Health Anxiety

I was searching for a support group on this , but unable to find one!

Sometimes I just seem to need somewhere to go to be reassured that I'm not having a heart attack or a stroke or have developed a brain tumour overnight !!

 

As I get down under 1 mg of ativan this is becoming quite an issue for me. Any slight ache or pain , it seems to trigger my body into a fight or flight response and it goes from 1-10 in a few seconds. Sometimes it is so debilitating that I won't leave the house.  Even on a 'good' day it is still there in the background. It can even be triggered by simply seeing an ambulance, or one of the worst is one of those 'first response' programs on the TV..

 

I hope those of you who also have this unpleasant sx will join me here to give each other support and reassurance.

BB

Hi BB,

 

This is a great idea for a support thread.  Oh yes, the dreaded heart attacks and strokes--I am so familiar with them.  The other night it was a pancreatic problem, because of pains I was experiencing in my left side after eating.  It is always something.

 

I think this last bit is very difficult to taper, and anxiety can be a huge issue for many.  Funny about how watching a TV program can cause an uptick in anxiety.  My health anxiety went up while watching House, so I of course stopped watching it. 

 

There are so many triggers out there. 

 

I hope you are doing well.  Thank you for starting this thread.

 

((HUGS)))

 

Anne

Oh, man, count me in!  Health Anxiety is AKA Hypochondria which is such a negative and totally misunderstood condition..health anxiety is very real and a huge part of a whole lot of us!

Hi Bertie,

 

Great idea for a new support group. Count me in as part a member of a club that no one wants to be in 

 

As you know, this has been one of my greatest (and longest lasting) symptoms. If I'm honest, I've always had it...but to a MUCH lesser degree.

 

My health anxiety can take on many different forms. I can't take any medications except Tylenol as I'm terrified of them making me sick. I can't eat in restaurants because I'm afraid of food poisoning. If I have stomach cramps, it's a bowel obstruction. If I have a headache, it's a brain tumor. It's EXHAUSTING.

 

Hopefully this thread will get people talking about their own health anxiety and make them realize they aren't alone in their fear. 

 

 

If I'm away from a computer, I'm ok. 

Get me close to the Internet and I'm searching all my symptoms

 

It makes my anxiety skyrocket

 

My job can have down times which is not good for me. I gravitate to the Internet.

 

Thanks for joining in everyone !

I think if we can 'name' some of these things it can have  the potential to minimise  the power it has over us! ( well..sometimes!)

I had never really considered myself to have hypochondria but realise its a different name for the same beast! Truely awful..for me it can just be so relentless. Last night didn't get a lot of sleep and so tired and off kilter this morning .. Of course fatigue is a precursor of heart attack isn't it!! I get annoyed with myself because in so much of my life I am strong and resiliant.. My body tweeks the wrong way and its all on !!  I do find  though it comes in waves ... I can have a week where i'm going to die at any moment, and then the following week the same tweeks and don't give them any attention ..

Oh Kiddo ..I can relate to the 'many' bowel obstructions .. !!

What a huge waste of time and energy !

 

Great to be able to support each other here BBx

 

 

If I'm away from a computer, I'm ok. 

Get me close to the Internet and I'm searching all my symptoms

 

It makes my anxiety skyrocket

 

My job can have down times which is not good for me. I gravitate to the Internet.

 

 

Oh yes ! Dr Google !! Then I put in a different word in the search to try and get a different answer!

I was searching for a support group on this , but unable to find one!

Sometimes I just seem to need somewhere to go to be reassured that I'm not having a heart attack or a stroke or have developed a brain tumour overnight !!

 

As I get down under 1 mg of ativan this is becoming quite an issue for me. Any slight ache or pain , it seems to trigger my body into a fight or flight response and it goes from 1-10 in a few seconds. Sometimes it is so debilitating that I won't leave the house.  Even on a 'good' day it is still there in the background. It can even be triggered by simply seeing an ambulance, or one of the worst is one of those 'first response' programs on the TV..

 

I hope those of you who also have this unpleasant sx will join me here to give each other support and reassurance.

BB

 

What a great idea! I have this also and it's so debilitating. Anything can set it off and it's usually deadly.  Lately, I keep trying to remind myself that it's just withdrawal.

Hi Grandma D

I see you're under the one mg too.. Theres something about that I'm sure that makes it a whole lot worse. I did have a laugh when you commented ' usually deadly ' !! I'm surprised any of us are still alive at all !

Like you I keep trying to remind myself that its withdrawal. Sometimes that works sometimes it doesn't ..

Looks like you've been at your taper a similar time to me. Long and tiring isn't it.  However, we are getting there and hopefully in the no to distant future we can put this all behind us.x

I have to work very hard not to catastrophize and awful-ize about everproblemsy new or re-emergent symptom...especially because like most of us I have real, documented problems.  The scariest right now is an enlarged aorta where it emerges from the heart....if the dang thing ruptures I will be visiting my maker in less than 15 seconds.  Now that is scary!!  Then again, maybe a bus will run me over, LOL!!!

One of the BB sayings I repeat often is that if a symptom wasn't there BEFORE Benzo Discontinuation it is probably related to the Benzo's.

OMG, once I understood it, I laughed myself "sick"!!!!!

Love it Chess player !! Great play on words..how are you travelling?

 

Cripes choco .. That really is a serious condition . i'm not sure how well I would cope with that .. Good on you for coming off the benzos as well ... That saying is very apt. Trouble is like kiddo, I always was very sensative around health issues, especially after the cancer. Most of my fears are with issues that I probably already had, but they are just magnified so much ... I have done a lot of reading and workshops around fear and dying bu never cease to be amazed at how the least little thing can trigger off an avalanche of emotion and fear.. I use this app on my phone called headspace which i find really really good.  I am working my way through their anxiety series at the moment ..it does help .. Maybe its just the distraction theory in it , but hey , if something helps I say do it !

Take care

BB

Bertie,

 

That's great that you use 'headspace'...I do as well. One thing I noticed about my own health anxiety is that when I was at my absolute worst, and so very sick, I wasn't worried about dying at all. Not a bit. It was almost a relief to think it could happen and the suffering would end. Now that I'm feeling so much better the fear has come back. It's like I'm back appreciating life and don't wan to lose it. I wish my brain could find a happy medium. 

Your posts are spot on and easy to relate to..the thing about the original definition of Hypochondria was NOT about making up conditions and symptoms, it was about what we are dealing with...fear and anxiety about real documented conditions and symptoms. I am very glad that it is supposed to be referred  to as Health Anxiety Disorder.

Thank you for your kind words....

Your posts are spot on and easy to relate to..the thing about the original definition of Hypochondria was NOT about making up conditions and symptoms, it was about what we are dealing with...fear and anxiety about real documented conditions and symptoms. I am very glad that it is supposed to be referred  to as Health Anxiety Disorder.

Thank you for your kind words....

 

Indeed .. Hypochondria to me always seemed to imply someone  was literally making up a sympton for some sort of attention. It was an inhealthy illness in itself . Whereas health anxiety , I am not inventing the sympton at all it is there.. Its just how to deal with my brain when it magnifies the sympton into some sort of fatal disease. !! But thats just my take on it .. Doesn't mean its accurate !!

BB

@kiddo ... If this was facebook I would tick 'like' !! Headspace is a great app... I especially like there SOS series.. Have used that countless times .

Hi Grandma D

I see you're under the one mg too.. Theres something about that I'm sure that makes it a whole lot worse. I did have a laugh when you commented ' usually deadly ' !! I'm surprised any of us are still alive at all !

Like you I keep trying to remind myself that its withdrawal. Sometimes that works sometimes it doesn't ..

Looks like you've been at your taper a similar time to me. Long and tiring isn't it.  However, we are getting there and hopefully in the no to distant future we can put this all behind us.x

 

You are so right, this is long and tiring! I can hardly wait until I'm off this poison. And for a short time I considered shortening my taper from 14 days to 13 days Etc, but decided to just keep going as I'm going. I'm hoping after I jump that my symptoms will not get worse as I had feared they would. Who knows, maybe they will get better. 

 

 

:laugh: good one!!!  :laugh:

Grandma D,

 

Try not to worry about your jump. I spent many months agonizing about the 'acute' period as I approached the end of my taper. I actually felt much better after I completed my taper (22 months) and my first month free was actually quite decent. 

It's strange, but this was such an issue for me in the beginning of all this and even during my years on K, now I don't think about my health as much as I probably should! I don't like going to see doctors, in fact I avoid them, which is kind of like going to the other extreme for me. I guess neither way is very healthy. I can remember worrying about every little problem like it was serious business, and making doc appts, going into see them, just to find out it was nothing. Time and time again. It was like an obsession.

 

Started getting tooth pain after brushing and flossing this morning. It is in a tooth the dentist said may need to be a root canal. Had three fillings done well over a month now. So now the fear sets in.........

Hey there Remy

 

Funny you mention teeth .. I had roaring tooth ache but couldn't quite identify which tooth it was in .. Was terrified of going to the dentist. Not so much because its the dentist but because my anxiety really flares up sitting in that chair with someone hovering so close to my face ! Anyway after reading around here I see that toothache is quite common .. As soon as I read that , overnight its gone ! The power of the mind ah !! lets hope yours doesn't develop into one. Its quite a distinctive pain I find ..

This HA seems to make everything much bigger than ehat it id. I do so envy folks who can just take it all in a days life !!

Glad you popped in here. Lets know how it works out with the tooth.  , BB

I'm having dental issues too, Bertie and Remy. Terrified to go....cancelled two appointments already. Ugh. Now my anxiety is ramped up because I'm afraid that by having left it so long it'll be worse or a bigger job. This is no fun!