Suffered with health anxiety since I was 10

Health Anxiety - Please help... I'm so scared
I've suffered with health anxiety since I was about 10 years old. My first 'illness' was HIV. I was convinced that I had somehow contracted it and that I was dying. Thirteen years on and my anxiety had become manageable... episodes that came and went with the negative test results. Recently due to a HUGE amount of stress i've become really unwell again but this time it's all about my teeth. I'm petrified that my teeth are falling out. I went to the dentist a few weeks ago with unusual feelings in my mouth. He told me that there was nothing wrong and that I should forget about it. The feeling got worse and worse until I convinced myself that all my teeth were going to fall out. I poked them with my tongue and constantly checked in the mirror every hour or so to make sure they weren't even more wobbly. I stopped believing that there was nothing wrong and went to get a second opinion from a better dentist who told me that i'd been grinding my teeth so badly that i'd loosened them but that they were definitely not going to fall out and that I needed to reduce my stress. I accepted that and felt better for a day. Then I must have had a really good grind in my sleep because I woke up and they were sore and a little looser than the day before... of course I kept poking to make sure they weren't falling out and they seemed to get worse. I'm petrified that my anxiety is going to make my teeth fall out... and oddly, i'm more petrified of that than I ever have been about cancer, HIV or kidney failure. I think because the symptoms are so obvious and they're getting worse (because i'm making them worse) and there is no test result that can tell me that i'm okay, i'm just feeding it and feeding it.
I have a doctors appointment tonight and another dentists appointment on Wednesday. This is getting so rediculous... i'm so petrified all the time. I feel like i'm trapped in my worst nightmare 24/7 and i'm really starting to scare my fiance who has just been so very wonderful. I haven't eaten in four days because i'm so scared of the feeling of pressure against my teeth. I'm not sleeping because i'm petrified that i'll grind my teeth. I'm wearing a mouth guard to bed but it doesn't seem to help... unless it is helping but all the 'checking' i'm doing is making it worse...
Please just tell me that i'm not alone and that it does get better...
Just a minor edit see rule 1 on the guidelines. Any questions please contact me.
-Michelle

Welcome to Healing Well you have found a great support system with fantastic peeps
Health Anxiety is very prevalent here within the A/P peeps and it is real and needs
to be addressed to calm your fears .......I know there are a few on here that do grind teeth at night and they will post I am sure. I am hoping this next dental appointment you will get some better POSITIVE feedback and start to work with that in the meantime CBT might be good for you as well as other relaxation techniques .MoodGyms.Training Program is the frronline one I use n for me iit is helping quite alot and I do feel much beter about self and health anxiety..........Take care and know you are no longer alone with this
Lyn

tooth grinding is common for anxiety sufferers, and a frequent cause of tooth damage. a dentist can make you a splint to wear at night that keeps the teeth apart ( expensive) or you can wear a football mouthguard that lets them slide over eachother without doing damage ( cheap) the dentists you saw should have suggested these to you, IMO

hypochondria is also common, there may be some self help hints on the net

an antidepressant med may help to calm and relax you such as prozac

Hoping you are feeling somewhat better with the input you have been given
Lyn

elly have you tried looking in the drug store for a bite splint? they sell nice flexible plastic ones that mold to your teeth. as a fellow teeth grinder i sure know what you're going through, and i also know that a bite splint helped me tremendously!! i hope you're doing ok. i went through something similar to you about a year ago... with meds and counseling i was able to get better. i definlty remember the numerous pointless dr appointments i made! i felt like i was going crazy... anyways... once i got a grip and started counseling, it started to get better. i hope you can find a way to get better too!