there, just in case, you know.

 

[Guest]

------------------debbie g

 

[JeanG]

Hi enna:I worry a lot too. I've been to the doctor more times this past year than ever. Most of the time they have found something off, but a few times they haven't.It always makes me feel like I'm being a pest! But they do tell us to get things checked out when something is different, so I'm going to keep it up.

JeanG

 

[Guest]

Mike,That was GREAT! I loved it . . . At least your sense of humor is alive and well!M-Lee

 

[Auroraheart]

I guess we are lucky in Canada that if we worry about something we don't pay for it each time...our health system covers it (which I guess is taxes..) I sometimes think I am worry too much...but then when I talk myself out of worrying that is when something IS wrong! (ie thinking I had a UTI and it REALLY BEING kidney stones...)When I got to the doctor now he always assumes it is my IBS but I have other things too...but I feel bad bringing them up. So, I know how you feel.

 

[Guest]

thanks guys! it is really nice to know i am not the only one! Mike you crack me up! Did you know that the tendency to be in denial about certain symptoms can indicate a trachiochtamy of the brain which in later years could lead to discolouring of the skin!!!

loL! i know you are all probably right that it is better to be safe than sorry - but i just wish i didn't always think the worst! maybe i am just hyperaware - Jenn - i think that sounds much better! e-fiona - i think you had good reason to worry - my goodness i would be in paranoid city with any kinda big lump anywhere! yikes! its funny isn't it how with ibs it seems easier somehow to really believe it is ibs and not think the worse...maybe it is just because i have had it so long now - and think that if i'm not dead yet then i'm not likely to be from this! ?!?

Mindy - $1200.00 that is outrageous! all that for one quick check up and 2 pills! I know that peace of mind is worth some expense but that is really mean of them!Jean - you worry? but you are always so sensible!

I feel like i am in good company with all you guys fellow worriers - maybe it is another ibs trait!Auroheart - i know what you mean about the doc always assuming you are there for ibs! I want to go and talk to mine about the pill but i just know she will roll her eyes and think - oh no not you again with your ibs!

oh well i guess we are just careful! (my gums are still hurting!! )

 

[e-Fiona]

There are also some doctors who feed on us worriers. Most doctors are ethical I'm sure, but some are $$ hungry.I didn't even notice the large growth on my gums until my dentist saw it during a cleaning. He sent me to a specialist. The specialist totally freaked me out, running around the office as if he had found an alien in my mouth or something. He said it had to be removed and biopsied but I could lose a few teeth. He wanted me to do it right there and then but something told me to go home and think about it. I picked up my x-rays the next day and took them to a good client of mine who is an orthodontist. She said the lesion was too "perfect" looking to be cancer. It is perfectly oval. She referred me to another specialist (one of the top 3 in the world) who took x-rays and said the same thing. The new specialist knew I was scared so he told me the best thing was to get another opinion. I did, and he said the exact same thing. They both offered to biopsy it if I was really worried but said it was totally unnecessary. It's funny too... it wasn't until I saw the first specialist that it started to hurt. The first specialist who freaked me out phoned me 4 times after I left his office. He said he wanted me to understand that he would not be held responsible if I didn't get treated for this! Talk about scare tactics! I later found a neighbour who had been to see him and also quickly left his office in search of a new dental surgeon!I find that my body/mind replicates other peoples symptoms too. When I first got here and started reading about where IBS pain is common, I started to feel twinges. I still don't know if those twinges are real or not! I guess I'll never know!

Fiona

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

HI ENNA.You are right about MIND'S $1200 in the ER. the cost of ER care is very high, in particlular the nature of the CYA and differential blood work and evrything else that has to be done when essentially a stranger is wheeled into the ER. The ER Docs area special breed...having to start from scratch evry 5 minutes.I am not minimizing MINDY's burden at all, just pointing out I hope she will feel better if she knows it could be worse. Those that were here when I posted the story of FrankenMommy (MrsNL) getting taken to the local ER from her workplace by ambulance a couple months back know what I mean when I say that the net ER bill was over 300% of MINDY's...Ouch. Thank heaven it was an in-network hospital!Have a Lead Free DayMNL

 

[Guest]

You should be worried if you smoke and you should check moles for odd stuff and anyone who has IBS and their doctor treats them like a nut should get a new doctor because that's classic treatment from when IBS was a little known phenomena in the past. My dentist discovered a spot in my throat and sent me to a specialist which freaked me out. I had quit smoking in the 70's but a couple of friends had gotten me into cigars. That episode helped me quit along with taking a dying friend (cancer) to numerous doctor and hospital visits and seeing all the crowded waiting rooms filled with similarly afflicted people. The irony is that the friend and I quit together in the 70's and his death helped me quit again.

 

[Stef]

Mike,I loved it. Do you mind if I memorize that and use it with my Doc next visit. He will surely ship me off to the closest "rest home".LOLStef.

 

[Mike NoLomotil]

STEF...Sure. Hey, what do you think....I got this funny thing going on in my hand today too, it started right after I took my Prozac and....