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I'm having a hypochondriac moment & kinda freaking

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Posted 11/3/2014 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
So I have a 6 month old whose almost 20 lbs, so for the past few months my neck has been tight and achy which sometimes gives me aching/pains in my chest. which of course has freaked me out and caused ER trips thinking heart related. Out of nowhere a little while ago my right ear suddenly got hot and red..which hardly ever happens. my wisdom tooth on that side is sore and coming in (doesn't bother me too much though cuz it's been doing this for years) but is a hot ear heart related at all? it's just freaking me out because I never get it and I've been getting chest/shoulder aches. just curious what u guys think..😣
Posted 11/3/2014 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
They all sound like some of the familiar health anxiety symptoms I've had over many years. My kids oftentimes would get the red/hot ear...sometimes it was nothing, other times it was the start of a cold and sometimes an ear infection....nothing serious to worry about tho. NOT heart related. I think those of us with health anxiety would think a hangnail was heart related...LOL. Dont mean to laugh at your concerns,its just that I've done the same thing and had the same concerns over the last forty years, only to find that none of them were based in anything real. I feel like I've wasted so much time and I hate to see other people now doing the same thing as me at a very early age.
Posted 11/4/2014 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
Great input Andwes!

You will be fine, Gmoon! Start deploying your coping skills and you will see a noticeable difference in your anxiety level. Also, a good ole dose of some healthy distractions may not be bad for you either!

I know I sound like a broken record but I will say it again... Educate yourself with this disorder and the more educated you become the more peace and comfort you will feel... You can do it!

Just think of all of us as your 'personal cheerleaders'!

Heal Well!

Cornell
Posted 11/4/2014 2:38 AM (GMT 0)
thank you Andwes & Cornell! it really does help to have people to talk to, since I basically keep this illness to myself. I don't tell anyone else of my chronic health anxiety and am mostly suffering in my head constantly. I just don't want to be a burden to anyone or scare my family. And Andwes, u made such a good point...I don't want to waste my life worrying about dying and then never end up really living..but I think my big issue is, is I feel like the moment I think I'm dying of
something & ignore it..is when it's gonna be the real thing. how
do I differentiate all these symptoms to what's real and not? I just miss how I use to be and how I use to feel..I might not be actually dying, but a huge part of me has in all of this
Posted 11/4/2014 2:44 AM (GMT 0)
It makes me so sad to read your reply post. I think the same exact way and it is a battle. I try my best to not take my Xanax but if I'm really freaking about my heart or something, I take a little piece. I know if my symptoms dissipate even a little I can rest knowing it was anxiety related. Hopefully my mental can start without that medication soon, but it's my last resort and it seperates the truth from my stupid over sensitive body and hyperactive and paranoid brain.
Posted 11/4/2014 2:49 AM (GMT 0)
thank you 247panic, we're all suffering from something I guess..this just happens to be our burden. I'm not on any meds since I have no insurance, so I just deal with the best of my ability..which obviously isn't doing much haha. I use to be a very witty, spunky, energetic, sarcastic person...and now I just feel like a copy of a copy of myself. It's like this has sucked the life out of me. I just hope I'm still in there somewhere and can find her again someday!
Posted 11/4/2014 3:24 AM (GMT 0)
You WILL find yourself again, I promise!!

Had you ever had anxiety struggles before the baby? Post Partum depression can present as anxiety and you're still in the time frame of PPD! My friend had it for about 8 months after the baby. She didn't take meds either & she's much better.

Being a mom of an infant is exhausting & sleep is a luxury as I'm sure you know! Are you able to get a good nights sleep? My friend wasn't so she tried to nap when the baby napped.

Things WILL get better!!!

Oh PS- I had hot burning ears too this year and was freaking out about it. Turns out it was... Wanna take a guess.....???!..... Anxiety! lol! I'd never had that anxiety symptom before this year. Lucky us? eyes

Oh & carrying your baby around will definitely give you aches and pains, & when our shoulders/arms/backs get overly stretched, we can totally feel it in our chest which leads to heart anxiety. It's your pulled muscles!
Are you in the US? I know in indiana new mothers can get insurance until the baby is a certain age It's income based I believe. My friend fell through the cracks though bc her kids were able to get insurance but she couldn't bc Her husband "made too much." mad

Sending you much support!
Lisa
Posted 11/4/2014 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
Gmoon,
both my ears will get hot and red...I used to think it was my heart too...it definetly is related to my anxiety...Also I don't know about you, but carrying around kids will make you sore...I always feel my chest hurt when I overdo any of my muscles...Hope you feel better soon..
Posted 11/4/2014 3:52 AM (GMT 0)
lesweet1971 thank u so much for the kind and thoughtful words! I am 30 years old and have had anxiety most of my life..just never to this degree. Having my daughter has definitely got this anxiety train rollin big time..and every freaking day it's something new..!! It all kinda started with what I thought was MS...was getting like where my hands felt like they weren't working right and had a lot of brain fog and felt slowed down mentally (among other things). Then one night was getting a tingling/burning in my right arm and freaked thinking I was having a stroke, so went to the ER. Well now I'm on to the heart..it's funny that when I 'switch' symptoms that the previous disease symptoms I thought I had basically goes away. I always seem to go back and forth from my heart to my brain...those are the two things I worry most about dying of. Because I can't control those and those are something you can just drop dead of. I don't panic much over cancers or things you die slowly from...if that makes any sense (?)
Yes I'm in the US..I live in NY. I would like Xanax or something to have the option to calm me down if I get bad..but I'm also terrified of medicine. I'll take it and then sit there and constantly evaluate how I feel minute by minute and probably throw myself into a worse panic. vicious cycle...I hate it..!!
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