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Original poster

health anxiety

999 replies

hopeliss · 14/10/2013 11:18

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.

OP posts:
choclab · 27/11/2013 08:47

Awe treacle hope your ok , has your DH got an appt ? i know its so hard this worrying ....feel for you , but good he wants to get checked out as many men just leave things ....

i know you won't rest till he's had it checked , so hand holding on offer for you here if needed ... (((hug))) x

treaclesoda · 27/11/2013 10:00

No, he hasn't made an appointment yet. He says if it doesn't clear away by next week he will make one then. But its been there for weeks and weeks, so its hardly going to disappear in the next week. Gah. I just want him to go and get it over with. He does say I'm being silly though...

choclab · 27/11/2013 11:25

what does it look like , as iv said before i to have sun damage spots on my face like big freckles , discolouration of skin,was booked to have laser done last week but i chickened out as was scared .. as getting older they can come out more ...but until checked you will worry as you will be on constant watch ....
could you make an appt for him ? or would he go mad at you ...sometimes these men need us to take control of it for them if you see what i mean ...my DH had a lump close to breast and i said he should go get checked he said no , but then later i said any lumps should be checked male or female and he then made an appt and he acctually asked me to go with him in the end ..... all was fine was just thickening muscle but least we knew and could stop worrying ...

maybe tonight he will have changed his mind after some thought through the day and want to go for piece of mind ..

x

treaclesoda · 27/11/2013 11:48

Basically at first it looked like a blackhead, and of course, he couldn't resist poking at it. But then it never really went away, and he keeps getting sort of dry, tough skin in that spot, and then he picks at it, and then it bleeds, and then it comes back, and then he picks at it, and then it bleeds. I mean, logically I know that its more likely to be some sort of scar than anything else. But its sort of at the top of his forehead, and over the years he has had a few sunburns over the top of his forehead (he is pretty good about wearing sunscreen, but sometimes gets caught out on a day that looked cloudy) and his skin is pale, so of course I'm panicking. It doesn't look like a mole or anything, really more like a blemish of sorts, and I wouldn't have given it much thought if it wasn't for reading that bloody article on the website at the weekend. Sad

choclab · 27/11/2013 18:37

how are you feeling now treacle .....

treaclesoda · 27/11/2013 19:03

a bit crap Sad but I've been worse.

You?

choclab · 27/11/2013 19:43

oh dear ...has DH said anymore about it ?
im ok , had x ray today so got to wait for results ..will call friday i think see if any news ....

treaclesoda · 27/11/2013 20:34

he just said 'stop staring at my head' Grin

choclab · 27/11/2013 21:00

oh .....

treaclesoda · 27/11/2013 21:23

if I didn't laugh I'd cry

choclab · 27/11/2013 21:34

i know this is true ...

treaclesoda · 28/11/2013 08:43

feeling a bit shaky and spaced out this morning Sad

choclab · 28/11/2013 10:19

have a sweet cup of tea , are you eating ok ? hope your feeling bit better now ....

choclab · 28/11/2013 19:09

how you feeling now treacle ? hope little better ...

treaclesoda · 28/11/2013 20:56

yes, think I'm feeling a bit calmer thanks. Sitting here trying to read my self help book, see if I can re-train my brain.

choclab · 28/11/2013 21:02

good glad a little calmer Smile

choclab · 02/12/2013 19:15

How you doing treacle ? and everyone ?
im ok although got appt tomz with ENT person ....see what they say and what want to do ...
was going to cancel as feel a lot better , but if i don't go would be wondering if i should have so i will go .....
still tiny flem in morning but nothing like before ...
just hope will be ok , and got to wait still for X-ray results ....stil nervous about that

treaclesoda · 02/12/2013 22:27

was just thinking about you earlier, that I must post a message.

I'm not too bad, a bit wobbly, but coping.

Your appointment should put your mind at rest, but the fact you're feeling so much better will put your mind at rest better than tests etc. Glad your throat is improving.

DontWannaBeObamasElf · 03/12/2013 10:08

I've been directed here by treaclesoda. I'll copy and paste my thread:

Please tell me I'm not alone. I've always been a worrier, since I was little. Every pain, lump or bump has me convinced I have cancer.

I've been referred to the breast clinic by my GP for what she believes is a cyst (it's painless so obviously I'm thinking the worst) and also an Occupational Therapist about my anxiety.

I've had the lump for a couple of months, it's soft, moves and hasn't grown. Then last week I found one on my shin and ended up in tears for 2 days as I thought that any cancer I may have has spread to my bones. 2 GPs have checked and say it's just muscular and possibly from an old bruise.

I also get hip pain (have for years) and that freaked me out more as I came across a thread where someone mentioned their MIL was diagnosed as terminal and all she had was hip pain.

I have no appetite and an upset stomach, so even more fear, but this has been happening since I found the lump so guessing it's anxiety.

This isn't healthy. I'm just so terrified of leaving my family. I'm 25 with a beautiful, amazing 1 year old.

treaclesoda · 03/12/2013 10:14

Welcome, although I'm sure you'd rather not be having to join us at all.

In my case, like you, I've always been a worrier, but it was more a little nagging worry at the back of my mind. After having my first child, it just went off the scale. And I struggled for about three years until I blurted it out to my lovely GP one day and he said 'you do know that's a form of post natal depression'. I've been on medication ever since, and I have no intention of coming off it. I tried to a few months ago, and the anxiety came back as badly as ever, I was shaking and struggling to breathe, it was hellish.

Does your GP know about your anxiety, or have you only told her about the physical symptoms? I've been pleasantly surprised at how understanding my doctor has been, instead of being dismissive or thinking I'm a time waster, he understands that I am ill, its just that the illness is the anxiety, rather than physical.

treaclesoda · 03/12/2013 10:16

If you're interested, I've found these books quite3 helpful, even just to know that its a real condition and that other people suffer from it too has been so reassuring.

The Worry Cure

Overcoming Health Anxiety

DontWannaBeObamasElf · 03/12/2013 10:17

Yeah I'm on a waiting list for a sort of therapy "workshop" my surgery offers. They want to try that first before any medication.

I'm crying all the time, I hate the waiting game for the breast clinic appointment.

treaclesoda · 03/12/2013 10:20

I'm so sorry, its such a nightmare. Please know that you're not alone. And you can offload safely here, there is no one on this thread who doesn't understand.

DontWannaBeObamasElf · 03/12/2013 11:04

Treacle I can't thank you enough for linking this thread to me. It is honestly like all I'm reading all my own thoughts.

Your post where you mentioned about someone collecting for charity and you thought it was a sign? That's me all over. News stories, FB shares and threads on here all have me thinking "It's a sign I'm ill."

Ephiny · 03/12/2013 19:36

I hope it's OK to join in. I just wondered if anyone had experience of health anxiety mostly focused on someone else?

I've had anxiety issues for as long as I can remember, used to be mostly about my own health. But I seem to have transferred my primary anxiety onto DH recently, I'm convinced he has some degenerative neurological problem (I can't even bring myself to write the name of the condition I'm most worried about, in case somehow it makes it real). Every time he mentions something like having muscle aches from the gym or a numb/tingling sensation from sitting awkwardly, it confirms it in my mind and sends me into a panic. The worst thing is I don't know if this is anxiety or if it's real - adding up little things he's mentioned over the months/years makes me think it must be real, but then I know I have this anxiety problem, so...

It's so difficult, because I can't even do anything about it, I can't demand he goes to the doctor about something that's quite possibly just my anxiety, I have to bite my tongue to keep from asking him about symptoms 100 times a day, I find myself withdrawing from him and being emotionally distant, just because that's the only way I can cope. It sounds awful, but it would almost be a relief to me if he was diagnosed, instead of this endless waiting and dread (I don't mean that, I really don't, but I feel like I do sometimes).

Sorry, this is long, and I know it's silly compared to other people's real health scares, sorry if this was the wrong place to post.