[RosyRose]

Why do I start googling symptoms I am having, only to tumble upon a dreaded illness...which of course scares me half to death thinking I have this condition?

I suffer from lots of stomach problems (indigestion on day, bloating the next, etc.) I am thinking I have IBS, but then in an IBS forum, I see that IBS symptoms are found in Ovarian Cancer patients.

I had heard about it before and it scared me then. Now, I see it, again, and I am having anxiety about it once more.

I guess I am just going to have to go to a doc to get some peace of mind.

Sigh...why do I do this...what is wrong with me? I've done this many times before...

[satine]

I do the EXACT same thing! Recently I have been having panic attacks and headaches...I have convinced myself that it is all related to a big ol' brain tumor!
The worst part of it all is that I am a nursing student, so when I learn about a new strange disease, I inevitably end up linking my own symptoms to it.

[RosyRose]

hiya Satine. Thank you for responding. It is good to come upon someone who understands what I am going through.

Do you have any little tips as to how to stop overthinking?

[satine]

The only thing that has helped me is reminding myself that the odds are relatively slim that I will contract whatever horrible disease I have convinced myself that I have. Most of the time it works for me.
Hope this helps.

[AAAAA]

(((((Rosie))))) I’m so sorry, I have a similar problem. I don’t worry about rare diseases; I worry mainly about cancer, brain tumors, diabetes, and heart disease. These are all issues that my immediate family have had problems with. In our family, a dx of breast cancer is a death sentence, we are prone to a fast acting form that has been fatal to 8 of my immediate relatives. Ovarian cancer has also presented itself with 3 of my Aunts, my grandmother, and two cousins. When my father died several years ago, he was the oldest male member in his family at 54. He had his first heart attack at 40, my father in law had his first heart attack at 42. Brain tumors are prevalent in my husband’s family. And almost all of us have diabetes (both sides).

So needless to say I’m paranoid that one of my children will suffer from one of these diseases at a young age. My single saving grace is that we have an awesome family doctor. He is aware of our family history and validates my fears. When one of my sons started fainting with no ability to protect himself (a sign of cardiac problems) he gave the boy a full work up. I have the utmost confidence in our doctors ability so I’ve been able to relax.

[BalishBun]

I do that all the time.

[mak62184]

The best advice I have to this, is to not look up symptoms and try to diagnose a problem yourself. Believe me, when I thought there was something physically wrong with me when I started having intense panic attacks, I just worried myself worse and called my mother crying that I had something, which was impossible to get, or very unlikely. I have pretty much banned myself from looking at WebMD because that definitely did not help me and instead scares me. I only look at it now if I know exactly what I am looking for. And it has been helpful with minor problems.

[NBE_02]

I feel ya.

Personally it's gotta be from my wearing glasses, overuse of the computer, and bad sleep schedule-but when I saw neck pain, and a headache typically on a side of the head, and constant yawning as symptons for a brain tumor (through Google of course)-I freaked out. Similar fears have shown up with syphilis-from bumps I have on my body (which seem to be normal/usual pimples actually).

Of course years after that crap I'm fine...despite not having confronted a doctor for neither, I've come to the conclusion that if it's been about 4+ years since those paranoid freakouts....I'm obviously fine. In the end-I discover my imagination, and the ease of believing something said online is what got me going.

Stay away from Googling symptoms is all I can say, heck I have a headache right now..probably from sitting in front of this bright screen for 8 hours...