How to cope with health scare while waiting for specialist appt
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Anonymous
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I had a health scare recently and was told it looked like I might have a tumor in my brain. I have to wait until July 2 for an MRI appointment and to see neurologist to get results. I have felt like something was wrong for a long time but just couldn't pin point what. My husband and best friend are very positive and keep saying I do not have cancer, they can feel it. I feel scared, mad, depressed. I took off of work today and have just been laying in bed and I haven't even gotten confirmation yet.
The waiting is killing me. I am trying to stay off wedmd and Google so I don't scare myself going down that rabbit hole. I don't know what to do with myself. I am constantly thinking about not wanting to die. We went to the beach this weekend and I just floated in the water all day trying to relax but kept talking to God and my deceased mother in my head begging them to make this be nothing. I don't know how to cope. What do you do during a health scare to relax? |
Anonymous
| I would suggest not taking off work to ruminate on the what-ifs. Try to continue on with your daily life, difficult as that may be. Distractions are the key to keeping your mind busy. |
Anonymous
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Oh OP I am so sorry. I believe if it were me I would go anywhere to get an MRI sooner than July 2. I assume you have exhausted your options? Don't be afraid to be pushy with receptionists/schedulers- sometimes I think they lose sight of the urgency of some people's medical issues.
I think pp is right to keep busy: exercise if you can, watch dumb movies, anything! Wishing you good health! |
Anonymous
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When this happens to me, I ask myself, "Is there anything I can do while I wait to change the outcome or secure a different result." Most times, the answer is no. When it is no, I concentrate on not going into victim mentality until I know there is a reason for worry. In other words, act as if there is nothing to worry about until someone tells you otherwise.
If there are things I can do that might affect the outcome (seeking a second opinion, calling around to find the most respected specialist in this ares, or getting an earlier appointment somewhere else), then I focus on completing those tasks. You will have many more health scares in your life. Worrying about worst case scenarios does nothing positive. Easier said than done, though. It's never easy to wait... |
Anonymous
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I also went through this. I had an initial MRI for headaches with vision loss and they found a spot they were concerned about. They freaked me out and said the two options were brain tumor, MS or advanced HIV (to which I said WTF?). Needless to say, I was a wreck.
I'm surprised you have to wait so long because the doctors insisted I get additional tests right away.There are lots of MRI centers around if you're in the DC area. The other tests they had me do included a spinal tap, CT scan, another MRI, some horrible sleep deprivation epilepsy test, and others. After all of them, I had to wait anxiously for the results. Fortunately, it was a complete misdiagnosis. The spot they saw was a cavernous angioma, which is basically a little clump of veins. Apparently, there is a specific scan series on the MRI that can distinguish an angioma and the original MRI technician didn't run that scan. While my story had a happy ending, I do empathize with the anxiety you're experiencing. It was an awful time. I got through it by just feeling the emotions, trying to find humor whenever possible, and distracting myself however I could. I wish you the best |
Anonymous
| You can absolutely go and see your PCP and ask for some rescue xanax or something to help you stay calm. I would do this in a heartbeat in your situation. I have taken xanax on a few occasions in my life, when my father was first diagnosed with a terminal illness, and when I myself had a health scare that took a few days to sort out. |
Anonymous
| I second the PP's recommendation to see if you can get in sooner for your MRI. |
Anonymous
| OMG get the MRI sooner!! Call and beg, plead, call again - have your husband call. Trust me- you can get an MRI sooner - the neurologist may be busy, but at least get that out of the way - then start calling the neurologist office and begging, begging, begging to get in sooner- also, the neurologist can call and get you in for an MRI asap so try that route too |
Anonymous
My mom has chronic health problems and routinely gets seen right away because she asks to be put on a cancellation list. Sometimes, she'll call as soon as the office opens, ask to be put on cancellation list and gets in that morning. Try it. |
Anonymous
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Agree--get the MRI sooner. Some doctors want you to use a place they are associated with in some way, but it is not necessary. There is no way you should have to wait until July 2.
Make sure you are covered by insurance and have the pre-authorizatin lined up as MRIs are very expensive if you have to pay. I once had to make 20 calls between the doctor's office, the MRI place and the insurer to get one nailed down. (This is when there was suspicion my child had a tumor in his liver--you bet I was all over that--turned out to be nothing.) Making the calls and dealing with the befuddling medical/insurance bureaucracy will keep you plenty occupied. You will be so outraged at how inefficient everything is it will definitely be a great distraction. |
Anonymous
| Do you have severe symptoms that would allow you to get the scans at the ER? We did and I won't tell you the rest of the story. In the meantime, 12:12 has some really good advice (for me too) about how to cope. |
Anonymous
| When I was really nervous about something, even though my doctor was only slightly concerned, she ordered the test STAT when I expressed what a nervous wreck I was. It's not a route you want to take often (lest you lose credibility) but I think it wod be appropriate here. Keep in mind too, if your doctor thought it really was something serious, he/she would have ordered the test to be done sooner. |
Anonymous
| There is no way you should have to wait that long to get an MRI. There are plenty of places where you could probably get in within a couple of days. If you have to be pushy, do it. |
Anonymous
| Call and get an MRI sooner. That's ridiculous that you have to wait so long. Are you with Kaiser? |
Anonymous
| OP are you ok? |