I wanna beat my HA! just started meds, please help!

[wanna.be.happy]

So, I don't know where to begin exactly, it's taking me a great deal of courage to write in here. I've suffered from health anxiety and OCD when I was a child but thank God it went away on its own like 10 years ago.

About ten months ago, I travelled abroad for work, and long story short, I was scammed. I was alone, in a foreign country, running out of money, with strangers trying to take advantage of me, it was terrible.

One day while I was laying in bed, I started having chest pain, I was breathing heavily, and I felt like something just wasn't right. I ignored it for a few days, but then decided to see a doctor as I was terrified it might be a heart attack. My father died suddenly of what has probably been a heart attack so I thought I should be cautious. Doctor said it was anxiety and probably acid reflux, and that I shouldn't be worried.

Ever since that day, symptoms came pouring in, stomach pain, constipation, chest pain persisted, etc. I came back home about six months ago, and the health anxiety got even worse. During these past 8 months or so, I have seen about 10 different doctors, had multiple blood and stool work, an ultrasound, and a CT scan. Almost all was completely normal.

During the past couple of months, my HA got worse by a mile, first it was lumps under my abdomen, and although I was recently checked by many doctors, and recently had an ultrasound, I went for a CT scan, which wasn't easy. It came back normal, thank God. The happiness was short lived, as I later discovered multiple other symptoms and things in my body. Whenever I would discover anything, I would have a panic attack, start googling and crying.

The most recent thing that has worried me was discovering a small lump in my armpit that I have had for over a year and got checked by three doctors and who all said it wasn't to worry about. But (and Im not sure if its all in my head or not) I think it might have disappeared and then came back during this week, but I dont know.

I do have health anxiety, and a major one. I have to admit it. And even though I know that (and Im sure many of you will agree with me on this one) I can't help but thinking that "maybe this time it is real, maybe this time it is not my anxiety." So how do I prevent myself from thinking that way?

I went and saw a psychiatrist few days ago, who wrote me tablets for anxiety, depression and OCD. It's called "Hermpro" and contains/ is (Im not sure) Escitalopram and/or SSRI. I freaked out upon reading the side effects of course, given the health anxiety I have. Has anybody here been on a similar medication? And does it work for health anxiety? And are the side effects worth it? And how common is it?

Also, I don't wanna rely on only the medication, and Im not sure if I can find therapy where I live. I would appreciate if anyone here can share their success stories beating HA, or methods they are currently using and are working. I recently also started going to the gym, but I am unemployed and have a lot of free time.

I am a 26 year old female, with no other major problems other than HA. No negative comments please, I would only love to hear from people going or have gone through some of what I have talked about.

Thanks for reading! :)

[tmckenzie-orr]

Health anxiety is really horrible, And the worse thing you can do is read the side effects of tablets, most people dont get them at all, but sometimes with health anxiety you can believe you have the symptoms of the tablets, The small lump in your armpit sounds like a lymph node that may of raised and then gone down again which is completely normal, The tablets will help you but they are only a mask to help you calm down ideally you need councelling Especially Cbt therapy , and keep up the gym that releases good chemicals in the brain, The worst thin for health anxiety is being bored as you can think and check your body which isnt good, Best thing to do is keep active even if its cooking cleaning walking anything :) welcome to nomorepanic :D

[GoWhiteSox]

welcome..it sounds like you recognize you have health anxiety and are seeking treatment for it and thats a huge step in the right direction..remember the most common side effect of psych meds is feeling better, theyve saved lots of lives :-)..

[wnsos]

Welcome to the board! HA is the worst and I didn't know it existed until I was hit with it last year, now I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I also think mine was jolted into existence by stress and worry, and then the vicious cycle started. You sound like you genuinely want to beat this and that's the first step. You can do it and we're here for you every step of the way xx

[wanna.be.happy]

Health anxiety is really horrible, And the worse thing you can do is read the side effects of tablets, most people dont get them at all, but sometimes with health anxiety you can believe you have the symptoms of the tablets, The small lump in your armpit sounds like a lymph node that may of raised and then gone down again which is completely normal, The tablets will help you but they are only a mask to help you calm down ideally you need councelling Especially Cbt therapy , and keep up the gym that releases good chemicals in the brain, The worst thin for health anxiety is being bored as you can think and check your body which isnt good, Best thing to do is keep active even if its cooking cleaning walking anything :) welcome to nomorepanic :D

Thanks a lot for replying! I have stopped reading about the side effects of the tablet, and I'm trying not to think about it. I'm also trying to not skip the gym. Thanks for the advice :)

---------- Post added at 13:36 ---------- Previous post was at 13:34 ----------


welcome..it sounds like you recognize you have health anxiety and are seeking treatment for it and thats a huge step in the right direction..remember the most common side effect of psych meds is feeling better, theyve saved lots of lives :-)..

Yes, I didn't even know such thing as HA existed till s few months ago! I hope the meds help. Thanks for the support!

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:36 ----------


Welcome to the board! HA is the worst and I didn't know it existed until I was hit with it last year, now I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I also think mine was jolted into existence by stress and worry, and then the vicious cycle started. You sound like you genuinely want to beat this and that's the first step. You can do it and we're here for you every step of the way xx

I believe mine was brought on by stress and worry as well. I was alone in a foreign country, unemployed, homeless, broke, no friends, or family for support. I am back home now, thank God and way less stressed than I used to be. I hope my HA completely disappear, I do want to beat it! I am trying to find therapy where I live, but it's not easy. I don't know what else I can do, I am not very strong-willed :weep: It's good knowing I am not alone. How's your HA now?

[wnsos]

It's still there lurking in the shadows (or at least I like to say/think it is so as not to expect too much of that makes sense?) and I get a bit worried every now and then but compared to a year ago, I've done nearly a complete 180. I remember in September/October feeling as though it'd never get better but with meds and therapy, and the support of a few ladies on NMP, it really really has helped.

Acceptance is the absolute first step. You got this :hugs:

[wanna.be.happy]

It's still there lurking in the shadows (or at least I like to say/think it is so as not to expect too much of that makes sense?) and I get a bit worried every now and then but compared to a year ago, I've done nearly a complete 180. I remember in September/October feeling as though it'd never get better but with meds and therapy, and the support of a few ladies on NMP, it really really has helped.

Acceptance is the absolute first step. You got this :hugs:

I am glad you're feeling better! I hope I can make friends here as well, support definitely helps :D

[swajj]

Don't get it. You saw a psychiatrist who prescribed meds but didn't provide counselling? Your GP could have prescribed the meds. Why would he or she give you a referral to a psychiatrist if it wasn't to receive psychiatric counselling?

[wanna.be.happy]

Don't get it. You saw a psychiatrist who prescribed meds but didn't provide counselling? Your GP could have prescribed the meds. Why would he or she give you a referral to a psychiatrist if it wasn't to receive psychiatric counselling?

The GP didn't give a referral to a psychiatrist. I went on my own. I think maybe there are different kinds of doctors? Those who provide counseling and those who don't. But I do need it though.

[swajj]

Psychiatrists are trained to deal with mental health problems. They can also prescribe medicine (unlike psychologists who aren't allowed to prescribe meds). Psychiatrists provide therapy. Actually in addition to taking case histories and diagnosing mental health conditions providing counselling is one of their most important roles. Any GP can write a script for meds. Psychiatrists train for a lot longer than GPs. They first need to obtain a medical degree and then do further training on top of that. In Australia you can't see a psychiatrist unless you have a referral from a GP. I don't know how it works in your country.