Hypochondria Support Group
Hypochondria refers to excessive worry about having a serious illness. Hypochondria is often characterized by fears that minor bodily symptoms may indicate a serious illness, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis, and a preoccupation with one's body. Many individuals with hypochondriasis express doubt and disbelief in the doctors' diagnosis.
Hi! I'm new to this forum. I'm 20M and have been suffering from health anxiety for 4 years. I,ve had several bouts of worry about many different illnesses, but this is my worst to date.
It all started when about two months ago, i noticed a bony lump on the left side of the mouth under the tongue. I noticed several other movable lumps under the floor of my mouth. I also noticed there is a small lump on the right edge of my tongue. This freaked me out about oral cancer. I've been to multiple doctors for different issues in the past 3 years, and i've pretty reached a 'the boy who cried wolf' situation with my parents, which made me reluctant to share this with them. About a week later, i noticed that one of my bowel movements was narrower than usual. This sent me into panic mode and i was scared to go to the bathroom. The next three BMs were also narrower and longer than usual(no other symptoms), and this of course, added to the tension. The BM after that was slightly thicker, and this gave me slight relief(by this time, i am passing my BMs once every 2 days as opposes to once every day).This continued for 2-3 days, after which i suddenly had a very long narrow pencil stool which i had to strain to pass. This caused my anxiety to skyrocket again. This happen for a couple of days, after which my BMs were thick again, but long and tough to pass( i was still going once in two days).Ever since, the stools became easier to pass, but are still thicker and harder, but i still go once in two days(unable to go back to my old routine) and i sometimes get anal itching(sorry for that detail). Also, about a week ago my left big toe has become slightly tender to touch and painful while stretching for no reason( i play soccer everyday, but i do not remember hurting it) and i also noticed that two of the toenails in my left toe look very dirty and weird, and it looks like there is something under my fourth toe, and the lumps in my mouth are still there.
So, I've convinced myself that i have oral cancer, colon cancer and melanoma of the toenails. Can any of you relate to any of this. This has harshly impacted my quality of life, and i am unable to concentrate on my college assignments due to this. Any advice would be more than appreciated!