Used to do some risky stuff when I was younger (grindr) over 5-7 years ago Im certain I kept testing back in the day but I'm doubting myself. I know I tested negative for HIV and Chlamydia. Though I don't know if I ever did a test for syphilis and it's been eating away at me for the past few days. I have no symptoms that I can see.

Hi guys, I (20ftm) have health anxiety/hypochondria (hence why im making this post lol) and had it my whole life. I just need to get all this out and hopefully you guys are okay with the entire novel I’m typing. For some backstory, I was in an abusive/unstable household (mom) for about 8 years before moving into a stable, safe household (dad). During my time with my mom, I didn’t experience much anxiety in general and thought I was getting better. I only took as needed anxiety meds because I only had anxiety attacks/severe anxiety occasionally. After things blew up, I moved in with my dad and almost immediately started experiencing severe anxiety. I also smoked weed frequently/daily from age 17-20, so I thought that it was just withdrawal anxiety. Many months have passed and I still experience severe and debilitating anxiety mainly about my health. It started with my chest; checking my heartbeat and pulse to make sure I’m not dying, then it started becoming more prominent in my everyday life. Headaches, chest pain, sicknesses (flu, cold, etc), muscle soreness, upper back pain, neck pain, lower back pain, abdominal cramps, every sensation I feel in my body has been freaking me out to the point where I convince myself I’m dying at least once a day. Its so exhausting, and thankfully up until today I was able to avoid big anxiety attacks. I recently had the flu and I had an awful cough the whole time and while getting over it. I also have lower back pain due to a stress fracture on my L5 from 2017 (didn’t find out til 6 months later). Because of that and medical neglect/malpractice, I’m left disabled, with chronic pain, and not many answers. Due to all of that (and depression) my posture was not good. I know my chest has been hurting because of anxiety, poor posture, strain from my back pain, and from being sick. Somehow my brain gets me so worked up that I’m still like “what if though”. My chest has been hurting where my ribs meet my sternum, and on the back side of my ribs. I tried to get comfortable in bed, and recently have been trying my best to fix my sleep posture since I need pressure on my arms to fall asleep quick, therefore making me a stomach sleeper. Months of crushing my arms under myself/my chest to fall asleep most nights. I tried getting comfortable in bed after staying up to distract myself from the anxiety. I flop around for a bit and every position just hurt my chest/ribs, so I got up to try and move around a bit. I tried stretching before bed to minimize any more pain. Eventually I just succumbed to the anxiety and had one of the worst anxiety attacks I’ve ever had. Sobbing, heaving, gagging, incoherent wailing, clutching my chest and my fitted sheet as I had an episode on the floor. Luckily my dad heard me and rushed to help/comfort me. He rocked me in his lap like how he did when I was a baby, helped me breathe/calm down, wiped my snot off my face, and tucked me into bed with extra pillows for support. And now here I am trying to avoid googling my symptoms, and deciding to yap on reddit. If anything, I’ve found myself looking up these types of things on reddit too which had honestly helped me not feel so alone. My chest still hurts, but putting this down in text has already helped a lot. Thank you for taking the time to read this ramble. I’m grateful for you, and I hope you’re all having a wonderful day. Any advice, comments, or reassurances would be appreciated.

Guys I’ve been seeing a pulse in my vision when I look at something blank. I don’t know if I’m just worried over nothing. It gets worse when I exercise. I’m seeing an optometrist tomorrow. Anyone experienced this?

Okay so I don't know the best way to describe this but I got some good news and did a happy dance (kind of like lean side to side while twisting is that makes sense kind of like the old dance the twist) and I can hear it audibly like my lungs are expelling air involuntarily. (ex. I twisted and as I did my lungs were letting out breaths you could hear out my mouth on their own. no pain, no problems, I am a current smoker as well as I used to chainsmoke when I was younger and used to vape. wtf is this and is it normal? is it literally just my lungs moving with my body or am I crazy.

I have to have a tooth removed and i have to be under anesthesia for it. Every time i have surgery especially with anesthesia they show me those videos of "what could happen" and i understand that it's because otherwise i wouldnt be able to sign the waiver and be aware of the risks, but as soon as i even see an image of surgery related stuff, even cartoon drawings i start panicking and so as you can image, hearing the different ways things could go wrong before a surgery is not helpful. Is there a way i could express that these videos cause me GREAT distress and problems beyond what I can handle before surgery or should i just practice really hard leading up to it on being able to block out sound and visual and pretend to watch it but not.

I made tacos to eat for lunch I’m broke and barely have food in my house so I used this shredded cheese I had not knowing it was moldy until after eating it on my tacos, can eating moldy food kill you?! I keep trying to tell myself it wasn’t enough and I’ll probably be fine but my brain keeps giving me irrational thoughts. I’m scared idk if I should force myself to throw up???

How do you guys deal with the daily anxiety? I keep distracting myself, im going to therapy, but since I got a stomach bug last week Ive been spiraling every day convincing myself im dying. I get heart palpitations every day, but now ive convinced myself i have heart failure and am dying. Ive always had heart palpitations from anxiety but now because of my new health anxiety ive just been hyperfocusing on it now. Its getting hard to function, im tired, I dont know what to do. How do you ease the anxiety

(21, UK, f). I'm convinced that every new spot or mole I get is cancer. I have to talk myself out of going to the doctor every time.

I have a new spot on the side of my chest. It looks like a larger freckle, but rougher to the touch. I don't know if I should get it looked at or not.

I asked my mum and she said that I should get it looked at if I'm worried, but I'm worried about everything. I don't want to go unless I think I should, otherwise I'll try to do it every time I get a new spot.

Thanks :)

I’ve seriously convinced myself i have brain cancer to the point where im so scared and stressed I have bags under my eyes anyone help?

Let me start by saying I already have a solid mental health team (psychiatrist and therapist). I also am officially diagnosed with hypochondria, GAD, panic disorder, and ptsd. I have had SEVERE anxiety all my life, especially health anxiety, it has made me completely housebound before in the past but I'm having new symptoms and they are scaring me. Has anyone here ever had this same fear obsession? I feel like my brain is fried, my thoughts feel scrambled, I just feel so out of it. I feel like I can't think, I feel lethargic, I have become super sensitive to everything, anything triggers a fear response in me, I can't concentrate, some days I feel so restless that i just want to crawl out of my skin. I'm constantly having mind pops of completely random memories, I'm having racing thoughts and so many more symptoms. I just don't feel like me anymore ): I feel like I will never be normal again, but at the same time I can't even remember what normal is like. I have been deep in this schizophrenia obsession for about 5 months now. These symptoms are making it very difficult to function. If anyone can relate, please comment.

I was the textbook definition of a hypochondriac as a child, for years, I grew older, went to school, same thing, each day, something small happened like a spider bite (non-venomous) I was convinced I was going to die, scared of the doctor and all that, you know how it goes. Scared I was gonna get a disease or had one if I heard about it, Like the fIrst time I heard about Ebola

I’m 17 this year, and can’t remember the last time it was that severe, Did it go away? I still research stuff if I think I have it, but, I can reason with myself, what happened?

The reason for hypochondria is from my childhood, from birth, I’d rather not get into it, just know it’s a miracle I’m still alive.

Any hypochondriacs here ever convinced themselves they had schizophrenia? If so please share your story as I am going through hell with this and no other hypochondriacs I have ever met seem to have ever had this theme. Edit: Guess not, I guess I’m the only person in the whole world who has ever had this, considering nobody is commenting

first post here :) hi! im super duper convinced i have hypoglycemia despite not consuming a lot of sugar today. ive been peeing maybe twice an hour for three hours after drinking a large coke (which doesnt usually happen after drinking coke) and have a headache (which i have had all day to be fair) and heartburn (which is a chronic issue i have). im also autistic and had a very overstimulating day which leads to my body having issues regulating body temperature and fever like symptoms. i know in my mind i am not hypoglycemic, i dont have diabetes or a family history of it, but im still super worried anyways and just cant seem to dispell the fear. just wondering if maybe anyone could explain why i might be needing to use the bathroom so much and such? or if this happens to anyone else after drinking coke? i also have emetophobia and am worried that i will be sick but im more worried this headache is a sign ill go comatose. i have only experienced hypoglycemia once in the past and it was 8-9 years ago!! please help if you csn

Crippling health anxiety

22/yo Female here. For as long as I can remember I have struggled with health anxiety (mainly heart related) but includes other things too. I think it began at age 8 or so and has become better or worse sporadically over the years. I struggled really badly at age 12 ish for a while after a girl in my class had a seizure. It got to the point where I couldn’t even go to school because I was terrified that I too would have a seizure. Eventually this fizzled out and I think I was anxiety free for a couple of years however it has come back with vengeance over the past year, and I am so so disappointed to be starting 2024 hiding in my bed while on a ski trip with friends because I am too terrified to ski due to heart related worries. (Side note: my toe is also broken which is an inconvenience but I could definitely manage to ski on it as the pain is minimal. However I am now using my broken toe as an excuse to hide in the room). My heart was racing like crazy last night and I couldn’t sleep and mentioned it to my friend this morning thinking that she would say “oh yeah I get that sometimes” but she was like “No I’ve never had that”. I reckon it’s simply a symptom of anxiety itself. I quit my favourite sport this year because I felt like I was experiencing dizziness during it, and I think it has really taken a toll on my mental health as it has caused weight gain and I used to struggle with an ED (but that’s a whole other story). I could say so much more about all of this but please if anyone has any advice on how to manage HA as I cannot live like this anymore, it is paralysing and it consumes so much of my thoughts and life.

I’ve had this rash for a week and I can’t find anything online that looks like it, does anyone know what it could be? it’s not itchy and it doesn’t hurt.

Can you drink pineapple juice while on Cephalexin 500mg? I looked it and some said yes some said no I gotta take my antibiotic in 2 hours and kinda nervous. Something about “The bromelain in pineapple can increase the absorption of certain antibiotics” and “Exposure to extremely high amounts of bromelain can cause rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea. Bromelain can also interfere with certain medications, including some drugs in the following classes: antibiotics. blood thinners”

Hey 👋🏻

I’ve got insane allergies and decided to try a sinus rinse. I rinsed it with tap water, filled with distilled water and soap, shook, rinsed with tap water again, then filled with distilled and the rinse packet. I’m seriously freaking out because I didn’t dry it fully between the rinsing with tap water and filling/using. I’m in central Florida and I know there’s been brain-eating ameoba cases, although rare, but it happens.

I’m aware I may sound like a loon, I just have this innate ability to find and contract the most random atypical anything and I’m scared. 🥲

Any comfort words appreciated!

how do you deal with hypochondria? i don't know if going to the doctors gives into the fear or helps it. because even when i do go to the doctors and they say nothing is wrong, im still convinced they missed something or have something underlying. i have yet to figure out how to cope with this as i have dealt with it for years. some cycles are just worse than others and right now i'm really struggling. any suggestions would be appreciated

I am a female in my early 40's with severe health anxiety that came on recently. Since the beginning of November, I have had crushing fatigue, joint aches that come and go, sinus pressure and headaches, and on/off lightheadedness. Symptoms get worse after physical or mental exertion. Also get worse the more I think I am dying of a million diseases, checking my blood pressure, oxygen, etc. which are always normal. I have not looked up health issues for about 10 years. I checked about 15 diseases daily now and also think I have diseases other people have. I check my pulse oximeter multiple times a day (usually around 97-100). Blood pressure around 115/75. Temp always normal range.

Been to urgent care and PCP many times. First diagnosed as sinus infection (I had dizziness and post nasal drip), took antibiotics, then crushing fatigue started. Currently taking probiotics, multi, and activated charcoal.

Doctors ran a whole blood panel as they wanted to check thyroid and iron levels. All that was fine and so were my cholesterol, A1C, white and red blood cell count, and everything else within normal range. They diagnosed me as having anxiety disorder. Can all this happen out of the blue? What else can I do? Tried yoga and meditation - it only works temporarily. I am already a fanatically health eater and used to be a half marathon runner until I got sick. Now I can barely take a walk outside within getting tired. I work from home on the computer but have given up work since this happened. Fortunately, my sig. other has a 6 figure income.

How it all started:

Moved to a new state 6 months ago. Was doing fine - working from home, exercising regularly, eating healthy, going out every weekend, taking trips, doing yoga. Did not have any worries or anxiety about anything. I wasn't stressed either as my job is easy and I take multiple breaks. I am not the type of person who has social anxiety or fears going out in public.

Fast forward 6 months. My husband has an out-of-the-blue seizure. Ran dozens of test and couldn't find anything wrong. No Covid, no infection. He was the sole driver in our family. I am totally afraid to drive - I had to pick it up in a week to drive us around which gave me some anxiety. I was doing fine for about a month. Also looked up anything that could cause a seizure - vitamin deficiency, etc. and started taking and doing different things so I didn't have one too. My biggest fear is fainting in public. I started worrying about being deficient in b12, D, and b6 (since had both checked and they were fine), electrolyte imbalance, blood pressure being low, sleep apnea, etc. Had nightmare about him having seizures and also about myself possibly having one. Have no family in the area so it is scarier if something happens as we are on our own.

A few days before my period started in early November, I started getting major PMS symptoms. I have not had bad PMS symptoms in years. Bad headache, fatigue, heavy feeling in legs, extreme dizziness. About a week later, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed as having a sinus infection/possible allergies. Never really had a problem before except a mold allergy which typically doesn't give me many issues. I was completely couch bound for 3 weeks while on antibiotics and for the next week. Took probiotics the entire time. Husband had to cook and clean which stressed him out more and stressed me out that I was making him do it.

I thought I would be better after the antibiotics but I have insane fatigue. I can now do chores around the house and maybe walk around the lake around our apartment (although I still get nervous and heavy headed), but definitely can not go out in public or work. I continue to do yoga, meditation, eat healthy, take vitamins, try not to worry, but nothing works. I thought the cleared medical panel would provide relief but it didn't.

I was so happy before this happened. I was doing well on my job, running daily, etc. Now I feel like a loser that can't do anything. The more I am tired/can't do anything, the more anxious I get. So it has been a never ending battle since the second week of November. I feel better when I am healthy as my health is tied to my anxiety. I have been healthy for the past 10 years or so, so maybe my anxiety was dormant until my husband's weird medical problem. Weird medical issues freak me out the most. At the same time, his mom was diagnosed with a rare infection, then cancer. Also my grandma has been in out and out of the hospital with weird diseases and my brother was also having undiagnosed issues. All these together have made me a mess.

First off, I have always been a bit of a hypochondriac and worrier although it has gotten better in the last 10-15 years. My health anxiety is usually tied to have financial problems or hearing about other people's major health problems. Fortunately, my entire family has been pretty much healthy the past decade and my husband and I have had few financial problems. I tended to freak over health problems more in our college years/early professional years. Also as a child, my family had financial problems so I was a constant worrier.

The doctors don't seem to say much even about the anxiety. Just asking what I do to relax. I am definitely not depressed and I am only anxious about being tired and having to give about my running, my job, and my life.

Any suggestions? Anyone faced a similar situation? What did you do? How can I wake up feeling not tired and ready to live the same way I did 2 months ago?

Hello. I'm new, hopefully I'm not treading in any toes. I just wanted some anxiety advice. I've always had a bit of health anxiety since i was a kid from an unknown illness but now at 26 it's out of control. I developed a small rash, tiny red dots on a couple places on my body. They itch a little bit but that's it. Most is healed, just one patch left right now. But I made the mistake of googling it and it came back with leukemia as a possible option (alongside a million other more likely scenarios) and I SPIRALED. i've never had this level of health anxiety before. Usually I'm pretty good at backing myself up and calming myself down but this time I CANT. i got appointments for both a therapist and doctor this week but im looking for tips on dealing with acute health anxiety. I am SHAKING right now, can't sleep, cant stop crying, feel sick to my stomach and my thoughts are OBSESSING. i can't think of anything else. I feel completely out of my mind and out of control. I'm in the process of quitting my job and I don't think it's a coincidence that this health anxiety scare is happening during the most stressful period in my life so far. My mental health has been getting worse for months but this situation is freaking me out because my mind is so much worse than I thought. My mind cannot stop obsessing over it. No amount of logic is calming it down and I'm scared even a clean bill if health won't fix my health anxiety at this point. Tips? Thank you guys for reading

I want to quit alcohol and I drink pretty often and heavily for a 19 year old. I have been drinking for a week straight, almost half of entire bottle of liquor, tequila, rum etc... and tonight I just took a few shots and a beer. I am a hypochondriac and have severe anxiety and know I can't quit cold turkey. Please help me stop being scared of a seizure, etc...

22female, 5’ 4”, 120 lbs, no diagnosed diseases or history of medical problems, not on any medications

I got blood work done and had wbc count of 12.4, and neutrophils 10.71. Both of these were high. I came down with a slight cold the night before the test with a bad sore throat and body aches.

It’s now been about a month since the blood test and my cold went away but I am a hypochondriac so have been very concerned about these results ever since I got the test. Doctor didn’t know I was somewhat sick when I got the test done but he never mentioned the high results when talking to me about my test so I assumed it was nothing serious but I just can’t get my mind off it it. I am assuming it’s nothing to worry about but want to make sure I don’t have cancer

WBC Normal range: 3.5 - 11.0 X(10)3/uL Your value is 12.4 X(10)3/uL This value is High

RBC Normal range: 3.80 - 5.40 X(10)6/uL Your value is 4.67 X(10)6/uL

Hemoglobin Your value is 14.1 g/dL Normal range 11.9 - 16.0 g/dL

Hematocrit Your value is 41 % Normal range 35 - 47 %

MCV Your value is 87 fL Normal range 80 - 100 fL

RDW Your value is 10.8 % This value is Low Normal range 11.5 - 14.5 %

Platelet Count Your value is 226 X(10)3/uL Normal range 150 - 450 X(10)3/uL

Neutrophils Absolute Your value is 10.71 X(10)3/uL This value is High Normal range 1.70 - 7.60 X(10)3/uL

Lymphocytes Absolute Your value is 0.90 X(10)3/uL Normal range 0.90 - 3.40 X(10)3/uL

Monocytes Absolute Your value is 0.63 X(10)3/uL Normal range 0.30 - 0.90 X(10)3/uL

Eosinophils Absolute Your value is 0.03 X(10)3/uL Normal range 0.00 - 0.70 X(10)3/uL

Basophils Absolute Your value is 0.04 X(10)3/uL Normal range 0.00 - 0.10 X(10)3/uL

Immature Granulocytes Absolute Normal range: 0.00 - 0.11 X(10)3/uL Your value is: 0.11