Health anxiety

[Mvshrln]

Hi all,

I've seen a couple of health anxiety threads on here but they're all quite old/inactive and wondered if there were any more recent ones, or if anyone fancied discussing it via this new thread? It's helpful when someone else knows how you feel.

I really struggle with HA, the thoughts bounce around my head until I fixate on one and worry about it relentlessly. I can see why the anxiety has appeared (friends parent passed away, the covid-19 situation has terrified me, I'm getting older/have life events happening like buying a house, and I also work within the hospice sector). It's helpful to know why but it doesn't help with how to deal with it! I'm currently taking venlafaxine and CBT counselling via videocall but the worry takes up huge chunks of my day.

Nightmare! How is everyone else?

@Sojo88

oh see I start to feel worse when I've called the doctor! Yes you are very right when you say all the other times I've worried and it's been okay. It's just put me on edge and my mind conveniently forgets all logic/reasoning (e.g. period could have caused the bleed). I reckon they will refer me to gynaecology which will cause me to spin out because of the waiting.

Glad to hear you have been doing okay :) I absolutely get the vague sense of impending doom, and I used to be like "omg it must be my 6th sense!" or think it's that "gut feeling" that people love to rely on but I don't understand as my gut is ALWAYS telling me something is wrong lol! Now I just know it's anxiety acting up for whatever reason, usually tiredness or if I've read something that's bothered me.

Feel overwhelmed and sick tbh.

I feel better when phoning the doctor because that's the first step to ending the worry! I kind of feel like so long as I'm doing what I can - ie. getting something checked then that's okay, as there's not much else I can do. Waiting is horrible, I hope you don't have to wait too long for a result.

Yes my feeling of doom is never right! I often hear people talk about their "gut feeling" but I never get it about anything that is actually bad, I just sometimes feel bad about something which turns out to be fine - it's ridiculous!

Trust me I always sympathise so much with anyone who's worried about symptoms on anything to do with their body because it's so familiar to me - since I was a child I've been convincing myself I've had so many fatal illnesses. That's why it's so nice to speak with others who know what it's like.

Well the doctor wouldnt do an exam because my smear was so recent (3 weeks ago) but she did make me do a Chlamydia test and asked me to look out for abnormal bleeding between periods and after sex. Thing is I don't have frequent sex and it's hardly a turn on to ask a partner to have sex so we can check for blood!! The doctor reckons it's very likely down to the fact that my period was so recent though. But old worry guts here isn't happy with that so I've booked a private appointment.

Sounds like it's nothing to worry about so that's good! I totally understand you making a private appointment to be sure though. Good luck

@Sojo88 yeah it does make total sense what she said about the bleeding being because my period had recently finished (infact she asked if my period had finished within 7 days so I guess it shows how long the blood can linger for?) And that it all gets "swooshed about" or something during sex. Idk, she was using technical and then very non technical language but I got the gist of it. Thing is Id like to conceive in the next year so I've been thinking about getting a health check up "down there" to see if there is anything that needs sorting out before I try to get pregnant (I'm a fraud - I'm not a mum but I'm on Mumsnet!)

Thanks for your support during this :) I hope you are okay xx

@Sojo88 I get that feeling too! Like now I'm battling some sort of OCD because I'm not currently worrying about anything but I feel like when I'm reading things I need to re-read them so I don't worry, if that makes sense

@Mvshrln I'm pleased you got in your doctors so quickly and that you've also booked a private appointment. There's been times where I thought my period was finished (so I usually have a 7 day one and say day 6 it's pretty much cleared up) then DH and I have had sex and then I've gone to the toilet and it's been bloody again - I do think it's caused by everything being disturbed when it's trying to settle down. When's your appointment?

@dillydallydollydaydream7 that definitely makes sense that it's disturbed when it's trying to settle down and is exactly what the doctor said. I've just never had something like that happen before so it freaked me out. My private appt is tomorrow but tbh I'm mixed feelings about it. Like I am pleased, cos I wanted to get a full check up "down there" so I feel confident about perhaps getting pregnant soon. But at the same time, I'm a total slave to my ocd and can't accept what the GP (and logic) said. And soon enough I'll move onto another fear/worry.

I think wfh has really made ocd worse for me!

Hi everyone,

So, long story short. I started with health anxiety/catastrophising about a year ago. I think it is linked to my iron levels which are critically low (my last blood test showed my folate level was 2!) due to ridiculously heavy periods.

I was put on 40mg of propanol twice a day as I was getting lots of heart palpitations too.

I think I'm getting worse.. I go through periods of not being able to eat properly because I'm convinced I will choke and die. I am doing this at the moment. Every ache and pain I am convinced is some form of cancer or an impending heart attack.

I freak out about silly things, for example last week I needed to make a one hour car journey on the motorway, the whole way there and back I was convinced I was going to crash and die or a tyre would blow out and I would crash and die etc etc

I am going to try and get an appointment with my gp tomorrow to ask for help. I can't continue like this. Does anyone have any advice for medication that has helped them? I will also go down the counselling/cbt route but I need something to help me now

Thank you for reading

@astraea welcome! I am so sorry to hear that you are struggling with this. Absolutely good idea to go to the doctor, please let us know how it goes. I was at the stage about 5 months ago where I was like "I just can't go on like this" so I took 2 weeks off work, spoke with my GP and was prescribed venlafaxine and some additional tablets for if I was struggling to sleep. Then I started CBT counselling on a weekly basis (and I now have it every 2 weeks). However, see what the doctor says about medication as I was prescribed venlafaxine after being on different medications before (fluoxetine and sertraline) which weren't suitable for me.

Good luck, and we are here for you! xx

Thank you. I am scared about going on medication but I think It is needed as I cannot carry on like this.

I am on propanol but only a low dose and I don't think it does anything to address my anxiety

I have no idea where this anxiety has come from, I am 44 and have never suffered anything like this before. I have a very stressful job, I divorced my abusive husband 4 years ago and now have a lovely new partner. I have 5
Kids, 3 of whom are adults now. And lots of close, good and supportive friends. It's just so confusing to me why I have this issue. But it can't carry on x

It's so good to hear you've got a lovely new partner, and great friends and kids :) hope it went okay at the doctor's! It must be so baffling when anxiety seems to come out of the blue (for me, I've lived with anxiety since I was a very small child so it's never fully gone away, just been in varying degrees). I do really believe that the pandemic has caused a lot of anxiety for some many people though. People who haven't had anxiety before are now noticing they've got it and people who have struggled with it before have found its reappeared or intensified (which was the case for me as my health anxiety got super intense during lockdown).

@Mvshrln No problem and don't worry - I'm a fraud too! I'm not a mum either! Exciting that you're planning for a family though.

Woke up this morning with pain under my ribcage on the right when I move - pretty sure it's muscular or some damage I've done from the very weird positions I sleep in! Feeling more anxious as time passes though, and looking up all the terrifying things on Google it could be! Mainly hurts when I move too much which is why I think it's some muscle I've pulled or something but I'm focusing on the pain too much and it's making me scared I should be checking with the doctor or something. Will see how it feels over the next few days or so. Shame though as was hoping for a relaxing weekend before a stressful interview next week! Hope everyone's doing okay.

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing okay. After a little period of feeling a little better, I have spiralled again and lost control of the anxiety. I had a bad headache last week after a rubbish day at work and then started to worry about a brain tumour or aneurysm and panicked myself into a seizure and my partner called an ambulance. The paramedics were certain it was an anxiety attack but I have to phone my GP. The next day I then a difficult client at work and usually this wouldn’t phase me, but I had an absolute meltdown to my manager about how I can’t do my job, I don’t know anything and needed to quit so she can find someone competent. I’ve always been able to keep my anxiety struggles private and I’m so angry that I’ve let the lines cross. I’m absolutely mortified to be honest and am panicking about work tomorrow. I haven’t phoned the GP yet but will try to find the courage to do it tomorrow. I always feel so pathetic about having this issue but it really is so debilitating isn’t it.

Morning all! Another Monday morning, another bout of anxiety for me, sigh. Current worry is this sodding stabbing pain I occasionally get in one breast. I've had it checked by multiple doctors and had 2 ultrasounds done on it which has shown nothing but "healthy breast tissue" but still I get this occasionally stabbing pain and it really stresses me out.

Also I reactivated my Facebook and what was the first post I see? Someone sharing a fundraising link for someone with cancer. Great. deactivated again after that. Just feel like everywhere I turn there is something for me to latch on to worry about.

@Sojo88 how is the pain now? did you manage to have a bit of a restful weekend? It's so hard isn't it to know whether to go to the doctors or not! I hope the stressful interview is also potentially exciting? Huge good luck to you anyway xx

@Ashmarie hello! Ooh I hope you were able to enjoy that time where you felt better :) I love those moments! I'm sorry you had a difficult time recently. I know what you mean about trying to keep anxiety struggles separate to work. I was hoping to do that as well but I had to take 2 weeks off a few months ago due to this sodding health anxiety, and so had to divulge a bit of info about my mad mind to my employer (I hadn't worked there long either). How are you feeling today? Was work okay and have you been able to call the GP?

xx

@Mvshrln I understand what you mean, it really is everywhere. I spoke with a GP this morning and tried to explain how unmanageable this has all become and he told me to google resources for anxiety... so I now feel even worse and more embarrassed than before...

@Ashmarie it really feels like that doesn't it, it's everywhere :( how frustrating of your GP to respond like that! please don't feel embarrassed, you can see by this thread just how common it is to struggle with all of this. There's a website called "getselfhelp" which I have found useful when trying to cope with this. It's quite a naff looking website but it has a lot of useful content on it.
What do you think would help you cope a bit better? For me, medication, CBT and taking it easy helps me manage when it's really difficult.

@Mvshrln thank you so much, I’ll definitely have a look. I’ve tried CBT with limited results but I’m willing to give it another go. Do you find medication really helps? I haven’t been keen but at this stage I would try anything!

Struggling here.

The other day, I stupidly fell down a rabbit hole of reading news stories about people who had their skin cancer misdiagnosed by doctors. Really regret reading through them now because my anxiety is through the roof again, and i'm now second guessing all my previous doctor's opinions. Arghh

@DownThePlath I fell down that rabbit hole too.. just happened to come across a news article about a woman who had skin cancer and it looked just like a spot. I knew I shouldn’t of read it but I couldn’t help myself now I’m going to spend how ever long bloody fretting about it! If only we had a memory erase button eh?

Hello, just come across this page and have been reading through everything.

My anxiety definitely started with the virus and has definitely got worse. I am going through a really bad patch at the moment.

I was convinced I had bladder cancer and had all the tests for it, including a cystoscopy and a CT scan; only last week my GP told me that everything had come back clear, no signs of any tumour, growth or blockage. But last night my wee was a slightly darker colour and I started panicking again, feeling absolutely terrible at the moment. A!! the old fear has come flooding back. I keep telling myself it's all in my head, but nothing's helping at all.

Was also sure I had some sort of gynae cancer, again referred to a consultant, had an examination, and again everything is ok, and surprisingly I am ok with that and have stopped worrying about it.

Am seeing a GP this morning about a spot on my hand, worrying about skin cancer. But feel so bad that I can hardly bring myself to get in the shower.

I know it's all in my head, especially the bladder cancer fear, and know that there was no blood in my wee last night, but I keep imagining that there was. I have had a course of CBT, but didn't feel that it helped much, except with my fear of the virus. Apart from that there is only medication and I really do not want to go down that route.

Help!

I just want to feel 'normal' again.....

Forgot to say that I have been on the anti-depressant Sertraline, but felt worse on it, the side effects were terrible so came off it.

@Ashmarie I think CBT can work very well, but it can unfortunately take a lot of "shopping around" to find someone who suits you. As I'm saving a bit of money by working from home and not commuting, I've been fortunate to see a private counsellor who I found through the BACP website so I could search specifically for someone who dealt with health anxiety/OCD. I was adamant I wanted to see someone who had specific experience with health anxiety so I sent a few emails to some who seemed good, and I had phone consultations and found someone who provides me with a v good balance of CBT/practical coping skills, but also gently understands and listens to my reasons for why I am this way. Also, weirdly enough I had seen this counsellor before a few years ago for OCD based thoughts not related to health anxiety, and it was through the NHS :)

Medication is also a weird one isn't it. I was on and off anti depressants when I was in my early 20s, then I went on anti anxiety medication and then I was in a stable enough place where I wasn't on them at all. HOWEVER bloody coronavirus and health anxiety appeared and I needed something to help so I went back on a new medication I'd not tried before. I really really needed it though as the intrusive thoughts and images were crippling so the medication has really helped calm those.

It's difficult when you've had a bad experience of medication or you really don't want to feel like you rely on them though. A friend recently said she didn't want to go on them as they "make you feel no emotions" but for me, they've helped me not feel the crippling upsetting emotions, and have allowed me to enjoy more of the positive and happy ones.

@DownThePlath omg I can totally relate to this, it's awful! It's those sodding articles but what sometimes helps me a bit is to remember:

1. They DON'T contain all the details and the full medical history etc. Stories like that need to sell/be read, their intention is usually NOT to provide health information that you would receive from a doctor or the NHS website etc. So often they include information that might be a little sensationalised or not show the full extent of the story.
2. Trust the doctor and any tests they may have run. It's v v v hard I know!

@Proseccoagain hello! I'm so sorry to hear that you are struggling with this too, it's horrid isn't it? Hopefully you can find some support with us though :) I took sertraline too, but I did find that whilst it made me anxiety better, it then made my depression worse! ahhh! I'm pleased your results came back fine from cytology. Has your doctor explained what else could cause dark wee? That sometimes helps me, like it's amazing to know it isn't something more serious, but then it's important to know what it could be. If I have dark wee (which has happened a bit recently actually!) it's generally because I haven't drunk much water at all and I've been eating badly. Good luck at the doctor's today for the spot on your hand xx let us know how you get on.

My current spike/worry is gynae/bowel issues and also a weird scabby spot on my neck (is it a mole? is it a spot??). Sigh! I have my gynae full exam on Friday which you guys are gonna need to give me a hand hold for please!!

Thank you Mvshrin.

Just back from the doctor. Says spot on my hand is nothing to worry about, but to go back if it changes or gets bigger. Still worrying though.....

Talked to him about my health anxiety and worries, and he looked up my records and confirmed that the bladder cancer tests were all clear, and that nothing was found.

I think the dark wee was dehydration, as I hadn't had a drink all afternoon.

Fretting now that I accidentally used the men's loo at the surgery! Just didn't notice the sign on the door, plus there was no urinal in there. Hope that I didn't pick the virus up there, but I must have washed/sanitized my hands 4 or 5 times while I was in there and sure that I didn't touch my face. And if I'd used the loo on the ground floor it would have been unisex anyway. Stripped off as soon as I got home and had a shower. Feel clean now.

Going to cut the back grass this afternoon to see if it will take my mind off things. Will make myself eat something, even though I feel sick with worry.

Thank you again.