Hypochondria

[jessicao]

For over a month my left leg has been tight and aching for no reason. I had a d dimer and ultrasound done and both were negative but I keep thinking its a blood clot. I've been getting sharp pains in my ribs too so it's still freaking me out..I'm only 19 and just have it stuck in my head that the docs missed something...any wise words are appreciated

[Redhots7]

Did you see family doc ? Go see orthopedic doc ? What did doc say was causing aching and tightness ? You know your body better than anyone, if you think something is not right, see specialist .

[jessicao in reply to Redhots7]

Yes I went to my doctor twice and had two test done that were negative for dvt but I just can't accept it. I worked out and now it is even tighter than before : / I just can't afford further testing

[Redhots7 in reply to jessicao]

Your skin is tight from swelling ? Or your leg muscles are tight in your leg ?

[jessicao in reply to Redhots7]

The muscle yes and when I walk it feels tight. But no obvious swelling

[Redhots7 in reply to jessicao]

Sounds like you just pulled muscle. Take warm bath with Epsom Salts, soak for a while. Rub pain lotion on your leg . Stretch it out . 😘

[Hidden]

I notice that you use the word 'hypochondria' in your post. Clearly, you understand that hypochondriasis is a psychosomatic disorder - in other words mental disorder with physical symptoms. Presumably you are in the care of a doctor who is currently offering some kind of treatment. The best trained people can still make mistakes - medical machinery rarely does. The ultrasound would have picked up on even the smallest blood clot. CBT has a good record for successfully treating your condition. Perhaps you can talk about this with your doctor. I wish you well.

[jessicao in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou for your helpful response

[Redhots7]

Last year I had 2 blood clots in my lungs and pneumonia . I was in hospital for 11 days. After I got out, I started seeing pulmanologist . I was

Most DEFINATELY concerned about getting new blood clots. He told me to watch for a "burning" sensation spot in my legs. 😘

[jessicao in reply to Redhots7]

Sorry to hear that! Thankyou for your help though

[Hypoking]

Look at my name and you'll know I feel your pain! you need to change you way of thinking! I am so much better just from changing my attitude to anxiety. I know it's hard but I no longer run away from it. I accept it, suck it in, meditate and in 15 minutes I'm on top of the world!

[ChelseaP]

Hi. What did you do to change your attitude to anxiety? Could do with some advice

[ChelseaP]

Hi. What did you do to change your attitude to anxiety? Could do with some advice

[Hypoking in reply to ChelseaP]

The thing that worked the best with me was one day I said. "Maybe I am going to die but there's a 99.99% chance that it's just anxiety". I then said, unless my symptoms are SEVERE I'm not even going to think about them, I'm actually going to savor those feelings. Stop letting your mind race when you have symptoms, I now stop and think about the symptom. Meditation helps alot. Every time I feel like I might lose control I play a guided meditation and spend the next 10 minutes relaxing. I always feel alot better after this but it requires ALOT of practice.

My eureka moment was the basic acceptance that I wasn't dying and that worrying was making me worse not better.

Once I learnt to accept the condition and it's symptoms I slowly starting getting the symptoms less and less, until now it's almost not existent. I know this sounds hard but its a very simple principle. You aren't (physically) sick, you aren't dying, you might feel a bit crazy but you aren't and there are tons of people who feel the same. Your positive thoughts are directly proportional to your positive frame of mind.

[Hypoking in reply to Hypoking]

For example, the other day I had a migraine. I never have them! At first I thought "omgh" I'm dying. Then I thought, WAIT! people have headaches, people have dizziness, unless I have a very good reason to worry, I'm NOT going to. I lay down, closed my eyes and meditated. The anxiety went away and I just went through the motions of the migraine, with no fear at all. And I was the biggest HYPO in the world believe me. 5 years ago I would have gone straight to hospital. That peace and acceptance is at your finger tips, the only problem is that only YOU can change it

But if I got better than I promise you can too!

[Lizxx]

Please share how you changed your attitude to anxiety because I could do with the help x

[Hypoking in reply to Lizxx]

see above