Hello,

I'll start at the beginning, 2 months ago, a week after having the yearly stomach flu(which i'm still having abnormal stools from), I began having heart palpiataions. For a week I would just lay there and wait for them to happen. I was aweful! I got very scard and went to the ER, had all the tests done, bloodwork, Holter, ekg, chest x-ray. All came back normal, thats what the ER dr said. The palps bothered me so much that I lost my appetite, still don't have it back. My stomach growls but I just can;t eat. The next week I went to my pcp where he diagnosed me with anxiety. I was not satisfied and began researching on the net & diagnosing myself with everything. Every little pain was some major disease. I saw the doctor at least 3 times. I began having heartburn quite often and also the feeling of a lump in my throat so again I visited my doctor who prescribed me with nexuim...it worked great. Now here's where the problem starts. My doctor left the room for a minute and while he ws gone I looked through my charts. I came across the bloodwork from the hospital and saw my WBC were elevated 11.8, I'm not exactly sure how high that is but I know its high becuase I was in a lab tech program.( which we had our blood tested monthly and when i had mine tested in march it was normal) The ones that were elevated where the lymphs. I left the office came home and started to research and found this could mean leukemia. Since I found this out I have been experiencing pains in my glands, not swollen, but just random pains. My sides have been aching. I called the doctor because I got very worried, the nurse told me to come down and I could have the test redone. When I got there she told me the doctor said thier was no reason for the test to be redone b/c I had that stomach bug a week before the blood work. I got really angry and now i'm in the process of switching doctors. Which means another week of thinking I have this disease. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I can't think about anything else! I feel like anxiety has taken over. By the was the palpitations don't come very often anymore, I think it's because i've found something else to worry about.

If you had the flu, that could be why your WBCs were elevated. They have to do w/ your immune system. As for the pains, if you have anxiety, and you start thinking about these things, you will start feeling them too! You need to relax, and not worry about it being leukemia. I'm sure if your doctor thought it was something more, then he would have sent you for additional testing. However, if you still want the peace of mind that everything is okay, get a second opinion. I, personally, don't think it is necessary, but if it helps you sleep at night...
Good Luck :wave:

When U Went To The Er They Probaly Tested Ur Red Blood Count which would be off if u had that disease ! your wbc usually indicates infection. good luck!!

We, as patients(NOT DOCTORS) usually don't have a real good understanding about how to read blood tests. Or other tests for that matter. My WBC have been raised for a little while now and I expressed my concern. My Dr told me that the specific ones that were high were not the ones that would indicate cancer, but they did indicate inflammation-I have tendontitis and chostocondritis. So that would be accurate.
They(as Dr's) have an understanding of what certain results indicate, although they are only human and there is always room for error.

So please do not get yourself all worked up. If we at some point do not put trust into our Dr, then we will drive ourselves mad.

Anxiety can be quite a debilitating disorder, so please don't let it get the best of you.

Take care,
Abby

Hi,
I read your message and it was like reading a chapter out of my own diary. I have been suffering from anxiety for last three years. However the most important thing is to remember that anxiety feeds upon itself. Anxiety also gets trigerred by Depression. Anxiety also increases your acidity levels and this is the main reason for the persistent heartburn and palpitation. I say this from first hand experience.

There are lots of of pyschiatric medicines which are also very effective in treating Anxiety. You will greatly benefit from them.

Earlier I would lie awake at nights and guzzle antacids by the tonnes. Nothing helped till I relaised this was anxiety and went to a psychiatrist for treatment.

In anxiety even the most minor ailment will seem like the biggest and most incurable disease. A headache will make you think you have got brain tumour whereas the actual fact would be that it could have arisen from so many reasons. So please do yourself and your family a favour. Go to a psychiatrist. Also you may want to try some meditation and yoga which is extremely helpful in such cases.

Love :)