Hi there

I have never posted on here before but I just came across your post and I had to comment Just want to start off by saying I know how you feel 

I am a 21 year old mother of 2 and my health anxiety started as soon as I had my son, I’m constantly worrying I have cancer or I’m going to get it, so much so that I actually convince myself so much that I start to GIVE myself symptoms of these ‘illnesses’ and every time I go to a doctor thinking I have a brain tumour, cervical cancer, throat cancer etc I am CONVINCED that doctors arnt taking my irrational thoughts seriously... but that’s exactly what they are.. IRRATIONAL trust me, you are OK you are experiencing Hypercondria. Please for the love of god stay OFF google you will make it so much worse 

I would suggest the next time you go to your doctors that you ask to be referred for CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) 

wishing you the best, you are not alone x 

Hi thanks for the reply,

I am trying to be realistic about it, I tell myself it’s nothing but it lingers that it isn’t and I shouldn’t take the risk, so I hope the doctor sorts it.

That must be really scary for you with 2 kids, hope you’re doing ok.

Hi StrayingDog

I should start out by saying that I'm not a doctor. 

@darrarose97 is correct in saying that your really must stay off Google. It simply feeds one's paranoia, and reading about symptoms is guaranteed to bring them on! 

You are doing the right thing seeing your GP, but I urge you to prepare for the meeting. I suggest you prepare a SHORT note you can give to the doctor outlining your symptoms AND your fears, and then a separate list of possible questions. Ask whether there are any simple tests, such as blood tests, that can set your mind at rest. Remember that your GP appointment will be a nominal 10 minutes, and time is precious, so everything you can do to help your GP will be appreciated. 

If Dr Google was a real doctor he or she would be struck off for causing so much unnecessary stress and anxiety! 

Your symptoms are real but may well be being caused by your health anxiety, rather than by a physical condition. The least likely physical cause of all is a brain tumour as these are extremely rare in teenagers. 

The advice about writing your concerns down before seeing your GP is excellent advice which your GP will appreciate you following.

Best wishes

Dave

Good advice, thank you.

Unfortunatly I saw the GP before I saw you’re advice.

They said I’m fine, with slightly high blood pressure, but that was proabably due to stress.

I’m only worried because he said there were know red flags, like feeling more sick in the morning and waking up in the night, but I’m unsure whether I’m worse in the morning or not.

The neurological tests were fine, but I’m still very worried. I just don’t want it to be too late.

Hi StrayingDog.

So, you're worried because all the tests were fine, and there were no red flags.  But you'd also be be worried if the tests weren't fine, or if there were some red flags!  So, you've got yourself in a no-win situation. It's generally true that it's impossible to prove a negative: no one can prove you don't have cancer, even if you have all the tests in the world, and they all come out clear.  But the chances of having cancer when everything is clear is pretty low. 

So, like the rest of us, you just have to accept that this is an uncertain world; the only certainty is that we're all going to go some day, but it's your choice whether you let that knowledge blight your entire life, or whether you just put it to the back of your mind, get on with enjoying today, and let the future sort itself out when you get there. After all, that is how most of us cope with the fact that life is limited. 

By worrying obsessively about your health, you're not actually helping yourself; but worse, you're robbing yourself of the opportunity to enjoy life's many pleasures, and you're not making the most of whatever time you've got - which is probably a good many more years! 

I thought before I go that it’ll be no win. The problem I have is he said two red flags are waking up in the night and more nausea in the morning, and I’m unsure if I have this. I’m nauseas in the morning, but it may be because I’m anxious about school in the morning. I couldn’t sleep last night, but at the same time didn’t wake up in the night.

I want to monitor these symptoms to make sure they’re not occurring, but I’m worried me monitoring them may make them happen and cause unesscarry panic. 

They referred me to some councilling, which will take about a month to sort out. I’m hoping that will sort my, as I’m finding hard to separate real symptoms from ones that are turning up because I’m looking out for them.

Thank you for the concern, and I do hope to be enjoying life again soon.

Feelings of nausea in the morning could be caused by low blood sugar when you wake up. Perhaps sucking on a single boiled fruit sweet on awakening while you're lying in bed will settle that.  Then having a proper breakfast of at least 400 calories and with slow release grains.  If you're skipping breakfast and then trying to cope with lessons until break time when you can fill up on chocolate, crisps and coca-cola, then feeling nauseous should be expected. 

I’m having porridge everyday and eat quite so i don’t think it could be that. I hope it’s Just me making up a symptoms because they fit the criteria, and being made worse by school worries and bus trips. I’ll see if I feel more sick in the morning on the weekend as there aren’t as many possible causes then. Again thank you for the help.

Hello Strayingdog, 

I've had anxiety for as long as i can remember, it's crippling, horrible, infesting and most importantly controlling. I have woken up panicking about brain tumours before and sent myself in to a sort of frenzy... I would ring my mum, who would reassure me, i would enlist my exs help which eventually led to her leaving me for someone else, and would visit the doctors almost every week, i had a head ache on the back of my head for about 4 weeks, non stop.. it scared me, i went to the doctors 4 Times and demanded they took me seriously. Eventually on my 5th trip the doctor referred me to the MRI clinic. I went, absolutely terrified and convinced myself the results would be bad, They wearnt, infact they were absolutely fine. But yet i still went back to the doctors, eventually i decided to ignore the pain, every time it was there i just did something else, and guess what... after 6 weeks the pain simply went away, shortly after it came back, i realised a tumour wouldn't just stop hurting, and me and my doctor came to the conclusion that i have TMD which is jaw inflammation. I'm never going to say that you shouldn't rule out a problem, but i am going to say this, the mind is a powerful tool, you can give someone a dummy tablet and the mind will fix the issues under the placebo effect, so if the mind can do that? imagine what it can do to a teenager thats constantly thinking about a problem, know this, and you'll have your conclusion. Listen to the doctors, they know the signs and symptoms, theres no shame in asking for reassurance, but just know if you can harness that negative energy and convert it into powerful thoughts you can cure yourself, i still ask for reassurance from time to time, but don't let it control your life, like my girlfriend says to me now "worry about it when it happens and not before" we cant change our future. So keep going, if you need a chat, then message me on here and ill be happy to help:) I am also 21, so know exactly how you feel! we are warriors trust me.