help i'm a hypochondriac

[sustentaculum]

okay, this may sound really stupid and silly. i'm a 2nd year med student and i have been having really serious episodes of the "i have this really rare disease that i read about" syndrome. yesterday i worried about my one giant cafe au lait and one underarm freckle being NF1 and today i had a mild lower abdominal cramp and was scared about FAP. no one in my family or extended family has these things. i really need some advice on how to alleviate these episodes, as they are interfering with my concentration. and i don' think the solution is to just go to the clinic and get a bunch of tests done. does insurance even cover hypochondriacnism?

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[TacMed]

There's 3 effective treatment modalities on the market.

1. blue moon with an orange slice. repeat as needed.
2. get laid.
3. combination therapy of 2 treatments above

 

[andie gustafson]

Most med students go through hypochondria phases but in my case it became an obsession that almost made me quit.
Almost since I started med school I had horrible hypochondria episodes I really thought I was already sick of cancer and this is serious, really cause sometimes it becomes an obsession that interferes a lot with my learning skills. How can I focus when I'm feeling so much fear? Anyway it's been more than a yr since I realized I am hypochondriac In my case, the fisrt step was to understand the condition so I did a lot of research about hypochondria and I joined an anxiety forum online. I can tell you that I've been sooo much better cause along the way i've gotten a lot of selfknowledge and the best part is that sometimes I still get anxious but most of the time I feel good and I can be learning about cancer and feeling healthy and glad for learning that stuff that is gonna be so useful for my future practice. If u ever feel lonely or just need to talk to someone that can relate to u feel free to pm me cause hypochondria is harder for someone who is learning everyday about awful diseases.

 

[ucsfstudents]

It happens. Talk to your friends and you'll see they also suffer from this too. If you are really concerned, have it checked out. Medical students do get sick too.

 

[VenusinFurs]

Use rationality to think your way out of these fears. While a surface glimpse might convince you that your symptoms correspond to a disease, the whole picture of symptoms won't fit. Consider seeking counseling as well.

 

[reedman]

There's 3 effective treatment modalities on the market.

1. blue moon with an orange slice. repeat as needed.
2. get laid.
3. combination therapy of 2 treatments above

there is also an alternative herbal remedy. it is VERY complementary with #2

 

[auburnO5]

there is also an alternative herbal remedy. it is VERY complementary with #2

Agree, although it can sometimes backfire.

 

[reedman]

some people are into that

 

[RedSHIFT]

think Rationally and Objectively. It will solve your problems.

If you can't do that, well, enjoy the ride bro.

 

[Marcus Brody]

okay, this may sound really stupid and silly. i'm a 2nd year med student and i have been having really serious episodes of the "i have this really rare disease that i read about" syndrome. yesterday i worried about my one giant cafe au lait and one underarm freckle being NF1 and today i had a mild lower abdominal cramp and was scared about FAP. no one in my family or extended family has these things. i really need some advice on how to alleviate these episodes, as they are interfering with my concentration. and i don' think the solution is to just go to the clinic and get a bunch of tests done. does insurance even cover hypochondriacnism?

You're not a hypochondriac, it's all in your head.

 

[boaz]

You're not a hypochondriac, it's all in your head.

Beat me to it. 👍

 

[Nanon]

Oh, me too. But I have kids, so I have Munchhausen's, although it's mostly under control. Is it bad that my four year old knows how to take his own temperature?

My one year old has NF1 (1 large cafe au lait patch on his back) and piebaldism (light blue sectoral heterochromy in one eye). My four year old currently has appendicitis because he has groin pain and a stomach ache.

All you can do is laugh at yourself. Happily, I'm laughing all the time. Lol. Oh! There I go again!

 

[strv04]

Its ok. I've had this 1cm (maybe 1.5cm oh god...) lymph node in my neck since M2 heme/Onc. It hasn't changed, i've never had b -symptoms but that doesn't stop from from palpating the damn thing almost daily. Then again Hodgkin's has a bimodal peak which includes this age group ... oh god.

 

[Elbowstoopointy]

Its ok. I've had this 1cm (maybe 1.5cm oh god...) lymph node in my neck since M2 heme/Onc. It hasn't changed, i've never had b -symptoms but that doesn't stop from from palpating the damn thing almost daily. Then again Hodgkin's has a bimodal peak which includes this age group ... oh god.

At least you don't think you're doomed to oral cancer because you kissed a girl who had HPV....pretty damn ridiculous for me to think that

 

[red10]

probably just a brain tumor....


or at least that's what my dad has told me every time i've been sick since about 6 years old. parents🙄

 

[VenusinFurs]

At least you don't think you're doomed to oral cancer because you kissed a girl who had HPV....pretty damn ridiculous for me to think that

In other words, you kissed almost any girl, probably.

 

[doc2beIRELAND]

everytime I'm hungover I am now convinced I have volvulus - not only that but so do my classmates - paranoia spreads

 

[TheRunner]

Differential would include Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 20 mg Prozac qd. 😉

 

[OveractiveBrain]

okay, this may sound really stupid and silly. i'm a 2nd year med student and i have been having really serious episodes of the "i have this really rare disease that i read about" syndrome. yesterday i worried about my one giant cafe au lait and one underarm freckle being NF1 and today i had a mild lower abdominal cramp and was scared about FAP. no one in my family or extended family has these things. i really need some advice on how to alleviate these episodes, as they are interfering with my concentration. and i don' think the solution is to just go to the clinic and get a bunch of tests done. does insurance even cover hypochondriacnism?

My response, three posts down

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=826631&highlight=Patterns

reposted for ease

It does go away. I'll take this as an opportunity to interject why, and propose the purpose behind medical education.

Right now, you're in a classroom. You're reading a book, listening to lectures, reading slides. You're thinking "all of these symptoms sound like the ones IVE had, wtf?" The only exposure you have to these diseases, to these cancers, has been intellectual; the mental masturbation of memorizing details, a list of symptoms. This is, unfortunately, the standard for the basic science curriculum. This is what the Step 1 tests, this is what most medical schools evaluate. They want you only to recognize patterns.

As you get into the clinical years and start actually working on diagnosis in the real patient, you are going to get an idea of prevalence. You'll realize that common diseases are common, that common symptoms come from common diseases, and that the only really sick patients are those in the hospital. You'll get an even deeper understanding of this if you do a family medicine or primary care rotation, where 100 patients a day have "nothing wrong with them."

Then, as you flush out your training, you'll see that its more than just "weak muscles = dermatomyositis = cancer" and that you must look at the whole picture. You will learn who is sick and who is not sick. It won't be intellectual. It won't be numbers. It will be a visceral, innate response. You'll see someone say "im sore" and say "duh, you just moved a house" or "holy crap, you've lost 30 pounds, your uterus is the size of your leg, AND you're "sore"?" uh oh...

So right now you're learning patterns. This is when its the worst. Prevalenace will assuage some of those fears. Then learning how to put people in a clinical context will show you just how rare and infrequent "regular symptoms" lead to "catastrophic disease."

It does get better. A lot.