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H. AriaRen. First of all you are in no way bothering anyone, and you have no need whatsoever to make this your last post. Everyone on here with health anxiety knows just how you feel. Twitching is so common in anxiety. It can be anywhere on the body, and since you have been checked out it's pretty obvious what it is. No amount of physical exercise seems to make much difference. Are you Googling? If so, big mistake. All the nasty worrying symptoms of anxiety often come when we least expect them. In bed at night for instance. You are uptight with worry, and the fear of what it might be is aggravating the tension. Acceptance and relaxation always helps. Now that is by no means easy. It takes patience and perseverance. Two things it is so difficult for those with anxiety to do., but it can be done given the will. Our body is a mass of nerve endings. It's all there for protection. But when it goes wrong it can be the very devil. Give yourself time, and take it as easy as you can. The twitching may go on for a while even after you accept. Try not to add fear to fear. Take care and post as often as you want. Kind regards. John.

Oh, I've dealt with the anxiety itches before. They stuck. Just talking about them made me scratch my scalp! What you're dealing with is an abundance of cortisol wreaking havoc in your CNS. That can cause widespread, indiscriminate itching. Getting your anxiety under control will 100% make it go away. You're gonna be fine 🙂

I do therapy every two weeks and walk and ride my bike to keep my head clear. I absolutely never, ever google. I try to eat heathy Bec when I eat healthy, I feel healthy 🙂 hugs everyone!! Trying to find what works for you is a huge step in the right direction.

Thank you Nat, it's what I'm hoping for ❤️ I don't have any weakness or anything, and I'm booked in for physio, so hoping between that and citalopram, I start to see a difference soon. I hope you're well!

Last year in the peak of the worst health anxiety I’ve ever experienced I had a twitch in my left leg that was literally constant. It would stop twitching for a few mins and then start right back up again. You could see my thigh twitching through my jeans and this lasted for a month or more. It nearly drove me crazy. Eventually it just went away on its own and my doctor chalked it up to stress.

Yes we are. We are all a team, even if we feel alone we are a team

Bin_tenn, no you didn't sound dismissive at all! But yes I need to trust my doctors, his doctors, and my wife's. SighNoMore, you're right, we're all in this together and supporting each other is what helps us get through this everyday.

That's what we're here for. I hope my first reply didn't sound dismissive, I just wanted to try and help you trust the doctor. Especially over a bunch of random anxiety sufferers on the internet... 😄

Thank you both so much. He's also very skinny and so I figure you can see more things on him than you normally could on someone like myself. You both made me feel much better. As always thank you for the support. I love this forum.

My physician told me that the first sign of a brain tumor are typically seizures.

I wish I could help since you've been helpful to me but I don't know. I've had severe headaches that can cause what sounds like what you're describing. It could be an eye issue and you need glasses. I don't know, but I hope you get better.

Apologies guys, I didn't mean to trigger anyone else, I should've thought of that, I was just so caught up in the moment. Holls - it was accidental, I actually have als/mnd etc blocked on twitter, but it doesn't block them in the trending part, so I do try to keep it away, I've stopped googling etc. DTC - I seen your post, and I worried about my hands a lot too, but for the length of time you've had your symptoms, you'd know if it was ALS. I totally get how difficult this is, it's scary, but if you're anything like me then I know you'll just want to get back to your old self, and I know we can do it. Health anxiety is super difficult, it's such an irrational kind of anxiety, but it's just our brains doing that whole worst case scenario thing with perfectly natural body stuff, we just need to keep that in mind. I'm always here for a chat if you need one 🙂

Welcome to the forum also. I have known 4 people with ALS and there symptoms were nothing like yours. Try to remember ALS is an extremely rare disease, with only around 5,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States.

@Nutmegbella I'm getting my thyroid checked out tomorrow. Vitamin levels too. My wife has hypothyroidism and she deals with issues being cold, especially if she forgets to take her meds for a few days. And I just found out yesterday that my dad, grandma, and two of my aunts all have thyroid issues, leading me to believe I may have just been a ticking timebomb all along. On the plus side, though, I don't have covid!!

I have palpitations and a sometimes racing heart, it's been over 200 before for several minutes - not fun. I know I have an actual little issue that is controlled with medication and the doctor doesn't find all that serious. But I also know heightened states of anxiety cause it to act up. And not little episodes, but like weeks long or months long higher anxiety levels will create weeks or months long intermittent heart racings. This year I've been trying something new - mindfulness. Creating a peace bubble around me I can find refuge in when I feel the anxiety is ramping up. I learned about it from guided meditation on the Calm app of all places (free with my amex card I think?). Anyways, I like what I'm finding. It feels like something I can work on, build up, modify, and use my entire life. I'm starting small and being patient; I'm creating my bubble. But it helps to know I have my doctor there in the background if I need her. So I think find a cardiologist you like and trust. See the cardiologist regularly as scheduled, and know you can reach out if needed. And start building your peace bubble.

I was those type of people that you’d see in a tank top and shorts in 40-50 degree weather. at the beginning of winter last year I began to get cold. I couldn’t stand being in the 70s. my feet would freeze so bad it hurt, almost like it hurt my bones, I couldn’t warm up at all until I would take a really hot shower. It peaked really bad one night I couldn’t sleep because my feet hurt so bad, I was wearing socks and had three blankets on top and I was putting my feet on my husband. He tried massaging them with his warm hands nothing. What was causing this? My low carb way of eating and thyroid issues. wouldn’t hurt to see your thyroid levels and also look into what you’re eating.

I feel abnormally cold from time to time as well, though I'm generally warmer than everyone else. People often refer to me as a "human heater." 😛 But sometimes I feel like I'm very cold, and shivering.

Ouch! As soon as I saw ginger, I was like oh, that must have burned like crazy. Hopefully it is better soon and you can get some sleep. I wonder if one of the mouth rinses would help? One like Peroxyl or something similar? Sure hope you feel better!

@PennyPanic thank you so much for replying! Very interesting to hear, since February mine goes through spouts of being softer, louder and then times when I didn’t even think about it or notice it at all, which is what I need to try and do! My mother in law has it as well and drs said the same nothing they can do. Since I’m younger people my age don’t really talk about their health or don’t even pay attention to much. I went through a bad bout of health anxiety and got much better but still have minor set backs and this was one of them, so it’s helpful to have you guys to get advise from and help calm me down! I agree I think it’s very common and most people probably pay no attention to it, but one of those things that was driving me nuts and freaked me out a bit and still slightly is but I’ve really tried to stop obsessing over if i hear ringing or not and seems to be better. ☺️

I took off my socks and walked around the house barefoot for a while today for the first time in a couple weeks. I definitely feel it still in my toes but it kind of comes and goes and if I really focus on not thinking about it, it will go away almost entirely sometimes. I think it’s probably a combination of nerve pinching and anxiety and over focusing on it. I am hopeful this is the beginning of it going away. Thanks for your help.

Honestly I've had it off and on for years in different places all over my body. Sometimes it goes away for months (or years). A doctor once told me the following "really bad things don't come and go, they get worse." So I hold onto that. I hope that will help you too.

Great! I still deal with it every day but I did a workout today and several times while doing something, the weird feelings would leave. So I am almost certain it is a nerve of some kind. Yours is too! 🙂

Well, I just came on here because I'm having the exact same symptoms and voila...your post and the responses just came up. So...at least you know you are not alone.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much this helped me, made me smile, and realized I am not alone! Thank you so much! It is very often that the appearance of a mass, or lesion can easily be distinguished by sight alone. They typical have physical features and blood flow that would change the appearance if abnormal. I do not believe they would tell you benign, if they're was any doubt, and they most likely would have ordered a lot of blood work and an ultrasound of the area to further investigate. Masses are very common within the body! I believe your doctor will confirm the benign diagnosis and we will both be ok. Thankfully it is not them who are lying to us. Its our anxiety that is lying to us! Praying for you ❤❤

Let us know how it goes! Hoping the best for you. If you need a referral or an order, I would urge you to go to a chiropractor or a PT. They usually can send people to get scans or MRIs because they also treat those things. Plus a consult with them is cheap and you can tell them everything and most likely they will want to really help you out and see what’s happening.

Should have said independent. Not indecent 😂

I briefly had a cyst in my breast when I started taking BC. When I stopped, it went away. HOWEVER, I'd say go get it checked it out if you're worried. Many of my friends have had similar instances - most lumps/bumps are benign.

Sometimes you don’t need a referral in independent places so definitely give them a ring. Hope you get some relief and sleep.

Look for private places that do MRIs. Not sure where you are located but I’m in Florida. And I can either wait a couple of days/weeks to get testing done like an MRI through my insurance OR I can call private MRI imaging centers that do it extremely quickly if you pay out of pocket. It usually isn’t much, could be anything between $200-$300, but to me it is worth it 100%.

I'm used to it, but having background noise does help with the ringing. In general I don't like being in a silent room, so I always have a fan on for white noise. It doesn't lessen the ringing sound for me (being in crowd or other noisier events is when I don't hear it as much), but it works as a distraction. As for periods of it being louder, that doesn't really happen to me, but sometimes I do experience a brief change in sound and pitch that quickly resolves itself. You're welcome, and I'm happy that I could help with reassuring you. 😁 I'll also add that my mom deals with tinnitus, but I'm not sure if hers is constant or not

I freaked and started googling. Luckily, only found decently good news. Nothing life threatening but I think I found my cause. Peripheral Neuropathy likely from sitting so much at home during this season. And eating poorly. I am going to try some of the natural remedies from this site and trust it will improve or go away. https://www.healthline.com/health/peripheral-neuropathy-natural-treatments I am feeling a lot better and more at peace even though I still feel it. Lathering up my feet and back tonight in cayenne pepper rub. 🙂

So great to hear stealth! It’s helped me a lot. there is A book called “it’s not all in your head”. It talks about health anxiety and how people like us are like cars. Each time someone walks by our “car” our alarm goes off. The alarm should only go off when someone tries to break in our car( ie a really good reason). Our alarm goes off for each passing person ( aka body sensations) which only makes the sensations worse because our bodies are constantly on alert. The cycle are the sensations and interpreting them as threatening and then creating more sensations. Ect..... Im glad you are feeling a little bit better. Day by day. Enjoy your little ones 😊

Yes stealth! We have three under 5 years old. And im Homeschooling. Stress abounds here. Not sleeping well with littles ones just makes it all worse! My nerves have been on the top of my skin. It’s our minds that need a break but it’s hard to take a break from our own bodies! Try and learn to not read every sensations as bad. It’s what I’m trying to do and it’s hard!!!

Hi stealth. I constantly have these sensations and I have for years. Us with HA are hyper aware of our bodies. I notice when I’m not worried/thinking about them they are very minimal... just like twitching. There could a lot of reasons for these feelings. Deficiency’s, hyper awareness of sensations and anxiety! All the sinister stuff will cause failure. Sensations point away from that stuff. Lack of sleep/ rest or fatigue can also cause your nerves to be irritated. Relax my friend! Easier said than done- I get it!

I am glad you are OK.

If it is indeed a lipoma, you can absolutely ignore it (although the tenderness can be annoying sometimes). Same if it's a cyst. Both are generally superficial, meaning directly below the skin. They can be removed with nothing more than a local anesthetic, at most, if need be.

If you recently had a baby, and it is your first, I think you can blame a ton of this on fatigue. I didn't know how tired a human could get until we brought that little monster home the first time. And it's not just mothers. I know my husband was also just extraordinarily fatigued as well. As for me, when I am run down or tired or fatigued, my body can react in strange ways. Things you wouldn't even associate with tiredness. I understand these are crazy times, all the more with a baby, but if it's possible, can an immediate family member sit with the baby so you and mother can get some good sleep? My mom volunteered one night when we had a newborn. My husband and I slept - for real just slept - in the same bed for 8 hours (minus a feeding which I didn't even remember) and I felt reborn in the morning!

Twitching is trivial and insignificant unless it comes along with clinical weakness. Let it twitch and move on with your life. Same goes for 'feeling weak', tremors, shaking, joint sores etc.

I’m brand new to the forum here, but definitely not new to anxiety. It’s awesome to find this group and know I’m not alone! I can relate to so many of the topics. I suffered for 18 years and finally got some medication this year after a panic attack at work that I couldn’t get under control and was unable to do my job. Does anyone else get weird heart palpitations only at night when you lay down? I have tried to accept it as my normal but I would feel better if I’m not alone here. It causes me worse anxiety than I already have at night. I end up taking my pulse and think it’s too low but I never feel dizzy or pain when it happens just heart flutters.

Hi. Holls. How are you? So there are a few of the old members left. I have been away for some time and it's good to be back. In these times of so much anxiety is it any wonder mental health suffers. I think there will be a big upsurge in mental health problems when this is over. You are so right. Trial and error is always the best. Some do odd things to make themselves better and why not. This is a very personal journey we are all on. There is no magic wand as you know, and that's why it is difficult to generalise. What suits one can be rejected by another. Good to see you again. Best wishes. John.

Problem with benzodiazepines is that they are very (and I mean very) detrimental for your health, which for us folks is even a more sinister fact than for the non-HA anxious peeps out there. Brain cancers, Alzheimer's, sleep apnea, dementia... All that good stuff is brought to you by these stress reducing, sleep inducing drugs. One has to rely on different venues to cope with stress in the long run. I've discussed that topic with my doctor and we came to an alternative plan of action. Benzos would be replaced with antihistamines and very low doses of neuroleptics which help with anxiety, while sleep is taken care of by melatonin and herbal teas. Cannabis was also on the menu and still is as it works wonders for relaxation and sleep. The next step was to implement relaxation techniques based on breathing, and meditation via mindfulness courses. Third step was increasing the weekly load of sporting activities. I went with body weight workouts and lots of road cycling. As long as you don't skip your workouts, it probably is the golden cure for stress. All in all, I'm coping now, without benzos and without antidepressants. A feat I'm kind of prouf of, but that was quite demanding to achieve. But frigging worth it. As for specific HA strategies regarding symptoms, it now all comes to : never Google, never test, always ignore until it fades away. It usually does.

The first time I saw my GP about my symptoms and anxiety he told me to STAY FAR AWAY from Dr Google, even back then my doctor knew how googling symptoms does nothing but fill you will doubts and fear, a tool of self diagnosis.. Dr google is a tool !! Unfortunately the damage had been done and I worried myself physically sick that I was suffering MS, ALS, and a multitude of c****rs. Yes google can make you ill, physically ill, from stress and worry, not that you have whatever 'IT' diagnoses you with. Those things didn't even cross my mind until I googled about anxiety symptoms, yes anxiety symptoms led me to MS/ALS. You start to doubt the real doctors, the real tests and seek reassurance from google, it's a trap and can become quite addictive. If they ever did analysis, say Patient A v Patient B with health anxiety, Patient A didn't have access to the internet, Patient B used it often. No doubt in my mind Patient B would be in a much worse state. If I was into conspiracies I would say Dr Google is funded by the big pharma companies

Hi pip and welcome to AC. Yes, I would be happy to share with you. The first thing to realise is that with GAD (General Anxiety Disorder, which is often accompanied by Health Anxiety) the person suffering is very vulnerable to suggestion. The slightest twinge, ache or pain is blown up out of all proportion so that it often becomes a living nightmare. Let us look at what happens in a typical case of health anxiety. The nervously ill person wakes in the morning feeling down, then palpitations start. This is a common but harmless symptom of anxiety. He/She rushes off to the doctors or the A&E department to be told it is not a heart attack but anxiety. Now the disbelief sets in. "This must be more than that, I don't believe it, they must be mistaken". Then, because of the build up in tension, a headache starts. A brain tumour is indicated so off we go again to the docs. Nothing, just a headache. This is where the disbelief becomes bad and we consult Dr. Google. All the symptoms are entered and up comes the diagnosis. The headache is probably Urasian swine fever. The palpitations are certainly Mongolian wong wong disease and so on. The Google site, and many others, are a real menace to the sufferer who is fool enough to go to them. They cause endless unnecessary stress and further the onset of real anxiety. You ask if the websites can make peoples symptoms worse and that answer is an emphatic yes. We caution people on this site about going to them, but it seems as if some are drawn like a magnet. And of course they are. They are already bewildered by what is happening to them, and they clutch at straws. The various alternative symptoms given by Dr. Google make matters far worse. To a normal person this all sounds strange. "Why don't they just take what their doctor says as true and get on with their life?" Anxiety does not work that way. They would like nothing better than to 'get on with their life' but the little demon on their shoulder tells them otherwise. It is difficult to describe the feeling of apprehension and fear that accompanies health anxiety and unless you have been there it is impossible to relate. One thing is certain, Dr. Google is no help whatsoever and to say that 'well, they don't have to go there' misses the point entirely. Googling can become an addiction. Constantly seeking reassurance and finding none allows the sufferer to sink further into anxiety. We can only suggest that HA sufferers keep away from such sites, but I often feel we are losing the battle. Too much information is available; in fact there is a good case for saying that the information on illness in general is swamping out common sense. Could the reason the doctors surgery are so full be because people Google and get so frightened they have to seek medical advice? A&E departments are full of folk who have looked up advice on the web and are convinced they have some awful disease. Would Google contribute to the NHS budget to compensate for the problems caused? Anyway, that's it as far as I can see. Others may have different opinions but I would say that if those sites could be banned, and I know they can't, then I would recommend it now. Best wishes. Jon.

God this is so true! I try not to google but then I'm too scared to go to a real doctor and so I give in and of course I'm convinced that I am in the throes of some rare form of some disease! In my head I think, what the heck are you doing and thinking? But I can't help it! It's such a vicious cycle! Ugh!

lol, google or dr. google you shouldnt use them for searching symptoms. I have come to learn that the hard way.

Where on earth did you find all those, Gilly? WONDERFUL. Just about sums it all up. I thought it was only us who realised the dangers of self diagnosis but apparently not. Thanks. Jon.

SEA ! I did that for year and years and years and sometimes letters too. And did you find that when it came to a word like you're , you might break it into YOU ARE to fit it into the pattern easier? Like I had to end on 5, 10 , 15 etc. Had to be a full hand or ........idk.......just had to be . So I might even add an imaginary 'the' or 'and' to make the pattern work. WOW do I sound like a loser just now. But I've never EVER heard anyone else say they counted syllables. THREE CHEERS FOR US !