health anxiety

[hopeliss]

has anybody ever found a cure for health anxiety. it has plagued my life for 7 years and don't see an end to it. awful day today.
ps never been on mumsnet before. sorry if this is the wrong place to raise this.

Thanks , and thank you for listening to me ...very appreciated

going back on the iron pills , and see doc again in few weeks , will really talk to her about the anti depressants i think i need help !!
hope your ok waswats x

off to bed now as im totally shattered all the weeks worry and todays anxiety has got to me , was awake at 5.ish this morning ...

night all , will check in again tomorrow Zzzzzzzz

x

I'm good thanks, stay in touch :)

I really find my anxiety makes my ibs and indigestion much worse. I take ranitidine twice daily which helps, and have also taken up interval training for half zN hour, three times a week. It has transformed my thinking. Instead of fretting abouty body and it's inner workings, I am now revelling in its ability to do things and to get stronger. Glad it went well for you.

hows evryone ..

had a busy weekend i worked and was DD birthday , so kept focus on work and kids , feeling tired today , but less focussed on health which is a plus .....still considering ADs ...

Hi everyone, not posted on this thread before. I have some health anxiety, but it is a muddled picture as I do have a physical condition (not one you can catch by reading my post I promise, not catching at all in fact) and also have OCD. I posted because I think that health anxiety is a kind of OCD or very similar and that some of the treatment principles used for that might be helpful to you. I won't put much more now, as I just typed a long message which I accidentally deleted.

I did have one idea though (I'm sure no-one will want to do it). When you get a symptom and feel convinced it must be XYZ, much of that conviction is based on feelings/emotions - that conviction tells you that you are very scared of XYZ. It doesn't tell you that your symptom is any more likely to be XYZ than it would be for anyone else, and often a symptom is much more likely to be any number of more minor things.

For a take on how well you're assessing probability - it would be interesting to look at this thread so far or your last month or so, in terms of - symptoms, what they were feared to be, and whether that worst fear turned out to be the case. In the heat of the moment, most would probably say they were nearly 100% certain it was going to be their worst case diagnosis. So it would be interesting to collate and see - for all the agony and worry - what percentage did turn out to be that worst case? I'm not saying that will help anyone in itself, but it could be useful to know.

think i get that , very interesting ...
this time last week i was in a total height of my anxiety regarding my health , this week having got advice reasurance from a professional i feel a lot calmer ....
sadly until the next time ...another anxiety arises ....
this is a vicious circle of health anxiety ...
but i am learning just how powerful the mind can be ....scary ...need to put that power into positive practice not negative always ....
harder than is sounds though ...

Well with OCD it is a vicious circle because - according to CBT (and I am talking the talk here not at all walking the walk) each time you respond to your fear by doing whatever momentarily helps (checking, seeking reassurance) you reinforce the idea that you needed to do that to avoid the feared outcome. Apparently if you deliberately expose yourself to your fear and do not respond as you normally would, but just stay in the fear...you will eventually habituate and your anxiety will go down. I don't know exactly if this would work with health anxiety, because obviously sometimes you could be ill and everyone needs to monitor their health and see doctors.

If you compare it with contamination OCD for example, sometimes therapy involves touching things that could infect you. It is not risk free and it isn't meant to be, it is about learning to tolerate the same levels of risk most people take without thinking about it. You can also face your fears in an 'imaginary' way.

There is chapter on this in a book I have, when I've had a chance to read I'll post back - a chapter on health anxiety I mean.

Yes, so much harder than it sounds. Although to me it sounds really hard too!

anyone there ?
having a slight wobble .....trying to keep it in check ...
bought myself a huge book on CBT and anxiety , it has a big chapter on health anxiety which im reading ....

trying to keep things in proportion in my mind .

Oh god yes, I'm still here! Found two small lumps in my leg-doubtless nothing at all, but difficult to really believe that. Let me know if the book is helpful!

Lurked on this sometimes. My health anxiety's not as bad as it was I think mainly because I've managed to stop going to the doctors for reassurance. I've just made the mistake of reading something in the general health topic (normally avoid) and now I'm worried about a tiny mark on my nose though so hardly cured!

This is my first post on Mumsnet. I just felt that I had to write something on this thread, even if it doesn't make much sense!
I have been suffering with health anxiety very severely for about a month. I was actually diagnosed with a malignant melanoma (skin cancer) after a routine mole check about 6 weeks ago. I ended up having 4 moles removed but luckily only one was cancerous. I then had to have all the follow up scans - a brain MRI, an abdominal ultrasound, a chest x-ray - and luckily all have come back clear. However I feel more sick than I have ever felt before. I'm convinced the doctors have missed something. I'm "ok" for 2 or 3 days and then I'm bedridden for a week convinced I'm about to die. As I'm typing this I'm in bed with a headache and a racing heart wondering what's going to happen to me. I've been to the ER at least 10 times in the last month. I've been put on anti-anxiety meds but they don't seem to be making a difference. I just want to feel normal again.

sunshinelife It must have been so stressful going through that. Sorry I haven't got anything useful to add.

Hi all. I lost you along the way, my threads didn;t update!

Sunshine, you have the all clear. Do you know how many of us would trade places with you now You have nothing wrong. How long and what meds are you on?

Ballofworry, personally, I would think it is too early for you to be putting yourself through a self help book.

Haggis, I have millions of lumps and bumps,. I can not handle being in the shower and feeling them all, I am super fast in there, you have no idea!

Hi waswats ...how are you ? hope your ok x
having a wobble but trying to keep in check ...
had bloods done last week , for iron and blood count i think ...i didnt call up friday as didnt want it to spoil my weekend if bad news ....i have a doctors appointment 9 days ...so debating to avoid that call and just wait to see my doctor then and she can tell me ....avoiding the results .....
also this week i found a white thing in my mouth back of gum by wisdom tooth ...rushed to dentist ....needed check up anyhow ....he doesnt think sinister and did say that ,thinks is a benign lump thing but going to send off to another person just to be 100% and as knows i worry ...but still a tiny part of me is terrified it is bad ....and goignto be waiting for that call next week ....
trying not to think about it to much and keep calm ...but does fly in my head through out the day ...but im trying to say to myself ...well its better to know and get treatment .....

bl**dy hate this health anxiety ....

Please please please tell your GP all of this. You really need and deserve help. I swear to God there is nothing wrong with you other then the worry. Remember we spoke before about how the anxiety will keep happening, I think you were going about your stomach. And then you were so happy as you got the reassurance that it was ok, but now you have found more things to worry about. And that cycle will not stop. I was 100% the same, I thought I could never ever get better and I did. Well, I still have my days but you know what I mean.

thanks waswats , i have an appointment next week so will discuss with her then , i know she will want me to try theses ADs ..
i tried to discuss with Dh but he doesnt get it at all and not keen on me trying them ..i dont tell him half the stuff going on in my head as A. he wont understand and B. i come across as slightly mad i think lol ...
well i am i guess with all these irrational thinking ....

top it all i now have a ulcer in mouth to started 2 days after the dentist ....think i got it there ...thats happened to me before.... go to dentist 2 days later one appears !!!
got some iglu to put on it now ...so painful

still avoiding the call about blood results ...

ballofworry - at my surgery they send a letter if blood results aren't normal. If that is the case with yours too, and you have an appointment next week, there is no need to call. You'd probably have had a letter actually. Actually I've had the letter multiple times, usually re iron and blood count. They say I just need more iron, so if your results aren't normal it won't necessarily be serious, any minor abnormality they still send it here.

thanks , I'm still not calling today I'm way to anxious i think , as if they say levels bad on both iron and blood count i will go mental toll i see my doc next week , although I'm anxious now , i will be worse as i won't get to see a doctor to discuss it,

sunshine so sorry you've had to go through this, and your anxiety is totally understandable. If it's any comfort at all, this happened to my niece about eight years ago. She has had no recurrence, and has been completely fine since.

awful day yesterday , heavy period so felt spaced out and anxious feel like all the good done by taking iron gone now ....still not called for results ....
ayone feel like this when have there period ?
feel so tired today ..

Yes I get wobbly round my period. I am off to dr again asy leg is sore and physio doesn't know what the lump in my leg is either. I have convinced myself it is sarcoma and did not sleep a wink last night. I'm just so sick of it.

Poor person with the sore hum and ulcers-your mouth bring sore is horrible. I found swilling with warm salty water helped my ulcers.

doctors in 3 days to discuss bloods etc have felt so tired again through my period , finished now so hope will start to feel better ..taking spa tone now as finished iron pills 2 sachets a day , supposed to be natural iron gentle on the tummy so hope will help , ulcer bit better but my anxiety not ....
comfort to know im not the only one that suffers from this health anxiety ...
hugs to us all ..

Put the spatone in orange juice-the vitamin c helps the iron be absorbed. Avoid caffeine for an hour either side of drinking it, too!