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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Anyone please awake just for a handhold and some distraction

33 replies

JKDcot · 18/08/2023 01:23

I have emetophobia and think I have a stomach bug. My husband was sick on Tuesday night and I thought I had done everything in my power to avoid it.

Im staying the night at my mums and I’m in her spare room. I have a fever and feel nauseous. I don’t want to wake her up as it’s not fair or necessary. I know that.

But I just can’t stop pacing around and crying. I don’t know how long I will feel like this. There’s a chance I have a different bug and just a fever (I also have a sore throat which I don’t think is common with stomach bug). But either way. This is kind of my worst nightmare and very triggering for me.

any one got any advice? I’m sipping water, I’m trying to keep cool, I am sitting upright as lying down is bad. What else can I do??

OP posts:
SophieHope7 · 18/08/2023 03:05

Oh bless you, hang in there ang know this will pass and you will be OK. Best to see if you can get a little sleep. Maybe try to sleep on your side? I have always struggled with this but deep breaths and a positive mindset help me a lot

SophieHope7 · 18/08/2023 03:06

Ps sore throat really sounds more cold /flu. I sometimes find my nausea is psychological

Scylax · 18/08/2023 03:24

Poor you, it’s bad enough feeling ill without that added stress! I think if it were a full-on stomach bug you’d have been sick by now. Try some ginger or ginger sweets or ginger beer if you have them, and find distractions - a puzzle game maybe; something without a time limit so there’s no stress. Put a favourite song on repeat or a well-loved tv show or movie. And if you’re frightened I’m sure your mum would rather be there for you - they’re awesome that way :)

KitchenDecor · 18/08/2023 03:49

Also agree you would have been sick by now if it was a stomach bug but I get the fear as I have it too.

Also agree its probably Covid, we've all just had it in this household and all had nausea with it, DC even asked for a sick bowl in the middle of the night I was freaking out! But none of us were actually sick in the end, so I think it depends how strong your stomach usually is. If you don't usually vomit I don't think you will but it will make you nauseous. DH didn't eat for 2 days.

Good luck!

KitchenDecor · 18/08/2023 03:51

Oh and also I would probably wake my mum up in your situation if I was this anxious and crying (unless she's got something important tomorrow and needs the rest) as I know she wouldn't mind.

AussieManque · 18/08/2023 04:12

If you have a sore throat and fever I'd test for covid so you don't infect your mum too.

slore · 18/08/2023 04:59

I used to have emetophobia as a teenager, it was all I would think about at times and I went out of my way to avoid catching bugs. I would be terrified if I saw human or animal sick in the street, or if I was near someone who mentioned they'd been sick.

I still practice good hygiene (being aware of touching public surfaces, washing my hands afterwards etc) and have not had a stomach bug since I was 10 or 11.

I will probably get dragged for the rest of what I'm going to say but it's the truth. I was cured or my vomiting phobia in my late teens by binge drinking. I was sick for the first time since my stomach bug, and it just wasn't that bad. I'm not recommending binge drinking, just using this experience to point out that the feeling of vomiting is really not that bad. Your mind builds it up, and without that anxiety, it's just an unpleasant physical feeling that lasts about 10 seconds.

The second thing is that you can stop a stomach virus in its tracks by drinking diluted iodine, which is strongly anti-viral and anti-bacterial. You add no more than a few drops of Lugol's iodine to water (how much exactly depends on the concentration of the Lugol's, you can get different %). This is safe, providing you don't have a thyroid condition or a selenium deficiency - do your research if you want to try this.

I now have endometriosis, and sometimes this makes me be sick, so I'm very glad my phobia resolved itself. I still feel a bit of panic when I feel sick because that pathway is in my mind, but not as strongly, and only when I'm approaching being sick, and never otherwise.

Finally, again this is not politically correct but it is true: I went vegan when I was 15, and my sick no longer tastes or smells of sick at all, it's just like pure regurgitated food. This makes the experience of being sick less unpleasant.

You can manage this: sick bugs typically only last 24-48 hours, that's less than most colds. You'll get through this, have some bland snacks on hand like plain rice cakes, and a bucket nearby, and enjoy an excuse for a whole day of time-wasting on your phone or watching TV.

JKDcot · 18/08/2023 07:28

Thank you all so much for your kind advice and messages. I managed to go to sleep and agree that most likely it’s a flu or Covid as I am still feverish and sore throat and a bit nauseous now but not feeling so vomity, just underlying tummy unsettled.
now I feel guilty I came to my mums so will definitely test and isolate,,,,

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