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.

Bad day for me too. Annoying chest tightness fearing the worst

Sorry to hear you're both having a bad day. I've got a weird tingling in my head which is a new one. I hate it when I get a new symptom, it always sets me off.

The worst symptoms seems to happen when its night, weekend or bank holiday, when my nearest out of hours is ten miles away and two buses!

I havent seen a doctor for something anxiety related for a year. Its a massive achievement for me because i was going at least twice a week before.

I just want my chest checking over its veen causing massive anxiety since Friday but I'm nervous aswell as I'm worried I'll be fobbed off once they see my record!

What kind of chest pain is it? I'm sure you know it's very unlikely to be anything serious at your age. I always have to tell myself that if I had a heart problem I'd know by now, the amount of chest pain I've had.
I could feel my pulse in the stomach last night. This has happened many times in the past and I always thought it was normal, but for some God forsaken reason I decided to Google anyway. Have now discovered abdominal aortic aneurysm. Even though it usually affects men over 60 who smoke it set me off for the rest of the evening. It'd be funny if it wasn't so horrible. Now I'm aware of this pulse in my stomach all the time.

Oh and well done for not going to the doctor for a year! That's a huge achievement. And look, you survived!

Oh no, not the abdominal aortic aneurysm! I think I mentioned it up the thread somewhere but I literally stayed awake all night because I thought I had this. I just waited for it to burst, it was so surreal because I was utterly convinced. I was laughed out of the doctors, its nigh on impossible at our age. Her words were 'Are you serious? Really? Give over!'

Its a weird tight pain, its not really painful its just a weird feeling like I need to cough to breathe. I have been diagnosed with costochondritis so it's probably that. Its a bit too high for my heart, and since I've had 4 ECGs I feel like a heart condition would have been picked up. It's very stressful though as it was my fear over heart issues that set off my health anxiety for the first time.

I'm more bothered about a blood clot in my lung. I feel like I'm obsessed by them but they really frighten me, any pain in my leg and I'm set off for days!

I have a weird relationship with doctors. Before I never ever went, I just laughed off everything. Then I developed health anxiety and barely left the surgery. Now I'm scared to go in case its a sign that I am retreating back to the 'old' me.

At my worst I was checking my pulse and my temperature every 15 minutes. I carried a thermometer round with me. I am so embarrassed to even write that down. You're right, It'd be funny if it wasn't so horrible but it really is horrible, and you cant understand it if you haven't suffered from it. My family tried but obviously they thought it was ridiculous. It's definitely one of the lesser understood mental health disorders thats for sure.

Ah yes, I was worrying about pulmonary embolism not long ago. I even considered taken aspirin regularly to thin my blood just in case.
I was comforted by reading that PE is usually excruciatingly painful, yet you always wonder if you're the exception.

I used to be the same as you were. Not bothered in the slightest about my health, I've only been to the doctors once in the past ten years. A lot of people in my family are our have been nurses, and they all thought I was daft for going to a+e, although they weren't unsympathetic. I haven't told them about my anxiety as I suppose I'm embarrassed and I don't like talking about my feelings. I'm seen as quite happy and optimistic in my family, and now I have these awful feelings. I wonder what's going on inside my head, I can't think of anything traumatic or stressful that's happened. Strange.

It is strange. Nothing stressful or traumatic happened in my life either. Everything was just normal, one day as my boyfriend was going out I was on my own with our dd and I just had a weird feeling in my chest. I started to get really hot and dizzy, I thought I was going to collapse and she was going to be left alone until I was found and that something would happen to her.

I didn't collapse, the feeling passed and it was quite surreal. I googled it (why I have no idea) and started to feel frightened and panicked. It just never stopped from there it spiraled, I guess it was the thought of not seeing my dd grow up. It was coming up to her first birthday and there was a feeling at the pit of my stomach that I wasn't going to be there. She will be three this year and I am still here but I still have this instinct that I wont be there (again).

Only my close family know that I have health anxiety. Nobody else does, and now I don't talk to them about it either because they don't get it. Which is fine, it must be so hard to understand when you don't suffer from it, when its written down it looks silly and doesn't make sense. I only wish it wasn't so real.

I talk to my mum occasionally as she's the most understanding, she does help me to see the irrational thoughts, but sometimes its so overwhelming I'll go lay down and cry for a minute.

Talking online is my only release these days. It's a great chance to get things off my chest that I can't in real life. In reality I just plod on like these thoughts aren't in my head because I have to. It's almost therapeutic to log my thoughts online, and then I don't burden my family with it all and the people who reply understand completely what I'm going through.

I always think I'm the exception as well. Somebody has to be I guess and this is difficult for me to get my head around. I always think I'm going to be the exception, the one with the rare complications. Like I have toothache, it's not bad but its been on/off for a month. I think I'm going to be the one where the infection spreads to the brain. It's hard thinking this way and my boyfriends answer is 'stop it then!' Oh if only it was that easy, nobody would ever be anxious.

Oh I'm rambling now. Just fed up of me and my stupid thoughts ruining what should be the prime of my life. The stupid part is I have a degree in psychology and have studied in depth mental health issues, I should be an expert at beating this but at the minute it's beating me.

I hope you're feeling better today x

Hi all, I'm new to this post but just wanted to say, that things can get better. I suffered with health and generalised anxiety for many years. I found a fantastic psychiatrist who literally changed my life and taughte many tools to handle how I was feeling. My health anxiety was so bad it put me off of starting my own family - now I have an amazing 3 year old, which I never even dreamed would be possible. I still have a 'wobble' days every now and then but I concentrate on the things I was taught.

• never give in to reading up on symptoms online. If you go looking for trouble you'll most likely find it by misdiagnosing! Just get checked by your GP, they can also help to understand your frame of mind more regularly to help. Any GP worth their salt will help to alleviate your anxiety symptoms with correct treatment and not get cross with you xx
• It will pass. Think of anxiety like a very loud fast train passing closely by. Noisy and a bit scary, but it goes away!
• Keep yourself busy, it's the best thing to do, don't give yourself time to dwell.
• Persevere and find the right treatment, things WILL get better, I promise xx

Hi dove thanks for the tips. It's very true about keeping yourself busy. I've done quite a lot today and I'm feeling quite good, I think the nice weather helps too. And yes to the googling too. I've started googling "such and such symptom and anxiety", so I don't come up immediately with something life threatening but it's the same thing really isn't it?

build I'm sorry you feel like you're anxiety is beating you. The thing is, when the anxiety takes over it seems like there's nothing you can do. You can rationalise all you like but the body is still reacting as if there's something to fear when there isn't. Talking online is helpful. My boyfriend is great and he asks me how I am each day, but there's some things I don't want to tell him cos it sounds utterly mental.

Are you doing anything for your anxiety at the moment? When I have a bad day I resolve to go to the doctors for help (haven't yet) but then I go off the idea. I'm not keen on the idea of taking anti-depressants as i've heard they can make you more anxious before they start working which scares me.

What I have been doing is taking magnesium supplements. I feel like they might be helping a bit, but it could be the placebo effect. I feel more on an even keel. I've also been drinking chamomile tea when the anxiety starts which I must say has seemed to work. It's funny, because I've always been really sceptical about herbal teas and supplements and anything "alternative" but I think I'm trying to avoid going to the doctors haha.

I hope you start to feel better soon build. I know exactly how you feel about feeling like you're ruining your life, particularly when you look back on how you were before. I'm scared I'll be like this forever.

Thanks for the advice dove. I know it can definitely get better, it really has for me and I found that distraction really was the key for me.

I've been doing really well but sometimes I'll go into a relapse, thankfully these relapses don't last long, though they get me down because I feel like its a huge step backwards which is just overwhelming.

I'm not doing anything for my anxiety at the minute. I know I should but I thought I had it sorted. I started off last year with an anti depressant though it was for facial pain and not my anxiety, it really worked and it was the first time i thought i could beat it.

My boyfriend genuinely is lovely, he does try but he just doesn't understand and I don't blame him. I agree that some thoughts are just to embarrassing to say!

I do feel better today, been out in the sun and had some lovely time with my daughter. Always makes it better but when I'm alone it just reminds me what I have to lose, what i will leave behind if i die. And then I get upset.

It all stems from a really awful fear of death. I fear not being around to see my gorgeous daughter grow up, leaving her and my boyfriend, and my parents. I love them all so dearly.

I always resolve to go to the doctors but i never do. I'm worried to go to the doctors. I've resigned myself to the fact that health anxiety will always be a part of my life. I just cant see a time where it will be gone for good.

I will never have another child because of it. Its always going to be there, I just need to make sure its always at the back of my mind rather than the front.

Never be afraid to visit your GP, the way that you feel is far more common than you think. 25% of people suffer from depression and anxiety so your doctor will be very used on a day to day basis with helping people through things. Please don't hesitate as it could make things so much better for you Build and Crabapple. Just remember that our brains are just another bit of our body - just like getting a sore throat or twisted ankle sorted out .
X

When my health anxiety was at its worst I was at the doctors three times a week. Plus several days wasted at the out of hours because it is ten miles away.

I try my hardest not to go anymore because to stop going was a part of my recovery x

But what about going to the doctors to talk about your anxiety?

I guess I just don't want admit I need help again. I don't know wether things are anxiety or wether i am genuinely ill and just ignoring it. So hard, but I think I will go make an appointment tommorow.

feeling awful today cant get my act together with this HA ....

Hi 40slady what's bothering you today?

build did you make that appointment? I'm in two minds about the doctors. I do think I should go, but I'm kind of a DIY person generally. I like to give it a go myself before calling the professionals in, although I'm not sure that's wise when dealing with your mental health!
I dunno. I've had a good couple of days so I might see how I get on in the next couple of weeks. If I have a bad turn I'll make an appointment.

im convinced i have leukemia ..

What makes you think that? You don't have to go into it if you don't want to but we're here if you do.

thanks crab , i had blood tests done back in feb loads of then , FBC , liver , kidney , diabeties , thyroid etc the lot ...
came back i have slightly low white blood count 3,5 normal is above 4
i also have low iron although i have had that for many years ( heavy periods )
i also have IBS
tired all the time , cant do a great deal before im wiped out ,,,
i googled and it came up with leukemia ..
i also few weeks ago felt fluy and hot/cold /
then that went then recently i feel like it again , well more my back feels like its sore or hot or lightly burning sensation ....most odd ..no rash or spots slightly hot ...

im due a re test in 2 weeks time then see my doctor but im so worried this symptoms are all linked to C ...im 42 ...

hope that makes some sense thanks for listening to me go on x

Hi 40slady. Do you have a history of health anxiety?

I won't tell you not to worry as anyone with HA will know that won't help.
I'm not an expert but couldn't the tiredness be due to your low iron, which in itself it pretty common I believe. The burning sensation could be due to anxiety, it causes all kinds of weirdness.

DO NOT GOOGLE
It never helps. You're going to see your doctor anyway so there is no possible way it could be useful. My anxiety often gives me chest, jaw and left arm pain. What does Google say? Possible heart attack, go straight to a+e, which is what I did the first time. But I was fine and I still am. Doesn't stop me worrying mind, but that's anxiety for you.

thank you , yes i do suffer with HA .... itsawful isnt it ...
thank you for your kind words

You're welcome. I hope you feel better soon.

just have to keep in mind doctor wasnt worried at all she said so , said quite common to be low from time to time , and have had for years low iron so all could be that ...but just when i googled lots of scary stuff flew up ...i knew i shouldnt have ...cros with myself doing so ....
thanks for listening , hope your ok ...

Well, she's the expert. The urge to Google is so hard to resist, sometimes I wonder if health anxiety has gone up since the rise of the Internet.
I've had a decent day, though tonight have had some chest pain which has put me on edge but I don't feel too bad.