Worried sick to the point that I am shaking

[silver_shoes]

Please can someone help me, I'm shaking with nerves and have been for most of the day.. I have terrible health anxiety, and this includes worrying about the people I love as well as myself. Right now I am worried about my Dad. He has had very few issues health-wise (apart from high blood pressure), however since yesterday he's suddenly had stomach issues, with griping pains which kept him awake last night and my Mum said because of this he's been lying on the sofa all day sleeping on and off - this is SO unlike him, they are both normally very active and healthy. He's 65. The thought of anything serious being wrong with him is absolutely tearing me apart and I've been close to tears all day since Mum told me about his poorly tum. His best made had bowel cancer a few years ago (he survived thank goodness) and I am absolutely terrified for him, a man of his age with a sudden change like this :(

[tmckenzie-orr]

Try not to worry yourself could be 100 different things don't always think the worse , hopefully it will be gone next couple of days and the worry will go

[Danron]

I know when you are in the grips of anxiety logic doesn't always help, but the probability of it being something serious is really low. There are so many minor conditions (Like wind :blush: or a tummy bug) that are much more likely, and your mum is likely right. I hope your starting to feel better and can have a more relaxing evenng :)

[KayeS]

I went through the exact same thing with my dad earlier in the year. He had a really bad stomach upset and I got worried for him in the same way you are. But it passed and so will your dad's. :)

[silver_shoes]

Well just spoken to him. He sounds really tired. He said the stomach ache is not as bad as yesterday but he definitely isn't right. I didn't sleep well through worrying about him all night :( so unusual for him to be unwell.

[tmckenzie-orr]

well thats it cancer just doesnt get better and be better than day before it will get progressivly worse, so dont worry, it is more than likely a bug or something relax positvie thoughts

[silver_shoes]

Just so hard to think rationally about this when my HA is so bad!! Actually, my Dad said that he came down with this after a visit to the Dentist a few days ago, where the dental nurse said she had been ill, and one of the other dentist had been sent home ill.. so let's just hope he caught a bug from there x

[tmckenzie-orr]

thats it, its horrible when the health anxiety kicks in this morning i had like a panic attack worrying about a tonsil crypt after i read a post about somebody with a enlarged tonsil lol, try be positive, its silly how our mind acts we are so weak and not normal lol

[silver_shoes]

Oh I have weird things like that on my tonsils too... horrible arent they!!

[tmckenzie-orr]

everythings horrible, that aint normal anyway lol feel like such a baby

[silver_shoes]

Personally I find my throat plays tricks on me lol. The more you think about something there, the more you can really feel it, even swallowing becomes weird... lol, we are hopeless :p

[white1989]

Hi silver_shoes,

I suffer terribly with health anxiety so know exactly what you're going through. If I'm not worrying about myself, im worrying about my partner or my family! My therapist used to tell me that I would find a 'hook' to hang my anxiety on, so if I had nothing to worry about with my own health, I would look for something in my family or partner to worry about because I simply cannot go a day without having something to worry about! it is extremely difficult when you spend all day worrying, I sympathise with you worrying about your dad as I am the same when my mum or dad so much as say they have a headache, that's all I can think about (along with a terminal diagnosis) all day! Something I sometimes do to help is look up statistics. For example, I learnt that 95% of people that suffer a headache do not have a brain tumour. I imagine this to be very similar with stomach aches (like your dad) so it helps to put things into perspective! Hope this helps, try to focus on other things and stay positive!

[silver_shoes]

Hi silver_shoes,

I suffer terribly with health anxiety so know exactly what you're going through. If I'm not worrying about myself, im worrying about my partner or my family! My therapist used to tell me that I would find a 'hook' to hang my anxiety on, so if I had nothing to worry about with my own health, I would look for something in my family or partner to worry about because I simply cannot go a day without having something to worry about! it is extremely difficult when you spend all day worrying, I sympathise with you worrying about your dad as I am the same when my mum or dad so much as say they have a headache, that's all I can think about (along with a terminal diagnosis) all day! Something I sometimes do to help is look up statistics. For example, I learnt that 95% of people that suffer a headache do not have a brain tumour. I imagine this to be very similar with stomach aches (like your dad) so it helps to put things into perspective! Hope this helps, try to focus on other things and stay positive!

Yes, I have to remind myself that's it's perfectly possible to just have a stomach bug and that it's not always the worst case scenario! I think this stems from my own health issues in the past as had some bad things happen to me (not the big C but scary stuff all the same) and so I automatically look on the negative side of things.

[silver_shoes]

Urgh, this is not a good night.
I am sitting here Googling.
Spoke to my mum earlier tonight and she said my dad was feeling shivery and went to bed early. I am honestly going out my mind with worry. Cant stop googling about stomach and bowel cancer and got horrible thoughts in my mind about him not being around to give me away at my wedding in 7 weeks time. I hate anxiety. And I don't want my Dad to be ill :(
I really appreciate the words of encouragement, I just cant see a way out of this feeling, at this moment in time.

[tmckenzie-orr]

Shivery = a bug or fever stomach upset food poisoning not cancer stop Worrying it's not that

[white1989]

it is so unbeivably difficult to not worry when people tell you to 'stop worrying' - we simply can't do it! definitely step away from google - it is very toxic for people like us and a lot of the time it produces incorrect and unreliable information.
Like the above user said, shiffery usually means a bug or fever, not C, so try to believe in that. Sending lots of sympathy and hope things improve soon, x

[silver_shoes]

He seemed a little better when I spoke to him earlier today so fingers crossed it is just a bug, people who don't have HA just do not understand how I am feeling when I am worrying to this extent. Wish I could be normal lol. I didn't sleep well again last night because of it and as a result I feel absolutely drained today.

[tmckenzie-orr]

It's horrible and it's easy to give others advice when it's not us I can give good medical advise and help people etc but when it's myself I cannot convince myself it it doesn't effect us we can think straight and normal when it's us it's all a scary worry cannot think mind lol

[GoWhiteSox]

avoid Dr. Google..that is radioactive waste for people with Health Anxiety

[silver_shoes]

Just a quick update, anxiety is still not great but better than it was. My Dad thought he was getting better but yesterday my Mum called me to say that as he thought he was alright now, he went and played 18 holes of golf (in this current heat) and had a dizzy spell and felt like he was going to faint quite badly. He came home and checked his bloo pressure and it was fairly low (not critically, but low for him). He normally has high blood pressure and has been on medication for it for the last couple of years and thinks he might have taken two doses a bit close together which may explain this funny turn. But my Mum convinced him to go and see the GP and by the time he had got to the surgery, it had gone back up to normal again. The GP said that its likely he has had some kind of virus, and it should pass soon. I personally have a LOT of issues trusting GPs because of what I have been through with my own health, and so I have been stressing about this, and have driven my poor parents crazy, calling them every few hours to see if Dad is OK. I have a lot of guilt issues about the fact I live about 100 miles away from them and wish I could be there with them (I moved up North to live with my fiance and absolutely hate it up here and miss my family alot and would never forgive myself if something happened and I couldnt get there on time).

Anyway, he said he is feeling better today so lets just hope that the GP is right and it has been a virus which will pass.