DeannaW

Thanks, Holls, I definitely notice a change in my state of mind when I work out regularly, which I've been doing more this year. Compared to last year, I probably feel much better most of the time, but there are times like right now when I forget that, because I feel so tired and like my body is dragging. I don't feel it when I'm actually working out, but I mostly notice it when I'm sitting down and just going about my normal activities. I'll raise my arm to scratch my nose or something, and my arm feels like it just flops back into place instead of it feeling like a controlled movement. Or like when I'm walking and my arms feel extra heavy for some reason. I've had my worries about things like MS before, though, and I started feeling better after a while, so hopefully that'll happen this time.

Well, I'm at it again, unfortunately. My hands have been puffy on and off for the last couple of months, and on top of that, I started having this really weird taste in my mouth about two weeks ago. Made the mistake of googling the metal taste in my mouth and finding out it's possibly related to either kidney failure, a heart problem, or Parkinson's. Or, you know, acid reflux, which my doctor thinks is the cause and which I'm taking medication for now. She doesn't think it's my heart or kidneys, which is nice, but now my muscles feel weak, like someone's drained my battery or something. She thinks it's because of anxiety, but of course, I think I have anything from a brain tumor to MS to ALS. The only reason I figure it's not Parkinson's is because I haven't heard of many people in their 30s getting that. My arms and legs seriously feel so heavy and floppy though, like they're about to poop out and stop working. I did go to the gym Wednesday and was still able to work out at my normal intensity, so that's good, but my body just feels so tired. I know it can be caused by anxiety, but it would be much easier for me to believe there wasn't something horribly wrong with me if I felt better. :-( I find myself overanalyzing every move I make to see if it feels harder than it should, and of course it does.

Well, I'm a little bit worse than I was last time I posted in here. Went to the doctor on Wednesday because the knee pain got worse (Zumba's fault) and my hands were still feeling kinda puffy in the morning. I went to a new doctor this time and she said she'd run all the autoimmune tests to rule out things like RA and scleroderma and lupus, and I asked her if this sounded like RA, and she said she didn't think so, but we'd do all the ANA and thyroid tests plus general bloodwork just to be sure. The big tests take about a week so she said no news was good news. And now because she mentioned scleroderma, I looked it up and, joy of joys, my main concern now isn't RA like it was the first time I posted this thread. Now it's scleroderma. ? Googling pictures of people's hands to see if mine look like that, reading people's symptoms and seeing if I have them, freaking out because my rings feel tight, seeing if my hands turn blue when they're cold, constantly testing to see if drinking water has made my rings more loose, you name it. Made the mistake of reading that people's early symptoms are joint pain and tight feeling hands, both of which I have, of course. I wish the doctor would call, but if she calls me this soon, that would mean there was a problem. I really hate this. I feel like there's some sort of medical fear I go through every year and it's usually around this time of year too which is weird. Hi RheumTrucker, I don't get sore after working out beyond the typical muscle pain I would expect. Maybe a little in the knees the next day, but my knees also crackle when I bend them so my doc said it could be some arthritis in there. No morning stiffness really except that my ankles kind of hurt for a minute, but I've had that for years and have been tested for things like RA several times since that started happening. Ihadcancer, that's encouraging to hear about your aunt. That's a lot of stuff to be dealing with all at the same time. She must be a tough cookie! It actually wouldn't surprise me if I had thyroid issues. I have literally all the major symptoms plus I've read that hives are most commonly associated with hypothyroidism (along with lupus, RA, and scleroderma, yay). This waiting game is always hard though. :-P

Yes, it totally would be! If it were muscle pain from working out instead of joint pain, I wouldn't worry about it at all, but this is a sharp pain in the joint, so I can tell the difference between the good pain and the bad pain. But if I'm doing squats and both of my knees bend the same way, I guess it's possible I've irritated the same tendon/ligament in both knees or something. I use weights mostly, but I also do a lot of body weight exercises. Trying to avoid the ones that impact the knees a lot right now, while still doing things that will strengthen the quads and hips, in order to help stabilize the knees. My thumb pain is more at the lower joint and the muscle in the hand where the thumb is. I've thought about getting wrist splints to sleep in to see if that helps with the hand pain, because I feel like I might either be sleeping with my wrists bent underneath me or clenching my thumbs in my fist in my sleep. I have a lot of stress, and I have TMJ, so it's possible my stress is trying to find another outlet? UGH THE HIVES! lol What a saga that's been. I was doing really, really well the year before last. I was at my goal weight, I was feeling healthy and strong, and my HA was pretty under control, then I got those dang hives in January of last year, and everything went downhill. Stopped the gym, started worrying endlessly about everything that might have been wrong with me. All this on top of having a really irritating, itchy, chronic problem and a crazy amount of blood tests really did a number on my mental health. I even started seeing a therapist to deal with it, because I was driving myself crazy. It also doesn't help my HA that when I was getting tested for a battery of illnesses last year, one of the ones that was being ruled out was called Mastocytosis. It's horrible, don't google it. lol But the blood test that caused me to have to get it ruled out was for tryptase, and one of the reasons I'm worrying so much about the RA (other than my having a genetic predisposition to it) is because when I was researching why someone would have elevated tryptase (hoping to find a reason other than having Mastocytosis), I remembered reading a note that said if a person has a positive rheumatoid factor, it can give a falsely elevated tryptase on blood tests. Though, I'm almost positive that one of the things I was tested for was RA and all the other autoimmune blood tests. I even went to a cancer center in my state at the suggestion of my allergist to have Masto ruled out (which she did), but I don't think I've ever really gotten over that whole thing. My mind immediately says, "Well, they ruled out that you had Mastocytosis because you didn't exhibit any of the symptoms, besides having this one weird blood test reading. What if you had the weird blood test reading and no symptoms of Mastocytosis because you actually have undiagnosed RA?" Ugh. lol Next week, I can't do Zumba, so we'll see if my symptoms improve. I really don't want to quit the gym again, because it makes me feel really good when I go, even if all of my symptoms are because of it. lol Thanks for the responses!

Well, I've done it again. I was doing fine there for a while, but then I got a few pains that I decided to google (bad me), and now I'm worried I have rheumatoid arthritis. Now, it's not really all that outlandish to think I'd have RA, considering my fraternal grandmother and aunt both had it really bad, and both sides of my family have a history of autoimmune disorders (my mom has lupus). But I've been working really hard on feeling well and proving to myself that I'm healthy, so I started going to the gym again to work with a trainer twice a week, like I did when I was feeling my best, and I've also started doing Zumba twice a week as well, and I've been doing that for about two weeks now. I guess my fears started when I started getting knee pain at the tops of my kneecaps whenever I did squats or lunges, so we've been trying to take it easy on that stuff, but Zumba can be quite hard on the knees. So there was the knee pain in both my knees in the same place, then I started noticing a pain in my thumb joint, which now I think is happening in the same joint on my other hand, and also both of my elbows started feeling pain last night, so now I'm worried because of the symmetry of the pain. I don't have any huge swelling or redness or anything like that, but my hands do feel a little puffy in the morning, because my rings feel a little tight. Now, this could be because of dehydration, because it seems to improve after I drink water, but this morning I also woke up and my hands were like curled in at the wrists, so I don't know if I'm doing that or clenching in my sleep, and that's where the hand pain is coming from, or whether I have RA. The other part of this is that I do have chronic hives, which I take several antihistamines for every day. I've had them for a little over a year now, and I've read that a lot of people experienced hives before their RA diagnosis, so it's really worrisome. I saw what it did to my aunt, and she suffered so much in her life, and I wouldn't want to go through that. So, I'm probably going back to the doctor next week to see what she says, but it's a little embarrassing, because every time I go in there, I feel like it's because of some weird thing I think I have, and she must internally groan every time she sees me. lol But my hands are starting that pins and needles pain again, which is what I used to get when my health anxiety was at its worst, so I don't know what to think. Anyone have any experience with RA?

Good luck! Brain MRIs are so nerve wracking. I have tinnitus too and have since I was young, and I get louder ones for a few seconds all the time but many hearing tests have confirmed my hearing's fine, so I doubt yours are anything to worry about. Hope all goes well! Waiting for test results is the worst.

I had this last week. There's a really bad stomach virus going around right now, and it's highly contagious. Thought it was food poisoning, as it came on quite suddenly after eating, and I had the same stomach tightness and discomfort as you. Literally I was fine one minute then sick as a dog the next.nThen I found out someone else at work called out with the same thing, so I figured it was the stomach bug that's going around. My temperature was low when I had it too. Like 96.something? It lasted for a day or so, then I was ok, but for my coworker, her's lasted a couple of days. You probably have the same thing I had. Honestly, if you've been trying not to throw up and feel like you want to, maybe just go ahead and let it happen? When I have a stomach virus, I always feel a lot better after I do that. When I had this one, I couldn't sleep because I felt so terrible and my stomach was so uncomfortable, but after I threw up, I felt a lot better and was able to go to sleep. Just a suggestion, although it's not very fun.

Also took Zoloft for a short period of time! It definitely helped, and I didn't feel like I had too many side effects, besides feeling worse for a week or two. But after that, I definitely felt better.

Well, I got my test back and no blood clot! Was very happy to hear the news. Sort of stalked my doctor's office via phone for a few hours because no one was calling me back, but oh well. lol So I guess what I'm having is either muscle or nerve pain? I went back to the gym yesterday though, and it did feel really good to get back into it. No better way to convince yourself you're not wasting away from a progressive disease than lifting weights and pushing yourself to do a few more squats! lol Thanks for the responses, everyone! It was really helpful!

So I wasn't a member of AZ, but I was a frequent reader. I found that website really helpful when my HA was really, really bad, because I could usually find some topic where someone had worried about the same things I worried about, and it turned out to be anxiety instead of something worse (not that anxiety itself isn't already a beast to deal with). It got to the point where every time I would feel the need to google something, I would go there first to see if my symptoms could be attributed to anxiety, and usually they were. When I tried it again recently, I saw that the AZ site wasn't coming up, which led me to google what happened to it, which led me here. Very glad I found this place!

That's what I figured too! Like, "Oh, I saw you had this blockage in your vein, so we'll send over the report to your doctor in 48 hours, and we'll hope it's not too late!" didn't seem like a good plan to me either lol! I'm hoping the therapy helps me! It didn't seem to do much for me last time I did it, but I only had a few sessions, so maybe that's why.

I had the same worries as you and most of the same symptoms. Had an MRI and everything, which came back clean. I've also had ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember, and it's been around since at LEAST before high school for me. I always thought it was normal because I couldn't remember not having it, so I thought everyone did. Ringing in the ears isn't always because of something terrible though. I second the suggestion to make sure you're drinking enough water. It sounds silly but you never realize how many problems dehydration can cause. Brain fog, dizziness, headaches, sluggishness, fatigue, etc. I definitely notice a difference when I'm making sure to drink enough. Also, if you spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen or phone, you never really realize how much eye strain it creates and also how much tension in your neck it creates. I'm on both a lot, and when I pay attention, I can feel myself either craning my neck into uncomfortable positions or scrunching up my shoulders to my ears when I'm sitting at a desk. If your headache was easily relieved by taking Advil, it's probably just a normal tension headache and nothing to be too concerned about.

Oh man, you sound like me! I just went on a 14 hour car trip too! lol I was actually concerned that my 6 hour flight to Europe might have caused a clot, because my feet and ankles were swollen after being immobile for so long, but that was back in June, so I figured my symptoms would be a lot worse by now if it had been there since June, right? The car trip was over Christmas, but the pain in my calf has been since way before Christmas. :-P It's interesting, because we have a disc issue almost in the same place. Mine is a bulging disc between L4 and L5, and my doctor wanted me to do physical therapy for it before I mentioned about the blood clot worry. Maybe it really is just my disc. I was also reading on a discussion forum for nurses last night that many of them have issues finding the pulse in the foot too! So I figure if people who are trained professionals have trouble finding it, it's probably not THAT alarming that I can't find it myself, but who knows. I'm trying not to think about the PAD thing for the moment. I might mention it to my doctor when I go for my follow-up in a month, but maybe I'll just leave it alone if my leg starts to feel better. I'm only 35 and can't find a lot of information on people who've been diagnosed with PAD before the age of like 50, so my doctor will probably laugh me out of the room if I mention it. lol Thanks, I hope the test went well too! I got it done yesterday, but I haven't heard anything yet. They told me it would take two business days, which seemed weird to me, since blood clots seem like they'd be more time sensitive than that. Like is there a high risk pile and a low risk pile at the ultrasound place, and the high risk pile gets evaluated and sent to the doctor first? I wish I knew how these things worked. Maybe no news is good news? *fingers crossed*

Hi Theo, I do the same thing you do! If I'm worried about a particular illness and run into someone or know someone who has it, it makes me start thinking I have it again, even if I feel like I've gotten over it. I have to be really careful with what I read or what I watch. I've joked before that I think I inherit other people's illnesses. My therapist has said that some people's minds are just really open to suggestion, so even hearing about an illness or its symptoms can make me start thinking I have them too. Example: I was reading about this thing I thought I had, and it had to do with tingling or burning in your feet, and I remember saying to my mother, "Well, at least I don't have the burning in my feet yet," and not even 10 minutes later, it started. Crazy what our brains do! But I saw a neurologist and he did an MRI and said I should probably seek some cognitive behavioral therapy, because he believed my symptoms were psychosomatic. And he was probably right. After I saw him, I resolved not to google anything anymore and start exercising, and I started feeling a lot better. Like you, I'd had a lot of twitching for no reason. I'd focus on every little sensation when it was really bad, but when I stopped thinking about it, it went away. I think exercising regularly was key, because I felt myself getting stronger, and it reminded me that if I had MS or ALS, I probably wouldn't be lifting weights or doing rounds of lunges all that easily. Of course, I'm here now worrying about something else, so it's like you said - one step forward, two steps back. The twitching really does get worse the more you think about it though, which I'm sure you know. Also, if you're still running or walking two miles without any big problems, you're probably fine. I remember someone saying that ALS isn't really a feeling that your leg or arm is weak. It's going to turn the keys in your car and not being able to move your arm. I think it was actually on the old AnxietyZone website where I read that, and it's always stuck with me when I've started to fear that particular illness again. Also, the more you test your calf and the more you poke it or mess with it, the tenser it probably gets. I'm actually going through that very thing right now, because I'm worried there's a blood clot in mine, so I've been poking at it and tensing it more than normal, so now it hurts more than it did. lol

Hi davide.h, thanks very much for the reply. My doctor mentioned something similar, that there would be a lot of pain and swelling, etc. Of course, I only decided to remember the part where she told me not to go to the gym which means she must think I have one, right? lol I've been trying to remember she didn't think I had one initially and only did the ultrasound for peace of mind, but it's hard! Hi Theo, I actually DO have a foam roller and use it when I work out to get the kinks out of my sciatic nerve. MAN, it hurts, but it does do a lot of good. If my ultrasound comes back normal, I'll probably give it a try and see what it does. I did use it on my calves before when I was working out regularly. Hi utrocket09, I definitely started worrying about things like PAD when I looked into what could cause the pain apart from a blood clot. Hope your prognosis is good and they're able to do something to make the pain better for you!

Hi all, First time poster, long-time HA sufferer here! I've had anxiety about my health for most of my life, even as a child, but it's really gotten worse over the past 5 years or so. Every time I think I've made progress in handling it, something happens and I find myself almost back to square one again! This time last year, I started having chronic hives, which I still have, though they're well controlled by antihistamines for now *knock on wood*. Went through this whole mastocytosis scare (please don't google it!) and eventually accepted that there's no identifiable reason for them and as long as I'm still feeling OK, I'm just going to live life and hope it goes away as it does with most people. So I was doing fairly well with that, even scheduling gym appointments with my trainer for the new year, something I haven't done in about a year, when I noticed this pain in my calf that feels like a pulled or over-stretched muscle. Now, it's been there for several months now, and I don't remember doing anything to cause a pulled muscle or strain or anything like that. So I made the mistake of googling what could cause a persistent pain in your calf in one spot, and bingo! Blood clots! So I panicked a bit and made an appointment with my doctor today, even though I'm pretty sure every time my doctor sees me, she probably wonders what off-the-wall disease I think I'm dying from that day. So I told her about the pain, she examined me, asked me if I'd done anything that might have caused it, and she said she thought it was probably due to my bulging disc in my lower back (L4-L5). I know I have this, but the pain that I had because of that was more like a tingling every time I bent my head forward (which triggered my MS fears again, joy). I don't have problems with the tingling anymore, but she thought it might be related, because I also mentioned I had some tingling behind my knee and on the inner part of my thigh. She wrote a prescription for physical therapy and was about to send me on my way. Then I asked her if she thought it might be a blood clot, and she's said no, she didn't think it was, because if it were, I'd have inflammation and swelling and a lot of pain, and I don't have any of that kind of pain, but if I wanted to do an ultra sound, she'd do it just to give me peace of mind. So, I accepted it and mentioned that I'd been on a long flight to Europe back in June and my legs and feet had been swollen when I got off the plane, because I'd been sitting for so long. Then I asked her if I could still go to the gym tonight, and she said to wait until we got the results, which kind of made me nervous, because it made me wonder if what I'd said about the plane had changed her mind about whether it was a clot or not. Then things got reaaaally crazy when I started searching on here and saw someone mention finding the pulse in their feet or ankles? Which led me to check mine, and when I couldn't easily find it, I googled THAT, and now I'm worried that age 35 and with no risk factors that I know of, I have Peripheral Artery Disease. So I have an ultrasound tomorrow, but I'm going to be on pins and needles until I get the results. How common is it to have a blood clot and not know it? I mean, you read these horror stories about people who have them and don't know it until it's too late. My friend's aunt just passed away from this exact thing. And it did cross my mind that hearing about her aunt probably triggered my own fears as well, but the pain in my leg is definitely a real thing that I don't THINK is being caused by anxiety. Has anyone had one of these before? Did it feel like a pulled muscle? Anyone have any experience with PAD? Thanks for any replies and apologies for the length of my post! Sincerely, Deanna