Close to a break down! Need to pull myself together

[nervousmummytobe]

So I have been to the doctors AGAIN as now have markings on my tummy flat non itchy brownish red! I'm still so convinced I have Lyme disease dispute vein told my so many doctors. Walk in doctors. Nurses and pharmacists that what I have is a harmless rash which should go after pregnancy. Because I had a bite (not sure what it wa from) early on on my pregnancy I have linked the rash to the bite and I can seem to get Lyme out of my mind! I get so depressed especially when I see on google that it's always misdiagnosed and that in Pregnancy it can have really bad effects! I feel like I'm so down and I can't enjoy my pregnancy because I'm so anxious about this! I should trust my doctor an the numerous other doctors I have seen but reading all the horror stories makes me think what if I'm going to go misdiagnosed and end up harming my unborn! The worst thing is because I can't stop googling I now think every thing is. Lyme symptom even though it's most likely pregnancy or ha ! I'm really going out o my mind with worry and this has been going on for three months now! Very new sensation I relate to Lyme ! I'm really scared and I feel like there is no escape from this worry! What of the doctors are wrong like they were with all te stories I read on google ! I'm close to break down!

[cattia]

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this. I have been down the Lyme's fear route as well so I know the kinds of things you've read. I am sure that there are a lot of people out there who have had issues with Lyme's but it does seem to be one of those diseases that a lot of people seem to think they have but have never actually been diagnosed. There are so many vague symptoms that it seems to be one that is very easy for us HA sufferers to latch on to and I think the internet is full of people writing horror stories about it, the same sort of thing you get if you latch on to something like systemic Candida (if you haven't googled that one, please don't!)
I had all sorts of anxieties during both my pregnancies. It's a stressful time for us HA sufferers, but I am sure everything will be fine. Do you have a sympathetic midwife who you could talk to about your fears?

[Mark_P]

The post above is really helpful, and to be honest I can't add anything to that. But I would just say that it's not a good thing to use the internet when finding out about stuff. I know this because I used to do it, and it always made things worse. If I had a headache brought on by stress/anxiety, I would think it's a tumour etc. It's crazy, and you really need to leave this to the doctors as they are the experts. Google will always show you the worse diagnosis for the simplest of symptoms. So if you type in something like "headache and dizziness" even though you're stressed, I guarantee it'll show up a diagnosis of something sinister. Just avoid google at all costs and leave it in the doctors hands. If you have more concerns then go see the doctor again, see if he can do anything else for you. But DO NOT search google for diagnosis.

[nervousmummytobe]

Thank you both for replying and being helpful! How do you refrain from googling? And how can I learn to trust my doctor!? I keep thinking of my rash and can't help but think he's wrong and that it's not a harmless heat/hormone rash like the doctor says!

[cattia]

There is no easy answer to that one I'm afraid! I sometimes am able to control my googling quite well, other times I lose it and I'm even sitting there at 4am googling stuff on my phone. All it ever does though it put you into a wild panic. Even if on the off chance you find a site that makes you feel a bit better, you'll keep going looking for more and more reassurance and come across something that makes you feel a million times worse. The chances of you being able to make an accurate diagnosis via google are far less than the chances of your Dr who has seven years medical training being able to make one. If I sound like I'm lecturing you, I'm not, I have to tell myself the same thing all the time.
Of course there are stories of Drs missing things and getting things wrong, but actually for the most part, they will refer you if they really think that something could be amiss because think of the trouble they could be in if they miss something serious. The chances of your rash being Lyme's disease AND the chances of your Dr missing this are really very slim indeed. If you really can't trust your Dr, give yourself a time limit of a couple of weeks, or ten days, and then go back and talk it over with him again. The compulsion to google is very powerful, so you need to have something else to do when it comes over you. Maybe have something else that you can search for instead, like something you want to buy for the baby or anything else that interests you, anything to keep off those health sites!