Dealing with anxiety when something IS wrong

[emlica]

Hi everyone,

Just after anyone's advice on how you deal with being worried about something that definitely IS wrong! I guess that sounds odd! Basically I'm having problems after a tummy bug - nearly 2 months later I'm still not back to normal - and the doctor is sure that there's nothing sinister going on (and has done blood tests to check). Most of the time I'm happy to believe that, so I'm not suffering too badly with 'what if it's something worse?' type anxiety (though I do get a little bit of that - mainly worrying about coeliac or something else 'chronic', like some kind of long-lasting post-infective IBS, but that's just when I'm particularly down!).

Mine is more related to 'what if it doesn't get better and I'm stuck with this', and constantly trying to assess whether I do feel better one day than I did the day/week/month before. I get depressed thinking about how happy/healthy I felt before I got the bug, and feel a bit despairing when I'm only seeing tiny improvements (I have to compare how I felt at least a month ago to believe that there's any improvement at all). The thing is that I'm sure I feel worse when I think about it, inevitably, and I'm probably genuinely making my symptoms worse by thinking about them, since - I'm told - mood and things do actively affect your digestion. I overthink it, I know I do, and then I worry, and when I'm worried I don't fancy eating, which worries me more, and, I imagine, patchy eating habits aren't great for the digestion either.

Any advice would be much appreciated - I'm down because I've felt a bit rubbish for so long, and I know I'm starting to struggle generally as I can't enjoy things like I used to - not so much because of my physical symptoms as because mentally I'm always worrying about whether I feel OK or not. And that can't go on!

[hadenough]

hi, Im going through virtually the same thing, have had d for most of the last 3 weeks. Been to gp today who has asked for a sample but also sent me for blood tests (she says just to put my mind at rest). Tests are for cancer. When she said the word I freaked out but she just kept saying that shes sure its not that. Anxiety is crippling me as well so I know how you feel. xxx

[emlica]

Hi there, yeah, mine sent me for blood tests and I had the impression it was to put my mind at rest rather than because she thought anything was actually wrong! With me they did a full blood count, tests for inflammation markers, liver, kidney, and thyroid tests. All completely normal - in fact she said they were the most perfect blood results she'd seen, except for one haemoglobin reading that was slightly less than perfect, but I guess it can't have been low (or high?) enough to be a concern.

Did yours start with a tummy bug that just won't get better? Have you tried cutting out lactose? I ask because my symptoms are now mainly just slightly 'dodgy' BMs in the morning plus some strange sensations in my abdomen and a lack of appetite, but up until a couple of weeks ago I was also having unpredictable episodes of D - until I worked out that they lined up exactly with when I drank milk. My doctor says that if you've had a tummy bug it can damage the lining of your intestines, making you (hopefully temporarily) lactose intolerant, but also causing various other problems with digestion and such things, which just take time to heal.

It's so horrible when it's your tummy though isn't it? Somehow it all seems worse because you know you have to eat and eating seems to trigger extra anxiety. Ugh. I hope you don't have to wait long for your blood results? Bit of advice on that front: even if they say 'all fine', I would really advise asking exactly what was tested for. I didn't to start with, I was just happy with 'all fine', but then gradually as I didn't notice much improvement I started to worry a bit about possible other things it could be, as I didn't know what had been ruled out!

[hadenough]

I had a full set of bloods done recently and they were all fine. What Im panicking about is that these are specifically for cancer which she says is to put my mind at rest but as usual I dont believe her. Mine seemed to start with a tummy bug but just hasnt got better. I have no appetite at all and so am not eating hardly anything which in turn is causing me to lose weight. To be honest Im at the end of my tether with it all. xx

[nomorepanic]

I have two illnesses that I have to deal with - crohn's disease and heart failure.

Stress and worry can make things worse so I have to keep that in check - though it is hard to at times.

I cope and deal with it because I have to - I have no choice I guess.

[emlica]

Try not to panic about the losing weight side of it too much for the time being - I know I definitely freaked out when I realised I was losing weight as they say losing weight is a bad sign etc etc, but if you think about it logically, if you're not eating as much, then of course you're going to lose weight. When it gets worrying is if you're eating the same stuff and still losing weight. You might not even have been worried about that, but I know I was, so I thought I'd say :)

If it started with a tummy bug then it might be worth seeing if cutting out lactose does anything for you - should only need a couple of days to see if it is that. Definitely made a difference for me and it's not that unusual after a tummy bug (particularly, I was told, if it's the sort that causes more D than V!). I'm sure the bloods are just to put your mind at rest as it's much more likely, logically, that what you have was triggered by the stomach bug - and they can't cause cancer!

[gurso11]

I have been experiencing similar feelings. I have in the past year developed chronic pain and this constant sensation that I am not breathing sufficiently.. I often say to my husband "how and I supposed to live the rest of my life feeling like this?" I am only 28...and that seems like a lot of life remaining to feel like garbage every day. I totally understand what you are saying. I think that you just need to find what your new "normal" is. It may not be as lovely and wonderful feeling as your "old" normal, but it is doable. Just know that there are hundreds, thousands of people who live through life changing experiences and come out on the other side stronger. I am sure that that will be you and me too.