HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Health Anxiety Part 1

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic locked
12 3 4 5
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 12/10/2008 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
......There are so many ppl that suffer with health Anxiety and some ( alot) suffer in silence

....I know that we asked what you would like to see on this forum so I am starting one thread today.........

....Health anxiety can and eventually WILL take over you life

KNOWING your body is highly important IMHO

......Common anxiety symptoms like racing heart......and the other things we all have experienced with anxiety are or need to be really decided BY YOU if they are anxiety or if you have something else going on

IF you have pain in abdomen and have no idea why I would seek a doc out

Any PAIN that is not something you have experienced before .....Again I would seek a doc

...There are so many faucets to Health Anxiety  that I would like to see those post that wanted this thread and those that feel they have this ...........

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 2/16/2009 7:31:30 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/10/2008 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
PLease do post your issues and also your opinions

Thanks
Mods n Members
Posted 12/10/2008 6:09 PM (GMT 0)
I use to get scared with every little thing that was wrong with me. I would build it up in my mind and the anxiety would get terrible.

Now that I have fibromyalgia, I chalk everything up to just another symptom.

It is so easy to get anxious and magnify your symptoms. I think that the best thing is to call the doctor and have your symptoms checked out. Don't go on the internet, don't listen to what others say that might scare you. See a doctor and listen to what they say.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 12/10/2008 6:11 PM (GMT 0)
I have a lot of health anxiety and continually think i have something wrong with me i am really bad for googleing and i convince myself that i have all sorts of conditions. I think because i suffer with GAD that my senses are super sensative to things which other people would not think any thing off.

about two years ago i was diagnosed with reactive arthritis which is a nasty illness which cause all your joints to swell up i had lot of tests done and it was found out to be caused by a bad gut infection whilst waiting for the results i was googleing away like mad and found out that there was a lot of other nasty causes to reactive arthritis some life thretning and i was sure that there was something horrible wrong with me. My anxiety was so bad and my dad had to take me to the doctors as i did not want to go. I agree with Lyn health anxiety can take over your life and make your other symptoms a lot worse. I still have problems with the reactive arthritis and i take medication to reduce the flare ups.

What i learned from the above is to try and not look things up on the web as it can make things worse and trust your doctor i know this is easy to say and i still struggle following my own advice.

It would be great to here other peoples ways of dealing with health anxiety as it is something i want to reduce myself.

Ben
Posted 12/10/2008 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
I've done the same thing Karen. With my costchondritis and just the way the body feels while anxious had me convinced I was dying of a heart failure (and a slew of other diseases . . . lol :) Within a WEEK of finding out I was okay after being rushed to the emergency room (oh, and I was pretty much bedrest for two months also :), I was out speed walking, cleaning, working, etc. It was not funny at the time, but I can look back at it and laugh at myself for being silly.

Them "Warpy Thoughts" will get you every time :) For anyone suffering from this, here is a free resource that was introduced to me on here by the mods called MoodGYM. It is totally free, so not excuse to give it a try, eh ?!? It has helped me a lot. You will find the link below :)

http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

Try this out and I hope it helps you like it did for me :)
Posted 12/10/2008 6:55 PM (GMT 0)

Good Thread Big Sis,

I have Health anxiety from time to time mostly over the A & P as it is hard to cope with on many days. I deal with it as best as I can as I know what it is and do my best to stay in the moment.

I also am very sensitive and have tried to get tough and let what others say and feel about me not matter but it does.

Sometimes when it gets real bad I remove myself from the trigger.

Bless each of you.

Kitt

Posted 12/10/2008 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi All.

I am another that suffers with health anxiety.  I have a lot of physical symptoms of anxiety (racing heart, etc.) and when the symptoms started a few years back I drove myself crazy going to doctors looking for something physically "wrong" but it was anxiety.  I can now tell the difference when something is really wrong compared to heightened anxiety.  I am OCD when it comes to germs (I admit freely to being a germophobe).  I carry around at work in our office a thing of clorox wipes so wherever I wind up sitting that day I can wipe down every surface before I touch anything.  I could keep the hand sanitizer industry in business all by myself with how much I use.  I constantly worry about getting sick.  Well, GUESS WHO GOT DEATHLY ILL LAST WEEK.  If you guessed me give yourself a gold star.  Even after precautions, I got sick.  I find this week that I am not as obsessed about sterilizing my environment.  There is only so much we can control.  I hate being sick, I hate the thought of getting sick, I am the worst patient ever I think.  I've tried counseling/therapy for the germophobia but it just didn't work.  I'm not obsessed enough where I was my hands 100 times a day but. . . . .  I am glad to read there are others like me and I guess now that I've been sick, I won't get that particular virus again so I can stop worrying about that ONE THING.  This is my life and I am stuck with it so I am trying to make the best of it any way I can.

And, like Kitt, I am very sentitive and take things very personally and get my feelings hurt very easily but I am learning to let it bounce off and smile anyway.  I keep on smiling and hope it touches someone elses day in a positive way. 

Posted 12/11/2008 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
I am so glad ppl are posting it was your request..........

I too have still some health anxiety and when I stress out I break out into the Pyoderma
I thought I was actually losing my mind and I told lil sis this as I was forgetting so much so easily and ZI was a person that could tell u every patients name I had in home and what the meds were they were on all of it
Now I forget from kitchen to living room what I am going for
I finally got a DX of Fibro and it helped reasure me........but it is not something I would wish on anyone

Actually I worry more about Cait and have health anxiety with her big time
Has my immune system and its not good ........
I dont like being talked about either but I feel if they are talking about me then they are not talking about someone else lol..........

GREAT POSTS ALL.........keep em coming and Tony good for you ..........

LYN
Posted 12/12/2008 4:48 AM (GMT 0)

Dear Big Sis,

I break out in a zit and I freak, I just do not know how you handle all youhave on your plate............are you using a turkey platter.

Love you darling Sis

Kitt

Posted 12/12/2008 4:55 AM (GMT 0)

oh i feel so bad- i want to make it all better for you guys- ive been blessed to never have had health anxiety- in all honesty im just as comfortable in a hospital bed as i am at home. my many illnesses and multiple surgeries are bothersome and painful, but not scary- im almost TOO comfortable being unwell. strange, i know. i cant remember much of life before chronic illness set in- its a way of life for me now.

this sounds like a truly horrible variation on anxiety- i pray you guys get the relief you need. it wasnt until i joined HW that i was aware that there was actually a proper name for what you all go through, the concept of health anxiety was totally new to me. i guess because im always sick and am used to it and its never scared me, i stupidly made the assumption that others would feel ok, too.

i have my fair share of phobias that trap me, but i dont have the health anxiety. this thread is great for people like me to read, so i can understand what you all are going through and be better informed and educated about all facets of anxiety.

I hope there is a way to cope with health anxiety- you are all so brave IMHO, i take my hat off to you.

All the best, Maz XX


Posted 12/12/2008 6:10 AM (GMT 0)
ima always afraid almost everything i feel is something major. i go to the docs and i get alot of "its your anxiety". then i get the "what if he is wrong" and the symptoms don't go away. you get to the point where you don't know what to do. you find yourself self diagnosing and searching for problems you might have. in the end are you making your self unhealthy ? i mean all this stress has to be taking some toll on your body.
Posted 12/15/2008 4:41 PM (GMT 0)

Good Morning,

Health Anxiety appears to be a major concern of many, would anyone like to share how they overcome their anxiety.

Some of you have already but lets hear from others.

Share you helpful hints.

Hugs

Kitt

Posted 12/16/2008 1:55 AM (GMT 0)
I shared a post about how bad my health anxiety is but neglected to put in there that am trying CBT to get past my OCD about germs.  Like for instance NOT using the Purell 1,000 times per day or being scared to shake someone's hand.  I am able to shake hands with people now thru much I guess you'd say behavior modification and facing my fear head-on.  I've bought several books on CBT and am in the process of doing a workbook that came with one of the books.  Some really good stuff.  I know others here have used CBT to overcome some anxiety issues as well.  It takes time and a lot of patience with yourself but it is beginning to really work for me.  Now if I could overcome all the anxiety that my job is creating I'd be a "normal" person again.

Posted 12/16/2008 2:17 AM (GMT 0)
I have some serious health anxiety. It's absolutely out-of-control, most of the time. And it appears to be if nothing else, a catalyst for my anxiety in general. I am sure there is a deeper source for my anxiety, but right now, I am concentrated on my health, for the most part.

When I first experienced pronounced anxiety, it was more-so with the derealization/floating crap that comes with panic. I hated that.

Then it moved on to breathing issues.

And then to my heart. Then to my brain/stroke, and back again to my heart. Everyone around me seems to have issues with their heart (my father has heart disease -an enlarged heart-), my nana just had open heart surgery for coronary artery disease last year, my SIL's father died of his 4th heart attack last year (he was only 50)...he also had two or three open heart surgeries...a lady at my aunt's friend's church (did you follow that? lol) had a heart attack during surgery (which just SOLIDIFIES AND VALIDATES my fear of being put under general anesthesia even more)...just a bunch of people around me are having issues.

I tell people not to tell me of such things...but they still do! Even if I just HEAR of someone (I dont even have to know the person) having a heart attack, it scares me into thinking that it is gonna happen to me! Everything is a 'sign' from God telling me that I have a heart problem.

It just consumes my life, most of the time. I go through periods of 'remission', if you will. How sad is that? That I call it a 'remission'?
Posted 12/16/2008 3:16 AM (GMT 0)
Right now, my health anxiety is pretty much non-existent... I'm coping with my joint pain... and since I have no tummy problems and no bathroom problems, I don't have anything to worry about...

But when I was sick... Man, I worried about everything... It seemed like everything was going wrong with me (actually, it turned out that it wasn't too far from the truth... having ovary problems, flare-up problems, sleep problems, depression problems, and joint problems all at the same time... man, what a nightmare.)

I have a bad habit of looking medical things up on the internet, too... There's a lot of scary stuff out there... and when you're not feeling well, it's so easy to worry... :(
Posted 12/16/2008 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
Pyoderma Gangrenosum is a rare (but is becoming more DX) with Crohns and UC
It is literally your body eating you from the inside out
I have almost lost a finger and a foot lower leg to this
I have some pics but they are really graphic
I will put them up and then once you see them I will take back out okay

It is an autoimmune disease which also is my firo and crohns ..........

STRESS and TRAUMA to the body makes it break out

LYN
Posted 12/17/2008 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
There are still many doc's that will label you as a Hypochondriac
I had this discussion with my family doc n
HE truly believes we are not
YES we are worried more and there is the anxiety
you always get in the meantime til you have an appoinment

I am truly blessed with doc I have.......

FIGHT everyone we can do it'
Hang on to our hands
LOVE big sis
Luvs
LYN /Sis
Posted 12/17/2008 6:01 PM (GMT 0)
Wow - I soooooo relate to this thread!

Like others on here, I have another condition that just adds to my madness. I have had crohn's disease for many years and recently was put on immunosuppressants to control it. Unfortunately, now I am convinced that I am going to get REALLY sick since my immune system is so compromised.

Of course I did just get over a horrible stomach flu....I can handle pooping 10-20Xs per day, but the minute the puking starts, I feel like I am dying.

I am not sure what I am so afraid of, but I am at the point where my life is being disrupted. I have always been health phobic (thanks to my mom being health phobic)...I just get so mad that my worst fears have been realized - I DO have horrible health issues. That being said, I am still living - I think I just make things worse with my thinking.

I take Zoloft regularly for my racing thoughts/OCDish tendencies. Occasionally I take Ativan, but only in major panic attack situations. Unfortunately, I am a recovering alcoholic, so I have to be very careful of valium-type meds.

At any rate, I could go on and on....I just wanted to say thanks for the great thread :-) I find comfort in just knowing I am not alone.
Posted 12/17/2008 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
Kam
Good to see you here posting'Thanks for sharing your story and the health anxiety you go thru

There is no judgement here
Only help support and caring
WE have a few Crohnies on board



LYN
Posted 12/18/2008 12:23 AM (GMT 0)

I have had health anxiety for nearly 30 years (am 59 now).  It really got bad when I was diagnosed with anxiety and panic.  No one in my family would want to hear about it, so I suffered in silence for many years. I finally decided to see a psychologist about it.  When I was dx with Fibro, I FREAKED.  I was in ER three times in 6 weeks.

For me, the internet can be my enemy.  I google every ache and pain you can think of, and of course, I start thinking the worse.  So, there are days I have to sit back and not turn on the pc.  I started knitting again, and that keeps my mind occupied.

Sue

Posted 12/20/2008 5:24 AM (GMT 0)

I'm still working on my Health Anxiety.  Tonight I was in Wal-Mart do some "more" Christmas shopping and started feeling woozy. . . Thought I would pass out for a bit :)  Instead of freaking out I thought about my CBT lessons and about you all.  Then I started feeling a bit better enough to drive the rest of the way home.  I'm so happy that I am doing better.

Thank you all for everything!!!  Your support has been a life saver :)

Luv you all HW family! tongue

Posted 12/20/2008 6:48 AM (GMT 0)
I'm usually ok, but once I get a shooting pain in my chest (especially if the ache lingers and returns), that's when my health anxiety comes back.
I don't worry endlessly about something that's not there - I think most of us with health anxiety worry about something that actually BOTHERS us and keep coming back. Worse, when there is no diagnosis and you try to diagnose everything on your own by googling everything!

I don't try to get rid of the health anxiety, instead I try to get rid of the aches and pains. Because when I feel better, there's nothing to be anxious about.
Posted 12/20/2008 7:50 AM (GMT 0)
I had anxiety once,it was brought on by a thyroid issue.

i had an operation in jan 08 & i dont have any more anxiety..

i have to take thyroxine cos i removed my thyroid gland if not i'd be hypothyroid..

i hated those anxiety episodes.

i felt like i was going to scream,lose control & i just wanted to hide sumwhere &

make it go away!

my heart wud beat fast.

i recall once..suddenly i had 'derealization'..the person i was talking to seemed weird..

i felt like i was floating...................

i felt scared,i left the house & it went away after a while.

oh & i rushed to the dr once or twice when i had it..it went away upon seeing the doc..

.......

Posted 12/21/2008 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Fara21 :)

Nice to meet you. Welcome and enjoy the resources and great people here :)

Have a nice evening :)
Posted 12/21/2008 3:37 AM (GMT 0)

  Hi y'all,                                       PLEASE READ PPL

  It's good to see how we are all learning and passing on the skills needed to cope with A/P so now it's my turn.

  I had been dx with A/P back in 94 after a work related over exposure to the paint chemicals, but not really knowing what A/P was at the time and not having a pc at the time. I was then left to having to go buy books to help me to understand it (and with little help from my pdoc) By them I had finally got into counseling for it, I tried and tried all that was taught to me with little help and was told that there was no more that there could do for me. 

  After just dealing with it for so long I found HW and seeing just how bad of a life we all have with A/P I decided to take things on one at a time and not just being told that I have A/P here's some meds that might help you from my pdoc. So I ended up looking for a new pdoc but still keeping my main one upon doing so I would not tell him about my A/P and told him about how my heart felt odd, that lead to more testing, and all came back fine. So off to work I did on how to deal with the funny feelings of my heart pounding. I started pushing myself to get my heart pounding feeling going, stop and rested then do it all over again and again, but in time it had worked for me and no longer feel the odds of my pounding heart.

  Next was my neck and shoulders tensing up on me and causing pain, with neurological symptoms so off to see a neuro and even more testing, had an MRI of my head and neck done and found out I had degenerate disc disease of the cervical spine but I did not stop there and keep going with the odd things IBS, CFS, RLS, Neuro Problems all one by one as time pass and still not telling him about the A/P dx I had, but by my doing of this I had found out more of the real problems that were the basses of my A/P flare ups that were more related to real medical problems with me then just a dx of A/P 

  But the list is still going on even now with my new pdoc as well with the old one, as I was not happy thinking that all this is just GAD but now I know I had some real problems going on that really did need to be looked at on my end.

  Even so I still know I have GAD even if I did not have the other things going on and I'm not by any way saying that any of you may or may not have other problems medically going on as life is a very big stresser by itself that dose cause A/P in all of us in some ways, There's alot more to my story but I feel you got hint on how I have had to push to help me understand it for myself.

  Cowboy up


✚ New Topic locked
12345