Horrific health anxiety - seem to be no options left to try

[Whatagooddog]

I don't really know what I'm hoping for writing this post.

I've had horrific health anxiety for years but today has been off the charts.

I've tried:
CBT
EMDR
I have a psychiatrist
I have a wonderful GP
I've had lots of counselling, therapy, and CPNs.
I've bought more apps and books and programmed than I can count.
I've breathed and I've visualised and all of the other things that suggest, 'maybe this will work'.

Nothing seems to work.

I do have a huge list of other health issues, some of which mean that a lot of medication isn't safe.

I guess I'm just always, always hopeful that someone out there knows something, that someone can help.

Tonight I'm convinced I'm going to have a stroke. I'm just waiting. And if it doesn't happen? I'll think it again tomorrow. And every other tomorrow will have something else.

Has anyone ever got through this?

Have you tried hypnotherapy?

I have, yes - has that helped you?

That sounds so, so difficult. When did this start? Was it linked to something bad happening in your life?

It's got so much worse in the last few years. I don't think there was a specific event in that time but I did have a psychiatrist for two years that I think pretty much broke me. I'd been doing ok for a while, but there was definitely a setback with him. However, he's been gone for over a year now and this is just getting deeper and deeper.

It's what I do (well, remedial hypnosis). There can be a part of your subconscious that believes being on full alert to protect you is the only way to keep you safe. It's wrong.

Also to add - I've done parts therapy and even tried an OT at one point.

Yes, that's exactly what it is. I'm constantly scanning, and then when things do go wrong, I can barely function. I feel so weak and useless that I can't cope.

Did you go to a therapist for it, or was it online?

What would be your best guess as to what's going on?

Sertraline was the only thing that helped me. I tried it all too OP. It was my last resort but I wish I had tried it earlier.

Following as I am the same and have tried eve trying you have apart from the psychiatrist. Nothing has helped me either and it’s destroying my life.

How long did this take for the sertraline to work? I started it a few days ago.

I've tried it I'm afraid and it made me very unwell - I've heard it works so well with lots of people but unfortunately I couldn't keep going.

I'm so sorry to hear that you feel that way too - it's no way to live, is it?

That's the key to it, I guess - lots of other health issues, mental and physical, and I cope well with so many of them. But this? Absolutely not.

I do have prn medication and that helps to some extent but it's just masking, and it can't even touch how I've been today.

C as n y U work or leave the house?

How old are you? Possibly peri or menopausal ?

I had genuine non life threatening, chronic health issues and then a whole load of anxiety. And a bit of depression. I tried to ask about HRT in my 40s, was turned down but that was in midst of all health scares hrt had then . Finally at 60 plus I asked again. Was put onto patch to try. Mainly becuase of constant UTIs and crap sleep due to still (after nearly 16 years) of hot sweats .

bloody miracle

all sorts of things way better- physically

but the biggest impact has been on my mental health. I don’t feel old and about to die form stroke/heart attack any more, I am not as anxious about randomly stupid things that don’t need full scale anxiety. I’ve not been worrying about my health. And generally feel I am living, not merely surviving.

if you are of an age, and not on HRT, maybe ask for a trial of patches? Doesn’t suit everyone, but it has been a game changer for me

What do you do with your time: do you work? Run round after children/dogs/parents?
Are there any activities you do which distract you from the anxiety, or even reduce it a little?

That's really interesting - at the start of your reply, I thought, well I'm way past that . . . But then you said you were 60, same as me. Periods stopped 7 years ago, actually sailed through that.

May I ask how you got past the health anxiety to go on patches though? To not worry about the risks?

Acupuncture. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it - has worked for lots of people I know.

Sorry you’re feeling crappy OP- mine is bad at the moment too. Current fixation is a DVT due to calf pain. I’m analysing the feeling all day, checking/ ruminating, googling - all the things I know are terrible ideas.

So far this year I’ve been convinced I have cancer/ COPD (tight chest) and ALS (twitching muscles) Even when I’m not worried I have something serious/deadly, last year I kept getting weird dizzy spells and got totally fixated on working out what it was to no avail. Before that it was silent reflux (now magically disappeared!) that drove me to distraction. Logically I can see how absurd this all is but it it so hard to shake.

despite being a well functioning member of society I am basically a total mess of anxiety issues (OCD, health anxiety, emetophobia) and then I get stressed/ down about having so many ‘issues’ and worries which just makes it worse. I’m on sertraline which helps the OCD but seems to do nothing for the health anxiety.

The thing is, I know what I need to do (not seek reassurance, seek endless tests, google symptoms etc) but I just can’t seem to do it. It’s all consuming! I think mine boils down to hating lack of control / certainty and a weird inability to accept mortality!

are your family supportive? DH tries to help but he doesn’t understand it and I just feel like a total hypochondriac/ drama queen. It’s very isolating and hard to focus on work/family life.

anyway sadly I have no advice OP, but solidarity!

How much parts therapy did you have? I found it really useful for a lot of things including getting over childhood trauma, I was going every week for about a year and a half and I found that extremely helpful. I had been before and stopped too soon (after a couple months). Going solidly for a year and a half gave tangible results.
Good luck, I hope something resolves it soon!'

I have had low-mid level health anxiety (and sleep issues because of it) since childhood. The only thing that has really helped over the years is to try and de-centre it from my life. In the sense that, spending all my efforts to get rid of it actually made it a bigger problem.

It only eased / got more manageable when I forced myself to spend time doing other things - reading, craft hobbies, walks etc. I didn't enjoy it to begin with, and often felt really stupid 'distracting myself' with other mini goals and activities so much, but eventually this did work for me. It was like I had to teach my brain that the focus did not need to be on my and others' health, that it sort of relented.

The modern hrt is risk free, thank God. It’s been around for so long too.

I think things like that sometimes but not enough to class it as health anxiety. However I do find it actually helps to be rational and remind myself that we are all going to die of something sometime. Sounds crackers but it kind of calms the mind.