[Merope]

Hi all,

I've had health anxiety in the past, but it never flared up quite so severely as now. Logically, I know that I am thinking of worst-case scenarios and catastrophising because this is something that I do. I have a therapist and I will work with him on this. I will also book a GP appointment just in case...but until then, I need a place to write this out in the hope that someone can offer some reassurance.

A few days ago I carried a heavy bag (20kg) up some stairs and the next day (forgive me, this will sound ridiculous) I grated lots of vegetables when cooking until my arm was painful and felt like burning. An hour or so later, my arm went kind of numb and sort of weak. That was three days ago and although I think it's a little better now, I can't tell for sure.

Logically speaking, I know the muscles in my arm are probably over-exerted and that is why it feels a little weak (I have really thin and pretty weak arms anyway). But the anxiety in me is making me think of all sorts of neurological problems to the point that I can't stop thinking of muscle atrophy and scary diagnoses like ALS. I tried to book an appointment with my GP but there were none available so they offered me a phone consultation instead which will happen later today.

I know I am being ridiculous, but i feel like I am going insane.

[unaluna]

I call this the laundry detergent and bleach injury - i have hurt myself similarly by carrying the jugs in separate hands to my door, then - not wanting to set them on the ground for some stupid reason - putting both jugs in one hand while i unlock my door, reulting in strains from wrist to neck. Ice, heat, and light massage help, or seeing a chiropractor. If you can remember a recent usage mistake, thats probably what it is, is how it works for me.

[xmascarol]

Originally Posted by Merope

Hi all,

I've had health anxiety in the past, but it never flared up quite so severely as now. Logically, I know that I am thinking of worst-case scenarios and catastrophising because this is something that I do. I have a therapist and I will work with him on this. I will also book a GP appointment just in case...but until then, I need a place to write this out in the hope that someone can offer some reassurance.

A few days ago I carried a heavy bag (20kg) up some stairs and the next day (forgive me, this will sound ridiculous) I grated lots of vegetables when cooking until my arm was painful and felt like burning. An hour or so later, my arm went kind of numb and sort of weak. That was three days ago and although I think it's a little better now, I can't tell for sure.

Logically speaking, I know the muscles in my arm are probably over-exerted and that is why it feels a little weak (I have really thin and pretty weak arms anyway). But the anxiety in me is making me think of all sorts of neurological problems to the point that I can't stop thinking of muscle atrophy and scary diagnoses like ALS. I tried to book an appointment with my GP but there were none available so they offered me a phone consultation instead which will happen later today.

I know I am being ridiculous, but i feel like I am going insane.

Hi I have health anxieties to,everytime I fill up I think I have a sinus infection ,probably because I have had them numerous times before ,among other illness's. Every time something physical bothers me I think the worse.You are not being ridiculous cause when you have anxieties it seems like everything bothers us.It is an awful feeling.

[ALT2454]

You are not being ridiculous. I am pretty in tune with how the human body works. I have been a competitive powerlifter and physique competitor for many years as well as my education put me through a lot of anatomy and physiology. I have had all sorts of things happen to me like this in what seems like unexplained ways. A lot of repetitive movements that you are not used to doing frequently can cause swelling in the affected muscles and/or joints you were using to complete the task. Nerves and arteries/veins pass through or innervate these muscles and joints. When there is swelling or extra water in these areas it can restrict the room in which these nerves and veins/arteries are in putting pressure on them which in turn can cause numbness and tingling in fingers and other areas of the body. This happens to me a lot. For instance I just had reconstruction of my rotator cuff on Dec 4th and I was having a ton of issues with numbness and tingling in my fingers bc of all the swelling in my shoulder and arm. Drink a lot of water, take some ibuprofen (800mgs) and apply ice to affected areas and give it a little time to recover and it should go away. I hope this eases your stress and if this happens in the future that you can regain your peace of mind with this info.

[Merope]

Many thanks for all your replies! I think my arm is definitely getting a bit better, albeit after one week. The problem with googling symptoms is that it often gives you the worst case scenarios and it definitely fueled my health anxiety. There are days when I am so convinced that I have MS that I can't do anything other than worry. The annoying thing is that I didn't even worry about neurological diseases until someone mentioned MS in passing a couple of weeks ago (when I had no symptoms) and planted the seed in my brain. I find it extremely hard to be logical when thinking like this and even as I am typing this, I am noticing a slight weakness in my arm which sends massive red flags to my brain. It's exhausting.

[MickeyCheeky]

I'm sorry, Merope. If it gets too bad, remember to see a doctor! I hope you'll feel better soon. Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you

[lexi56782]

Originally Posted by Merope

Hi all,

I've had health anxiety in the past, but it never flared up quite so severely as now. Logically, I know that I am thinking of worst-case scenarios and catastrophising because this is something that I do. I have a therapist and I will work with him on this. I will also book a GP appointment just in case...but until then, I need a place to write this out in the hope that someone can offer some reassurance.

A few days ago I carried a heavy bag (20kg) up some stairs and the next day (forgive me, this will sound ridiculous) I grated lots of vegetables when cooking until my arm was painful and felt like burning. An hour or so later, my arm went kind of numb and sort of weak. That was three days ago and although I think it's a little better now, I can't tell for sure.

Logically speaking, I know the muscles in my arm are probably over-exerted and that is why it feels a little weak (I have really thin and pretty weak arms anyway). But the anxiety in me is making me think of all sorts of neurological problems to the point that I can't stop thinking of muscle atrophy and scary diagnoses like ALS. I tried to book an appointment with my GP but there were none available so they offered me a phone consultation instead which will happen later today.

I know I am being ridiculous, but i feel like I am going insane.

you're not being ridiculous. im experiencing the same thing

[lexi56782]

So I have an ear infection. It’s been going on for a month. I went to the doc last week and was prescribed antibiotics. After 4 days of taking the antibiotics, I thought I was allergic and turns out my panic attack imitiated anaphylaxis and I ended up getting discharged from the hospital after 10 min. The doctor at the ER said she didn’t see anything in my ear (assuming the infection cleared up?) but I had only taken 11 of the 30 doses. I stopped taking the antibiotics for 6 days and I started up again last night (which I know I should’ve waited for my doctor to come back bc he’s on vacation and you should never stop taking antibiotics.) I took them because it seems like the ear pain has come back. now I’m on my 3rd dose and I’m worried that I’ll develop complications from the ear infection and die because it’s somewhat untreated. I can’t sleep or think about anything else. So worried. I’ve seen articles about people who die from ear infections. Welp.

[Merope]

Originally Posted by lexi56782

So I have an ear infection. It’s been going on for a month. I went to the doc last week and was prescribed antibiotics. After 4 days of taking the antibiotics, I thought I was allergic and turns out my panic attack imitiated anaphylaxis and I ended up getting discharged from the hospital after 10 min. The doctor at the ER said she didn’t see anything in my ear (assuming the infection cleared up?) but I had only taken 11 of the 30 doses. I stopped taking the antibiotics for 6 days and I started up again last night (which I know I should’ve waited for my doctor to come back bc he’s on vacation and you should never stop taking antibiotics.) I took them because it seems like the ear pain has come back. now I’m on my 3rd dose and I’m worried that I’ll develop complications from the ear infection and die because it’s somewhat untreated. I can’t sleep or think about anything else. So worried. I’ve seen articles about people who die from ear infections. Welp.

I'm sorry you are also going through this. Health anxiety can literally take over everything else. I wish I had something more useful to say to you, but given that I am also convinced there is something seriously wrong with me, I honestly don't know what is useful to say anymore. It's easy to assume the worst when you believe your symptoms are a certain way, but it's often not the case and what we think is something serious turns out to be something minor. I hope we can both find our peace of mind soon.