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I Just wanted to give everyone an update on how things are going. Sorry this is long, but if you give this a chance and read it through, I think this will help a lot of people with some things I learned along the way. So after almost 3 months of random symptoms, I'm finally on the mending path from this wicked bout of health anxiety. I had my MRI last Thursday of full Brain and Spine and the results came back exceptionally normal. Here is the list of things I've learned through this process that may help some other people out. 1. Symptoms feel real and it's normal to be afraid, but don't get too invested and pay attention to the likeliness of what your fearing actually happening. Sometimes just by thinking about something we assume that it's more likely to happen because we're thinking about it. This is called Thought-Action-Fusion. It's the same reason why when we imagine what we could do with millions of dollars we go out and buy a lottery ticket, but our chances of winning are no greater than if we never had that thought at all. It takes an incredible amount of stress and mental power to create and amplify symptoms, and an even greater power to stop them. Through the last month, I've had: pins/needles/numbness in my hands and feet, sore lower legs, dizziness, vertigo, trouble concentrating, night sweats, extremely dry mouth, palpitations, hyperventilating and not even realizing it. Sore muscles, feeling like I have pinched nerves, cold feet and hands, sucky memory, twitches, jerks before falling asleep, random tingles, burning skin, insomnia and weight loss. Now I'm just left with a bit of numbness in my hands (worse on the right) and my legs are sore but significantly better. (Tongue gets a little sore when my mouth is dry at night too, but that's pretty normal in winter dryness). I went from a lot of symptoms to very few in a short time by simply not thinking about them anymore. It is actually shocking how powerful the mind can be. 2. Listen to your doctors. They've perfected their crafts through rigorous studies and practical application. They know what to look for, and they wouldn't let anyone go through something terrible if they truly thought anything was wrong. When I was in my spiral, I wouldn't believe a word that anyone told me. I was so convinced that I was dying, I was the most bull-headed human being on the planet, and my anxiety monster wasn't letting anyone tell me any different. Now that I'm on the other side of this Tornado, I just feel like an ass. I let myself get to a place where rational thoughts and actions were simply broken, and going forward through therapy and CBT I'm not letting myself get back to that place. I actually have a follow up appointment with my doctor tomorrow and I plan on apologizing because he was right 2 and half months ago. 3. Seek reassurance, but know when to quit. When you are asking questions about what you're going through, remember that typically people who have been through similar experiences are quite honest. If someone is telling you that your fine, and 20 more people also tell you that you are fine, you are probably fine. There's no bets taking place around who can keep you from seeking proper medical care the longest. People have just been there and don't want you to spiral down as hard as they did when they might not have had the same reassurance resources. 4. Seek professional mental health resources. When your doctors, friends (or group of people in a forum) tell you that your anxiety is getting the best of you, don't wait while your having physical tests to start the help seeking process. Do it in parallel, it's never too early to start seeing someone who can help you with what you're going through on an emotional and mindful level, regardless of the situation. It's a big factor in feeling better. 5. When it comes to health anxiety just pretend that Google doesn't exist. Feeling better? Want to get sucked in to a black hole and repeat the same process you just fought tooth and nail to get out of? Just type in your newest symptom into that oh so familiar search bar and watch as your mental health is thrusted into a blender and set to purify. Unless you're having a heart attack, try out the three week rule. If something is bugging you, give it three weeks, and then go to the doctors. Don't ever Google a symptom ever. PERIOD. Like I said, sorry for the length of this post. But I learned quite a bit in this particular battle with HA (worst it's ever been since I was diagnosed with anxiety over 10 years ago). Hopefully you will use some of the advice above and remember that you are never alone. -Matt

When you go to the gym, have a positive mindset and forget about all your sensations. Tell yourslef “I’m gonna kick anxiety’s butt by working out” or “this is great for my body and mind”. Do not go in looking for problems or your mind will create them. Don’t think about testing yourself, just put some earbuds in, listen to some loud music, and burn off that adrenaline.

So here's the rest of the story. I went to my doctor today who confirmed ganglion cyst and that there's nothing to be done about it. That it will likely just go away one day. Only reason to treat is if it gets inflamed and that it's just a very common non-issue. Phew. Here's the other good news. Yes, I was worried about it. Yes, I actually had a nightmare about it. I waited from Thursday night until today when I could get in to see him. Yes I googled...in this case it helped me. I was hoping it was a ganglion cyst and I knew going in if that is what it is, it's not an issue. Yes I saw some horror stories on the internet but I ignored them. Yes, I trust this doctor. I'm not one to just ignore things. I'll always go to the doctor and would suggest others to do the same. But at least I didn't spend the last week in agony. I was nervous, sure - probably more than I should have been but at least I was within some normal range of concern. I was, I feel, appropriately concerned. That's a big win for my mental health. Thank you all for all of your help.

@Cubanborn87, you really gotta take a step back and think rationally here, reading through a lot of what you have said, man I was the exact same way around Christmas time, the more I kept believing I had it, the more my symptoms increased, the more I felt I couldn't run as far at the gym, the more I felt my grip strength just wasn't there, the less weight I felt I could carry. My wife forced me to get actual help apart from just taking medication because she needed a partner and someone present to help out with our child. It's honestly like a role reversal here, there's a reason your family is getting fed up, because they can see that it's the anxiety, not a terrible disease. There is literally a chemical imbalance in your mind right now that's causing all of this. You stated you went on your tip-toes your leg started shaking, guess what, my legs, arms, and everything did the same thing, difference between what you and I experience and what someone with that devastating disease experiences is the fact that you can actually get up on your tip-toes, they can't, and never felt weak to the point where they couldn't do it, they just lost the ability. My therapist told me I had to stop focusing on the negative, stop focusing on the least likely outcome, and you'll start to feel better, start to feel like yourself again. I started my recovery before I got my EMG, I'll admit, there was a tiny bit of doubt before I got there, but that's anxiety for ya, keeps eating at you. I was afraid that if I let myself believe I didn't have it, that I would leave that appointment with my nightmares answered. But I kept telling myself, "I will grow old with my wife, I am willing and able today, I will watch my children grow, I most likely don't have ALS." Start a journal, do something to help your mind, this isn't going to stop until you take action. You've gotta be strong now, you've got to do this for your family, if you can't do it for yourself, try believing it for them, that worked for me. I am pulling and praying for you.

Hello everyone, just came back from my pcp appointment and let me tell y’all. Note: IVE BEEN FEELING ALOT BETTER ON MY OWN THINKING RATIONALLY, TRUST ME IVE BEEN THERE WHERE I FELT LIKE I COULDNT USE MY HANDS, LEGS. FELT LIKE I COULDNT WALK OR DRIVE, EVEN TEXT. LOST ALMOST 20 POUNDS DUE TO THIS HA. IVE ONLY GOTTEN 30 HOURS OF SLEEP IN A MONTH, SEEN MULTIPLE DOCTORS. I WAS 140, NOW IM 160 I FEEL LIKE I OVER SLEEP NOW HAHA AND ITS GETTING BETTER EVERYDAY. She was getting mad at me because I wasn’t focusing on the things I need to focus on haha. (I go to a university hospital and If you read my past post I’ve seen a lot of pcp just wasn’t mine cause she was on medical leave but she knows about my information since it was noted” Well to sum it up, she knows that I’ve been going through many ALS fear for some months now and she knows about my fasciculation's in my left calve (my hotspot) and all over. she said, “you don’t have ALS, we don’t look for twitching in ALS, we look for real clinical weakness.” She also said “you’re 25 years old, your muscles are probably telling you... hey I need to move.” I told her I haven’t been exercising or anything at all just labor work. She also explained, if you’re working out and you can barely curl a 5 pound weight come see me. She then asked me if I wanted to see a neurologist and I was kinda caught off guard, I told her “I do but I feel like I’ll be feeding into my anxiety. You don’t think i have ALS right?” She looked at me like I was crazy cause she just explained everything about ALS to me haha she said “NO.” she said “well I’m going to put the referral in and it takes months to see one anyways so if you feel like you don’t need to then don’t.” its funny because the doctor was telling me I should be worried more about diabetes and heart diseases because of my family. My parents also see my pcp so she’s very familiar with my family and she knows that diabetes runs in my family. So now she wants me to eat more healthier and work out more. i actually have an appointment with a neurologist on Monday cause someone canceled, I was kinda happy. so next Monday I have an appointment with a neurologist and I’ll keep y’all updated but just wanted to share my follow up.

So for some reason I've been ignoring this pain while worrying immensly about all the other odd aches that are going on with my body but now that my anxiety is starting to calm down a little more (at least more than last week) I'm starting to wonder about my leg. Here's the issue: Pain started at the side of the knee around June 2018- I suddenly couldn't cross my left leg to sit on it or anything else (like Indian style) randomly one day, like it was an intense pain (I decided it had to do with the fact that I got a desk job) The pain stayed the same for a few months and then started spreading up into my thighs, it wasn't all the time, mostly when I tried to cross my legs, but then it started hurting worse when I would stand up and walk away from my desk Just in the past few months the pain has gone up to my hip and now it hurts every single time I stand up, on the outside of my leg and then it also just aches when I'm sitting down. I'm trying not to jump to bone cancer, honestly I am, but it just aches so bad. My friend told me she thought it was inflammation, which I went with for a few months, until the pain started spreading. Sometimes I'll move my foot in circles and it will crack and the pain will dull down for a while, but not often. Any thoughts on what this could be?

I do yoga and exercise as well. Good hard cardio works best for me but even a nice long walk can help. Yoga helps to relax me. I try to alternate between the two and do something physical every day.

What is up with separate medicines, vitamins, etc for men, women, children, teens as opposed to all of them being unisex? As for me I just them to be all the same as opposed to them being different. Well, at least for teens and adult health. Do we really need to take vitamins and supplements all the time? Wondering about this after seeing an article in Mayo Clinic monthly consumer health newsletter at my local library, this afternoon got me thinking about this again. As for me I do take one daily multivitamin for sometime now. I'm pretty much healthy. Try to eat healthy as I can, but do found it hard to.

You’re not going to just wake up and see your symptoms be gone. Did you just wake up one morning and have a paycheck? No—you had to get up and work for it. You have to get up and work on your anxiety for it to get better. And remenber that time when you called in 3 straight days? Unless you’re on salary, you got a smaller paycheck. Anxiety doesn’t run on salary. It runs hour by hour, minute by minute, and second by second—you have to be consistent and constantly work at it or it isn’t going to get better. I have full faith that you’re going to get better with your anxiety, but I’m hoping you can stop wondering and asking those “what if’s” and just move on with your life and focus on your anxiety and wonder how to get your anxiety down. Prayers coming from all around, brother. 🙏🏼

Great post Matty. Thanks for taking the time.

Hi. Edith. Welcome to AC. . A belated welcome, but a sincere one. I have replied to the posts on this subject. You are wise to consult your doctor. The opinion among doctors varies in regard to supplements. Some don't mind you taking them if they are told, but others are dead against them. I would be interested to know how yours reacts. Best wishes.

This applies to everyone on supplements. NEVER take supplements with prescribed medication without consulting your doctor first. Some drugs can have a bad effect if taken with supplements. St. John's Wort is a classic example. If you taking it on its own, fine, but coupled with antidepressants it can be a real problem. They usually warn you about this on the blurb in the drug packet. I think you have to be sue you actually need supplements. Only your doctor can advise on this. In a recent survey carried out it was found that 60% of supplements were unnecessary, but we do tend to clutch at straws when we are suffering. 'Try anything if it gives relief' is the cry! But we can do ourselves harm if we do it without medical advice. My doctor is not against supplements, but she wants to know what I take, which at the moment is nothing!!

Hi I've been supplements for years.im only starting to cut them now as I think some of them are making me sick. I think it's an anxiety thing as o took some today before work ,thinking it will help me get through the day. It didnt help I felt worse.i think I also had a mild panic attack. I will try tomorrow not to take as much.there is also such a thing as supplement addiction. I am going to visit my doctor this week.to let her know what supplements I'm taking.she doesn't know of the ones I take. Determined to only take the ones that I need. Thanks

Seriously? You saw a neurologist!!! A Dr that knows what to looks for regarding als. Neuromuscular specialist or not, he knows what to look for. I really really hope that after the emg you let this go.

Okay so I went to the neurologist and he was a specialist in neuromuscular deseases. He said that I do not have ALS and that I was catastophising everything. He immediately jumped on my mental health problems and told me the problem isn’t physical but mental. He’s given me the information of a psychologist/therapist he very highly regards and told me I should visit her to sort the out the root of my worries.

I agree..as much as I love this froum, for me it keeps health fears always on my mind. Even when I'm not triggered I'm still reading health worries. It can trigger me easily if I'm not careful.

I have one on my wrist I’ve had it for many years. You’ll be fine. Good luck penny.

Hi There. As im writing this I have pressure on my head and weakness on my arms and uncomfortable feeling on my lower back. Help!!! Know the feeling well! But the difference between you and me is I have learned to manage it, and so will you if you go about it in the right way. but how can anxiety make you feel this horrible??? Oh boy, can't it just!! The '100 Symptoms of Anxiety' is not exhaustive, I could name 100 more. But the strange thing is none of them is harmful physically, because they exist in one place only, the mind. Now instead of paying so much attention to the physical pay attention to your thinking, because that's where the problem, and the answer lies. There's not a disease known that anxiety can't conjure up provided it's already in your consciousness or unconscious. That's why to 'Google' your symptoms is a big, big mistake. You plant more useless information in your mind and it will surely turn and bite you. You may say, but I have never heard of these symptoms. But your unconscious, at some time, has picked up the information and stored it away for future reference. When you are low and lacking mental energy, it pops up because your mind's resistance to it is weak. Like a weak body will pick up a bug more easily than a strong person physically. Have a good look round the site and see how others have coped. Good to have you with us, and come back and talk whenever, Jon.

I guess we really have to. Because we cannot guarantee ourselves of the complete absorption of the nutrients we need from the food we eat. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking vitamin supplements, one must just be really careful and be sure to take it under doctor's advice. I personally have a daily dose of my Vitamin C. I refrain myself from taking too much medication supplements because I am aware that my liver does all the work with it and I care for my liver the way I do with my eyes. I guess its best if we all go organic!

Men, women and children have different nutritional needs so the vitamin dosages will be different. I don't think we need cabinets full of various supplements but many of them are helpful. Simply asking for a blood test at your doctor can tell you if you are lacking in many of important ones. When it comes to herbal things we have to be sure they don't interact with prescriptions.

Supplements can be useful for filling in the gaps left by your diet, but the importance of supplements is overstated. Eating whole natural food and exercising regularly is the foundation of health and wellness. Some supplements like omega-3 oil capsules can play an important role if your diet is lacking in omega-3, for example. The only supplements I use are whey protein for post-workout, and a multivitamin.

Kjscrafts, I have the same trouble. I actually have trouble absorbing three things through food and have to get shots. First, I have to give myself a b12 shot every month. Ick, I hate giving myself shots! It doesn't hurt, but it freaks me out. Second, I get a super vitamin shot once every two weeks that's full of D and other good stuff. I get low on D regardless of what I do. And, finally, my hematologist and I have to keep a close eye on my iron/ferritin levels. They dropped extremely low and I couldn't take a supplement and I wasn't getting it from food so I needed an iron transfusion which was administered through 3 rounds for 3 hours each from an IV. That was a big pain in the butt, but so far they're staying up.

For the most part I think multivitamins are unnecessary. However, I do see specific vitamin supplements useful for some that have deficiencies or cannot get enough of one or a few vitamins from diet. For example, I take a D vitamin supplement because my blood levels keep coming back low and it is not worth the risk of skin c***** to not put on sunscreen in my very strong sun locale. I actually have noticed I feel better in general when I remember to take it regularly.

Food should give you all the vitamens you need so normally supplements are for people with deficiencies. Personally ive found that B vitamens help me feel a bit better with anxiety. My doc told me that B vitamens boost energy levels and because us anxious types burn so much energy being anxious, it can be helpful.