cerridwen
24-06-12, 22:53
Hello all,
I am feeling pretty low at the moment and desperately want to talk to people who understand. I have been suffering with full blown health anxiety for about ten years, and I am an anxious person by nature. My mum, who is elderly and not in good health, also is a bit neurotic and anxious (always has been). She is clinically depressed (refusing medication), arthritic, with diabetes and has many, many physical symptoms. When we solve one physical symptom by GP visits and treatment, then another one appears. She talks of nothing but ill health. She is currently suffering upper back pain, rib pain and pain in her right hand side and talks of little else.
The problem is, I am an only child, my Dad has early stage dementia and I seem to have become the only support my mum has. She doesn't drive, is socially isolated and very dependent on me. She rings me two, three, four times a day, sometimes more. She talks of nothing but doctors, ill health and pain. I know she is suffering but being with her for just a short while triggers my health anxiety. I get overwhelmingly anxious. I am having difficulty sleeping, am having panic attacks and I, too, have this irrational fear that there is something seriously wrong with her. She is waiting on blood test results and is waiting for an ultrasound scan. I will have to go with her to the hospital. This is making me really ill and I don't know what to do. My mum has always been the one to really over emphasise symptoms, in the past when she has a headcahe she's got a brain tumour, if you know what I mean. I am so miserable. My husband doesn't understand, he thinks she is being unreasonable dumping on me so much and is less ill than she makes out. He may be right, but what if he isn't?
Cerridwen:weep:
I am feeling pretty low at the moment and desperately want to talk to people who understand. I have been suffering with full blown health anxiety for about ten years, and I am an anxious person by nature. My mum, who is elderly and not in good health, also is a bit neurotic and anxious (always has been). She is clinically depressed (refusing medication), arthritic, with diabetes and has many, many physical symptoms. When we solve one physical symptom by GP visits and treatment, then another one appears. She talks of nothing but ill health. She is currently suffering upper back pain, rib pain and pain in her right hand side and talks of little else.
The problem is, I am an only child, my Dad has early stage dementia and I seem to have become the only support my mum has. She doesn't drive, is socially isolated and very dependent on me. She rings me two, three, four times a day, sometimes more. She talks of nothing but doctors, ill health and pain. I know she is suffering but being with her for just a short while triggers my health anxiety. I get overwhelmingly anxious. I am having difficulty sleeping, am having panic attacks and I, too, have this irrational fear that there is something seriously wrong with her. She is waiting on blood test results and is waiting for an ultrasound scan. I will have to go with her to the hospital. This is making me really ill and I don't know what to do. My mum has always been the one to really over emphasise symptoms, in the past when she has a headcahe she's got a brain tumour, if you know what I mean. I am so miserable. My husband doesn't understand, he thinks she is being unreasonable dumping on me so much and is less ill than she makes out. He may be right, but what if he isn't?
Cerridwen:weep: