Health Anxiety - please someone speak some sense to me.

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Can someone offer me any comfort, just for a few minutes?

I have posted here before about Health Anxiety but now I am in complete turmoil. DH has been ill since Friday D&V, plus all the symptoms he had before of cough, pain in chest, feeling sick.

Logically he may have a Norovirus-type bug, and that is what I thought at first, but now its in its 3rd day and I am petrified with fear. He is going to the GP.

What if he has cancer and is going to die? It could be in his liver or pancreas or stomach or something.

Please say something sensible to me, as this fear is very, very real to me and I am beyond rational at the moment. Just shaking with fear now.

[ForeverOptimistic]

Firstly I know exactly how you feel because I suffer from this as well.

Calm down and take a deep breath. The symptoms you describe do not describe cancer of the liver, the pancreas or anything.

As you said, logically he has a norovirus-type bug, there are a lot of sickness bugs and chesty viruses going around at the moment. Your dh is visiting the GP, in a few hours you will not need to worry.

Go for a walk to take your mind off this.

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Forever - thanks. How do you manage your fear?
It is so overwhelming for me and feels so real.
He shoud be back soon. Am waiting for the phone to ring.

[ForeverOptimistic]

I don't manage it very well. When I am having negative thoughts I try to replace them with positive ones. For example when I am thinking about dh having a heart problem (he won't visit the doctor which really worries me) I replace this thought with images of us celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary or enjoying retirement together.

My friend found that cognitive therapy worked really well for her, I don't think it would work for me as my anxieties started after "real" events so it is hard for me to accept them as just thoughts that are a figment of my imagination.

My main problem at the moment is worrying about ds. We are ttc number 2 without much success and I am convinced that we have not conceived because at the back of my mind I know that I would not be able to cope if I had two children and lost one of them.

Let me know how your dh gets on with the GP. I am 100% sure (see I do live up to my name!) that it is a sickness virus.

[Novacane]

I suffer from HA too, terribly over the past couple of years, till I started taking citalopram last year- which has really helped, but that isn't going to help you now!

HA is all about irrational thoughts 'what if' 'what if' fear of the unknown etc.

You need to try and think ratinally...

3 days is no time at all for a sickness bug... really it isn't.
Chesty Symptoms- well I'm just coming out of a period of illness and chest infection- the chest infection lasted over 6 WEEKS, and then I got a virus after that, the bugs these winter are really nasty, and your DH is not immune to catching these!

He is much more likely to have caught a bug than developed cancer..

I know its easy for me to say when your feelings are so very real...

I totally understand where you are coming from.

Hope he comes home soon!

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Thanks, both. It helps more than I can say that someone who suffers the same fears has taken a couple of minutes to respond to me.

DH back from GP - no need for any more tests as GP is certain DH is suffering from a combination of a sickness bug plus reflux. No cancer. Has to go back Thurs if D&V not cleared, so I will be on tenterhooks till then.

How easy it is to not exactly laugh at myself, but feel so ashamed and stupid when an hour ago I was running through scenes of chemotherapy, hospitals etc etc. But an hour ago it felt like that was what might happen.

I really must try the online CBT which has been recommended to me here before.

[candyfluff]

i started online cbt last week
im currently convinced something is wrong with me and i have a list as long as my arm of symptoms
going to gp tomorrow

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

candy - so sorry you are suffering with H.Anxiety. I know how terrifying it is?

What are you worried about being wrong with you?

[candyfluff]

well ive been ill since jan started with a virus we all had then onto bronchitis and now gp says a i have costochondritis (inflamation of my ribs )
ive been feeling anxious again despite being on ad's i keep getting the feeling my throat is closing up ? very scary ,i feel so tired and run down and teary.
im so fed up i cant begin to tell you
thankyou for asking

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

candy - don't panic. If you have had a horrible cough, that is why the muscles in between your ribs will be sore and achey. It will pass and it does not sound serious.

That feeling of your throat closing up sounds like anxiety - because if your throat did actually close up you would faint. Then you would relax and be able to breathe again. So that is unlikely to be serious either.

Have you already told your GP how sad and low you are?

You will get through this. Honestly.

[candyfluff]

thankyou lightshines
i dont have a cough ?
im thinking its reflux or stress/anxiety
am going to gp tomorrow

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Hi Candy

How did you get on today?

I hope that the GP was reassuring to you.

[JollyPirate]

Hello folks - another fellow HA sufferer here. I am doing an online CBT course (when I can with DS around) and it's making lots of sense in that I can identify how my thought processes work.
Panic is horrible in that it can give very physical symptoms which added to any virusy type illness can feel very scary.

The No More Panic website is very good as it has it's own dedicated message board for HA sufferers (like myself).

[ScarletA]

Can you tell me where this online CBT thing is? I have a friend who I think has health anxiety and am interested in how it works.

[seb1]

Online CBT

[ScarletA]

thanks seb1 - looks good