Help! SEVERE Hypochondriasis/Med student syndrome

[deleted888443]

Hi, so ever since I’ve started medical school my anxiety has been an all time high. I’m doing completely fine in school, managing to stay in the top 10% of my class. But I’m constantly worried about my own health. Last semester I was having abdominal pain and bloating and I drove myself insane for like 2 weeks because I thought I had colon cancer. Turns out I was eating too much Taco Bell.

But this semester it has started to get to a point where it’s effecting my concentration. I have tingling in my legs and I automatically diagnose myself with MS after going through various forums of how people said this is how it started for them as well. I get pain somewhere? Automatically diagnose myself with cancer, etc. Am I just going crazy? Am I going to die from cancer? What the hell should I do???

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[sunshinefl]

Hi, so ever since I’ve started medical school my anxiety has been an all time high. I’m doing completely fine in school, managing to stay in the top 10% of my class. But I’m constantly worried about my own health. Last semester I was having abdominal pain and bloating and I drove myself insane for like 2 weeks because I thought I had colon cancer. Turns out I was eating too much Taco Bell.

But this semester it has started to get to a point where it’s effecting my concentration. I have tingling in my legs and I automatically diagnose myself with MS after going through various forums of how people said this is how it started for them as well. I get pain somewhere? Automatically diagnose myself with cancer, etc. Am I just going crazy? Am I going to die from cancer? What the hell should I do???

Go to your doctor?

 

[NYCdude]

Learn about pre-test probability. That basically cured my hypochondriasis.

 

[ortnakas]

Go to your doctor?

Learn about pre-test probability. That basically cured my hypochondriasis.

Both of these.
Go to your doctor. Tell him/her about specific concerns, get major (likely) things ruled out, and get some peace of mind.
Also tell him/her you have anxiety about this that is affecting your daily life. Med student syndrome is one thing, but if it’s bothering you to the point it’s “making you go insane”, it’s time to talk about it. And there should not be shame in that.

Bonus story: MS3 I was on an endocrinology elective and convinced I was hypothyroid because I was tired and my hair was thinning. My PCP ordered labs to pacify me/rule it out, but also he was right: I was just a stressed late 20s/early 30s female who no longer possessed an early-20s metabolism and wasn’t sleeping enough.

 

[ciestar]

I get bad tension headaches, and since they’re in my neck and more occipital, I was convinced I had a Chiari Malformation during Step 1 dedicated.

 

[smq123]

If you have any serious concerns about your health, please go speak to your doctor, and not SDN. Your doctor can also help you deal with your anxiety about your health.

Closing.