Anyone Else Worry About Their Health More Than They Should Like Me?

[les26]

I won't call it "true" health anxiety, but does anyone else worry about their health if they feel certain sensations or things going on in their body? I am a male, will be 59 in November, had a physical in February and talked to the doctor about it and he said that I was in pretty good health, could drop a few pounds and also lower my cholesterol level which was 225 but I have never had an issue before, this was shortly after my father in law got sick and passed from cancer so we attribute it being elevated to stress, and I am very active, coach youth soccer, cut firewood, walk and stand a lot at my job where I do shipping and receiving but every so often I will feel a twinge or sensation in the chest area which most likely is muscle pains or spasms from being physical and/or bad posture from the computer or sleeping twisted but I also at times just seem to notice my heartbeat more, not fast or pounding I just am more aware of it which also happens when I have these muscle sensations but it works my anxiety levels; I wouldn't say that I am obsessed with it but it does get on my nerves, wondering if anything is wrong which I know is silly but I do! My wife says that IF I had any heart issues I would display symptoms, be out of breath, swollen ankles and other things, and I have none of that and in fact was out in the heat and humidity working the last few days and had no issues and also rode our exercise bike for 15 minutes at level 5 out of 10 and even thought to myself "I'm not even breathing hard" so I think it is misplaced anxiety. We have had a lot of stress these last 2 years ranging from my parents having issues to losing her father to Sugar our cat almost dying as I posted on here last March due to an adverse reaction to anesthesia to a few other things and I know that can play mental and physical games, the weather and mold has been HORRIBLE here in PA. for the last year, I was allergic to 14 molds when tested years ago and got shots and they helped tremendously but they said they did their job and they did but I don't need them anymore so I know for sure that allergies also affect my breathing which in turn makes me notice my heartbeat more at times in the heat and humidity especially in the mornings when allergies are worse so that plays a factor. I take vitamins and am healthy, am blessed that I don't need any medicines, but I know that some of the vitamins might also play some games with my mood and heart like fish oils and some others, I have been taking L-Citrulline for months now to lower blood pressure and I just tried Krill oil the other day instead of fish oil (they were out of fish oil) but I don't think that agrees with me so I stopped it but other than that I am fine, don't smoke or drink, get exercise but at times will start to wonder about my heart or health, I know others around my age said that as they have gotten older they also experienced similar things, but as I said I think going through MUCH stress off and on the last 2 years is a big factor, and honestly I know of and see many people my age pass away and maybe in the back of my mind I wonder "am I next?" which is silly but that's a bit on my mind too.

Anything anyone wants to add and discuss will be helpful and thank you. It is a nuisance thing and I want to eliminate it if I can. I also ordered a homeopathic remedy kali arsenicosum which is specifically for these symptoms, no health food store had it locally but it should be here in a few days, and I have had great success with these remedies, you put the pills under your tongue and it is a "like treats like" thing where it tells your body to "heal" that part, so we shall see!

 

[Jem]

I've got my fair share of anxiety and a lot of it is health related also. So I get what you're talking about.
Having said this - and I'm using my mommy tone - Have you started working on your posture yet and getting massage/physical therapy for your joints and muscles to help the process? (I think it was you right?)
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but you are right that the chest pains can be coming from the muscles. Specifically the small muscles that are between where the rib meets the spine in the back. If it gets bad enough and the rib slips sightly out of joint with the spine it can seriously feel like your having a heart attack. The pain shoots right thru from the back right into the chest and cuts your breath short. There are other muscles as well that cause chest pains (neck, pectorals...)
Also, with a combination of posture and stress, the diaphragm can get short and tight. When this happens it can cause a feeling of tension in the chest and compromise breathing, causing shortness of breath among other health issues like acid reflux, hiatal hernias, digestive issues, a feeling of pressure in the chest and so on.
Some things that can help with tension as well as anxiety is to start breathing properly. (Most people don't breath correctly.)
It's called diaphragmatic breathing - I'm sure you'll find plenty of videos and info online that can teach you this. I would also find some videos on how to self massage the diaphragm.
I have heard that practicing mindfulness is a great way to combat anxiety.
There is also an herbal remedy called Rescue Remedy that you can get in a pill or a spray that can be used as a fast acting or continued treatment.
And although you would have to careful because of the cats, Frankincense (the essential oil) is excellent for anxiety, depression, racing thoughts as well as other health issues.

 

[les26]

I've got my fair share of anxiety and a lot of it is health related also. So I get what you're talking about.
Having said this - and I'm using my mommy tone - Have you started working on your posture yet and getting massage/physical therapy for your joints and muscles to help the process? (I think it was you right?)
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but you are right that the chest pains can be coming from the muscles. Specifically the small muscles that are between where the rib meets the spine in the back. If it gets bad enough and the rib slips sightly out of joint with the spine it can seriously feel like your having a heart attack. The pain shoots right thru from the back right into the chest and cuts your breath short. There are other muscles as well that cause chest pains (neck, pectorals...)
Also, with a combination of posture and stress, the diaphragm can get short and tight. When this happens it can cause a feeling of tension in the chest and compromise breathing, causing shortness of breath among other health issues like acid reflux, hiatal hernias, digestive issues, a feeling of pressure in the chest and so on.
Some things that can help with tension as well as anxiety is to start breathing properly. (Most people don't breath correctly.)
It's called diaphragmatic breathing - I'm sure you'll find plenty of videos and info online that can teach you this. I would also find some videos on how to self massage the diaphragm.
I have heard that practicing mindfulness is a great way to combat anxiety.
There is also an herbal remedy called Rescue Remedy that you can get in a pill or a spray that can be used as a fast acting or continued treatment.
And although you would have to careful because of the cats, Frankincense (the essential oil) is excellent for anxiety, depression, racing thoughts as well as other health issues.

Yes you are right "Mommy" it is me and I have been doing some of the stretches that you showed me lol! Thanks again for that! And although I know in my head that I was doing these things lately like being on ladders stretching and straining to trim hedges and a climbing Hydrangea that was up near the roof and straining trying to cut it with a pole trimmer etc. I don't for some reason put the things together and say "oh yeah, I really was straining my upper body doing those things, maybe that's why I am feeling these things!"...why, I don't know, but I seem to have to remind myself of the MANY straining things I do that can cause issues!

My father had an issue about 28 years ago where he was short of breath and they did some angioplasty on him and he was and is fine and is still here at 81 years old, so I think subconciously that is in the back of my mind. And I noticed that when someone dies I seem to think about it more, as well as being under stress. I guess that is normal, but I am working on not worrying about it and it seems to be working, just wanted to see if anyone had any tips on how they handle it and thanks again very much for yours!!

 

[mightyboosh]

I'm a similar age and I get you although you sound fitter than me to be honest. I think it's an age thing maybe. Let's face it, when we were 18 we were invincible and would live forever then later on in life you think, hang on, what was that twinge I just felt. We probably had a few twinges then but just shrugged them off. I'm far more aware of my mortality these days.
Hang on, there's someone at the door, bye.

 

[Jem]

It's hard to get out of our own heads! I too struggle and have to remind myself that I'm being ridiculous sometimes.
And a lot of people don't realize how much stress (not to mention anxiety) plays a part on our bodies. Fight or flight was useful when we had to defend ourselves from sabertooth tigers (and of course in some situations today) but that very same response can show up with a simple negative thought. And trying to retrain our brains to stop that cycle is very frustrating and causes even more stress!
Sometimes I find I am more capable than other times to shrug off my thoughts, but other times I need to take a real moment to tell myself to cut it out.
Whats sad is I'm not even middle aged yet! I don't even want to know what I'll tell myself when I'm creeping closer to my 60's. Hopefully by then I'll have mastered my brain.
Thankfully, like you, I'm in overall good health and recognize what's going on.

 

[les26]

Thanks for the replies, and yes, some days I don't think about it at all and other days it is in my head a lot more than I want it to be! I saw my soccer coaching partner pass away a day after he turned 44 12/16/07, lost my grandmother 10 years ago at 93 and many others have passed, see some in the paper that I graduated high school with 100 years ago, see people in the paper younger than me and I do think about it, but the best we can do is take care of ourselves the best that we can, just like we can only take care of our cats the best that we can.

I also think that my wife hit on it too, I am concerned for my parents who are 79 and 80, they have had their share of issues over the last two years but are "okay", but after losing my father in law in December at almost 86 I know I worry about my parents and also saw how much was involved to "clean up" after he died and take care of things and sell the house etc., and my parents have WAY more than they did, I have told my mom so many times recently "please get things in order, I'm not trying to be morbid but you need to tie up loose ends, and let me know what you want me to do if something bad happens", but they don't, they own homes and cars and land and aren't doing a damn thing as far as consolidating things so I will one day have all that mess to deal with but that in itself is another story, I tried to talk to them years ago about selling things and making their lives easier but have found out older people get set in their ways and you can't change them, that story would take me 9 years to explain but the point is sometimes there is stress and worry lurking in the back of our minds and we don't quite know what it is until it makes itself known but until then can come out in strange ways.

MANY factors like I said, allergies too can make things miserable and they have been bad for a long time here in rainy Eastern PA.!

 

[Mia6]

I'm a similar age and I get you although you sound fitter than me to be honest. I think it's an age thing maybe. Let's face it, when we were 18 we were invincible and would live forever then later on in life you think, hang on, what was that twinge I just felt. We probably had a few twinges then but just shrugged them off. I'm far more aware of my mortality these days.
Hang on, there's someone at the door, bye.

ha!!!!

 

[Mia6]

the best we can do is take care of ourselves the best that we can, just like we can only take care of our cats the best that we can.

That is good advice. Relax a bit, and enjoy life. We all fret at times.

 

[vyger]

First off about allergies. And just so you know I have really bad allergies, mostly to grass pollen but other stuff as well. I have been through the desensitizing shots 4 times now and they had very little effect for me. Allergies are caused by a misguided immune system. It goes after something that is not an enemy. The shots are designed to try and reprogram the response so it won't go crazy when it comes into contact with something. But your immune system has a memory and sometimes it turns back on to things that it quit responding to. So it is never really cured but rather controlled and re-tuned. A vaccine is designed to teach your immune system that something is bad, like a strain of flu, so it goes after it when it comes into contact with it. So essentially you can become allergic to anything at any time if your body decides it's bad and needs to be attacked. There are even cases where people have become allergic to their mates. So really educating yourself about it is the best thing you can do. Be aware that you have an overactive immune system of sorts.
I have found that as you get older your muscles get more sore after exertion and it doesn't go away as fast. So if you do something strenuous you feel a lot worse the next day than you used to. I also takes longer to fade away. Interestingly this includes the chest muscles. So deep breathing used to be no big deal and all that running and stuff was not a problem. Now when you work those chest muscles they get sore just like the others and suddenly it hurts to take a deep breath. You over did something, panted to hard and strained those muscles and now they complain. You just need to learn the new limits and pace yourself. If you overdo things it will hurt a lot more than it used to.
And, but by all means not the last thing, the disks in your back deteriorate with age. As they do they can put pressure on the nerves that feed out of your spine. This causes phantom pains. It is the nerve that produces the pain and the nervous system doesn't know how to interpret it. This is what sciatica pain is. It feels like it is originating in the hip but the actually source is the spine where the nerves are being compressed. When nerves start getting irritated really weird things can happen. You can "feel" the pain anywhere along that nerve but that will not be the actual site of the problem. It's a lot of fun, this getting older stuff, welcome to the club.

 

[di and bob]

At 63 I am very much aware that my body puts limitations now on how much and what I can do. I still work hard, carrying 40lb sacks of bird seed and many other heavy items, helping my husband remodel houses and enough yardwork to keep a crew busy. I have had a lot of sore muscles lately. I used a gas trimmer for 6 hours straight (three tanks of gas and replacing line 4 times) three days ago and my arms are still sore! I have worked as an RN in nursing home for years, and am aware of decline and what it looks like. As we age, our hearts age too. Did you know it is VERY common for adults over 50 to develop murmurs!? I would bet 90% of the seniors over 80 I checked had some kind of murmur. "Feeling" a heart beat can indicate raised blood presure, an arrhythmia of some kind such as A-fib, or most commonly another sign of getting older, palpitations. Palpitations can very easily be caused by stress, over stimulation from hard work or caffeine, meds, etc., gaining weight, and at this time of the year, dehydration. Palpitations are relatively harmless unless they make you weak, faint, or badly out of breathe, then you should have it checked out. Or if they are getting worse, longer, or more often. "Twinges" can be from overexertion too from rarely used muscles like stated above, or from a change in posture.
Palpitations are a way of your body trying to tell you something. Usually slow down or reduce your stress level. As we get to our 60's I know it is hard, but try to relax more and take more frequent breaks. The occaisional twinge, pull, or a harder heart beat is not something to worry about, but if they get worse or more pronounced, have your heart checked out! With the advancements they have made in medication and surgery, it is definitely not the death sentence it was years ago!

 

[maggiedemi]

I started worrying when I read that poor dental care can lead to heart problems. Dental care is too expensive, so not much I can do about it.

 

[les26]

First off about allergies. And just so you know I have really bad allergies, mostly to grass pollen but other stuff as well. I have been through the desensitizing shots 4 times now and they had very little effect for me. Allergies are caused by a misguided immune system. It goes after something that is not an enemy. The shots are designed to try and reprogram the response so it won't go crazy when it comes into contact with something. But your immune system has a memory and sometimes it turns back on to things that it quit responding to. So it is never really cured but rather controlled and re-tuned. A vaccine is designed to teach your immune system that something is bad, like a strain of flu, so it goes after it when it comes into contact with it. So essentially you can become allergic to anything at any time if your body decides it's bad and needs to be attacked. There are even cases where people have become allergic to their mates. So really educating yourself about it is the best thing you can do. Be aware that you have an overactive immune system of sorts.
I have found that as you get older your muscles get more sore after exertion and it doesn't go away as fast. So if you do something strenuous you feel a lot worse the next day than you used to. I also takes longer to fade away. Interestingly this includes the chest muscles. So deep breathing used to be no big deal and all that running and stuff was not a problem. Now when you work those chest muscles they get sore just like the others and suddenly it hurts to take a deep breath. You over did something, panted to hard and strained those muscles and now they complain. You just need to learn the new limits and pace yourself. If you overdo things it will hurt a lot more than it used to.
And, but by all means not the last thing, the disks in your back deteriorate with age. As they do they can put pressure on the nerves that feed out of your spine. This causes phantom pains. It is the nerve that produces the pain and the nervous system doesn't know how to interpret it. This is what sciatica pain is. It feels like it is originating in the hip but the actually source is the spine where the nerves are being compressed. When nerves start getting irritated really weird things can happen. You can "feel" the pain anywhere along that nerve but that will not be the actual site of the problem. It's a lot of fun, this getting older stuff, welcome to the club.

Thanks for the great post and information! I am sorry that the allergy shots didn't help you, they greatly helped me so I am grateful for that. I remember when they tested me years ago I was allergic to 14 molds, and the "lumps" that reacted were so big I thought the doctor's eyes were going to bulge out of his head when he saw me, he said "are you alright, do you feel alright?!" and I was fine, but that's how badly I was affected by mold! I got the shots for years but was able to go every 7-8 weeks at the end and they said that I didn't need them anymore if that was the case, and I even got retested a few years later and they confirmed that they did their job and I wasn't bad enough for them so I do believe that but they helped tremendously, but the mold level has been very high for quite a long time now so I know I am breathing that in and it can affect you mentally as well as physically when you are "swimming in it" like I say we have been for months now!

And funny you should mention back discs, I had a slightly ruptured L5-SI in 2007, so I know what you are saying, and I also know from experience and also from talking with Jem on here that your upper back and chest can be out of alignment and cause all sorts of "sensations" and pains and all, so yes that also is a factor.

And the straining part and getting older part is true, I still do many physical things at work and home but it has been tougher to do them over these last few years, but I will continue to do them and keep moving and keep active, it is a constant battle but that's what it takes so I will do it along with stretching and exercises, and this morning as well as a few days ago I sat on our exercise bike, that thing sitting there hardly used that we bought years ago for $900 lol! Even 10 minutes on it is a help, burns some calories and loses some weight and the physical action releases endorphins so you feel better and you sweat out some toxins!

And I also got off the Krill oil, don't know if I mentioned that I was looking for fish oil in 500 mg. size but they were out but said "but we have Krill oil 500 mg." so I tried it, and after 3 days of it I have a feeling that is why I felt so strange in my guts and was on the toilet more which I know aggravates my Irritable bowel which I was told I have after a colonoscopy 4 years ago and I know that any disturbances in the bowels due to that CAN and DO cause changes that can result in anxiety, depression etc. which in turn CAN cause weird thoughts and feeling etc. so it is all related and just ties in with everything else and just goes on and on and on....

 

[les26]

At 63 I am very much aware that my body puts limitations now on how much and what I can do. I still work hard, carrying 40lb sacks of bird seed and many other heavy items, helping my husband remodel houses and enough yardwork to keep a crew busy. I have had a lot of sore muscles lately. I used a gas trimmer for 6 hours straight (three tanks of gas and replacing line 4 times) three days ago and my arms are still sore! I have worked as an RN in nursing home for years, and am aware of decline and what it looks like. As we age, our hearts age too. Did you know it is VERY common for adults over 50 to develop murmurs!? I would bet 90% of the seniors over 80 I checked had some kind of murmur. "Feeling" a heart beat can indicate raised blood presure, an arrhythmia of some kind such as A-fib, or most commonly another sign of getting older, palpitations. Palpitations can very easily be caused by stress, over stimulation from hard work or caffeine, meds, etc., gaining weight, and at this time of the year, dehydration. Palpitations are relatively harmless unless they make you weak, faint, or badly out of breathe, then you should have it checked out. Or if they are getting worse, longer, or more often. "Twinges" can be from overexertion too from rarely used muscles like stated above, or from a change in posture.
Palpitations are a way of your body trying to tell you something. Usually slow down or reduce your stress level. As we get to our 60's I know it is hard, but try to relax more and take more frequent breaks. The occaisional twinge, pull, or a harder heart beat is not something to worry about, but if they get worse or more pronounced, have your heart checked out! With the advancements they have made in medication and surgery, it is definitely not the death sentence it was years ago!

Also great advice, thanks for the information! I know I did go a few years ago and talked to the same doctor that gave me a physical in February and told him all these things and he said it sounded to him like it was being caused by "emotions" or stress, and like I said we have been under it quite a bit lately. I also told him that I believe posture has a lot to do with it or more so muscles being strained from bad posture, and he told me he broke his foot awhile back and was in a cast with a crutch, and at the end he got tired of the crutch so he was just walking with the cast on and he started to develop chest pains because he was torquing the muscles in his chest from being off angle!

I know there is nothing wrong with my heart, but these thoughts and feelings have always been how I have been, I just seem to be getting a bit worse with it as I age and also see others pass away. A few years ago I had pain in the lower left side of my abdomen and down a bit lower and despite being checked several times by a doctor I was told it wasn't a hernia, but since it was in that area that's what I had stuck in my mind and couldn't get it out, and after trying chiropractors and physical therapists with little or no success the doctor told me FINALLY to see an orthopedic doctor and she did x-rays and an MRI and what I have is labeled a "sports hernia", it is NOT true hernia but it is where everything connects and it gets overtight and really painful, they showed me some exercises which help sometimes and not others but at least I know what it is, and she told me that "everyone has one angry side, one side that hurts worse than the other", and mine is my left side. So my point now is I have pains or sensations in my chest area and that inner voice thinks "it is in your chest, it must be your heart!", but once again that inner voice is not quite right. I also think it is your mind's way of trying to protect you, to let you know something MIGHT be wrong, but just like the allergy reaction I think I overreact to these thoughts too!!!

Thanks again!!!

 

[Graceful-Lily]

I'm only 20 years old and I worry about my health constantly. I had not heard of anything called anxiety before my appendix was removed at 13 years old. After that, I never thought the same way again. So, I understand what you're talking about to an extent.

As time goes on, I've learned to just accept that life is life and there is nothing I can do to change it. That helps somewhat. I had to get out of my head and imagination. The world doesn't revolve around me. The universe doesn't care about me.

But... I still get anxious about health stuff. I feel mentally fine but my body still feels the need to protect me from any and all external threats.

 

[les26]

I am continuing to play detective and put the pieces of this puzzle together. I realize as we have said that the "sensations" in the body are real, be it muscle or breathing or whatever and not harmful but the brain perceives them AS harmful threats and then overreacts just like someone had said about the allergic response, and I have also found that some of the vitamins and supplements I take can also increase blood flow which can increase the "sensation" of my heartbeat like fish oil and L-Citrulline and perhaps a few others, so yesterday I didn't take anything except a vitamin C/Quercetin pill and I felt pretty much calm through out the day, so I may need to either adjust what I take or take it at supper instead of breakfast, we shall see what happens. I also tried that Krill oil for 3 days and I truly believe that was the reason I was feeling sick and like I had a stomach virus, and it along with fish oils and some other things can also affect your mind and mood so that Krill oil is OUT!!!

And I also take turns sleeping downstairs on pull out sofa beds which are comfortable but not like our sleep number bed is, and the pillow I was using is a curved one for snoring which didn't help so I switched to a regular pillow just the other day which is better but I also have to get used to sleeping like that as that explains much of the upper body pains, strains and sensations, I wake up twisted usually because Sylvester or Stanley is smashed against me and I don't want to roll on them but that also is a big part of it!

Thanks again for the replies, I think we are really getting a handle on it now!!!

 

[les26]

I have found some interesting things out this last week; since I had to be what appeared to be a negative reaction to that Krill oil I also started to question Glucosamine and Chondroitin which I have been taking for many years that also comes from shellfish and I had suspected it awhile ago that it might be the cause of some intestinal aggravations I had from time to time, so that makes some sense that it could've been it since they both are of a similar source! I stopped taking it the beginning of this week, and have cut down on most of my vitamins just to see what would happen, and I must admit that I have almost NONE of the chest "sensations", don't notice my heartbeat unusually like before, don't have any worrisome thoughts about it, none! So I am still playing detective and seeing if I really need Glucosamine anymore, if I should take maybe Flax seed oil rather than fish oil etc. Very interesting stuff, and I am pretty sensitive to anything that I take and because of that I do take smaller amounts of things than what is usually recommended so that it still works but the side effects are lower. And I also read that Glucosamine can increase eye pressure and mine was really high for no obvious reason last year, that could be why!

Wow....really interesting things!

 

[GaryT]

I too can understand. I am 63. I look at the positives and combat the negatives. I quit smoking 10 years ago and am much better for it. I should exercise more. This time of year the bugs are bad so I can't enjoy walks. I have PKD but all the changes I have made are helping slow the disease down. We can to some degree get control of our lives and be healthier. Docs have me on a bunch of meds (3 BP meds among them). I hate taking so many pills but, if I don't I won't be around long. The health issues are genetic and out of my control. We are "indestructable" when young. I guess I ain't doing so bad as an old fart. PKD took my one year older sister almost 2 years ago. That makes me focus more on working on what I have control over.

Just my 2 cents.....for what it's worth. I can relate.

 

[vyger]

I started worrying when I read that poor dental care can lead to heart problems. Dental care is too expensive, so not much I can do about it.

There are a lot of very good dental clinics in Mexico now. They do top notch procedures for much less cost. If I wasn’t so far from there I would seriously think about going there.