Terrified and Scared about Rabies

[golddustgirl1000]

IT all started a little over a week ago.

I was having a very hard time sleeping and kept tossing and turning.

Finally, just as I was falling asleep, I woke up to what felt like something had bit my foot at 2 am.

I kicked my foot around a bit and felt my husbands foot and just fell back to sleep without looking.

The next day I checked around, even looked at my foot, and didnt see anything. All of a sudden it hit me, I had read about bats before.. what if I got bit by a bat in my sleep and didn't know.. and worse yet.. what if the bat had rabies? I've heard that many times people don't know when they have been bitten and there is no proof because their teeth are so sharp and small. There is a small tiny hole that a cable guy drilled for us to get cable in our back room... so I instantly thought it came out of there.. however when I checked the hole, it was completely crosshaired with cobwebs... no way that if something came through those would regenerate a few hours later ( I know this cause I removed them a week ago.. and the hole is still clean with no webs)

I searched around but found nothing... Now, I live in Southern California.. a fairly populated urban area, but our apartments are more in a "wooded" tree canopy area.. I have never seen bats here.. we have parrots, raccoons, opossums, crawfish, hummingbirds.. but I've never seen bats when walking out at night. However somehow I worked myself into believing that somehow someway one got into our house, into my bed, bit me and now I'm going to die. Nevermind the fact I haven't found it. Nevermind the fact my cat sleeps in the room with us, nevermind the fact that our whole house is sealed.. or so I think, it came in..

Anyway, since last week I started to experience tingling in my foot, sometimes what felt like it was colder than my other foot. Starting yesterday I got super fatigued and feel like a head cold is coming on in my throat. This morning I woke up and haven't been fatigued, but feel like I'm on the brink of a head cold... i've pretty much worked myself up to think its rabies. My throat has been tight all day, and I feel itchy/tingly in my throat.

Now, I've been to urgent care ( who have never seen a bat and don't even know what bites look like- again Southern California) I also visited my dermatologist, who said that what I thought might be a bite is nothing.. and that she sees nothing...

And finally- I went to my vet.. cause maybe they would know what a bat bite looks like... she laughed at me ( with compassion ) and said highly highly doubtable.

Getting in to a counselor next week, but for now, any compassion and encouragement would be welcomed and highly appreciated!!

[ServerError]

Sounds like you've had all the answers you need. They might not recognise a bat bite, but they sure as hell don't mess about with rabies. You're going for counselling, so you're on the right track.

The rabies fear crops up all the time on here, but I've never once seen a post where I thought "yeah, this person's in trouble". It's always completely irrational. I'm willing to bet nobody on NMP ever gets rabies.

[Darksky]

Stop checking your body for symptoms. The more you look the more you will find something. Anx can cause physical symtoms, tingling etc. The more you work yourself up, the more you will get anxiety symptoms, which you will attribute to rabies because that's your mindset at the moment.

Perhaps no one can see a bite because there's none there. Perhaps it was your husbands foot (toenail) touching you. I've never seen an invisible bite, there's akways a skin reaction somewhere.

[golddustgirl1000]

Thanks guys... I've been able to manage/handle it a little more in the past two day... my throat feels tight and I have this weird tingling.. but I think its from allergies/my sinuses... at least thats what I keep telling myself..

I know the rabies things comes up... this is the 5th time Ive "had" it...

[Munchlet]

I really feel for you, Rabies is one of my HA fears and I live in the UK where it's non existent!
Do a search on my posts where I've had similar fears to what you are describing and it's all based around bats!!
My husband used to joke that Bats were like ninjas because in my head they got in and out without being seen and managed to bite me.
It won't be a bat bite, deep down you know that but your anxiety is taking over. Honestly search my previous posts on Rabies there's been a few!! It might give you a laugh and also reassure you a bit.

[golddustgirl1000]

Hey Girl!

Thank you so much! i'm going to go search now... at least you guys don't have it in the UK!

[ServerError]

We still have it in bats, I believe. But in the US it's so rare you may as well call it eradicated.

[golddustgirl1000]

Guys I just can't shake this...

I was fine for a few days, and then this anxiety reared its ugly head with a vengeance again! I started becoming really tight in the chest and short of breath... almost like someone was squeezing my throats and sitting on my chest!

I went to dr for refill ok gerd medication as I went off it for about a week- only been on it 5 days now but this feeling keeps coming back more often than not...
Itchy throat-- feels like someone's grabbing my neck- and sitting on my chest... out of breath when I walk...

I can't help but think it's rabies, and the symptoms are developing...

I made the mistake of going online again and reading something about a bat coming in biting and leaving whilen I was sleeping....ugh I'm so tired of this!

Please help!

[tryingtosurvive1]

I guarantee you don't have rabies. You weren't even bitten by a bat. You know how you can feel like you've fallen when you're asleep and you wake up suddenly? Maybe this was some kind of weird variation on that. Or your husband's toenail. Or, like, anything but an invisible bat. From the outside, this seems crazy. Try to realize that if you can.
xoxoxo

[paranoid-viking]

One thing to be said about all those multiple rabies threads - they are creative. Having HA makes you very capable of making up nightmare scenarios. We should use that creativity for other purposes.

---------- Post added at 12:24 ---------- Previous post was at 12:21 ----------

Guys I just can't shake this...

I was fine for a few days, and then this anxiety reared its ugly head with a vengeance again! I started becoming really tight in the chest and short of breath... almost like someone was squeezing my throats and sitting on my chest!

I went to dr for refill ok gerd medication as I went off it for about a week- only been on it 5 days now but this feeling keeps coming back more often than not...
Itchy throat-- feels like someone's grabbing my neck- and sitting on my chest... out of breath when I walk...

I can't help but think it's rabies, and the symptoms are developing...

I made the mistake of going online again and reading something about a bat coming in biting and leaving whilen I was sleeping....ugh I'm so tired of this!

Please help!

I had a rabies scare in 2003 and I never forgot what a doctor told me: "if you had rabies you would not be able to sit here and talk to me."
Damned right! And you would not be able to sit on the Internet and write that you think you have rabies.