SICK WITH WORRY, PLEASE HELP!!!

Hi all,
I'll try not to go on too much! I am a 33 year old woman who has a condition called fibromyalgia (which basically means I have terrible muscle pain and feel very weak and trembly most of the time). I have lived with this for five years. About 8 weeks ago I had a flare up which was so bad I could hardly get out of bed and I thought I was going to die. I have been to see a specialist who thinks I need more tests to rule out other things. I had some blood tests and then I received a letter which said they found something and I need to have the test repeated in 3 months. I also have to go into hospital to have an EMG test which means they will put 10 needles in my muscles and put an electric current in them to see if my muscles react normally. Since all this has happened I have completely lost all my confidence. I am so weak I can hardly stand which makes me terrified of having to go out to appointments etc. Getting the letter which said they found something in my blood test with NO EXPLANATION has made me sick with worry, and I am also terrified about the EMG test in hospital because I am scared I will have a panic attack. I am also scared of the long wait in the waiting room as I find those situations difficult. The night before my appointment with the specialist was awful, I had sickness (and the runs), awful butterflies and I had no sleep. How can I cope with all this worry hanging over me, and how do I cope with the panic attacks in waiting rooms? Please help. Nobody understands. My family keep telling me to pull myself together, and my Doctor says I should try not to be defeatest.

Aww shoegal i am so sorry, you really are having a tough time. Have you spoken to your GP about the results of the blood test, they should have some info on what they found, it doesn't seem right that they haven't explained it properly to you, no wonder you are worried, anyone would be. Do you find music relaxing? You could take a personal Cd player or MP3 player into the waiting room to distract you/relax you while you wait. have you tried any herbal anti-anxiety remedies, bachs rescue remedy can help with panic, kalms may help with the worry. I think you should try talking with your dr again too and explain how you are feeling, s/he doesn't sound very sympathetic. As far as family are concerened it is hard to understand panic if you've never experienced it, but you have a diagnosed condition and you have to undergo tests, these are things that any of them could face one day and I bet they won't be able to 'pull themselves together' if they had to go through it! have you got a friend that could go with you to the appt? Thinking of you

Take care
Daisybun

'This too will pass'

Hi Shoegal,
am really sorry to hear your having such a bad time at the moment. Definately think you should ask to see your Dr again, you need to know what the result was so that you can at least try to deal with it!
Its horrible when people say 'pull yourself together', as if its that easy. Everyone seems to assume so much, but only you know how you are feeling, and its so hard to put into words what it feels like.
I hate waiting for appointments to, I read a lot of 'chick lit' books because they always have a happy ending. On appointment day I take the one I am reading so I get into it and almost forget im waiting for something. Im not saying it will work for you, but I find distraction is the best option, going prepared.
I really hope things improve for you soon.

Will :)

hey, my mum has fibro. i sympathise with you and it's not nice when people tell you to pull yourself together, you have to get well at your own pace. there's a really nice woman that comes on here who suffers with fibro, she has her own web paage that has some stuff to do with frybo on there, maybe tou could check it out http://apriltones.proboards54.com Michelle xXx.

"Everything's good in the end, if it's not good, it's not the end!!!"

Hi all,
Thank you so much for your support. I woke up today with that familiar feeling of dread, butterflies in my tummy etc.... but somehow I found the strength to take my dog for a short walk with my Dad. It was quite an achievement for me being agoraphobic, so I'm quite pleased with myself. Still worried about all the medical tests and waiting rooms etc though!!! I seem worse when I know about it before hand and get myself all worked up. I am much better when I can do things in my own time when I feel ready.
Thanks for all the support.
shoegal [8D]