Hypocondriac, Help......

I have a spot in my hip that vibrates on occasion. I always think my cell phone is in my pocket on vibrate, but that is rarely the case. This has gone on for a few years, but I'm healthy as an ox.

I used to worry more than I do now. I think having young children and the weight of that responsibility makes it worse. If you can work on knowing that all will be okay no matter what, and that certain things are out of your control, it will help. For example let's say you did die. It would of course be rough but your family would survive it.

But try to think more positively. Visualize your health. I believe if we see ourselves as healthy it will help us be healthy. However, if we see ourselves as sick we can bring on distress. I'm not saying you will make yourself die! But certainly you are causing yourself stress and illness... and what good does that stress do?

Here is the bottom line.

Worrying does not stop things from happening. Worrying is worthless.

I am a health and nutrition coach, and I think you might be dehydrated. How much purified water are you drinking each day? You should be drinking 1 quart for every 50 pounds you are. Add fresh lemon or lime juice to help alkalize it. When your body is acidic, it can cause your brain to misfire. You should make sure you eliminate all soda pop from your diet, cut down on meat, make sure if you drink milk, that is is organic. Hormonal imbalance can cause headaches and other side effects. IF you have any other nutrition questions you may send me a message. Nutrition is always first before Doctors. You don't need a band aid for a headache (cover up the problem) You need to get to the source of why you get them.

Sometimes I will be on the elliptical at the gym and my foot will go numb/tingly - I don't know if it's my shoes or my posture, but it definitely goes away.
I had a bad reaction to an antibiotic about a year ago, so now whenever I take a new (or a med I've had before) I get panicky, too. Probably borderline panic attack, and I have Xanac just in case to chill me out - but I don't take it often. It just helps to know it's there when I get stressed.
I was a psychology major in college and took an abnormal psychology class. On the first day, the teacher told us not to self diagnose. That was great advice, because no matter what we read, we will find a little bit of ourself in each case study.
In regards to headaches - do you wear glasses or need them? Allergies? NOT discounting your headaches, just alternatives to the worst case scenario. A good friend of mine was diagnosed with dry eyes - they can be very uncomfortable.
Does your Dr. know you are a 'hypochondriac'? There might be some OCD meds to help you (i.e. when you are obsessing over a particular thing, seratonin meds may help).
Good luck - at least you know your problem and aren't purposely enforcing your symptoms intentionally to call attention to yourself.

Sometimes muscles can spasm, it is often caused by dehydration. If you are worried, call the doc, but I would give it some time to see if it goes away on its own. Have they given you anything for your head and dry eyes? There should be a way to treat that.

Hey S.,
I have two thoughts for you,
One, I get blind migraines sometimes, which sound like what you are talking about. They are not extremely painful but they are there and it usually stems from stress or working out and tight shoulder muscles. Mine also affect my hands, and they will go numb if I don't do my stretches faithfully. The stretches I do are: 1. shoulder down head leaning toward opposite shoulder, and very slowly with head still tilted put your head forward to your chest and then as far back as you can and visa versa on the other side. 2. Then scalene stretches which are the muscles on you neck its hard to explain so here is a good site to learn how to do it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiU1PCxuFyU&feature=re...
3. I stretch out my pectoralis minor muscles by clasping hands behind back my and moving strait arms up and back down and by standing in a door way and placing both hands on either side of the frame and leaning into it.
The second thing, I also ride bike ride. And riding affects my shoulders (which I described above) and my sciatica. The signs for my sciatic nerve being pinched is my foot tingles and sometimes goes numb. I like how you described it cause sometimes it does feel like it is on vibrate! The best thing to do is stretch out your legs (do both sides always! even if it is only one that is bothering you, other wise you will put more stress on the healthy one) there are several ways to do this but once you understand how you can come up with your own. Sit on a chair and place your right ankle on your left knee. Then lean forward with a straight back. As far as you can. It will not feel good, but hold it there anyway for about a min or two. you will notice that the intensity will lessen and it will not be as uncomfortable. then do the other leg. you can do this sitting on the floor or by raising your leg in the same manner (position) on the stairs or a table. This should help you a lot.
I suggest that you start doing some yoga or just a routine of stretches everyday. I think you will see a huge improvement. hope this helps
Good luck
E.

Hello. I am a bad hypochondriac. What I have to do is avoid reading all medical literature about diseases and conditions, and not talk to people about it. Also, I started getting into alternative medicine and all kinds of things like that because I am obsessed sometimes and think that I have these diseases or conditions. That's so funny because my eyes are often dry, too. I have come to realize that our minds and our diet have huge control over our bodies. If you are thinking a lot about your symptoms, they will continue and get worse. Also, if you don't eat healthy foods, and don't handle stress well, then you will have legitimate symptoms. The best thing to do is take 1/2 hour to an hour a day and relax/meditate. Train your brain to stop thinking and just focus on your breathing or prayer, taking slow, deep belly breaths. Make sure you drink enough water, eat plenty of cooked vegetables on a daily basis, cut out caffeine and processed foods or at least cut down on them, and take supplements. I have found the best supplement for everybody is cod liver oil. It has tons of vitamin D that helps prevent osteoporosis, cavities, depression, PMS, and MS. I am glad you are as crazy as me. DON'T GO TO THE DOCTOR. Try the other stuff first - slow breathing/empty or brain of all thoughts once a day, nutrition, avoiding medical articles/websites, cod liver oil. From one OCD/hypochondriac to another : )

The vibrating could definitely be related to bike riding, sometimes we get a pinched nerve in the back that will travel down the legs. I had all sorts of things go on after I started riding my bike again (I also do Yoga so it has all even itself out). I would suggest going to a chiropractor and getting adjusted to see if you can get any kinks out.
As far as your head aches go, I use doTerra's PastTense, I just rub in on the back of my neck & temples and lay down for 5 minutes and it is GONE! I also use it when I'm stressed out or trying to go to sleep when my mind is racing. I might be something you could try. You can order it here: www.mydoterra.com/shandellpino

I sure do hear your worries, S.. Some of us are more subject to experiencing our bodies more "loudly," some of us have more health issues for any number of reasons, including genetics, injury, or just plain bad luck, and some of us were raised in ways or have lifestyles and diets that push us in that direction.

I just turned 63 and am still going strong, relatively, anyway, after a lifetime of ill health, weird symtoms, and some pretty serious worries at one time or another. Among my symptoms are twitching muscles, vibrating nerves and stabbing "needles" in feet and legs, hands, lips and tongue. These began about 12 years ago after I was exposed to the spraying of pesticides in a neighboring orchard. I did go to a neurologist when the symptoms started (they were only in feet and legs at that point). She did a simple sensation test (poking various parts of me with a pointy instrument), told me neuropathy (nerve damage) has many possible causes, many not too serious, and that if I noticed a rapid progression, I should come for more thorough testing. The symptoms have very slowly gotten worse, so it's apparent that something else is likely to do me in first. (I have also developed Type 2 diabetes since then, which can be one cause of neuropathy, but is largely controllable with diet and exercise.)

This is not to say that you shouldn't worry, but that you should get this symptom checked out so that you can find out whether or not there is something you can treat. Like so many symptoms, it could be "nothing," but if it's something like diabetes, you definitely need to know, or your life will be affected and possibly shortened.

I was reading and I will say this...you may be a hypochondriac but you mentioned something about MS....Let me put it to you this way...My mom was kinda like that not full blown Hypochondriac but simi or at least we thought but she has pain or tingling in her shoulder and now she has ALS. I say get checked and make sure. I am not trying to give you another reason to make a trip to the doctor but they told my mom for months its in your head...guess what...She no longer can do anything she is in a bed and my family takes care of her and MS and ALS are silent attackers.

Just relax, focus on other things, and soon your anxiety will go away. If you keep focusing on the ailments, they will exist - if you ignore them, they will greatly lessen.

OMGosh. I thought I was the only one with the vibrating foot thing. It is like a pager going off. I don't have it all the time, but when it is going on it does drive me crazy. I have tried chiropractors and massages, but still get it on occasion, but it does go away. I thought it was because I worked above a manufacturing floor, then I changed job and still. Weird.

My step-kids (DS is 19yo and DD is 20yo) have issues similar to yours so I think I also have an understanding of the frustration you're going through. I also have a couple of diagnosed problems which give me an understanding of how you feel about leaving your children behind, etc.
Your symptoms are very real to you, the problem is in figuring out if they are from an actual physical problem or not. I encourage you to see a psychiatrist and psychologist - please keep reading! Under their care, you can have a full physical to determine that you are healthy and none of your symptoms are caused by an actual physical problem, then, they can help you get rid of the problem that causes you to be a hypochondriac and help you tell the difference between a real problem and not.
(Dog is going ballistic - have to go!)

Dear Hypocondriac,
If you are really struggling with headaches, I can help! My husband had chronic migraines for over 20 years. We found a healthy way to help him and he has been symptom free now for almost 7 years. I would encourage you to learn more. E-mail me at ____@____.com to learn more. I would love to help you get some relief. Maybe if you really felt good you would stop making up reasons to feel bad or have something wrong.

I have some of those vibrating phone phantoms. I agree with making sure that you are getting enough water, but you also might want to try acupuncture for getting rid of some of the stress and anxiety that can build up and cause the headaches. You may also make a concerted effort to not read about any new diseases out there. I think we all have a little bit of hearing of something and thinking you have it, it is just the degree we go to. If you think it is likely, get it checked by the doctor, but you have to believe what he tells you. If you don't trust your doctor, change. For the eyes, have you gone to an opthamologist?

I hear you load and clear. I know at least more than one time I have worried about an aneurism, cancer ect. Heck I believe that worry is what has caused my mom to be so sick in her 70s, so I worry about being worried. I think a lot of us are afraid of leaving our kids behind so our mortality hits us strong as moms. That being said, worry gets us no where, it isn't productive. What has helped me is taking an active step into being as healthy as I can. I eat well, exercise and do yoga to help me with stress. If you haven't tried it yoga is great for getting you to stop thinking for awhile. As for your foot, I wouldn't sweat it. Since you have started riding it could be from that. Perhaps your shoes are pinching a nerve. If the vibrating gets a lot worse or very painful, then I would go to the doctor. I know its hard, but try to relax. We have little control over how our bodies are going to age, but we can control how we face life. Live every moment to the fullest. Best of wishes.

Girl, you gotta get a grip. I have had a few people in my life that have had severe hypochondria and there is something to be said for a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you really want to be there for your kids and you want your kids to grow up healthy then you need to learn to just let life be and quit obsessing about what could potentially be wrong with you. I am thinking the type of doc you need to see is for your mind to help you get over this obsession of being sick with something all the time.

Your body is made to take care of itself, you don't need non-stop docs and meds to help it out. In fact, too many meds and docs will make it worse. I am not saying that sometimes there aren't illnesses that require these things, I am just saying, let your body do its job which is to fight these things off. That way you can actually enjoy your babies and not turn them in to hypochondriacs too. They learn from you remember.

Get to a good mental health professional to help you learn to deal with this and you will be so much happier. Your mind is very powerful, if you keep letting it go wild with these thoughts of illness eventually you WILL get something serious and your worse nightmare will come to pass.

Good luck to you!

First, the vibrating sounds like nerve stimulation - likely due to pressure on the foot. Sorta like the pins and needles when your foot goes to sleep? Try better shoes or OTC foot pads in your shoes when you walk and ride the bike.

Second, sounds like your general anxiety is focused on health issues. The headaches sounds more like tension headaches than anything else, maybe made worse by eyes and such.

Suggestions:
1. Try progressive muscle relaxation, should help relieve anxiety and the tension.
2. Go to counseling. They can help you find new ways to cope with your worries. It is very successful for what you are describing, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
3. If you don't want to go to therapy, read the book called Feeling Good by David Burns (offers some CBT suggestions).