Emetophobia - my worst nightmare

[zonedout]

Ds1 goes to a school set on several different sites. Today one of the sites has been closed for deep cleaning due to norovirus wiping out hundreds of children this week. There are loads of siblings in ds1's building/class and 8 of his classmates were off today.

I am a single parent (really outing myself here!) and terrified of what feels completely inevitable right now. I was awake all night last night, waiting. Shall be doing the same again tonight.

You know, I feel like I have improved a lot with my emetophobia recently. I am no longer worried about the odd v. It's the awful, debilitating violence of noro that terrifies the life out of me.

The waiting is utter torture

I think of vomiting as the ultimate sensory overload too - colour, sound, smell. I wonder how many of us emets are on the autistic spectrum

oh goodness devil, now there's an interesting question... I have a ds with severe dyspraxia and have been questioning my own neuro functioning recently...

Am questioning the same thing tbh, ds was dx with ASD in May.

How old is your ds, devil? Mine was diagnosed with severe dyspraxia almost a year ago but I also know that dyspraxia is a co-morbid disorder and I do wonder what else may be going on... He is a terrible worrier and much to my shame and sadness is very very worried about being sick Having said that, ds2 (who shows no signs of dyspraxia) isn't bothered by it at all

Hi can I join in?

I have had this phobia since childhood, and I am on red alert at the moment. My ds who is 2yo had this bug 2 weeks ago and passed it onto me and dh. I was very ill but I got through. I know that realistically I should calm down a bit now cos we should be clear for a while, but I'm still so anxious.

Dr has put me on Citalopram 10mg which he said is the best for phobias, would be interested to see what others take?

vicki welcome

i should be taking citalopram but i stopped last time they were ill and i couldnt eat and i feel sick if i take it without food

we are all here for you

the trauma of it is reliving in your mind

im not sleeping at night at the moment and if you need to talk i will be here

Do either of you have any medication to stop you feeling sick? there are things that you can take and you can buy them from over the counter, i keep a stock in my cupboard, 2 years ago when dd2 was very poorly i'm sure the meds stoped me from being sick (just had the other end to deal with), i take them if there is a bug doing the rounds (just incase). It has made me much less anxious knowing that i have medication that should stop me being sick (i cant alway guarintie they will work but so far so good).

Fingers crossed you are through the worst of it, i keep telling myself 'it will get easier as they get older', in some ways it has, i can now tell if they are going to be sick (so cover the beds, the floor and put buckets everywhere to make cleaning up easier), i chuck everything that has come into contact with it in the bin (i would rather go out and buy new duvets and pillows rather than wash them). I still freak out though, as soon as i hear that someone has been sick i panic. I was in a shop today and a man was telling someone how his friend was sick 4 times last night, i stood as far away from him as i could (just incase it was a bug and he had it). Also dh felt poorly last night so i couldn't sleep (he slept very well though, i think he was just very tired).

My dd1(8) is now showing signs of having the phobia and freaks out if the dog starts coughing.

Zoo, in the past I have had both motilium and buccastem fro my phobia of vomiting. I'm not sure if it would gaurentee you wouldn't be sick, but what I found was that it really stopped the awful nausea (that was caused by the anxiety of worrying about being sick) and that helped me break the panic cycle. I stopped feeling so sick therefore I stopped worrying about being sick so much.

It was a temporary thing, but it did really help whilst I waited for other help.

I have been to see a conulstant pysch dr today about my anxiety and derpession as it is so bad atm I am pretty much housebound and am having panic attacks at home over my current phobias. He has said I need to go back onto the citalopram, I feel quite upset as it took me months to come off it and I suffered the widrawral symptoms even thought I came off it gradually. Also the though of going back on it makes me feel like I've failed, but he said you have to look at these things as being an illness. If you have an ear infection you take anti-biotics and don't even think about it, he said I need to veiw the anti-depressants in the same way.

Is it worth speaking to someone about alternative medication? Maybe something like diazepam would be an option as you would only take that as and when you needed it.

my dd2 cant cope if the cat starts retching up a furball

i wonder if i have a type of autism sometimes
when i feel panicky i find noise,of any kind overloads me to jibber like an idiot!

dp picked up the couple bits needed washing and sat with them for a bit

he text an hour ago he going to bed coz feels ill.NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

im praying its IBS

i feel for him,scared he is ill and wont be able to help,scared he is suffering what the dcs have,worries for him if its IBS.im 40,he is 45 and im afraid one day his body wont respond to the stress with digestion but will give him a heart atak-i lost my mum to 1 at 52>

tutu im soo sorry to hear you are suffering
panic attacks are very hideous,debilitating things and i use to be housebound with my fears

if you ever need someone to talk to feel free to message me.x

im considering taking citalopram again,as much as i hate it.i have dizzy spells and cant sleep on it very well.it does help control the panic though!

i shall have think things through carefully and consider it as a long term preservation of my MH

Oh zoo I have an overwhelming urge to give you a very un-mnet (and equally un-zonedout) hug

I have that with noise too. Actually too much noise in general but even more so when I am in a panic.

Here to listen to you (and hold a gloved hand)

So sorry for you tutu. Are you tuttut?

By the way, zoo, the dog being sick doesn't really bother me.

thanks zoned*
isnt it wierd-not good with lots noise,not be affected by animals being unwell,insomnia

ive never really thought about other possible links between emets!

Hmm, this is odd... Interesting and odd...

lets leave a bold print note for the others

what other things as an emet do you struggle with?

Good idea

Hello countrylover remember me, a fellow insomniac? My issues are so similar to yours, I haven't been sick for 20 years (touch big wooden table) but still I am terrified of getting this bug that is going around DSs's school (it must be the norovirus as it sounds so awful - complete V&D for 12 hours). I feel a bit calmer today although worried the DSs might have picked it up today at school and will be ill on Wednesday. Terrified I will get it by Friday.

Zoo I feel for you. Hope you are ok. It's just awful to go through. But you just do because there is no choice. My worst time was when DS1 and I were both suffering at the same time. This happened 4 years ago and I only retched then. They say the norovirus comes around every two years so that figures. We also got a bad bug two years ago, again I only retched but had terrible D. DH had it at the same time as me and was sick. Both the older DSs were very sick.

Hi all, to answer the meds question I'm on sertraline for PND and anxiety (health) but still have panic attacks. I was on citalopram first but I was too spaced out and couldn't look after the boys.

I have also wondered if I'm on the spectrum due to the following:

-cant bear too many noises at once, it makes me panic and I now avoid going out for that reason (can't do music, other people talking around me and trying to have my own conversation)
-love my routine and don't like diverting from it even down to the order I wash up in
-cannot make small talk at all and sometimes come across rude and ubrupt, sometimes social etiquette escapes me

Not sure if any of those can be linked but I'm a bit of a strange one. My friends and family still love me though .

i confess to being at a kids disco with dcs and having to leave early as i couldnt take any more of the noise.i had to go home and lay quietly in a darkened room

i struggle in social situations and find it hard to make friends

forgot to add i need routines
im not good in the school holidays as i dont have the same routine and can become depressed very quickly

I'm a routine person too. I find understanding people's hidden meanings in comments really hard. I always have to say to DH 'what does that mean, just say it like it is'. I have a phobia about balloons and fireworks, so hate big gatherings, nightclubs and big parties. I've had on and off insomnia since I was a teenager. I'm fine at the moment but had it really had during my finals at Uni and after DS3 was born.

Perhaps there are traits we all have in common. The control thing really interests me though. When I was suffering insomnia after DS3 was born it was suggested to me that I was struggling with the idea of being 'too tired to cope' and that was about loss of control. I poo pooed the idea at the time. But the fear of being sick for me is partly that it really is a very unpleasant sensation but also it takes over you and you can't control it. I also fear having the other end errupt in public. When I have that problem I have zero seconds warning. So the fear of it happening in public is huge for me.

Oh what a mess!!!

I am scared of flying and am a shit passenger in a car which are both control issues. I also hate balloons and fireworks because of the bangs and also, why can an eejit buy fireworks but not grenades ay? Both are explosives!

Zoo- i have been told i am probably on the autistic spectrum (both my dd's have autism), my last therapist explained that is so much harder to remove these thoughts from the head of a person on the spectrum . I have had CBT as well as several other therapies, i'm not sure if any of them have helped. I keep thinking it will get easier as the children get older and more able to make it to the loo when ill but dd2 probably never will (due to her autism).

I'm not sure where my phobia came from, i cant remember not being scared of it .

When i was 8 or 9 my mum was caring for a elderly lady who had throat cancer, she was often sick due to getting food stuck in her throat, i was scared to visit her incase she was sick.

i also hate loud banging fireworks
baloons banging -ds also hates that

i used to be dreadful with thunder but have managed to get a bit better with that since having he dcs,though i wouldnt dream of going out in a thunder storm and if its right over head /at night im quivering like a jelly

also afraid of being hit by lightning and large expnses water make me very uncomforable.wont go over a big bridge with water under neath!