Hi.. this is my first time posting. I have suffered from health anxiety for over 20 years (I'm now 42) which got worse after the sudden passing of my husband 6 years ago.
It's been pretty manageable thanks to numerous counselling and CBT sessions, but since June this year it's gone a bit crazy. I started feeling very bloated and 'bigger' around the middle of my belly. I am alot overweight, but I seemed to fill out all of a sudden for no particular reason. Monthly cycle gone from regular and heavy to still being regular but very light. The bloating seems to be getting worse and I have very little appetite. I'm now suffering with constipation and pain the lower back. Thought it might have been a flare up of IBS but no medications I take seems to help.
Visited my GP a fortnight ago and she agreed that I met some of the red flags for OC. She did an examination of my belly and said there was no obvious swelling. She ordered a Ca 125 blood test and referred me to gynae for an scan. Blood test has come back as 12 which I've been told is good, however I'm still extremely anxious that there is something sinister going on. The wait for the scan appt is taking forever and I'm constantly looking on line at OC symptoms, which I'm convinced I have them all. People tell you to listen to your body and trust your gut instinct yet mine is screaming cancer.
I'm going out of my mind with worry. It's affecting my relationship with my lower little girl and I can't concentrate in work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
What a scary and difficult time for you.
As hard as it may seem, you need to try not to search online - it will only raise your anxiety but make no difference to whether you do or don’t have cancer.
It is possible to have all the symptoms of something and still not have it or have no symptoms but still have something. Sometimes we also ‘find’ symptoms that aren’t really there if we are worrying and looking for them - convincing ourselves we have something which we don’t. You have done the right thing by going to see a doctor but you really have no way of knowing until you have the scan.
Take comfort in the fact that, even though you have some symptoms (which could equally be a sign of something far less serious), none of the examinations so far - physical exam and blood test - have shown any sign of something being wrong. Talk to friends and family (or people on here!) about how you are feeling and try not to second guess the results- as someone who also suffers from health anxiety, I know how difficult that is. You have done all of the right things. In my opinion, if they were really concerned, you would have been sent for a much more urgent scan.
Regardless of what might happen in the future, this right now is also your life, so try not to waste it worrying.
Thank you for replying. It's greatly appreciated.