Wanted: Heavy sedation

Okay, I admit this is mostly just a whine. Nothing horrendous, but it's bloody annoying.

First, a brief history...for the last year, I have had breathing problems that have eluded diagnosis. Also, for the last year and a half, I have had chronic tension headaches, also with no diagnosis. Not good for someone who is a hypochondriac and who thinks every little headache is indicative of a brain tumor. I also recently have developed some annoying low-grade chest pain which I believe may just be some pulled muscles.

Sometimes I have full-blown anxiety attacks thinking something is fatally wrong with me, and this exacerbates my shortness of breath, thus causing greater stress. But other times, I remember all I have read about things that are fatal and what my doctor once told me and sometimes I can reassure myself that I'm okay. I also figure if whatever is wrong hasn't yet killed me or produced more symptoms than my current ones in the last couple of years, it can't be anything too bad.

This sucks for a lot of reasons - "headache" and "shortness of breath" are symptoms of literally hundreds of conditions, ranging from harmless to fatal. I have had quite a few tests done already, all of which have revealed nothing abnormal (asthma test, thyroid test, CAT scan of lungs).

I'm just ranting because the breathing problems are feeling worse than usual, which happened last summer when they began, leading me to believe I might have a mild undiagnosed seasonal allergy (doesn't explain why it gets slightly better in the other seasons, though). I seriously wish I could just go back to being normal...no headaches, no shortness of breath, no pain. I know I could have it much worse, but it is not comforting when I'm sitting in class and suddenly I can't breathe. If I couldn't go back to my pre-shitty health, I wish I at least had a diagnosis and some sort of treatment so I could fucking relax. *sigh*

I am thinking of hiring someone to come and kick my ass every time I start having a panic attack.

I am another chronic worrier. I tend to look up stuff on the net, but if this stuff is conituing to go on, it's worth it to see of you can narrow it down somewhat and see a specialist. Really. I'm lucky to live in a city with some of the best hospitals in the world- I hate going to the Dr. but i'm always glad I did. Take care of yourself!

I usually need to wait until I go home from college to see my doctor because the hospitals around here are extremely expensive and incompetent. As in...I have gone to two local hospitals. One told me I had to wait three weeks before going to the outpatient clinic and the other had no one available on the day of my asthma test that I had scheduled two months in advance. Oh yeah, and they charged $1200 to sit and talk to a pulmonologist for 10 minutes - no treatment, no testing, no nothing. They also hate my mom's inurance (which I will be on until I graduate).

I've been asking others about my symptoms and some have suggested non-allergic asthma. I do have symptoms of asthma, but I have no triggers (like animal hair, pollen, etc.), which are symptoms of this asthma not triggered by allergens. Hmm...

Thankfully it has not worsened overall.

I am so sorry, Cambion. It's worrisome and expensive to have to go to the doctor, but worth it if s/he can find out the exact source of your problems. I am thinking good thoughts for you.

I ended up in the ER a week or so ago because I really really couldn't breathe, and the doctors who examined me did all manner of tests that SHOULD have been done forever ago (EKG, chest x-rays, blood testing for things like embolisms, etc.). I found out my problems are being caused mot likely either by anxiety or high blood pressure (my BP wasn't exceptionally high, but it was sort of high. Like 138/87 or something like that).

On one hand, I'm hapy it wasn't something deadly. On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to paying a $580 ER bill.

As long as you send something, they tend to be happy. don't stress about sending them large chunks. It's only money!