health Anxiety

[candyfloss66]

Hi, it's me & my health anxiety again :-(. I just need to talk about my DH says I should forget about my symptoms & get on with my life if only it was that easy.I have been through loads of different symptoms over the past year panic attacks regular pulpatations, was convinced I had breast cancer as the pain was so bad had a mammogram all clear than god,numb left arm the list goes on. The latest one is my head I keep getting a pain in my left ear that lasts a second then disappears it happens throughout the day & sometimes pops, I also get a prickly sensation across my shoulders that again comes & goes but what worries me is the pulling pain in the back of my head it feel's like something is pulling like a muscle if that makes sense it's not a headache as such but I do get pain in my temples that don't require pain killers. I won't say what I think it is but you can imagine it's something sinister. I just can't identify when it's time to be concerned any more as all my symptoms are anxiety so my Dr says. I have got an appt for CBT but it's not until March. Does anybody else have these symptoms?

I have those symptoms when I get anxious, you are not alone. It's horrible.

It is very worrying when you get to the point where as you can't identify if the symptoms are something to be concerned about or anxiety. I don't know what brought all this on a year ago. I just woke up one morning & had a panic attack which was the most terrifying experience that I have ever had I was convinced that I was having a stroke. I have a CBT appt in March I'm just hoping that it helps as at the moment it's seem's never ending :-)

I'm not a doctor but I daresay that all those symptoms are easily explained by tension in neck and shoulder muscles due to anxiety. And none of it sounds at all sinister!

Thankyou for your reassurance madmouse, it just feel's as though once I dwell on an ailment it last's for months until another one starts it's a never ending vicious cycle.

Hi candy floss, first thing to say is that you are not alone put there, health anxiety affects many people (me included) and is very distressing. As you say it isn't easy to just "get on with life" while you feel like this.

Secondly, you don't need me to tell you that health anxiety is often due to other life issues, stress does funny things to people and for some of us it manifests itself in health anxiety.

Thirdly, as mad mouse has said, these sound like neck tension type symptoms. I can assure you right now that you do not have a brain tumour as that does not manifest itself with these symptoms.

A couple of websites which might help.
First is www.livinglifetothefull.co.uk ( or could be .com).
This is a website funded by NHS Scotland so is totally free to use and is an online CBT course. You can download and print off the materials needed to work through each thing. It more or less cured my health anxiety (I'll never say I am totally cured).
It looks at the cycle of thinking when we are distressed and how that thinking impacts on our body in terms of stress symptoms (similar to neck tension and discomfort you are describing and or palpitations, nausea, diarrhoea, headaches, heartburn, hot/cold body flashes, numbness etc etc etc). Just knowing about how my thinking was impacting upon my body helped me get the health anxiety under control and it has stayed there (mostly) for the past three years.

The other site which I found helpful is

www..nomorepanic.co.uk

This has loads of info and a fantastic message board with a room dedicated to us health anxiety sufferers. I found it comforting to talk to others who had similar issues as it helped me feel not quite so alone.

Hope this helps a bit.

You are so not alone......After birth of my baby exactly same thought i Had breast cancer etc it was horrendous lost loads of weight and couldnt eat, ive had everything since.... I had cbt but didnt finish as my daughter was young and couldnt get childcare but it does help I promise, our brains are sooo complex and just thoughts can make you have symptoms. I take medication now and it does help..the thing is you know you have health anxiety so thats the first step youre accepting it and it will ease. I still panic over every pain but can get it into context now it takes time but youl get there.and dont google lol x

Thankyou so much ladies for your advice & support thankyou Dollydaydreamer for your recommended website. Health anxiety can make people isolated & in some ways that they are loosing site of reality. My symptoms go from one thing to next & I often wonder how many more ailments I can possibly have. The problem is the pains & symptoms are very real but my GP can't diagnose & keeps telling me that I am healthy. I hope that you all feel better soon x

Ooooh, babe! You absolutely have my understanding and sympathy! I have been battling this for YEARS!!! Would you believe right now I am writing this from hospital! I lost my hearing last Saturday and I am in for IV steroids for a week. I have an MRI scheduled for Tuesday (I am not in the UK hence the excellent treatment ;) !) but despite everyones predictions that this is nothing more than some lousy virus I am constantly fighting panic that the MRI is going to reveal something scary and untreatable.

I have freaked over everything from breast cancer to Motor Neurone Disease to various tumours to MS and everything in between. You MUST get help because it actually WILL make you ill!!!

First - I recommend a great book: "It`s NOT all in your head..." Gordon J G Asmundsen. It deals specifically with health anxiety as a disorder. There are fabulous exercises in the book and for home-therapy it is a great guide. i pick it up and go through it again as well just when I need a little kicker of reassurance.

I am also using the "Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund Bourne whcih is more holistic and looks at anxiety in general but it useful for recommending a wide variety of treatments.

DEFINITELY get CBT and stick with it as far as you can - it will really help you identify the root cause of the problem - mine was fear of death and dying,and leaving my babies with no Mummy. It definitely got worse since I had the kids and I am living in a foreign country too, so I have the added pressure on myself that if they lose me they lose their "Britishness" (they are half Japanese).

Absolutely consider getting SSRI treatment as well. I used Prozac and it was absolutely wonderful. You can take a low dose (I was on 20mg) it has very few side effects (but there are options to switch to a different drug if you do find you have them) and it really really helped me manage the condition while I got help. It takes about 8 weeks to kick in. It doesnt "cure" you of your problem, but you will find it makes it easier to manage - you miraculously wont seem to worry so much!

Isn`t it frustrating when friends and family seem to laugh off your concerns like it is nothing, and a bit of a joke. It is real and very debilitating and the panic that comes with it can be totally unmanageable.

I am still working on mine now, but I can tell you that with the above you WILL see an improvement. I am testament to that. I have just under 2 days to go now till my MRI and all the time in the world to sit here in hospital and think about it - but I am really doing ok. Relaxation exercises, positive self-talk - all the things that sound like fluff-stuff are actually getting me through it. You can get over this! Good luck x