Emetophobes, please gather!

[ItsOkayItsJustMyBreath]

I am getting so incredibly desperate. DS started nursery this week and has had diarrhoea 3 times today. He takes sodium picosulphate each evening due to a bowel issue that is being investigated and I'm not sure if that is causing the diarrhoea but I am freaking out.

I just couldn't cope, I tried to stay calm but ended up asking his father (I am a LP) to come and look after him for the night.

I just cannot do this anymore. DS is absolutely everything to me and I have been trying so hard with CBT but I'm not making much progress.

Earlier this evening I even contemplated whether DS would be better off living with his father as I can't let this phobia affect him or make him doubt for one second that I love him.

Anyway, sorry for the long preamble but have any of you ever had or requested an operation called a fundoplication? I am so desperate to be the mum my DS needs and if I could have this op (which offers a very high chance of preventing you from being able to vomit) then I would be more confident in my ability to look after him when he has stomach viruses. I am so calm with every other illness and don't bat an eyelid at blood, snot, staying up cuddling all night when he needs it but the moment he shows signs of having a stomach bug I fall apart and have to let someone else take over.

BTW, nothing you can say to me will be worse than what I have said to myself this evening. I am not feeling sorry for myself and I am not asking for sympathy, I am asking if anyone has any experience of this op as I am thinking of asking my GP if I can be referred for it. My DS deserves better than this.

you called?
also stressing today as DS was sent home from school for allegedly being unwell

fundoplication is a huge and risky op
I wouldn't consider it.

I absolutely hate this time of year and want to kill people with fb statuses even mentioning GI symptoms the stress triggers my ibs then I start fretting that I have the lurgy too. grim, isn't it

Can you just request an op? As I understand the op isn't just to stop you being sick and if you have food poisoning you would be sick anyway. I am willing to be corrected though. Iirc the op is for reflux type symptoms.

Poor you

I used to be the same but am not so bad now I have my anxiety under control.

I agree, I hate seeing those statuses so much, they go into so much detail.

I am so desperate though, I need to be able to deal with DS when he is sick and I really really can't. I don't care about the eating restrictions or discomfort of trapped gas etc after the op, I would gladly put up with anything if it meant I was physically unable to vomit.

valium I asked a psychiatrist about it years ago and he said maybe but I think he was just placating me as I was pregnant and extremely upset at the time.

I am willing to take out a loan and have it done privately if needs be.

I seriously doubt a reputable surgeon would do this procedure as it's your anxiety that needs addressing not anything physically.

Spend your money on counselling OP x

Have you tried hypnotherapy, to help you relax and stay calm?

I appreciate your point and understand what you're saying but I really believe that if I knew I couldn't vomit then my life (and DS's life) would be so much better. I could cry at the thought of not having this fear hanging over me any longer. It would mean I could work, I could go out and do more things with and without DS, it would mean my diet wouldn't be as restricted and my OCD tendencies would lessen.

I've had emetophobia since the age of 3 and have had so much therapy (counselling, CBT, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, group therapy) and medication but it just hasn't worked and I feel as if I'm failing my son now.

If someone has a real psychological problem that interferes with their life that can be addressed with surgery (say a physical disfigurement) then it can be arranged. I wondered if anyone had asked for this op before and what had happened as a result.

Hi as you say you have had lots of counselling and it has not worked. Are there any other ( probably private if you exhausted NHS source of counselling) sources of treatment you could try. Hypnotherapy ( am not a fan but it may be an option?), medication etc?

I doubt any surgeon would operate unless a clinical need. Also as you were struggling with your ds being ill how would surgery for you help you deal with your child being ill, or so it more the fear of your ds making you ill?

It sounds a horrible situation to be in.

The best advice I got from a psych was " if you carry on doing what you have always done you will always do what you have always got" - ie I had to make the changes!! No amount of counselling worked for me til I got this, I had to so it. Sadly.