When will it get better

[Munchlet]

So it's now day 11 of Fluoxetine and I'm still anxious.

I just can't shake this Rabies fear. I'm now convinced a bat bit me in my sleep and I haven't noticed and I've missed the marks on me.

I slept in the same room as my husband and my son so surely one of us would have noticed if a bat was in the room and if this was the case then it wouldn't just be me that could be at risk.

Needless to say husband thinks I'm completely mad and said there is no way a bat was in our bedroom because the window was shut all the time because air con was on and the bedroom door was hardly ever open for the same reason, but in my crazy mind I think that because we had the bathroom window open a bat managed to sneek in through there and then got in the bedroom when we opened the door without us noticing.

So now my husband is saying that they must have "ninja bats" in Mallorca that just wait until no one is looking, sneak into your bedroom, hide under the bed and wait til you are asleep then creep out, bite you and hide again.

I realise how crazy this sounds and whilst typing it I can even see it looks crazy so why am I still paranoid about Rabies. I think I'm going to be worrying about this one for a year seeing as it can take that long to develop.:lac:

[stamags]

hi
wouldnt you have felt a bite and seen the marks. Why do you think you have been bitten?

[Munchlet]

Because I made the mistake of reading up on Rabies when I came back and it said in there that people have been known to have been bitten and not felt it, so needless to say because my Anxiety is spiralling out of control, I'm now thinking this has happened to me. :weep:

[stamags]

hi
Why do our minds always imagine the worst case senario,its a horrible thing. I am sure you wont have rabies, I have been in mallorca dozens of times and havent even seen a bat, try to stop worrying about it, you'll be fine.

[southey]

So it's now day 11 of Fluoxetine and I'm still anxious.

I realise how crazy this sounds and whilst typing it I can even see it looks crazy so why am I still paranoid about Rabies. I think I'm going to be worrying about this one for a year seeing as it can take that long to develop.:lac:

You won't be worrying for a year, probably will for another two weeks or so and then will be able to think rationally once more when the Prozac starts working proper.

You will soon be able to look back on this episode and maybe even laugh at it:D

Steve.

[Lizzie73]

I'd love to tell you to consider the risk. Is is 1 chance in a 100 for example. But if your anxiety is as determined as mine it focuses on even a tiny possibility. Annoying!! Try writing it down and include what the worst possible scenario would be if you did happen to be right. Read it back a lot and that might help you see that it is a bit unlikely. Have been trying a bit of this myself today, in black and white it seems to take some power out if the thought for me. Good luck.

[SLjimbo]

Give the Prozac time to work and you'll gradually start feeling the full effects. It takes about a good 4-6 weeks when it starts kicking in, but not everyone has the same timeline, so don't panic if it takes longer. For me, it took 1-2 months to get the full effects of the Prozac. It may not be a "magic bullet" cure, but through time, you'll feel a helluva lot better than before.

[cattia]

When I was on prozac I just felt worse for the first two weeks, then I felt just as bad for the next two, then at the four week mark it kicked in for me pretty dramatically and I felt a massive relief in my symptoms. Stick with it, it takes time x

[saab]

In cognative therapy they get you to do exercise like writing down your fears and writing a rational response. Why not try that? Just writing stuff down can sometimes make you see that you are being irrational.

What's the chance of having been bit by a bat in a closed room in Mallorca? Virtually nil, I would think. What's the chance of not having noticed said bat bite? Practically zero.

I did a quick google and since they started checking UK bats for rabies they have only found 9 with the virus - out of the thousands they tested. No evidence to suggest that Spanish bats are more rabid than ours. Even if you were bitten by a bat, which you weren't, the chances of it having rabies are less than 1 in a thousand. Most rabies in bats is found in South America apparently. Also, they don't bite unless they are defending themselves, so very unlikely that you wouldn't notice.

I once spent a weekend thinking an insect bite behind my knee was a deep vein thrombosis starting. I can look back and laugh now, but I do appreciate it's hard when your brain won't respond to logic anymore. I hope you can put this behind you and enjoy your time with your family.

[Munchlet]

Thank you everyone and Saab thank you so much for the research.

I am feeling a bit brighter today so I am hoping maybe the prozac is starting to work it's magic.

I am starting therapy on Monday so I'm really hopeful I can gain some useful coping statergies from it. It's just so hard when the anxiety takes over to be rational and I always feel like even if the odds are 100,0000 to 1, I'll be that one person.

I'm sure many of you can relate to this, just hoping the meds combined with the therapy will help me deal with this.

Thanks again guys, hugs to you all xxx