Worried I'm going to die

[UberScout]

I keep seeing "This Might Save Your Life" videos that tell you about different medical things that say "if [thing in your body] looks like [thing that shouldn't be there] get to the hospital immediately" and as if by coincidence a lot of it has been pointing to me:

- I keep having nosebleeds every other day, but they don't last more than a couple seconds.
- I've had a bad spell of diarrhea recently (sorry!) and while there's no blood in it, it takes a long time to...eugh, clean off, and sometimes, each time I have a movement it feels different. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's easy, sometimes it feels slick, etc. I apologize for being graphic.
- My doctor recently explained to me that the reason I keep fluctuating in weight is because my thyroid is slow.

All of this has me pointing to one big, scary thing that I hope I never get...

CANCER.

I know cancer has a lot of symptoms like blood in your stool, and bleeding from different places, and I do NOT want to die an early death, I'm too young and I have a career in mind. I know they say if you catch it fast enough you can get it out of your body and it won't kill you, but I still don't want it.

The doctor I have is not qualified to do checkups, she's not a family doctor, so I'll have to get her to refer me to one. So can't get a straight answer right now, which stresses me out even more. What if it's something else? The point is, I don't want to die at 23!

Please tell me everything's going to be alright...

 

[Misery]

Going to respond to your points there:

1. Ignore that crap you're finding on the Net. Remember all those stupid "ONE WEIRD TRICK" ads? It's just like those: Pure clickbait, and nothing more. You'll not get REAL info out of stuff like that. Remember: The internet's nature is chaotic, and it is a bastion of lies and misinformation. The only medical info you can truly trust, is that given to you directly by medical professionals you meet in real life.

2. Everyone gets this at some point. Nobody seems to know what causes it when it's purely random (as in, not caused by sickness or something bad that you ate). And sometimes it really is just that: Random. Though it is worth considering the possibility that it WAS something you ate. It's also important to keep yourself HYDRATED. I cannot stress this enough. Most people do not drink NEARLY as much water as we're supposed to. Hydration has a huge effect on how you feel, and such, even if we dont really realize it. Feeling bad, having some weird issues? Start guzzling water. I"ve been through stuff like this myself, and the water was what finally put a stop to it. Dehydration can have all sorts of bizarre and unexpected effects, though you may not FEEL dehydrated or thirsty. If you are truly concerned about, uh, bowel issues though... just pay a visit to the doctor and see what they say. If nothing else, it'll go a long way towards easing your anxiety over it, and they may be able to offer some advice on things you can try out to put a stop to it. Definitely get that referral sooner rather than later, so that when you see a need to get checked out, you can do so without having to wait a billionty years. Simply practical, that.


Honestly, I've been through this sort of anxiety MANY times. That sort of confusing, utter paranoia that takes over your life until it fades. Actually had a godawful anxiety attack a couple of weeks ago, wrecked me for a few days. The most important thing when facing fears like this is to gather info to understand it better (again, doctor visit in this case, they are the ones who can teach you more), while AVOIDING misinformation (internet).

Beyond that though, DO things. Anything. "Inaction is the enemy", is a phrase that recently got drilled into my head. And it's true. When I'm NOT mentally engaged with something, is when the random fears can start taking hold. Watch an exciting movie, play games, go for a walk, sprint in circles, I dunno, just SOMETHING.

Try to calm yourself, and be LOGICAL instead of emotional. You'll get through this. Most of us here deal with a ton of anxiety in our lives, and it can get really random. Gotta just push through it. You can do it.

 

[Fino]

Everything's going to be alright!

 

[Fino]

I always tell people who have these health scares: what are the chances that I do all these drugs for years and do this all ridiculously stupid stuff and turn out as alive as can be, and then you're over there doing nothing out of the ordinary and just die?

That wouldn't be fair at all!

 

[SusanLR]

I've had the Big One. One of the worst types, Liver. It has been 9 1/2 yrs. since I had half of my
liver removed.
No, no one would ever want to get severe internal cancer anywhere about them.

I hope you do get your concerns checked by a specialist. It will hopefully ease your mind.
Checking your stools, blood and a thyroid ultra sound would be easy for the specialist to do.
I'm not a doctor, but, had medical training to be a pharmacist and some experiences of my own.
I had nose bleeds everyday when I was in grade school, very hard to stop, and found I was anemic.
Easy to treat, they went away. CBC blood test will show any type of blood disorder.
Allergies can cause sinus problems too.

I've had over active thyroid three times in my life. It was treated with medicine. Slow or overactive
both can be treated with medicine. And they both can cause weight changes. Blood test and/or ultra sound
are good tests for that.

The bowel symptoms sounds like irritable bowel syndrome. I have that and the same symptoms.
Spicey foods and stress bring it on with me.
If you aren't vomiting, passing bloody or black stools, those are the main signs of cancer in the bowel.
Again, the doctor can give you a stool test for that and go from there depending on the results.

Try not to worry until you find out. There are a lot of treatable things that can cause bowel
symptoms like you describe. Even stress!

 

[Suzanne]

I used to be like this, until I understood a bit about how the body works and now, can reason myself through it.

Cancer is not a death sentence. It is the medicine that causes death. Obviously though, one cannot ignore what is happening to their body, but all it is saying is: I feel bad, please correct it and that means building up the immune system and how you know if that is balanced, is how many times you get sick.

I am assuming you started getting nose bleeds AFTER you read information? That would be psychosamatic. And as with toilet issues.

The amount of times I have subconsciously WILLED myself to feel symptoms.

I remember when the "flesh eating" disease was suddenly all over the newspaper and what to look out for was listed. The first sign was a cold and suddenly, I got a cold and even went on to say: if you go to your dr they will laugh and send you home and very soon death will follow. So, I phoned my dr, because of fear ( not to test out the theory) and sure enough, he laughed at me.

I was in college at the time, and dragged myself there and wow, one student who was a real die hard character, informed that she got ridicously worried and I felt tons better lol

Just to say, that a sibling of mine, had blood in her stools and guess what? She even POSTED her poo on line ( my brother related it) and she was tested and told it was not cancer.

The moral is to look after our bodies. Not to rely on drs, who mostly are taught only what meds to give. Of course, there are those who genuinly care and it appears the dr I am seeing is one who cares, but sadly, it is the other type that exist more.

I have nearly died twice if I had listened to drs!

 

[Misery]

She even POSTED her poo on line ( my brother related it)

 

[Progster]

I often look up medical issues online, and for every ailment or symptom, there will usually be a long list of possible causes, one of which will usually be some kind of cancer. But that doesn't mean that is IS cancer. For example, blood in stools or diarrhea can be caused by a wide range of things such as irritable bowel syndrome or piles (hemorrhoids). I have both and it's not so unusual to have blood in my stools.

The best way to approach it is: have regular check ups, blood tests. Exercise and eat healthily. Be aware of changes in your body and if in any doubt, visit a doctor, but remember that most symptoms have any number of causes that are easy to treat and not cancer, having them checked out is a precaution.
Things like lumps, changes in moles on the skin, should always be checked out. I had a lump in my breast that turned out to be cancerous, but because I found it and had it checked out early on, it was removed and the cancer is gone. But only about 10% of tumours turn out to be malignant.

 

[Mary Lyn]

The only medical info you can truly trust, is that given to you directly by medical professionals you meet in real life.

Oh to be that naive again lol I think doctors mistakes is the second cause of death in the US.

Look, you don't have to watch your bodily functions the rest of your life watching for cancer signs. Just stop eating crappy foods/drinks and add a few things like broccoli sprouts that kill cancer. It is highly unlikely that you will get cancer at a young age. It is not a death sentence anyway with many successful alternative methods to get rid of it.

And if you keep running to your doctor asking for tests, he will write some not very nice things on your notes. Chill.

 

[Streetwise]

Oh to be that naive again lol I think doctors mistakes is the second cause of death in the US.

Look, you don't have to watch your bodily functions the rest of your life watching for cancer signs. Just stop eating crappy foods/drinks and add a few things like broccoli sprouts that kill cancer. It is highly unlikely that you will get cancer at a young age. It is not a death sentence anyway with many successful alternative methods to get rid of it.

And if you keep running to your doctor asking for tests, he will write some not very nice things on your notes. Chill.

A young woman in my town went to see her GP when she was 18 years old she was told it was highly unlikely that she had cancer she died when she was 25

 

[Mary Lyn]

Then it was a great pity that she never heard of the natural substances that kill cancer and that she put her trust in a doctor.

 

[Streetwise]

Then it was a great pity that she never heard of the natural substances that kill cancer and that she put her trust in a doctor.

sadly we have knowledge ,she probably had no knowledge ,apart from ? it's something bad ? I'm frightened ? I will go to the doctor! she went to the doctor ,again the doctor basically couldn't be bothered ,then she started to bleed more intensely, so started to look for help somewhere else ,A short period after that she went to another GP ,who referred her to a hospital ,to be told she had I think ? uterine cancer Grade 4, died a short time afterwards .

 

[Mary Lyn]

Very sad story.

 

[Fino]

Oh to be that naive again lol I think doctors mistakes is the second cause of death in the US.

Everything I can find says cancer, ironically.

 

[Streetwise]

Everything I can find says cancer, ironically.

another possibility nerve damage ,if the capillaries in the nose are damaged you will get nosebleeds, if you have muscle weakness in the large and small intestine you could suffer from diarrhoea or constipation, anxiety can cause constipation or diarrhoea , you can also get nosebleeds from A virus such as the coronavirus(influenza).
from a bacterial infection which can damage the capillaries and nerves such as staphylococcus aureus or methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus .

 

[tree]

@UberScout
"My doctor recently explained to me that the reason I keep fluctuating in weight is because my thyroid is slow."

Is Your Thyroid Destroying Your Gut Function? - Healthy Gut Company
Consequences of dysthyroidism on the digestive tract and viscera
Could Your Thyroid Disease Be Causing Your Digestive Problems?

 

[Fino]

another possibility nerve damage ,if the capillaries in the nose are damaged you will get nosebleeds, if you have muscle weakness in the large and small intestine you could suffer from diarrhoea or constipation, anxiety can cause constipation or diarrhoea , you can also get nosebleeds from A virus such as the coronavirus(influenza).
from a bacterial infection which can damage the capillaries and nerves such as staphylococcus aureus or methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus .

As the second cause of death in the US? I think there's been a misunderstanding.

 

[Misery]

Oh to be that naive again lol I think doctors mistakes is the second cause of death in the US.

Look, you don't have to watch your bodily functions the rest of your life watching for cancer signs. Just stop eating crappy foods/drinks and add a few things like broccoli sprouts that kill cancer. It is highly unlikely that you will get cancer at a young age. It is not a death sentence anyway with many successful alternative methods to get rid of it.

And if you keep running to your doctor asking for tests, he will write some not very nice things on your notes. Chill.

...What the heck kind of doctors have you seen? "Write not very nice things on your notes"? What... What does that even mean? That sounds ominous.

 

[Fino]

...What the heck kind of doctors have you seen? "Write not very nice things on your notes"? What... What does that even mean? That sounds ominous.

I've seen things like that on TV where it's written that the patient is difficult. Never known if it was a real thing or not.

 

[Autistamatic]

...What the heck kind of doctors have you seen? "Write not very nice things on your notes"? What... What does that even mean? That sounds ominous.

It's less common now freedom of information legislation has given people the rights to see all their medical notes but it used to be very common. Acronyms were the main form such as:

PITA
Pain In The Arse

FABIAN
Felt Awful But Is Alright Now (time waster/hypochondriac)

FLK (or sometimes) FoLK
Funny Looking Kid

And many more that aren't "PG13" enough for this forum