Diagnosis: Hypochondriasis?

Headaches

For the past year or so I've had these strange very mini headaches. Perhaps 2-3x/week, I will experience these quick, stabbing/pulsing pains (maybe 5-7 pulses within 2 seconds) when I first get out of bed in the morning (literally as my feet hit the floor). Sometimes I'll have another 1-2 episodes (each with 5-7 pulses of pain) on the way to the bathroom. Then I won't have them again all day. But it's not just a morning thing (although that is the most predictable time), I've also had them in the middle of the day too. I do suffer from migraines with aura anywhere from 0-2x/month and those are normally in sync with my estrogen/progesterone hormone changes. I can now almost predict them. But these are totally different in the type of pain and the occurrence seem more random (except for morning waking). They last just a few seconds and then can disappear for hours or days. I have at least 2 episodes a week, maybe more. I haven't been documenting them, but I think I should start. So my naturally curious mind takes me to Google to research headaches and symptoms, but there's nothing much out there--which leaves me to wonder if I have some beginning stages of a tumor or neurovascular disease that would be causing these. My biggest fear is NOT that it's something like that, but my fear is that I'll go undiagnosed until it's too late to do anything about it or that my physician will not take my symptoms/concerns seriously and prescribe testing. I'm afraid that maybe I'll come across as having nursing school-induced hypochondriasis with my exposure to all this new information. For a couple years, I've also been experiencing episodes where I cannot come up with a word. Many of you have been in conversations with me and I will be talking and then just stop b/c I can't think of the word. Now I know this is semi-normal  and not a definitive symptom of anything, but combined with these mini-headaches it just makes me wonder. I'm not really anxious or worried about this, maybe I should be. I guess I live in that funny place between hypochondriac and the naivety of thinking "That'll never happen to me."

Hunger Pains

So tonight, as I'm reading about ulcers and other gastrointestinal issues, I read about the "gnawing pain" that occurs about an hour or two after eating. I thought "Huh, I've had that for several years." I've NEVER had GI issues (well, except for stomachaches in 4th grade which I vaguely recall --or maybe I'm confusing myself with my little sister who has had GI issues for as long as I can remember).  I don't really have any risk factors for developing peptic ulcers like excessive use of NSAIDS, acid reflux or alcohol use. I would also say I don't exactly have the typical pain or burning sensations that I've always attributed to the word ulcer. However, when I read "gnawing, aching pain" --that definitely resonated!  So with further reading, I discovered that peptic ulcers can also be caused by Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that infects the gastric mucosa. Where does this bacteria come from? Well, it can be ingested by drinking contaminated water sources and through other means of transmission. Hmmm? I DID live in a developing country for a year and traveled briefly to that same country for the two years before that. Interestingly, a Google search indicates that  20% of individuals under 40 are infected with H. pylori. Apparently not everyone infected will actually develop peptic ulcer disease, maybe only around 10 to 15% of people. ANYWAYS... interestingly, in one list of peptic ulcer symptoms it says "Hunger and an empty feeling in the stomach, often 1 - 3 hours after a meal." Yep, sounds like me. And several sources, including my text book, suggest that eating can actually make a person feel better (because food helps to dilute the acidity). That's exactly what I've done...even though I know I shouldn't actually be hungry, but eating does make me feel better (and of course means I'm taking in too many calories and thus I pack on the pounds). If I do have a peptic ulcer, then this explains a lot. I have wondered about this strange hunger sensation and had even wondered if what I was feeling was actually result of an overproduction of insulin...but this actually makes much more sense. I never would've have guessed I had an ulcer and that an antibiotic treatment could eliminate this gnawing, hunger pain after eating! The great news is that, IF I do have a peptic ulcer and it is caused by an H. pylori infection, there is a very good chance that a 7-14 day antibiotic treatment could take eliminate the bacteria and allow the ulcer to heal up with help of other meds. This is potentially very good news.

With this information, I definitely feel a bit more empowered/informed going to my physician about the peptic ulcer theory, but will still feel a bit silly expressing my concerns about the possibility of something neuro going on. Peptic Ulcer Disease = common; possibility.  Neuro Disorder = not common; less likely.

I'll be seeing my physician soon in order to get anti-malarials for Haiti and to update my TB test for nursing school...so I'll probably bring these up with her then. I'll let you know... but right now, I'm going to have to eat something as I have this gnawing feeling that needs to be fixed.