healthworrier92

After my uncle died suddenly in July 2016, I went through a period lasting about 2-3 months where I was so scared that I would go to sleep and not wake up. I'm a relatively healthy person, 23 years old at the time, no serious health issues. But like you, I read stories of that happening to people with no warning, and I was suddenly convinced it would happen to me and there was nothing I could do to stop it (especially since it happens during sleep). As I'm here writing this, my fears didn't come to pass, and I have a large suspicion that it won't come to pass for you either. Relax as much as you can, and trust that when you close your eyes at night you will open them again in the morning.

I feel like I'm slowly getting my life back now. Liv, I hope the New Year is treating you well so far. (Also, I almost popped in "The Theory of Everything" into the DVD player last night. I had to stop myself, lol)

Holls, as you know my year and a half of ALS worry consuming my life is coming to a close. I too thought about the same thing you did after I was cleared of it. A whole year went by and I couldn't even enjoy it because I was consumed with unnecessary worry! How could I waste my life! I was so upset that worry took over my life for so long, and then I saw a quote that helped change my perspective. It went something like this: don't look at last year as a year of pain, but as a year of growth. No, we can't get that year back...it's in the past now. I can either mope about the time "lost," or I can use it as an opportunity to learn about my anxiety and how to control it. I am trying to teach myself that no matter how much I worried about ALS, no matter how much I convinced myself that I had a fatal disease, it DIDN'T come to pass. Now I know for the future, no matter how much I panic and worry, it doesn't make my fears any more true or real. I will still have the thorn in my side of anxiety, but now I know what it feels like and will remember that it's only temporary. 2017 was a year of pain, but also a year of growth. We learn more and more about anxiety as we suffer through it. We grow stronger and stronger every day. Even if you feel lousy or think that there's something wrong with you, just remember that you know it's anxiety and you know you're going to be OK in the end. I choose to take that lesson from my terrible year, and turn it into as much of a positive as I can. Best wishes, Holls, and thank you for all the help you give us here!

I can assure you that you almost definitely have nothing to worry about. Headaches, even severe ones, have so many benign causes that the odds are heavily in your favor that you do not have a brain tumor or anything else seriously wrong. My wife used to have headaches every night for a period of several weeks. She was so calm about it, if it had been me you bet I would have been in the ER straight away asking for an MRI! Eventually her headaches went away and that long period of headaches hasn't reoccurred. Also, I've had a brain MRI done and if you're worried about it being uncomfortable or painful, it won't be. It takes about 20 minutes, and the most uncomfortable thing is probably the loud noise of the machine while it's imaging you. They gave me earplugs to wear and it wasn't really a problem. Try not to worry, I believe everything's gonna be OK!

Btw, the EMG was pretty painless. He did it on my left arm only, and basically it involved sticking a needle in at various points and testing out your muscle strength by moving around. The nerve test was way more annoying. Not necessarily painful, just annoying. The electric shocks just made my hand and arm jerk.

Hey guys, I had my EMG and nerve conduction tests today. Here's the update... Everything is normal!!! I finally brought my ALS worries to the attention of my neurologist, and he assured me that if something was wrong, the EMG would have showed it. After the test he told me everything was normal. I confirmed again that it didn't show ALS, and he said "it doesn't show anything. Just that everything is normal." The nerve conduction test only showed mild carpal tunnel on my right arm, which is so mild that it's not something to worry about. I'm so relieved and happy!

I’m getting it done at my neurologist’s office, so I’m hoping they tell me right away. I can’t take much more of this waiting!

It’s on the 28th. Yes I can’t tell if what I’m experiencing is anxiety or actually the symptoms of something. I guess that’s the nature of HA though. I just wish I knew for sure. ? Do you happen to know if they give you the results of the EMG right away or do you have to come back and get them later?

Thanks for checking in Liv and Holls. I'm sorry to hear that you're not doing well. I haven't had a great couple of days either. After our last posts on Tuesday/Wednesday I was feeling pretty good and optimistic, but yesterday and today I've been freaking out again. I don't know, but every time I look at my fingers and hands they just look...different. I can't explain it, but to me they look weaker than they used to. I know that doesn't make any sense and it's most likely anxiety trying to twist what is normal, but it's freaking me out. My fingers and voice still feel different, like they're impaired. I know FEELS should be my clue that it's not ALS, but it hasn't helped, especially since it feels constant. If I only I felt some relief and felt NORMAL, even just for a day, that would help me so much. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for my EMG so I could know if there's something, anything, wrong. (Not that I want anything to be wrong!)

Agree with everything. I've been having the strongest episode of HA I've ever had yet since August of last year. Brain tumor, MS, ALS, you name it. The fear that creeps in from anxiety is real and sometimes feels completely overwhelming. Just last week I was more anxious and afraid than I felt like I'd ever been. Just trying to make it through each day was a huge struggle. But remember no matter how overwhelmed, afraid, nervous, etc, you feel right now, IT WILL PASS. That's the thing with feelings: they are temporary. I understand how real all of this feels. I've felt the same way, and I refused to believe that I would feel "normal" again. But all I can say is it takes time. I don't like to hear that myself because I'm not a patient person, but time does make everything better. Today when you feel overwhelmed and you can't go on, tomorrow that entire day of worry will be one day in the past, the day after that will be 2 days in the past, and so on. Get things off your chest, unload everything, that's OK. That's why we're here. We all know what it's like. We've all been there (or are "there" right now). Best wishes.

jonathan is right. My mother in law had some health issues a while back, and they called her into the hospital at midnight out of the blue! We thought it was something terrible but they just wanted to give her some test results that weren't even urgent! They scared us for nothing! So even if they call you back and it sounds urgent, it most likely is nothing serious. Best wishes.

You mentioned that with a UTI the blood wouldn't just stop. I'm no doctor but if it was really bladder cancer, the blood wouldn't just stop either would it?

One thing I forgot to mention in my OP but I totally should have: when I went to my last neurology appointment, my neurologist openly asked me "Don't you think anxiety might be causing all these symptoms?" If the neurologist who's supposedly going to tell me I have ALS tells me that I probably have anxiety, then I probably have anxiety.

I hope the following helps to set aside our worries: According to Google: If we can't stay away from Google, maybe we can use it to our benefit next time.

I also think anxiety twists our logic and uses it against us. The logical answer to all these physical problems ordinarily would be for an illness or a disease causing it, not that it's a benign product of our brains. This train of thought seems logical, but we tend to ignore the even more logical answer that all of this is NOT related to a rare, fatal disease but is instead our minds truly playing tricks on us. And I also think that for a lot us, the fact that HA is often triggered by something traumatic in our lives should give us a clue as to what brings this on. When we lose a loved one or are going through something stressful, especially if we are introverts and don't always verbalize our feelings, our bodies need to express this in some way. If we can't or don't talk about it, then the mind will have to express our feelings physically. I've also read on this forum that HA tend to have higher levels of empathy than non-sufferers. I think when we empathize with people who are sick or suffering, we unconsciously experience their suffering as our own. It sounds crazy as I say it, but then again I think it makes some sense too. I used this example in another thread, but a while back my wife used to get headaches almost every day. She complained about them but never expressed the fear that she had something seriously wrong. You can bet if I had a headache every day, even if it wasn't too painful, I would be in the ER fearing a brain tumor. But she persisted, taking Tylenol and just going about her life. Eventually they went away and she's better now. It's like why I can't I think that way about myself and my health? I envy her and everyone else who doesn't have HA.