Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Hypochondriac?

Hypochondria: extreme depression of mind or spirits often centered on imaginary physical ailments.

I have entered yet another one of my "almost a fever" phases...


Ever since January I have been what I would consider very sick. I have on and off "fevers" (which I have been clearly told aren't really fevers since my temperature only gets to about 99.5) that last 2 - 3 weeks at a time and come every 1 - 2 weeks. These non-fevers come with chills, body aches, extreme fatigue, and occasionally, other annoying symptoms such as cold symptoms, rashes, and hair loss. As you can imagine I am starting to get very frustrated and tired of being sick.


It's gone on for so long and I've been told by so many doctors that I'm not really sick that I am starting to wonder if I am crazy. I recently spoke to a friend of mine who also had weird symptoms and she assured me that I'm not crazy and that I need to keep pushing the doctors to figure out what is wrong. Since my friend also happens to be a mental health professional I remain hopeful that I am not totally losing my mind.


It does start to make you wonder though - am I making myself sick by thinking that I'm sick or is there something really wrong? It also doesn't help that so far all of my lab results have come back normal. Pretty soon I will have to start back on my hunt for a doctor who can figure out what is wrong but in the mean time I plan on just clinging to my sanity and hoping this will all just clear up on its own.

2 comments:

hooli said...

Ugh... the dreaded conversation with a headstrong doctor that doesn't believe you. Man, I've had that one a lot lately. Hang in there... and if you need anything, let me know.

jessieg said...

No, you're not crazy. I always go in with symptoms, thinking it's stupid to say something because it's nothing. Then I come out needing to get something cut off (mole); to go up the, well, you know or go down the throat (stomach); or rebuilt (ear drum). Sometimes you walk away with something as big as MS and then sometimes as little as "nonworrisome" or "stress". My doctor takes everything seriously. You just never know. If nothing else, try yoga. It's supposed to cure everything. LOL.