Health anxiety and trying to get a gp appointment

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I have something worrying me. I tried getting an appointment on the online system and the first appointment is the 25th April. So i called this morning just after they opened. I was 26th in the queue. Am stillnin the queue but i doubt I'll get an appointment anytime soon.
My anxiety is really high. It might bbe something or nothing, its the not knowing that i find really hard. Ive taken propanolol already but still feel extremely anxious.

Has anyone been in this situation and found a way to calm down? Im doing my breathing excessive and reading my notes abiut challenging negative thoughts. But nothing is working. I'm wondering if anyi depressants might help, although i tried setraline and i started bleeding immediately and the dr took me off them. They advised to try citalopram next but im scared I'll bleed again.
Basically I'm scared of everything and its a horrible way to live. Dh never worries about his health. I wish i could be like him.

If you don’t get an appointment phone 111 or go to your walk in clinic.

A quick and effective way to deal with unwanted thought swirling around your mind is to write them down, preferably with a pen and paper. Why? Your imagination is generated by your subconscious mind which doesn't have the ability to think logically, just emotionally. By writing them down you bring your conscious mind into play - that part of your mind that can problem solve and see balance.

This is a good tool to help you -

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/ThoughtRecordSheet7.pdf

Thank you, I'll try that.

My understanding is that GPs will identify people asking for appointments whose symptoms appear worrying. Whenever I’ve been very unwell my GP practice has given me an appointment that day or the next. As other posters have said you can also ring 111 or go to a walk in centre.

Trouble is i dont know if its worrying or not, its not something for A&E or 111. Its me panicking as usual. Someone without health anxiety would just go to the gp and wait for an appointment. I want an appointment yesterday.

Sorry to hear this, I have HA too and know how tough it is. I can't take Sertraline either due to bruising, what do you mean by bleeding? I took Citalapram years ago with no side effects but scared to try in case that also causes bruising now I'm older. Hope you get an appointment soon, meanwhile take the 26th April one so at least you have something.

Thank you. I mean bleeding like a period, a day after starting it. Which led to rhe drs and then a 7 month wait for a gynaecology appointment, with unfortunately a really awful dr who kept telling me how very very painful a biopsy would be if i needed one. Which fortunately i didn't. And all that waiting time i was convinced something was seriously wrong. My own dr told me setraline can cause bleeding but its extremely rare. Just my luck. I keep reading on here how brilliant setraline is for anxiety and I'm gutted i cant take it.
My health anxiety takes the form of me panicking while im waiting for results or even just a hospital appointment. I figure there must be something very wrong for me to need an appointment. I worry enough about just going to the drs, actually going to the hospital just terrifies me. Its all the waiting that causes my anxiety. I like to be in control of everything in my life and the fact i can't control something as important as this absolutely freaks me out. I honestly don't know how other people are so laid back about their health. I see it as the ultimate terror, others say why worry about something that might never happen? Why i totally get, but i cant train my mind to accept. And I've tried, I've really tried.

Hi, I don't have any solutions but just want to give some HA solidarity! It's a horrible thing to deal with. I never used to worry about my health but then 15 years ago I had blood in my urine and since then I have panicked at the slightest thing.Not helped by multiple referrals on 2 week pathways.
I have been seeing a therapist for it which has been useful and meant that I have booked tests and screening which were overdue.

Hi,

not much advice other than i hear you, ive just come out of a health anxiety frenzy over blood test results. im currently on Propanolol however im easing off them now. The only thing i can say is that these episodes tend to "pass" watch lots of tik toks of other people with health anxiety which seems to settle the mind a little as you dont feel so alone.

I'm very similar. Bruising on Sertraline is very rare too apparently and I too am gutted I can't take it. The bruising episode made my anxiety much worse as I landed up in a&e having to have urgent blood tests, thinking I had leukaemia or something else awful before they figured out what it was. To make matters worse, they found blood in urine while in a&e which needed investigating and I've also been the victim of a couple of mistakes, namely being sent for a ct scan intended for someone else (didn't find out until I'd had the scan & spent weeks chasing the results). Also had to have some bloods redone as they couldn't process them (starting freaking that they must be borderline). All this has fuelled my fear of hospitals, tests and doctors. Even routine screening such as breast, bowel & cervical sends me spiralling and I refuse to have the NHS app in case I read something scary. I now only go to the GP if absolutely necessary after previously going every 5 minutes! I've had cbt before but it only helped a bit but am now trying to work through this link by myself https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Health-Anxiety Not sure what else I can do. Solidarity!

Thanks for posting that link, I'll have a look at it. We do sound very similar.

And thanks to e everyone else for posting.