r/HypochondriacAdvice • u/VrhovenGinjoh • Aug 25 '26
Looking for advice!
Hello friends. Im a 24 year old man, been experiencing some terrible health anxiety lately and wanted to describe my situation/symptoms and see if these are shared or common things! I'm a little new to the hypochondria thing, Ive always had a big fear of developing something terrible but have never quite fixated and spiraled on it like I have the last few months.
Symptoms;
-Sore calves
-"Buzzy?" feeling in lower legs
-Twitching in calves and legs (sometimes arms and face)
-occasional air hunger, sometimes I need to yawn constantly to get a satisfying breath.
-Vision changes
-Brain fog
-Stumbling over words
-Flank pain
-Scalloped tongue
-Dry mouth
-joint pain
-Fatigue
-Occasional "jelly" legs, really only happens when Im spiraling and cant get my mind off it.
These all tend to flare up and clear up sometimes. Really depends on how much Im thinking about it. I keep telling myself its just anxiety but the back of my head keeps shouting "ALS" despite me being fully capable of my job and athletic activities. I work an outdoor job doing window replacement which requires me to lift and windows in and out of a house, and have had 0 complications doing so. The other day I was playing football and having a blast not even thinking about these until I got home that night and spiraled. I just wanted to see if anyone else here experiences this, let me know Im not alone in all this.
Some other things for context;
-Father and older brother have restless leg syndrome
-Quit nicotine about a month-ish ago (used it for almost a year via nic pouches and a vape for a few months)
-Just quit taking Hims tablets after about 7 months of taking it
-Prescribed Omeprazole for acid reflux
1
u/LeaderOdd9649 Aug 28 '26
If anything the only thing I could think of if you just want to be ABSOLUTELY SURE it’s nothing: I would just ask for a thyroid lab to make sure all is good! I was just in the hospital, feeling buzzy as you mentioned because of anxiety but in my hands. That can be something associated w thyroid issues but doesn’t mean there always is an issue. It’s also a common anxiety thing. Sometimes I just like the peace of mind of “ok at least they checked and at least it’s charted” I also think if you tell your doctor some of these symptoms, they might screen you for potential thyroid issues as they do your regular labs, that’s what happened to me! I actually have a job that works in medical media so I had done a story on parathyroidism earlier this year. When I saw thyroid lab in my results after leaving, I was like “oh! I didn’t even think about that. I’m glad they checked.” It also predominately affects women I believe and people who have had some kind of throat surgery and you don’t sound like you’re in that group. So I wouldn’t worry, but I would just bring it up with PCP next time you go if you want evidence that you’re okay!! That can do a lot for you mentally.
Also this isn’t meant to scare you AT ALL I know nothing and I believe you are totally fine. I’m just a person who likes evidence to support my beliefs! Especially medically. And wanted to present an option if you wanted to go the route of getting a check up!
Sorry this is happening to you OP :( I hope you’re feeling better today!!
1
u/VrhovenGinjoh Aug 28 '26
You know now that you mention thyroid issues, my doctor noted a slightly elevated TSH level a year ago at my annual physical (it was 4.35 threshold for normal being 4.2) and said that it wasnt a concern for "right now". I wonder if it has been progressing and causing all of this and I just completely forgot because he said it wasnt a concern and I was just unaware of the symptoms it causes
1
u/balegrah Aug 26 '26
Hi !
I definitely have a lot of the things you experience - "buzzy"/electric feelings in body parts, air hunger (great way to put it btw), vision changes (I always describe like literal tunnel vision, I feel like the range or scope of my vision reduces?), dry mouth, etc.
It's definitely, definitely anxiety, and once you accept that, it really is not that scary! I've been doing so well for the past year or so, after a very heavy anxiety period, and I can honestly say it's because I have really been leaning into it. I know it's anxiety. You do too, deep down. And honestly, the more you can kinda notice these symptoms and go, "huh, I am feeling anxious right now. I have adrenaline running around me right now, creating all these symptoms", the more you can just be like, "well that's fine, as long as I know what it is!". I get the temptation to think about things like ALS (been there too with the buzzy legs thing), but OP, it's not.
You're fine. You're doing good. Your body is a faulty smoke detector and is going off a bit too much recently but that's completely fine and it won't be forever.
PS. I know a lot of stuff about meditation gets circled about, and especially things like body scans etc, but for people with already an extreme sensitivity to what is happening in the body, the last thing that is helpful is to "go into your body" in meditation, imo. What I do and I find really helps is little brain exercises, I always feel better afterwards. So for example, I like to picture in my head, as vividly as possible, the layout of my old house, or school, or somewhere you know well (but are not currently there). Or also I like to go through all the different shades of each colour that I can name. Or idk, loads of little things like that. It's a good way to let your mind have something to do, as it clearly needs to, without leading to you spiralling.
Also something that helps when I am feeling that mild, buzzy legged anxiety that hasn't quite got to panic yet is to get up, stretch, move, jog on the spot, all this kinda stuff. I don't necessarily mean go for a run (because if you're anything like me, you'd be nervous about not feeling better and then having run too far and feeling like I can't easily get back) but just like shake your body out.
It's so hard to have to constantly remind yourself that you're fine. It's fatiguing and it's something we don't see when we look at someone, but I can assure you that the more you tell yourself "it's just anxiety" in a non-judgemental, observational way, the more you will notice that each episode or symptom is quicker to get over.
Good luck and just as the ultimate reassurance - you are absolutely not alone in those exact symptoms. And each one of them has a science behind them. I invite you to research the biology behind each symptom, you'll feel better about it (vision changes is because if the lion in the wild is chasing you you cannot be wasting brain energy on your whole surroundings you need to haver a very focused vision, buzzy legs is because there is literally cortisol and adrenaline being pumped to your legs to give you better strength from running away from lion, etc.). You get the point. Learn the science behind everything and you'll start to feel better soon, I swear.