Thomas and I would be happy to come help – check your email, hon!
Feh – and for the first time ever, I post as Thomas. Gah! I blame it on my disease. Yeah, that’s the ticket. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, so nyah! 
Oh lighten up. The OP asked what could be wrong. Rather than asking medical professionals (ftr, I am neither a nurse nor a carmen) she asks a message board. Several possibilities are posited, and several are rejected.
The reality is Hypochondria is a common afliction, overwhelming some facilities and burdening doctors. Why do you reject this possibility without even the slightest consideration? It’s not something anyone wants to hear, but it is something that deserves to be considered as a possibility. It is far more common than a rare form of cancer.
And you are qualified to make this statement how???
Kathy
Oh lighten up. I stated what could be wrong with you. Rather than recommending a medical professional (ftr, you’re neither a nurse nor polite), you insult a poster on a message board. Several possibilities occurred to me about your character, and several are rejected.
The reality is Jerkishness is a common affliction, overwhelming some message boards and burdening servers. Why do you reject this possibiluty without even the slightest consideration? It’s not something anyone wants to hear, but it is something that deserves to be pointed out as a possibility. It is far more common than a rare form of brain disease.
I insulted the poster? Because I opined in a thread where everyone else was making wild unprofessional guesses? I’ll admit I could lose some style points for tact, but any way I brought up the possibility could be seen that way, say I said it as straight forward as possible.
just as qualified as every else who opined here. If Quadrop drops in and tells me that hypochondria wouldn’t be even considered as a possibility in this case, I’ll admit to being mistaken. As it is, I was a child of a Hypochondriac, so I might just have more qualifacations than some. My mother was a master at asking complete strangers their opinions on her medical conditions, considering the opinions of the doctors weren’t to her liking.
YES!
Your characterization that our guesses were “wild” is also insulting. Not one of us claimed to be a professional, so I’m not at all sure what your beef is with any of us posting speculation based not only on personal experience but on a considerable amount of research on all of our parts.
Bravo.
That’s nonsense. You did (what I and others perceived to be) a tacky, insulting drive-by post, with no reasoned explanation as to how or why you could possibly conclude that.
See above.
Hmmm, I looked and looked, but I don’t see where anyone said you were (or could be) mistaken. You were rude. Those are entirely different things.
I’ll see your mother and raise you one mother of my own. My mother was accused for 20 years of being a hypochondriac or an attention-seeker for complaining of constant pain that originated in her pinkie and radiated up her entire arm. The rare glomus tumor they found embedded in her bone during exploratory surgery when she went in for something else was her vindication. In the medical profession, especially when it comes to women, the accusation of hypochondria is far more prevelent than the incidence of actual hypochondria. This is an obvious conclusion based on the fact that so many women are accused of it when they are eventually shown to actually be sick!
I’m sorry you had to grow up with a mother who was a constant complainer. I’m sure it must have been difficult. But that doesn’t give you license to level insulting accusations at strangers.
My mother is 89… she’s healither then I am! Physically anyway. But all my life, she’s had whatever was the new “in” illness or whatever she heard about or thought of on her own.
I, too, am familiar with hypochondriasis. My background is in mental health. Perhaps you are of the opinion that mental health isn’t as important as physical health or the two can be separated or some other idea. Personally, I believe that it’s impossible to separate the two areas since they both go into a person’s overall “health”.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) is a guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders in the United States. I didn’t do a complete search because I don’t feel up to it today, but from this site Generalized Anxiety Disorder - DSM-IV Criteria
Bolding added by me to emphasize that in the mental health world, Hypochondriasis is considered to be “a serious illness”. So, if someone is suffering from this condition, it’s still a serious illness!
You may well be correct. I don’t know what’s wrong with Themis00. Apparently no one does. Until it’s ruled out as a possibility, everything has to be considered. I took offense to your implied discountment of the situation by the way you tossed in your two cents. Of course you had every right as anyone else in this thread to throw in an uneducated opinion! I’ll always defend a person’s right to their opinion, but I’ll also defend someone when they are in pain (physical or emotional) as is obviously the case here, and someone comes along with a meanspirited drive-by post
If I’m wrong, let me know!!! You will have my apology. Knowing that your mother suffered from the illness makes it more understandable where you were coming from, but DOES NOT excuse rudeness!
One more thing…
From this site
Um, how do I say this? It’s not common. Yes, stats can be manipulated to show what is wanted, but I’m not going to do my own double blind analysis to see what results I get. I’m just going to accept this one as it seems representitive of my experiences in mental health treatment. On a personal note: as the daughter of someone with this illness, it sure can seem to be more prevalent then it is.
To close this highjack (my apologies Themis00!!!) … I’ve been looking for you to weigh in on my Fantasy Football problem NurseCarmen. I’ve respected your comments in other football threads and was hoping you’d add to this one.
Kathy
Nope. it occurs in men and women with equal frequency
Nope. Studies show that between 6% and 10% of people visiting doctors may be suffering from hypochondria.
A bunch of disinformation won’t help the OP come to a conclusion as to what her ailment is.
Okay, I admited that I lost points for tact. Consider it a valid insertion not tactifully laid out. I too feel that it’s a serious issue, too often not considered as a possibility. But asking to consider hypocondria is an insult? That is where I think people need to lighten up. It’s a valid and often diagnosed condition. For people to take offense that it was brought up is just plain ridiculous.
As I said, the rest of us who have replied here, backed up our “wild guesses” with links to cites that support our conclusions. Those cites list symptoms that are all described by the OPer. Had you bothered to take the time or make the effort to substantiate your accusation, you’d have learned that the symptoms and definitions of hypochondria don’t fit a single thing about the OPer and her complaints…
Contrary to this, the OPer states that she’s actually been diagnosed with anemia and sinusitis, so that leaves out the possibility that her illness(es) are only perceived and not real. Her gynocologist told her her abdominal pain could have an undetected physical source; endometriosis. Her weight loss and hair loss are real and are able to be physically measured. Her doctors acknowledged (and confirmed) her swollen lymph nodes but expressed no concern that they might indicate cancer because of their size and mobility. She further states that, despite being concerned, she’s living a normal life.
From that same link:
Interestingly (or not), I don’t see anywhere where the OPer has made any such wild claims. They considered (and were concerned about) hodgkins disease, but on the reassurance of her doctor and on her own reasearch findings that her symptoms really don’t match, has happily ruled that out. Hardly sounds like a hypochondriac to me.
Well, let’s examine this, shall we? The OPer complained of hair loss, weight loss, swollen glands, lower abdominal pain and sensitivity to cold. I don’t see a single one of those among the symptoms most often associated with hypochondria.
So in conclusion, you had no basis in fact to level a charge of hypochondria, but chose to stick your nose in here anyway. Next time perhaps you’ll give more consideration before doing the same again.
And on preview I see this gem:
What the hell does that prove in relation to my statement that accusations of hypochondria are more prevelent than actual hypochondria? I’m happy to accept the 6 to 10% figure from your cite. But it doesn’t address the additional people who are falsely accused, which makes my statement absolutely undisputable.
And the fact that it was brought up at all is not (entirely) the issue. It’s the manner in which you did so and the fact that you had no basis to make such an outlandish claim. Reread this reply if you still have any doubts about that.
Wha?? Is hypochondria now a felony? I wasn’t leveling a charge, I was telling the OP to consider a possibility. Get over it.
If you seriously believe that all those with hypochondriasis fit into that tidy little definition, I can understand why you consider it outlandish. The truth is, it comes in many flavors.
Reread the OP. Her symptoms are all over the map. I stand by my opinion that hypochondriasis should be one of the considerations. I understand why you are sensative about this issue considering the misdiagnosis of your mother, but it’s a valid medical condition.
Find me a cite that shows the percentage of patients falsely accused of hypochondriasis. 6-10% equals tens or hundreds millions of patient/doctor visits a year.
Thanks for the support and opinions you all.
CFS sounds a lot like me…it even listed some symptoms that I didn’t even mention in my OP.
I will keep you all updated.
About the hypochondria issue…this person is right on:
"Contrary to this, the OPer states that she’s actually been diagnosed with anemia
and sinusitis, so that leaves out the possibility that her illness(es) are only
perceived and not real. Her gynocologist told her her abdominal pain could have
an undetected physical source; endometriosis. Her weight loss and hair loss are
real and are able to be physically measured. Her doctors acknowledged (and
confirmed) her swollen lymph nodes but expressed no concern that they might
indicate cancer because of their size and mobility. She further states that,
despite being concerned, she’s living a normal life. "
NurseCarmen, this is going to be my last post to you relative to this hijack.
Your outlandish labeling my use of the term “leveling a charge” as somehow only applicable if it were a felony is so utterly ridiculous that I wonder how you’ve survived here on the Straight Dope for all this time. You did not advise the OPer to consider a possibility – you didn’t provide cites, statistics, reasons, matching symptoms – nothing. You TOLD her she “could be a hypochondriac.” That’s not a suggestion to consider, that’s an accusation.
I never said that everyone with hypochondria fit any tidy definition – and clearly the quote I used says that there are a variety of other complaints associated with it. The actual truth is that, as I stated before, you didn’t bother to come into this thread with reasoned opinions and cites with matching symptoms to back it up – you just shot your mouth off. The reality is that the OPer’s symptoms, while being quite varied, not only don’t fit the classic definition of hypochondria, they do fit several other endocrine related diseases. This in spite of the fact that they appear to be “all over the map.”
For god’s sake, have you even read the entirety of this thread? Just because you think hair loss, senisitivity to cold, swollen glands, abdominal pain and sinusitis are “all over the map” and therefore unrelated, doesn’t mean they aren’t related, as is evidenced by the FACT that many diseases carry each and every one of these symptoms in addition to many others.
I don’t have to find you a cite with percentages of people falsely accused of hypochondria. Anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together can see that logically there have to be more cases of accused hypochondria than what turns out to be actual hypochondria. Unless of course you mean to imply that doctors are always 100% in their diagnoses. We both know they’re not, so I think that safely wraps up this nonsense.
Please do keep us updated. I, for one, want to know what you find out.
Like I said before, I sure hope it’s not CFS, but if it is, and you want to talk, my email is in my profile… well, my email is avail anytime. That just didn’t come out right.
Do keep us informed and drop me a note whenever…
Kathy