fellow emetophobes - I need your advice

[imaginaryfriend]

Hello to everyone who's posted on some of the other emetophobic threads.

If anyone remembers my story, I had a stomach bug earlier this year, caught from A&E with dd, it was the first time I'd been sick for 32 years. Well today, because of this I've been in A&E again all day today and am freaking out I'll have caught another bloody bug. I washed my hands like someone with OCD and nagged dd to tears to not touch things and keep washing her hands.

Does anybody know how long it would take before a bug showed itself? At what point next week can I aim to feel 'free' from risk? Last time it was about 48 hours before the bug hit me. Could it be much longer than that?

I'm dreading this week totally.

I know its easy to say but try not to worry too much imaginaryfriend, as long as you keep your hands clean and don't inhale any vomit fumes (gross I know) then you should be just fine. x

I have never ever caught a bug from my children and they have never caught one from me as I am so meticulously clean when anyone is ill.

cd, my teachers spoke to my parents about my weight (or lack of it) but they thought I was fine because I seemed to eat quite a lot in those two 'safe' hours I had a day. And I was fine eating at the weekends when I didn't have to go out anywhere.

Are you underweight now? I'm 5,9" and struggle to maintain 8.5 stone. But I've frequently been as low as 7 stone as a fully grown adult. And I ALWAYS get anorexia comments which depress me enormously because I am painfully aware of how thin I am, I'm under no body illusions. I absolutely loathe being a tall stick insect, nothing looks good on me.

Do you have 'safe' and 'non-safe' foods? I live my life on a ridiculously restricted, no-food-poisoning-possible kind of a diet.

AND I'M SO FED UP OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

imaginaryfriend, I really understand how you are feeling I went throiught all that same stuff, except mine started after school with the starving myself to that extent. please go for help to your gp or the smaritans, really there is help out there, I know how hard it is to do but please do it, it's liberating

tr, I've been down loads of routes - CBT for 2 years, analysis for 6 years on and off. I haven't yet found anything that helps. I've never tried hypnotherapy but it seems iffy as to whether or not it helps.

No I am not really thin unfortunately I am trying to lose weight to tbh. Am 10 stone and 5'6" although not overweight I am not happy with it.

My phobia is not too serious and the only way it restricts me with food is that I don't usually eat after 7ish at night - I am then ravenous when I wake on a morning. I don't know why it doesn't affect me as much now as when I actually do feel ill I am just as frightened as I ever were but I will eat almost anything (apart from really dodgy things like kebabs), am wary of seafood but I do like prawns and if I have them its usually at lunchtime.

I got a tummy bug a couple of months ago and was very sick about 3 times but I still managed to eat at tea time the day after.

My problem is more with other people i.e my kids but since have been taking AD's for my PMT that has helped with my phobia and am much more relaxed now.

I too have tried CBT, hypnotherapy - none of which worked and cost too much money. I just live with it but fortunately for me it has got a lot better.