Anyone else suffer health anxiety?

[purplefondant]

It's a fairly new thing for me, started about a year ago I think, after having my second child. I think I've always been prone to a bit of paranoia but lump checking/symptom googling got out of control more recently. I seem to have bouts of it, the current one culminated in me visiting the Gp about a lump on my head which turned out to be.... my skull! God I was so embarrassed. I've never been to the dr about my symptoms before as I normally know rationally that I'm being ridiculous so this was a bit of a wake up call and tonight is the first evening where I haven't been feeling my head or neck or whatever.

Anyone else suffer from this?

I do. I've had it on and off since having my DCs (eldest is now 16), and am going through an episode now.
Don't be embarrassed. Many years ago I went to the doctor about his hard lump I felt in my breast - which turned out to be my rib! I laugh thinking about it now.
You are not alone x

I've posted below about my experiences.
It's blooming awful, mine seem to be centred around my bits so it's mortifying having to explain what type of health anxiety you have when drs ask 😭

Hi bigfatmeanie - saw your post and wanted to respond to you as well. I know what you mean - it's hard to do anything else when you're so anxious about something. Try not to be embarrassed explaining to Drs. I'm sure they've heard and seen everything imaginable. Will going again reassure you? Googling is the worst!!!

I have health anxiety. Mine started after I lost both of my parents very close together, both to cancer and only in their 60s. For a period of about 2 years, I probably visited my GP more Tim’s than I had in the rest of my life up to that point. Eventually I started on SSRIs which have helped enormously. It is still part of me and rears its head every so often but it no longer wakes me up in terror in the middle of the night. You have my sympathies.

times, not Tim’s 😬

Don't be embarrassed. Many years ago I went to the doctor about his hard lump I felt in my breast - which turned out to be my rib! I laugh thinking about it now

At the time it feels like such impending doom doesn't it!

One of the worst things is how the anxiety then affects your health which then makes you worry more, mine often affects my tummy which in turn makes me thing I have something in my bowel, also my hair seems to fall out when I have a prolonged period of it.

I've posted below about my experiences.
It's blooming awful, mine seem to be centred around my bits so it's mortifying having to explain what type of health anxiety you have when drs ask 😭

Oh I feel for you, I was once convinced I had vulval cancer- turned out it was a bartholins cyst .

I have health anxiety. Mine started after I lost both of my parents very close together, both to cancer and only in their 60s

I'm so sorry, that must have been absolutely devastating.

Yes I have health anxiety too unfortunately. I started with it 9 years ago when my sister was diagnosed with a life threatening illness. She died 4 years ago which was also the same year I became a mother so this intensified the whole thing. Point blank - it's shite. I've had cbt which works to a degree but isn't a cure, I'm too frightened to try medication so I put up with it and try to stay rational.

So sorry to read; but if it's any help at all, a question on our MRI safety questionnaire in my Trust (which I object to, by the way) is

'Do you suffer from anxiety?'

You may as well pre-fill it for any woman from 15-30, 35. The answer is always 'Yes'.

Forms of anxiety are pretty much the 'norm' now.

Glad you are trying to manage it, it has got to be so debilitating ☹️

I'm so sorry, that must have been absolutely devastating.

Thank you. It really was. They died 10 weeks apart. It was the most awful year of my life and 6 years on, it’s still hard to get my head around.

One of the most important things I learnt about health anxiety is that reassurance is only helpful up to a point. I came to the realisation that, unless I had a full body scanner and team of consultants in my house, I could never really be reassured that I was 100% healthy from day to day. It’s hard to grasp that, but it’s one of those realisations that helps you understand the importance of ‘living in the moment’ (as hard as that is to do on a day to day basis!)

waterlego completely agree with you about the reassurance, my cbt therapist told me to tell my husband that when I asked for reassurance from him his response needed to be "this is your anxiety asking me this question and I'm not responding". It worked well but its hard to maintain. Reassurance only works in the short term and continues the cycle and as you said I will never be fully reassured unless I had a paediatrician, GP, oncologist and nurse living with me 24/7