Bobnnat

Yup. The ancient Asian people had it right early on..Yin and Yang. So did Frank Sinatra (“Cycles”)!

My first shot Pfizer or Moderna in April 8. Can’t wait! In Canada they automatically schedule the second dose up to 16 weeks out. Mine is July 29. Seems waiting actually appears to increase the immune response. I trust that if science based research changes that observation, they’ll move up second doses for Canadians.

100% agree with Mamaisanxious. So many reasons why your descriptions are not ALS. Like Mama, I could write many paragraphs explaining why, but trust us. Stop googling, get exercise, try to lower stress and go back to living your life. Bob

Pdt....Last year I noticed darkening near the genitals on either side. I also googled and found diabetes/pre-diabetes. Ran, did not walk to my GP. If he could have yawned he would have. Just called it “minor staining” that’s likely cause by long term sweating. Had zero concern. I later had blood work and no sugar issues, all results fine. Highly likely that’s what you have, plus you’ve also had the green light re diabetes. Bob

Hi everyone. My GP had a consult about me with a psychiatrist. He stated, as I’ve known for years, that my HA has a large OCD component. He was not surprised that past Antidepressants I’ve been on, namely Lexapro and Cymbalta didn’t help me much. He says Luvox is the go to SSRI for OCD and now for HA. I just started taking it last night, so far no side effects. I’m on a low dose but will be placed on a therapeutic dose soon, assuming I continue to not have any bad side effects. Anyone have experience with this one? Bob

Just. Go. Away. Why are you trolling on an anxiety website? That’s not the way to promote your obvious financial or other interests, not on the backs of those that come here because they’re suffering.

I know all too well that feeling you had this morning. You go in looking for reassurance, and don’t get it, but rather leave even more stressed out then when you went in. That said, I agree with you; if he was truly concerned, he would give you no choice but to be seen ASAP. No Doctor worth his salt is going to sacrifice your health and their reputation and potential legal issues, just to make you feel better. Thus, he’d have been no nonsense with you. When you didn’t commit whether to go to the in or out of network derm, he figured why not be seen earlier? Less time for you to stress, and it’s not like the extra cost you’ll incur is anything he would be concerned with. This will be stressful, since you have HA. We just can’t be calm if we have the chance to worry. It’s in our nature. Keep one thing in mind that sometimes helps me. As HA sufferers, we over estimate the chances of a concerning outcome, AND we under estimate our ability to deal with a problem, should it actually occur. If you’re fortunate enough to have a significant other who is understanding of your anxiety and can help soothe your fears, there’s nothing wrong with seeking their calming of your fears. Bob

JJ, curious about your relationship to that site, which you reference in every one of your post?

If your doc is agreeable, he can prescribe a low dose of Wellbutrin aka Bupropion to go with your anti-depressant, which is one of those rare SSRIs that increase libido and helps against delayed ejaculation.

All the time! It’s more on myself, but I’ve worried inappropriately about family. One example...maybe 2 years ago my wife showed me some bruising she had. To me it looked like petechie (spelling?) which can, amongst many.totally benign reasons, be a symptom of a blood cancer. She said no, it was from her aggressive workout. I insisted she see her doctor. An argument ensued and I “won”. She saw her doctor, and made it clear she was there because I insisted. Doctor said no, it’s not what I said it was, it was a simple bruise. She felt foolish. I felt relieved.

Cancer certainly causes symptoms which are relentless until the situation is addressed. This is unlike yourself, where the discomfort comes and leaves, comes and leaves. If you’re really still stressed, speak with your GP. Assuming you could get an in office visit, he can give you a brief neuro exam which will virtually rule out anything sinister..

I had a lymphoma fear a few months back. My doctor reminded me that I had blood work 5 months prior that was fine. She said frequently the first signs of anything sinister like that show up in the CBC, which is the basic blood work that gets done. After all, lymphoma and the like are blood cancers.

Yes, Birdie. Last month I went through a lymph node scare. I had normal bloodwork - CBC 5 months prior, and she said that would have shown if something bad was going on..it’s an early sign.

Hey Holls and Jonathan! I hope you’re both doing well this past crazy year. Thought I’d check in again.

Hi Yana, I briefly was under the care of a psychiatrist and I mentioned that very thing; can we do psychotherapy to get to the root of my HA? He asked me why? He said let's assume we have a breakthrough and now you know why you are the way you are. What good will it do? I believe him. What contributed to my problems likely stemmed from things in childhood which is long ago and cast in stone in my brain. Bob

Also, oral cancer on the roof of the mouth (hard palate) is very rare in the western world. Almost all cases are found in people who practice what is called reverse smoking where they literally smoke a cigarette from the lit end. There are other similar practices which are fairly common in the Far East. Almost all cases seen in the US are from people who emigrated to the US from those places, or have picked up on this habit from seeing it in family members. We're talking like 1 in a million here without reverse smoking.

Totally agree. Kidney stones are the main reason for blood in urine, and the back pain matches as well. Those of us with HA suffer from a problem trusting medical professionals. It's our downfall (one of them).

I agree with what all are saying. I had a root canal, actually just as all the shut downs were occurring. I have had a tooth that needs to come out, for 6 months now and I've been able to delay it; however the discomfort is increasing and I'm having it done Friday. My wife spoke with the dentist (she loves this place as much as one can love a dental place) and was told they use the NM 95(?) masks, full gowns and all patients are spaced out by 2 hour appointments so it's literally the patient, the dentist and I guess 1 assistant, also fully gowned. Not looking forward to the oral surgery of course but I have no fear of any danger.

You have me. I'm also dealing with a new problem and I'm just so freaking sick of this, you have no idea. One day I may well just give up. Too much stress. Too much waiting. too many questions and not enough answers. Few people really care; they're too busy dealing with their own stuff.

Zelda, Sorry to here of your situation. I've been there many times. First I'll say the obvious: arrange to talk with someone; a therapist, a friend, a relative, anyone. Keeping it bottled up is not good. Perhaps try to figure out why you're so depressed. it sounds like it's due to many factors, and the HA is probably just a symptom of the overall depression. If you're able to determine the components that make up your depression, you can take them apart one by one, and see what you might be able to do to make things better. A therapist would be best to help you do that, but seriously sitting down and writing out your specific reasons for being sad, and brainstorming what might help could be helpful. In brainstorming you just write down all "solutions" that come to mind, whether they seem realistic or not. I can help you through that process if you choose to do so. Bob

Acceptance of uncertainty is the key to overcoming health anxiety. It’s one of the most difficult concepts we as sufferers ever face. Unfortunately the world is full of what ifs. I once read something that sticks with me. How are you going to feel on your 90th birthday, looking back over your life? What a shame if you had to realize all the time, energy and lack of happiness spent over so many years, over things that either never happened, or were far less difficult to deal with than you imagined. As for the stress test, anxiety easily could play a role, but maybe it’s a good time to slowly start to improve your conditioning, with the help and guidance of a doctor or trainer?

Hi KG. I had a relatively similar situation many years ago. I had been dx with Barrett's Esophagus by a local gastroenterologist. I decided to be seen at Johns Hopkin and met with one of their gastro doctors. Bottom line, he told me I do not have BE and despite my insistence, recommended strongly against having yearly scopes. My fiance accompanied me to my Hopkin visits. She read me the riot act when I questioned what a doctor from this prestigious facility was telling me. That doctor ended our conversation by saying to me "Have a good life". over the years on rare occasion I think about it, and mention it to my wife. She gets angry and repeats the doctor's parting words. You have the same situation. A doctor at a prestigious facility told you in essence, to go and have a good life. You, like me at the time, wouldn't accept it. Thank God for my wife, who is much more level headed then i am. She would have nothing to do with my hypochondria over that issue. KG, you need to get to the point where you can move on. It's the only answer. Google doesn't have a clue about you as a person, as a patient. The MC doctor now knows you as a person and patient and has given you all the appropriate tests. Regardless of what you might have read, obviously the MC knows your specific situation 1000x better than Dr. Google, and if they aren't concerned about your test results, then you should be happy as a lark. I've never really studied a lark, so i don't know if in fact they're actually happy creatures, but you need to be. 🙂 Bob

Hi Kay, I do know that, especially in the USA scan results are quickly looked at by the radiologist, typically before you even leave. They then sort the ones that are pending reports into urgent and non-urgent. Urgency due to findings are immediately communicated to the ordering physician, first verbally and then, usually w/in 24 hours, via a full report. Normal or minor issues are dealt with only after the rush results are communicated. It's an appropriate triage system, since bad results need immediate action typically and no one in the chain wants to be accused of holding onto results that need to be addressed ASAP. I would expect that any bad findings would have already been communicated to you. Nothing wrong in calling the ordering physician to check in on the status, but the delay increases the likelihood the results are normal or non-serious. Bob

I have had this. I’m male, but there are times when, if I wait too long to go, it’s hard to get it started and takes effort to finish. My doctor told me this is anatomically normal, and in fact he had a patient recently who held it in and then literally couldn’t go. There was nothing physically wrong of a serious nature. Presumably, you sleep all night and there’s 8+ hours for the urine to build.

I had that exact same thing happen to me maybe 15 years ago. Went to my doctor who was not concerned. When I allowed myself to ignore it; that is, trust him it went away and never came back.