12 replies to this topic

[MoRAM]

Hey everyone! I'm currently 20 years old, a finance student in college, and here is my story.

I have this habit of suspecting that I have a certain disease, then looking it up online, reading the symptoms, scare the hell out of myself, then find myself slowly developing these symptoms.

For about 2 months now I've noticed that I've been having concentration problems, at first knowing me, I googled my symptoms and somehow got to reading about dementia, early dementia Alzheimer's. I got scared to the point where i started reading about it nonstop, it got to the point that now whenever i google anything about it, i'd notice that these search results have been visited by me. I read a story about how this man in his late 20s got it and it was all over the news, so i started wondering, what if this is happening to me? I started doubting myself whether I have memory problems or not, at first i used to tell myself that if i have a problem recalling something then it is probably my concentration and all.

skip forward to early october, I went to my PCP and told him about this, he told me its all in my head and that if i keep thinking about this then I will definitely get it, which now, knowing me, scared me even more, i started thinking "what if now that I've been reading and thinking about it nonstop, I started developing it?" I honestly feel insane, I used to wake up every morning and these thoughts would just start up and they would go on the whole day. And now skip forward more, recently my concentration problems got so much worse, I read how one of the first signs of alzheimer's is that patients struggle finding words or joining conversations and now it keeps progressively getting worse with me trying to find the right words and I'm constantly like testing myself whenever I speak to someone just anticipating for the moment i struggle on a word. I don't know if I'm experiencing memory problems but I can notice that my memory is not as good as it used to be, I read about how early dementia causes patients to crave more food, and my appetite has been just growing more and more yet my weight is still the same if not even less now, I eat so much more than i used to, my mouth is constantly dry now which is a new thing, and i just dont feel normal, I'm still constantly thinking about this and I'm not sure what is happening with me.

recently I discovered Acetylcholine and how I could be deficient in it, but my question is, if im deficient then why are these symptoms only showing now after that i read about them? and also It scared me how some websites assured me that if I'm Acetylcholine deficient then I'm definitely getting Alzheimer's

P.s: honestly I don't know if i have memory problems, because i'm always constantly testing myself asking myself just facts that i went through the past week, like If i watch a movie, I constantly test myself if i still remember the character's names, and if i meet new people, i constantly focus so much on their names and keep testing myself trying to figure out if i forgot their names, some people are even surprised how good I am with small facts and with how good I have been at remembering names lately. Also I keep having so many headaches and my vision has been way off lately, and I feel like I'm dyslexic all of a sudden, with both reading and writing, And Ive become insomniac recently.

My mind just cant stop thinking and i think its exhausting me, I really don't know what to do.

[elfanjo]

Relax !

[jack black]

Your disease is called anxiety and hypochondria. Look up those. I'm sure there are treatments.

[MoRAM]

Your disease is called anxiety and hypochondria. Look up those. I'm sure there are treatments.

I know of Hypochondria but, does it cause the exact same symptoms of the disease you're scared of?

[Londonscouser]

I've got slight memory impairments, trouble finding the correct words, and my appetite has increased considerably over the last year, and I can't seem to put on weight.

 

I also have been scared that I might of been developing dementia at my current age of 22...It doesn't help when I read the news, for instance, today I was eating at KFC and checked my  BBC app on my phone, and the 'top story' was that dementia has now overtaken cardiovascular diseases as the #1 leading cause of deaths...

 

I'm like 97% certain we both probably don't have dementia though..

 

 

[tunt01]

Go to the gym and exercise.  Do not snack between meals.  

 

You can't possibly have Alzheimers unless you have the familia form which is genetic and extraordinarily rare.  Unless you have half a dozen cousins, uncles, aunts and parents with familia alzheimers, it's literally impossible to have it at your age.

 

 

[MoRAM]

Go to the gym and exercise. Do not snack between meals.

You can't possibly have Alzheimers unless you have the familia form which is genetic and extraordinarily rare. Unless you have half a dozen cousins, uncles, aunts and parents with familia alzheimers, it's literally impossible to have it at your age.

Oh, no one in family ever got it

[jack black]

Even in familiar cases of dementia (there is more than one type) the problem shows up in middle aged the earliest.

Anxiety and depression can cause reversible memory problems called pseudodementia.

[Mind_Paralysis]

Even in familiar cases of dementia (there is more than one type) the problem shows up in middle aged the earliest.

Anxiety and depression can cause reversible memory problems called pseudodementia.

 

If his problems are anxiety and memory, then perhaps Magnesium-L-Threonate in HEROIC dosing, could help?

 

Now, of course, unless he's got NMDA-hyperactivity, like the two of us, then that may of course not be a good thing.

 

Reason I mention MagLT is because it's developed specifically to help with memory-issues from Alzheimers, and NMDA-antagonism is often highly effective for anxiety.

 

 

Otherwise, there's little data on hypochondriasis, but this little review shows that SSRI's are apparently potentially beneficial.

 

 

References:

-------------------

Pharmacological Treatments for Hypochondriasis: A Review

www.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F263610305_Pharmacological_Treatments_for_Hypochondriasis_A_Review

 

 

NMDA-antagonism (MagLT) for Anxiety:

 

Hippocampal NMDA receptors and anxiety: At the interface between cognition and emotion
https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC2824088/

Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, spatial memory and anxiety
http://www.nature.co...bs/nrn3677.html

[MoRAM]

Are you saying anxiety could be the cause of my memory problems?

Im really new to all this and Im honestly just scared. I feel like my Acetylcholine levels are deficient, and i read that causes Alzheimer's, i really dont want that.

Even in familiar cases of dementia (there is more than one type) the problem shows up in middle aged the earliest.

Anxiety and depression can cause reversible memory problems called pseudodementia.

If his problems are anxiety and memory, then perhaps Magnesium-L-Threonate in HEROIC dosing, could help?

Now, of course, unless he's got NMDA-hyperactivity, like the two of us, then that may of course not be a good thing.

Reason I mention MagLT is because it's developed specifically to help with memory-issues from Alzheimers, and NMDA-antagonism is often highly effective for anxiety.


Otherwise, there's little data on hypochondriasis, but this little review shows that SSRI's are apparently potentially beneficial.


References:
-------------------
Pharmacological Treatments for Hypochondriasis: A Review
www.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F263610305_Pharmacological_Treatments_for_Hypochondriasis_A_Review


NMDA-antagonism (MagLT) for Anxiety:

Hippocampal NMDA receptors and anxiety: At the interface between cognition and emotion
https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC2824088/

Hippocampal synaptic plasticity, spatial memory and anxiety
http://www.nature.co...bs/nrn3677.html

Are you saying anxiety could be the cause of my memory problems?

Im really new to all this and Im honestly just scared. I feel like my Acetylcholine levels are deficient, and i read that causes Alzheimer's, i really dont want that.

[jack black]

If you are concerned about low ACh, take fish oil. Be advised increased ACh can make anxiety and depression worse.

Personally, I believe you are stressed out and maybe burned out. Some people cant handle long term stress. I was like that in university. Lack of sleep, alcohol, poor nutrition, relationship problems, etc and I had to take a year off to recover.

There was no internet and I was clueless about relaxation, meditation, psychological hygiene, etc. No one teaches that.

Instead of fixating on fantom diseases you don't have, you have to focus on basics of mental health. Visit to a counsellor could help. A kind and caring girlfriend helps a lot.

Edited by jack black, 16 November 2016 - 01:59 PM.

[jaiho]

Mediation could help you alot.

Also get your B12/folate levels checked. 

[Catwoman]

Stop looking things up. It's a classic symptom in the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum.
I'll have to be clear though: you suffer from anxiety and you might suffer from hypochondria, probably NOT OCD (and if you do, you should let a pdoc diagnose you). 
Looking on the internet for clues will make your mind focus even more on the things you're scared of. The more you feed that little monster inside you, the bigger it will get. And all your energy will get sucked in to the worrying and ruminating. 

I suggest trying a few relaxation techniques (including breathing) as well as meditating. 
You could start out with mindfulness meditation. A nice mobile app to guide you is the Insight Timer app.
And if you have the time, go for a run outside. If you're not in good shape, look up a beginners program (individual or with a group in the neighborhood).

 

Good luck!