101 Thing you should NEVER say to a HYPO!

[Knightsaber]

My doc did it this week (I hadn't been to him in a year! Yay!) but I have this horrible heartburn lately and it's not improving.

So he's thinking and thinking and he goes 'Well, we better do all the heart tests.'

BWAAH? Exsqueeze me?

(Did all they tests, they're all fine, except I'm terribly out of shape and really bad at keeping my balance on a treadmill, that thing is unnatural.)

I actually ended up stressing more about the stress test (ha) than I did about this heartburn.  (Which is still there.)

[katiekatiekatie]

"You can't really trust doctors anyway. They're human just like us and make mistakes."
My friend in a discussion of my recent stomach problems

[Lynne2012]

haha what about in the media "you should really really be aware of this fatal disease, howeve,r it's a silent killer, there usually are not symptoms, until it's too late"

[probablyok]

My gynecologist recently did a CBC and lipid profile on me before prescribing a new medication. When the results came back, the nurse who called me began the conversation with:

"Your blood results are back. Um...do you have a primary care physician?"

Yikes! I was driving and nearly had to pull over. Turns out I just have high cholesterol, which I already knew. Work on your delivery, lady!

[ClassicNerd]

Yeah, the whole 'silent killer' thing is brutal and 'you could have it for decades and not know'! Like we need more to worry about. My doctor's office calls back with blood tests results, and refuses to give them to you. They just tell you they've booked you an appointment with the doctor on 'x' date to discuss your bloodwork all the while you're sitting there about ready to have a heart attack. You have to call back, and ask the on-call nurse what your test results are.

[loveya14]

OMG I can relate to so many of these.

[sugarcookie]

At the height of my HA my mother would call me up and tell me about some of the obituaries she had just read.  She would say "oh, I'm seeing more and more younger people dying".  BUT, when I would have a HA freak out over something she would say "oh you are too young for such and such disease!" lol  Funny thing is I know I got my hypochondria from her and she did admit that when she was young she would read lots of medical books and diagnose herself. lol 

[reasonableland]

 How about "You should keep an eye on that"  Gah! And then it is literally nothing, and I've kept both eyes on it because someone told me to 

[cutecat25]

This post reminded me of something that happened a few weeks back.
I was in the shopping centre panicking as usual and I told my friend I felt likely my legs were numb & I was floating.
He replied "don't want to scare you but you could be having a stroke right now."
:/

[trainwreck]

If you had a family member with ALS, a ton of people will tell you "That can be genetic, you should get checked" 

Yes, that is exactly what I want to know. That there is a time bomb inside of me waiting to go off.  Strangely, that is not one of my fears. 

[megaT]

You look tired.....
You've lost weight.....
My hubby is a dr and there have been a few times he's said "well, keep am eye on it" for whatever my problem was at the time.  I hate that one!!!!

[WyattsMomma]

From people who don't know I am a true hypo: If you really think something is wrong with you, don't give up looking for answers. Keep pushing for answers, because noone knows your body and something is wrong like you do....

You can't predict future disease/death, so just don't worry about it.

All it takes is one cell going awry for cancer to develop (from a doctor!)

Everyone  has cancer cells in their bodies, we just have to hope ours don't turn into cancer And "with our family history of cancer and heart attack, you'll be lucky to make it to 50"  Jewels from my idiot brother.

[modestaustin811]

" I had a dream you died last night LOL"


This has been told to me on 3 separate occasions. Thanks guys!

[MrMoleHill]

Everyone  has cancer cells in their bodies, we just have to hope ours don't turn into cancer

1) My dad, who had colon cancer, quoted his doctor as saying this.

2) Hearing just yesterday that my cousin, who is close to my age, had two heart attacks, and he is not in bad shape.

3) Googling the causes of heart attacks in people under age 45, then reading that earlobe creases are a possible sign of heart disease, then running to the mirror to self-check and seeing earlobe creases - although very slight, thank God.  Then googling again to look for reassurance that not all studies about earlobe creases were conclusive, and it's possibly just a sign of aging, which allegedly in itself is a risk factor for heart disease.

[MorningGlory]

While filling in paperwork before I got an MRI:

My dad: They don't pay very good attention to detail here.

[Slangevar]

MrMoleHill - My whole family and I got into the earlobe crease test. My husband's crease has visibly improved since we upped his vitamins and improved his diet & exercise. I think there may be something to that.

Wishing - The trick is to find doctors who are hypochondriacs themselves. They tend to be more thorough doctors (because they're obsessed like we are with info); they're more understanding about our concerns, and they're great at explaining why we're wrong.

As for Jer's book, I love it. Here are my additions:

1) If your tests are normal, you won't hear from me. If something comes up, though, I'll call in about a week. (cut to a week later) "BRRRIIINNGG 'Hi, it's Doctor Goodman...'"

2) "Well, there's no way to really rule out cancer yet. The best we can do is closely monitor it to see if there are any changes."

3) "You sure are going to the bathroom a lot... are you okay?"

(Jer - the weight loss one is my favorite, though. HAers are the only people who dread being told they've lost weight.) 

[cutecat25]

" I had a dream you died last night LOL"


This has been told to me on 3 separate occasions. Thanks guys!

Yes! I have been told multiple tea by my best friend that she had a dream where I died & my other friend dreamt I fainted..

[bridetobe]

I was telling my obgyn that I was having shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, and left arm pain. She wrote me a script and was planning on sending me that night for some testing. I was expecting her to blow me off like everyone else did but she was so concerned, her exact words were "Oh my that has to be something serious"
thank goodness my husband walked in at that very moment and overheard this and told the dr I had been having this "heart attack" for two years now and had been tested within 6 months. She immediately cancelled her testing order.

[Crocodile007]

My Dr actually said this to me when i was in with one of my cancer scares
"The chances are that one of us in this room will probably get cancer at some point in our lives - just more likely when we are both older!"
Well as there were only two of us in the room - not a nice thought!

[Crocodile007]

or another one that always gets me:

"The symptoms for most early cancers are usually subtle or vague and often symptoms do not present until the disease is advanced"

Whhaaaat - i have loads of vague symptoms - best not wait until more serious symptoms present as that will be too late!

[bridetobe]

The WORST is when people say someone just died from x illness but they never had any symptoms at all. Oh great so not feeling anything is a symptom too???!! That should make me want to stay off the road to recovery!

[MrMoleHill]

MrMoleHill - My whole family and I got into the earlobe crease test. My husband's crease has visibly improved since we upped his vitamins and improved his diet & exercise. I think there may be something to that.

[Overcomer]

HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!

As a HA sufferer I can only relate too well to all of these sayings!  People really should be careful what they say as it can make a HUGE difference to someone like us! Not cool.

If it is any reassurance, the simple fact that we are so aware make us ahead of the game.  We monitor for potential calamities that are addressed right away.  Best of luck to everyone and have a speedy recovery with the HA thing, yeah right.

[wegngis]

From the doctor, while looking at your test results.

"Hmmmm.  (pause) Hmm. (pause)  Hmm."

Then, "It's nothing to worry about."

[Slangevar]

After showing something weird to my dermatologist: "Hmm... how long has that been there?  Have you had any health problems recently?  Okay... I'll give you a call when I get the results."