Health Anxiety? Anyone else experienced?

[mrsprice84]

Looking for some advice from anyone else who suffered or is suffering from health anxiety!

I have always been a bit of a worrier but have been able to control my worries and put them to one side (so to speak). I guess I am self diagnosing health anxiety, but if anyone can help me to shed some light on my feelings it would be greatly appreciated!

Over the last 12 months, we've had a few health issues as a family...so a part of me thinks my feelings are not completely unjustified. My little girl is currently undergoing some investigations for blood in her urine (we have a history of kidney cancer in the female side of the family so of course I am thinking the worst) and I have been seeing various consultants for abnormal bleeding and am awaiting some swab results (GP rang today wanting to see me to discuss results and I am petrified). My little boy had an urgent referral following some concerns at the opticians, which came back clear (phew). But all these health concerns seems to have appeared at once and I have not dealt with any of it well! I seem to have turned into an absolute wreck, always thinking the worst and the extreme, like my children are going to die, I am going to get a severe diagnosis and my children are going to be without their mum. My little boy fell over a few weeks ago at school and I fussed over him so much, thinking he was going to get sepsis...I know my behaviour and how I process my thoughts are completely irrational.

I have spoken to my GP who asked me to self refer to a counselling service and within the last couple of weeks have only just confided in my husband about the severity of my feelings. They absolutely consume me and I can't think of anything else. Has anyone else had this? Can anyone offer any coping strategies? I would be so grateful. I am starting to think it's something I will have to live with but if I can learn some coping strategies hopefully I can start to deal with things a little better!

Thank you in advance!

Hi, I suffer with health anxiety.

My worries used to focus on the children, but as they’ve gotten older (12&14) I worry less about them and more about me, I worry I won’t be around to see them grow up.

Every little ache or pain is something serious in my mind. I have a thread running at the moment due to stomach/gastro/bowel issues I’m having, which are more than likely caused by my anxiety but the irrational side of my brain tells me that it’s serious.

I did a self referred telephone CBT cause in January which helped a little, but once the course was over, I went back to feeling as anxious as ever.

Saw my GP yesterday, she said my anxiety isn’t “bad enough for treatment” so I feel back to square one. It took a lot for me to see the Dr (phobia of anything medical) and to be pushed out the door just convinced me that I’m on my own with this.

One thing I did learn during CBT was to try and differentiate between hypothetical and practical worries, and then give the practical worries the time they deserve, and try to ignore the hypothetical ones.

Also, I set myself worry time, which helps me get through the day. So if I start to fret at 10am I have to tell the worries but go away, distract myself, but then I do sit with a cuppa for 20 mins after work and think about my practical worries. It helps a little. I also use a worry diary.

Sorry to ramble on, I do empathise with you, it’s such an awful thing to live with.

Just know that you’re not alone in this

@Malibucyprus thank you and how you feel sounds very similar to me. You haven't rambled on...you post has really helped and it's nice to know that I am not alone (in the nicest way).

I was very nervous about talking to my GP as I thought "what if they don't take me seriously when I come in with symptoms in the future". Mad I know! If I don't get anywhere with my self referral, I think I may go back to them for further advice. Do you feel you could speak to a different GP rather than feeling like you are back to square one?

Did you find your anxiety transferred to your children as this is one of my concerns? My children are 6 (next week) and 7 and my little girl is starting to imitate some of my behaviours with health issues and I really don't want to transfer this to them!

The worry time sounds like a good technique...it's trying to find ways to cope when it is all consuming.

I've also recently had gastro/bowel issues and given the all clear so I will check out your thread!

THANK YOU....it really means a lot! :-)

I don’t think my anxiety has transferred to the children YET....

Tbh I’m very good at hiding it, my parents don’t know, my sister is aware of my anxiety but not the health part, my DP also doesn’t really know how I feel. Therefore I think I’ve managed to shield the kids from it.

It’s strange for me, as although in my head I fear the worst, I am also in denial, so when the kids are ill I’m very much a take a paracetamol and get to school kind of parent.

I haven’t been to the Drs for years, so I also convince myself that if I do have something wrong with me, by the time I’m diagnosed it’ll be too late because I’ve avoided the Dr. So going yesterday was a big thing, I’m not even sure what I wanted her to do. If she’d have ordered further testing I think that would’ve tipped me over the edge (and in my mind confirmed that she thinks I’m dying too).

It really is an awful viscous cycle isn’t it?

The self referral program in our area is called Silver Cloud, there’s an app for it. Maybe look into that. They’ll give you a call after a few weeks to ask whether it’s working, if it isn’t, be honest with them, and they’ll then change the course to fortnightly telephone calls, I found the phone calls more helpful than the online, the therapist was lovely and genuinely seemed to care.

My advise is, if you do find something that works please keep going after the course, all the course does is provide tools to cope, it’s not a cure. Unfortunately I didn’t follow my own advice, and now I’m back at the beginning of my journey.

@Malibucyprus it really is a vicious cycle. Thank you so much for the information, I will check out that app.

I hope you start to 'feel more like yourself' again soon! I really appreciate the advice.

I have health anxiety. I'm on meds now because of it.
I wish I had asked for help way before I ended up with full blown anxiety. I've always worried about every little symptom but it got way out of hand before Christmas after a very stressful two years.
If I had looked for therapy years ago I may not have ended up on meds now because the anxiety took over.

@Limensoda How do you feel now? Are you coping with it better? You mention it got way out of hand after a stressful couple of years...that's how I am feeling with mine. I try and rationalise it in my head, that my feelings are justified as we're having some genuine health 'scares'...but still...it feels uncontrollable...and because these issues with health are completely out of my control it makes me worse. I just hope I can get 'somewhere' with counselling.

Yes I get terrible health anxiety, it is sometimes all-consuming and I have had similar panics over my children. It is normally worse at an otherwise stressful time or a month or so after one. It is exhausting.

@Emmapeeler how do you cope? I've got 2 referrals on the go at the moment...one for my daughter and one for myself and I have tried to put it to the back of my mind today, but just now I am feeling panic. I go hot and my heart feels like it wants to explode. I certainly is exhausting.

@mrsprice84
I'm not coping very well at the moment. I'm on meds for the anxiety and depression that came with that but I worry about the effects of the meds! It took ages for me to accept any drugs and I think they are harming me.
I really need psychotherapy or proper counselling but it seems impossible to get that on the nhs.
I've always been a bit obsessive so I suppose anxiety was inevitable. I've accepted now that I make myself worse.
Try to get CBT or therapy before you need medication.

@Limensoda Oh no...listen I am always just a message away... I will definitely sort my counselling out. Sending you a big hug x

@mrsprice84
Ahh.....Thank you! Same to you! I hope you get the help you need to prevent it getting worse. Let me know how you get on x

Im a fellow sufferer and im exhausted. I do have some health concerns and this anxiety has been bought on by those real health conditions.
The last 12 months it's been constant and as soon as I get the all clear for something I get more symptoms. Currently I have a tingly arm so I must have MND and im really itchy all over so im obviously in liver failure. Im so exhausted. When my husband saw me scratching he said I need to get it looked at as I had a very bad liver condition a couple of years ago during pregnancy and the only symptom was itching.

I feel like I might explode with the worry. I've done counselling and CBT. I have 2 young children and have calmed down a bit with them but it's got worse worrying about me and im so scared of leaving them without a mum.

I would love to know how to silence the worry. It feels like im building to another awful diagnosis.

@Cantdoright1

Like me, you think symptoms are always serious. Even if they were, lots of these illnesses get cured or treated. I'm trying to learn how to challenge my worries and now, instead of guessing, I tell the doctor what I'm worried it may be and she explains why it can't be....because she has many years training and experience. She is really patient with me and reassures me.
I will always worry but I'm trying to be more rational.

Does anyone else “create” health issues?

I can read an awfully sad article about someone with an illness (I’m trying not to trigger anyone here, so forgive me if I do) and within days, I physically feel those symptoms.

Hi,

I have health anixety and am waiting a date to start an online cbt course through the local mental health team. I quite often used to use a forum called no more panic to help calm down

@mrsed1987 I joined no more panic a few years back. I don’t find them the friendliest bunch, so don’t post on there. But I do find the fact that there’s lots of other people going through similar to me, I don’t mean that as harshly as it sounds but it makes me feel less crazy. I guess also, misery loves company eh.

@malibucyprus yeah some of the are a bit mean! Like someone posts then they say 'its in your head' which doesnt help at the time

I constantly read sad articles about an illness then I have symptoms and am sure I have it! I've stopped getting certain magazines as a result but it will be something random like I pick up a paper left at the train station and read it for 1 minute and there will be some awful story of someone who died of a horrid illness. And that story stays with me for months. I've done CBT and counselling and am trying to stay away from articles but it's not really working.

@Cantdoright1 your symptoms sounds so similar to mine. As mentioned my anxiety started (what I think) justifiably, as the symptoms are all there, the GP confirms these (and finds other things wrong), but I will always convince myself we are looking at the absolute worse case scenario. I know I am awful with my children, if they are ill I will be up and down in the night constantly checking on them or will just sleep with them, taking their temperature, checking for symptoms which aren't presenting themselves. It is absolutely exhausting and I get so frustrated with myself as I know I am doing it.

I have had to unfollow so many things on social media and avoid magazines and tv programmes as I know I will always look for the worst case scenario.

Yesterday I had an absolute meltdown on my husband as I had had a call from my GP to go in to discuss some test results...they can't get me in until Monday and I was going out of my mind. He is so supportive but he probably thinks I am absolutely bonkers!

I have finally accepted I can't do this alone and need some support to work out my coping strategies. It makes me feel better knowing that it is not just me, but feel bad that other people are experiencing what I am going through!

I've just had a blood test because I have constant itching and am convinced now because of Google I have liver disease or leukemia. I have to wait 2 weeks for results!

Both my kids have double beds because when they are sick I sleep with them and wake every hour or so to check them. I had some bad experiences with my youngest having convulsions so I just don't see myself as ridiculous. I know bad things happen .

It's like if you tell people your scared of flying then say you will be fine etc and the planes not going to crash but they do and Loads of times and I bet there were people on those planes anxious about flying and told not to be so daft before they got on the plane!

That's where I struggled with the treatment Luke CBT. Some people get my symptoms and it's leukemia so no one can tell me that won't be me until I've had the tests. Then I get the next set of symptoms.

I would love another baby but my youngest is now nearly 3 and I look back to the fist 2 years of constant sickness and doctor visits and im too exhausted to do it again.

The last 18 months I've gone from one thing to the next to the next and im exhausted. I've had a mammogram, colonoscopy, eye tests, hearing tests, CT scan etc for all manner of things and some are because of a real illness and some aren't.

I'd love to hear how you get on with medication as I may have to try some myself.

And to add to it I don't really trust the doctors especially with the kids. When they say it's a virus go home and give Calpol I always think I'll be like the stories in the paper where the doctor missed something serious. Im amazed I got through my kids early years now looking back on it.

I've seen the nurse today. She checked my blood pressure...it as a bit raised on top number but bottom number was fine.. and oxygen levels were good.
She took bloods for testing to check for any deficiencies and to make sure after 8 weeks of medication that everything is ok. (I'm 65 so they have to check)
Of course I will worry about the results now.
They can't tell me why every day I get really bad stinging and heat in my head and face plus my eyes feel heavy.
I only slept one and a half hours last night, which is becoming regular and have lost more weight.

My heart goes out to you because I suffer so badly with healthy anxiety. I have "diagnosed" myself with probably just about every type of cancer going, MS, a brain tumour and that's just the tip of the iceberg. At my worst I was waking up in the middle of the night to google symptoms.

My dad died suddenly when it was 7 and both myself and my daughter have been diagnosed with a genetic condition that likely caused his early death so that's been hard but for this reason I know just where you're coming from.

I've had cbt both face to face and online. I actually found the online version better.

I think the thing that has made the most difference is a total ban on googling anything whatsoever health related. This sounds mad but I even made myself a reward chart and stuck a smiley face sticker on it for every day I managed not to google. I know that sounds weird but it stopped me googling and that's made a lot of difference.

I so hope you feel better x