What do I do

[anon99]

Lately I’ve been worried about a brain t .. don’t wanna type it out . My doctor says I’m fine and healthy . I’ve had headaches each night for two days and today I feel a pain on the side of my head . Should I push for a CT ? Or is this my health anxiety kicking in 🤔 does anybody else go through these things ?

[Vicx08]

I do this all the time! I suffer from migraines but it still doesn’t mean that when I get a migraine I don’t think the worst! If it makes you feel better which is what matters most then push for it!

[anon99 in reply to Vicx08]

I don’t have insurance so it’s a hard decision to make ... get the ct and go in debt or not get the ct and worry .. but then again I’m afraid to get the ct if something bad does show up . Ugh

[dogginess in reply to anon99]

If you want to go for a ct, could you arrange for a payment plan so that you

pay the bill in small increments over the course of aperiod of time?

[Vicx08]

I understand that completely think of other things and see if the pain goes away if it does then it was more than likely anxiety

[anon99 in reply to Vicx08]

Thankyou

[Vicx08 in reply to anon99]

Anytime!! And I mean that!

[Damian]

My anxiety isn't doing health at the moment, but I've had something like that in the past, convincing myself that all sorts of normal skin blemishes were actually cancer.

I feel pretty sure it's health anxiety, given that your doctor is happy. In my experience doctors tend to play it safe, so if they think there is any possibility it could be something serious, you're off to the hospital for all sorts of tests. Also, unfortunately, headaches can be brought on by anxiety so it's a bit of a vicious circle. The more anxious you get, the worse your headaches get, and the more you are going to worry.

So I don't think you need to bother with a CT scan because it might find something wrong. Perhaps it would give you reassurance, though. Have you had your anxiety a long time, and do you have a sense of whether a scan would be likely to improve things? Just speaking for myself, I find that that sort of thing doesn't really help. I either convince myself that the test hasn't shown up the problem, or (more commonly) my anxiety just shifts on to something else.

[anon99 in reply to Damian]

Thankyou for your response !! I’ve had anxiety for 3 years , and the same with me it would probably just switch to something else! I really trust my doctor and of course I know if she thought anything of the sort she would send me to testing as she always does but my anxiety just keeps on whispering that evil mess in my ears . Deep down I know it would just be a waste of time and money but anxiety says “you better catch it before it’s too late” ugh. It’s the worst! Even had a dream about it. And so many other health issues I’m afraid of.

[Damian in reply to anon99]

It's interesting how you talk about the anxiety whispering to you. I've noticed that as well, it sometimes feels as though the anxiety is something separate from me, that is continually trying to find things for me to worry about.

What I try to do is work out a "reply" or an "answer" to the anxiety. Here is a possible answer for your current worry: there is actually no evidence that there is anything wrong. If there was, your doctor would have sent you to the hospital. Having a headache isn't evidence of anything much because they're so common.

We all have to accept that we might be in the early stages of getting ill, but before the point where there are any symptoms. Life isn't free of risk. At the same time, if there is no evidence to suggest that we're ill, but we're worrying about some specific thing anyway, that's belief without evidence and so it's the anxiety talking.

I find these "answers" help but of course they're not a miracle cure. They do sometimes get me out of the immediate panic, though, so I can do something else which will then help distract me.

[busymama2]

I also suffer from health anxiety. It can’t hurt to go to the doctors, sometimes reassurance is exactly what you need to work through your anxiety. I used to be so worried what my doctor would think about me and that I was over reacting. Now I don’t care about that. The worst thing you can do is lose yourself in excessive worries and researching things online, web md has given me such worse anxiety in the past.

[pink83737]

I totally understand !!

[anon99 in reply to pink83737]

Health anxiety is the worst.. 🙄

[pink83737 in reply to anon99]

I totally agree! You aren’t alone ❤️

[weegmack]

I totally understand how you feel. I have Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Health Anxiety! I’m constantly thinking I have something really seriously wrong (medically).

If this is any reassurance...

I woke up with a severe headache in January 2011. It would respond to no painkillers and was there constantly. Sore neck, sore head, migraine - every single day. I thought it was a brain tumour. I was back and forth to the doctors umpteen times. They tried me on all sorts of painkillers and nothing worked. I was very distressed, so after about a month, I went to A&E. I was given all sorts of cognitive tests and they were happy it wasn’t anything sinister, but I stamped my feet for a brain scan. Got one and there was nothing unusual. They call it “unremarkable”.

I still have the headache (but it’s more manageable) and nobody knows why. My doctor is pretty convinced it’s anxiety causing a severe tension headache.

I live in the UK. So I understand it’s a much bigger decision for you to have to pay for a brain scan. Your doctor sounds trustworthy, so I think you can be reassured that you have a chronic tension headache. I do however, understand that you need reassurance. Can you go back to your doctor and ask her what she thinks? Xx