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View Full Version : cant sleep because of rabies worries, PLEASE REPLY



LavenderRain
22-09-16, 12:12
This is going to sound completely ridiculous but I am literally shaking in fear and crying.

A couple nights ago I went for a walk around midnight and I was swinging at the park and a bat flew right over my head and past my face while screeching really loudly. Rabies is one of my biggest fears and even though I know I probably would have noticed if it had bitten me, I can't stop looking myself over and trying to find bite marks. I have found a thing on my lower back (which was slightly exposed while I was on the swing) that looks like 2 pinprick sized marks and they itch and sting. I just found these about half an hour ago and I do have occasional breakouts on my back and shoulders but I can't help but think this is a bat bite. I feel really warm and earlier yesterday I had a doctors appointment and my blood pressure was really low. My vision has been blurry for a couple of nights and I don't know what to do. I am 100% certain I am going to die. Is there any way I can get my blood tested to see if I have the virus so I don't have to run into the emergency room like "oh hey a bat flew past me I think I have rabies now"

Even if I didn't get bitten I am even worrying that its saliva got into my eyes or mouth or something. What do I do??

Ultimatejourney
23-09-16, 04:37
I think you would have felt it if it bit you

misslove
23-09-16, 04:44
Let's think rational. If the bat did actually bit you it would have had to stop and land on you to bite you. Also bats don't go around biting people. They eat bugs and creepy crawly things some eat fruit. AND since it was flying around at night doing normally bat-type things means that it's not rabid. Animals with rabies do crazy things that you can easily tell it is sick. Bats are noturnal so seeing it eating bugs at night is a good sign it's healthy.

As for your fear of rabies..... You would have to go looking out in the woods to catch rabies. Safe rule to live by if you see an animal foaming at the mouth, limping around, making odd noises stay away from it and call police/ animal control. Rabies is pretty uncommon and people who end up with it are people who were messing around with animals they shouldn't have been.

MyNameIsTerry
23-09-16, 06:48
We have rabies in bats in the UK too. Cases in humans are extremely rare and yet our bats are extremely common. I see them quite regular on my nightly walks. I've disturbed a whole load of them once shaking a bag out where I feed some local wild rabbits. There must have been over twenty of them that flew out of the bush in front of me.

Bats tend to stay away from us like all smaller wild creatures because they want to stay alive so you never go near a larger animal because it could be a predator.

They eat insects and fruit. They love chomping down on moths which they catch mid flight and it's about the echo location sounds and how they use them to track the moths.

My local zoo has a bat house where they fly all around you in the dark. There is a tunnel and they buzz past your legs and heads.

We even have a bat habitat wood near where I live which is a protected woodland area between housing and roads.

Our bats are protected.

All of that and our rabies is extremely rare from our bats. Those contracting it have been people working in their environment and even then it's extremely rare.

So, can you see how the odds are in your favour that haven't been bitten by one? And that even if you were, it doesn't mean you contract it?

LavenderRain
24-09-16, 03:17
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I really appreciate the reassurance. I went to the hospital and showed them the marks and they assured me 900% that it is not a bat bite. I still don't feel entirely convinced, because I've been having a dry sore throat and stuffy nose and flu like symptoms and my mouth has felt all foamy since last night. I still think I contracted rabies somehow and I'm going to die soon. But the hospital literally will not give me the shots unless they truly have reason to believe I was bitten or exposed to the virus and they don't. I'm starting to cough a lot now too..

---------- Post added at 19:17 ---------- Previous post was at 19:10 ----------

My throat is dry and feels like its full of mucous at the same time, my nose is stuffy, and my mouth is all foamy. I've had a headache pretty bad in my left temple too and my face feels all hot. I am so sure I'm going to die soon.

Fishmanpa
24-09-16, 03:35
Your fear is all too real to you but at the same time is totally unfounded. You're so wound up in this unrealistic fantasy that you're getting real physical symptoms. I don't doubt your feeling these physical symptoms but their anxiety symptoms not rabies symptoms.

Hope you feel better soon!

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
27-09-16, 03:25
It has been a few days since my visit to the hospital, and my symptoms have only gotten worse. I have had increasingly blurred, foggy vision. I've been feeling hot and sweating nonstop, and the right side of my jaw just started going numb and it feels all stiff. Its twitching/spasming and its hard to open my mouth. Its like the symptoms I would have when I used to worry about tetanus. I seriously think I am going to die and if these are rabies symptoms I'm a goner for sure.. The doctors will not give me the rabies vaccine because they didn't think the marks were a bite, but could they have been wrong? What if I was actually bitten somewhere else and didn't notice and it was such a small wound I couldn't find it?? Do you think they could have lied to me or not bothered looking closely enough just so they could rush me out of there and blame it on anxiety??? The entire right side of my face is starting to go numb. I can't get the documentaries I have watched on human rabies out of my head. I know that the virus can go undetected in your body for a few days all the way up to like 9 years, which means I will be sick with worry for YEARS of my life. My whole face is numb and stiff now and I can barely open my jaw.

paranoid-viking
27-09-16, 04:36
This is going to sound completely ridiculous but I am literally shaking in fear and crying.

A couple nights ago I went for a walk around midnight and I was swinging at the park and a bat flew right over my head and past my face while screeching really loudly. Rabies is one of my biggest fears and even though I know I probably would have noticed if it had bitten me, I can't stop looking myself over and trying to find bite marks. I have found a thing on my lower back (which was slightly exposed while I was on the swing) that looks like 2 pinprick sized marks and they itch and sting. I just found these about half an hour ago and I do have occasional breakouts on my back and shoulders but I can't help but think this is a bat bite. I feel really warm and earlier yesterday I had a doctors appointment and my blood pressure was really low. My vision has been blurry for a couple of nights and I don't know what to do. I am 100% certain I am going to die. Is there any way I can get my blood tested to see if I have the virus so I don't have to run into the emergency room like "oh hey a bat flew past me I think I have rabies now"

Even if I didn't get bitten I am even worrying that its saliva got into my eyes or mouth or something. What do I do??

I had a rabies scare after a trip to Asia back in...2003 it was. Was convinced after 2 weeks that "now it comes, in a few days I will die" bcause i caught a fever 2 weeks later. Well....I am still here.

No, it is not possible to get tested for rabies until it is to late.
But consider this: there are something like 1 or 2 in the entire United States; in a population of 300 million people who are unfortunate enough to get rabies every year. Your odds are with you. More likely to win the lottery several times a year, and not even that is likely to happen.
Have you had the shots, BTW?

---------- Post added at 05:28 ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 ----------


Thanks for the replies, everyone. I really appreciate the reassurance. I went to the hospital and showed them the marks and they assured me 900% that it is not a bat bite. I still don't feel entirely convinced, because I've been having a dry sore throat and stuffy nose and flu like symptoms and my mouth has felt all foamy since last night. I still think I contracted rabies somehow and I'm going to die soon. But the hospital literally will not give me the shots unless they truly have reason to believe I was bitten or exposed to the virus and they don't. I'm starting to cough a lot now too..

---------- Post added at 19:17 ---------- Previous post was at 19:10 ----------

My throat is dry and feels like its full of mucous at the same time, my nose is stuffy, and my mouth is all foamy. I've had a headache pretty bad in my left temple too and my face feels all hot. I am so sure I'm going to die soon.

Sounds like you caught a common cold. If you had developed rabies you would be to ill to sit and write on a message forum. You would be tied to a bed in a hospital foaming at the mouth.
I at the moment are worrying if I may have pancreatitis. It is unikely but still a million, no a billion times more likely than the chance of you having rabies. But I understand the fear and I have been there and it was one of the darkest periods of my life. But it was all in my crazy mind. But again; I know how you feel.

Came to think of it; back in 2003 I actually did freak out from seing water, a symptom of rabies. But this was because my paranoid mind was playing a trick on me. It was like "sooner or later I will freak out from seeing water" and of course I did. My jaw was shaking out of fear. But the water went down fine anyway.

---------- Post added at 05:36 ---------- Previous post was at 05:28 ----------


It has been a few days since my visit to the hospital, and my symptoms have only gotten worse. I have had increasingly blurred, foggy vision. I've been feeling hot and sweating nonstop, and the right side of my jaw just started going numb and it feels all stiff. Its twitching/spasming and its hard to open my mouth. Its like the symptoms I would have when I used to worry about tetanus. I seriously think I am going to die and if these are rabies symptoms I'm a goner for sure.. The doctors will not give me the rabies vaccine because they didn't think the marks were a bite, but could they have been wrong? What if I was actually bitten somewhere else and didn't notice and it was such a small wound I couldn't find it?? Do you think they could have lied to me or not bothered looking closely enough just so they could rush me out of there and blame it on anxiety??? The entire right side of my face is starting to go numb. I can't get the documentaries I have watched on human rabies out of my head. I know that the virus can go undetected in your body for a few days all the way up to like 9 years, which means I will be sick with worry for YEARS of my life. My whole face is numb and stiff now and I can barely open my jaw.

You should not have watched those documentaries of human rabies. It is not good for you; it makes you sick. Having rabies in the body for 9 years is extremely uncommon; well rabies in humans in itself is extremely uncommon; and incubation of 9 years? Perhaps one in 200 million chance that could happen. But having such fears really does sucks. Perhaps you should go telle a lie that you were bitten by a stray dog or something. Not that I believe that you have rabies; because you dont; but just so tat you can realax and continue to live.

LavenderRain
28-09-16, 02:22
The hospital I went to won't give me the shots because the thing that I showed them didn't look like a bat bite to them, and they said "believe us, you don't want rabies shots if you don't really need them". They also say I would have noticed or felt it if the bat bit me, but everything I read online says you wouldn't even notice if you were bitten by a bat.. I'm in the hospital a lot because of my panic attacks and anxiety and that makes me worry that they didn't really take a close enough look at the mark because they just think that I'm crazy. And even if I did go back and pretend I was bitten by a dog, they would know I'm just trying to get the shots, and they would definitely want to look at the bite. I don't think I can just make an appointment with my regular doctor for rabies shots since its not a normal thing that they do all the time, and honestly I also have anxiety over the shots too.. Like if I do find a way to get the shots and I truly didn't have rabies, maybe the shots could give me rabies somehow?? I mean, logically if I really do not have rabies and then I get the vaccine I am actually more likely to contract it from the shot, right? I know deep down I am acting silly. I know there are people who live in the woods who are exposed to bats all the time, and people who literally take in hurt bats and try to nurse them back to health and never get the vaccine even after being nipped or bitten or scratched and nothing happens to them. But I just can't stop worrying. Since last night I have had random trouble swallowing, to the point I just can't do it unless I'm eating or drinking something. I have that happen randomly every once in a while, but its usually only once and then it goes away. But last night it just kept happening over and over for hours. I keep worrying that I will start being scared of water, and now I get all panicky and apprehensive when I go to drink some, probably BECAUSE I am worried I will panic around it.. Ugh, anxiety is such a vicious cycle. I am literally making myself sick with worry. I almost threw up a few times last night, and I am so anxious I have no appetite anymore.. and loss of appetite/anxiety are both rabies symptoms. I am flippin out.

NancyW
28-09-16, 03:28
You really think in this day and age, with malpractice and lawsuits that drs would risk their careers and livelihood on.... you ?

If there was ANY chance you had rabies, you'd be getting the shots already.

LavenderRain
28-09-16, 04:01
You really think in this day and age, with malpractice and lawsuits that drs would risk their careers and livelihood on.... you ?

If there was ANY chance you had rabies, you'd be getting the shots already.

Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just jittery because the nurse I talked to on the phone before going to the hospital told me that I should go to the hospital immediately and that there is no way I would have noticed a bat bit me because their teeth are so small. He also said I wouldn't be able to find a bat bite on my skin because it would be too small and basically told me I'd die if I didn't get the shots. I told the doctors at the hospital and they said he just probably had to say that because of liability reasons and that I definitely would have noticed if it bit me. But I don't know what to think and I can't stop freaking out.

LavenderRain
28-09-16, 10:56
Now I've found two little pinprick bitemark looking things on my left leg. I don't think they were even there yesterday but they hurt and whatever caused it definitely broke skin, as there is blood in them. Now I'm worried that this bite has been there since the night of the bat incident and is becoming infected and slowly spreading rabies through my body or that I was bitten by a different animal entirely and got rabies from whatever that was. What if there is a bat in my house somewhere that I haven't noticed and it bit me in my sleep last night?? I need help.

---------- Post added at 02:56 ---------- Previous post was at 00:16 ----------

I now have a very itchy throat and a cough and it could be because my fiances sister who is staying with us right now is getting over a cold but I am thinking the worst

paranoid-viking
28-09-16, 13:46
I mean, logically if I really do not have rabies and then I get the vaccine I am actually more likely to contract it from the shot, right?


WHAT? Getting rabies from a rabies vacine? Where in the world did you get that from? Or to put it another way: what on earth have you been reading online now?

---------- Post added at 14:42 ---------- Previous post was at 14:40 ----------


The hospital I went to won't give me the shots because the thing that I showed them didn't look like a bat bite to them, and they said "believe us, you don't want rabies shots if you don't really need them".


Perhaps you should try travelling to another state and lie up a story about a raccoon bite or something. Dont say anything about your health anxiety.

---------- Post added at 14:46 ---------- Previous post was at 14:42 ----------


What if there is a bat in my house somewhere that I haven't noticed and it bit me in my sleep last night?? I need help.

---------- Post added at 02:56 ---------- Previous post was at 00:16 ----------

I now have a very itchy throat and a cough and it could be because my fiances sister who is staying with us right now is getting over a cold but I am thinking the worst


Sorry, my friend, but NOW you fantasy is running crazy and you are acting completely irrational. What you really need now is pshyciatric help; and I mean it; take this from someone who also suffers from health anxiety;go and seek help from a profesiona;perhaps in this case hypnotic therapy could be needed. You.Do.Not.Have.Rabies.Period. You are now at an extreme high level of health anxiety. But at this stage you need help. Not for your imaginary "rabies"; but for you health hysteria.

You swallowing problem or your percieved swallowing problem is a symptom of panic attack. Same with the notion that you feel you have more fluid in your mouth than normal. You dont; believe me; I felt the same when I had my rabies scare. And another question; is your jaw shaking?

LavenderRain
29-09-16, 05:24
I don't think I have noticed my jaw shaking.. Why? My throat is very itchy and sore now and I have been coughing a lot. I feel very sick and out of breath. I am extremely nauseous and I have no appetite. Thinking of eating is making my stomach turn. I will literally eat anything and I rarely ever have no appetite. I also have this unquenchable thirst that will not go away and all of these are rabies symptoms.. Also still having a lot of trouble swallowing

---------- Post added at 21:24 ---------- Previous post was at 19:09 ----------

My eyes are super bloodshot now as well, in strange bloodshot lines touching my irises and almost going into my pupils. I can't keep any food down and I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Fishmanpa
29-09-16, 05:44
LRain.... with respect.... You don't have rabies. In my previous post on your thread, I stated that the symptoms you feel are most certainly real but they are symptoms and manifestations of anxiety, not rabies.

The scenario you originally presented was not only unrealistic, it was impossible! It's like a post I recall about "bat spit" dropping out of a tree and getting on someone. The reality was it had been raining and a drop of water fell off a leaf! Your scenario makes that one more plausible!

As has been stated, professional help and intervention from a mental health professional would be prudent.

Positive thoughts

MyNameIsTerry
29-09-16, 05:54
But it doesn't have to be treatment by someone who had had HA at all, just someone suitably trained to help with it.

And let's be really clear here - no one should be telling others to purposely waste the time of medical professionals by lying to them. With a case like this they will quite easily prove the story a lie anyway.

Try and use some relaxation techniques to reduce your current anxiety levels. Therapy takes time so other than meds, and we are talking Benzodiazapenes for fast action, you will be dealing with this fear for the moment. Such OCD style fears are well known to be greatly increased in intensity due to overall higher levels of anxiety.

So, what can you do to try to relax yourself a bit? You may not relax but it is important to try to get your body to calm down so it is more likely to remain that way.

paranoid-viking
29-09-16, 17:50
I don't think I have noticed my jaw shaking.. Why?

Just curious because that is common with panick attacks. At least with me that is. So dont panick even more than you already do if your jaw start shaking; it is your anxiety talking when that happens.

---------- Post added at 18:44 ---------- Previous post was at 18:42 ----------


But it doesn't have to be treatment by someone who had had HA at all, just someone suitably trained to help with it.



Sorry, that was a spelling error. What I meant was; take this from another one with HA: you need special treatment. Not from me of course.

---------- Post added at 18:50 ---------- Previous post was at 18:44 ----------




And let's be really clear here - no one should be telling others to purposely waste the time of medical professionals by lying to them. With a case like this they will quite easily prove the story a lie anyway.

.

You are right. But I was thinking that it might called the OP down; then again, maybe not.
But - there is a difference to what you may recieve at private than at public health services; note I know of course that the distinction between public and private health services are different in the US than in Europe where this distinction is clear.
Anyway - public health stations/clinics will not waste time on pople with HA for unrealistic fears, but the same does not apply to private clinics where money always plays a leading role. While a doc in public sector would say "no, you can`t have the vacine and you dont have rabies" one at a private clinic would say something like "I really do not believe you have rabies; the chanches are extremely low; but if you really can not stop worrying we CAN provide you the vaccine"(for money of course). This is my impressions from experiences with private clinics at least. Of course; it will cost a lot of money, but for some it might be worth it; I dont know.

LavenderRain
30-09-16, 10:04
I tried to get the doctors to give me the tests to check for rabies at least, but they would rather focus on my anxiety instead. I have an appointment on the 3rd to talk about my health anxiety with some mental health doctors but I sincerely don't think I will be alive by then. My symptoms have gotten even worse. I have a huge swollen enlarged tastebud on the back of my tongue and its giving me a dry sore throat that is making it difficult for me to swallow and of course I think its because of rabies.. My eyes are extremely bloodshot and the skin around them is red and inflamed looking too. I don't want to die.

Mercime
30-09-16, 11:32
You're not going to die. You don't have rabies, as already pointed out, you would be in hospital extremely ill by now, and certainly not worrying about the possibility of having it. You do have health anxiety, all thee symptoms you mention - which you must be checking - have everything to do with being in a highly anxious state, and nothing to do with what you fear. You will be around for your appt, please go and get yourself the help you need x

paranoid-viking
01-10-16, 11:07
I tried to get the doctors to give me the tests to check for rabies at least, but they would rather focus on my anxiety instead. I have an appointment on the 3rd to talk about my health anxiety with some mental health doctors but I sincerely don't think I will be alive by then. My symptoms have gotten even worse. I have a huge swollen enlarged tastebud on the back of my tongue and its giving me a dry sore throat that is making it difficult for me to swallow and of course I think its because of rabies.. My eyes are extremely bloodshot and the skin around them is red and inflamed looking too. I don't want to die.

I allready told you; there is no such thing as a "rabies test". Rabies is only detected at the last stage of the disease when the patient is allready dying.

And I sincerely believe you will be alive to Monday. Now you have allready been ill; as you claim for about 8 days; it was on the 22nd you wrote this first right? If you had developed rabie at that time you would have already been dead by now OR you would have been lying in the hospital constantly foaming at the mouth; being kept alive by a machine not to choke yourself and with constant convulsions. You would most certainly not be sitting in front of your computer writing that you are worrying you might die from rabies.

As for your symptoms: HA certainly creates pain in the body. But I read in newspaper that this last months have seen quite many innciidences of a hard flu like virus ilness affecting the repiratory organs. I know quite a few whose been ill for weeks this summer. It is not dangerous; dont worry; but quite annonying and unpleasant. The docs are encouraging people to take influenza vacine. Well, this was over in Norway. I have no idea if it is a similar outbreak of this flu virus in the United States or whatever region of the US you live in; perhaps it is everywhere; but it sounds like you could have been infected with some sort of flu virus. But flu viruses will not kill you; but if that is the case you should relax as musch as possible. And stop worrying abut rabies which you do not have.
I am not sure; but I think it is possible to test yourself to see if you have a flu virus. If you have; will you stop worrying about rabies then or will you go on for month and years with it?
Anyway; I think you should go see your doc about the symptoms you got now. But dont talk to them about rabies. That should be reserved for the psychologist. Dont mean to be rude; sorry if taken that way; I do care for you; I had the same fear myself but you need to understand that you do not have rabies.

LavenderRain
02-10-16, 00:38
I have done my research and in the United States, there are apparently ways to diagnose rabies before its too late with blood tests and spinal taps and hair. But its just like with the shots, they say they really do not believe I need them and thag its something I really don't want to go through if its not necessary. Rabies doesn't affect you quickly, it takes weeks, sometimes months on average for symptoms to appear which is the main reason I can't relax.. And I don't think I have the flu because I did get a flu shot and my fiance and his sister were both violently ill with flu like symptoms but I only got them lightly so I don't think we had the same thing. Is it possibly for anxiety to mess with your sinuses?? I really didn't know that could happen.

Kathryn313
02-10-16, 01:02
Plenty of posts on here that would relate sinus trouble and anxiety

You are wasting so much of your life on this and the hours spent posting on an anxiety forum are hours which could be spent with loved ones. Hope you find peace soon.

X

MyNameIsTerry
02-10-16, 07:08
had a rat bite me in the chook pen

Ouch, fancy getting bitten there...:winks:

---------- Post added at 07:08 ---------- Previous post was at 07:05 ----------



You are right. But I was thinking that it might called the OP down; then again, maybe not.
But - there is a difference to what you may recieve at private than at public health services; note I know of course that the distinction between public and private health services are different in the US than in Europa where this distinction is clear.
Anyway - public helath stations/clinics will not waste time on pople with HA for unrealistic fears, but the same does not apply to private clinics where money alwasys plays a factor. While a doc in public sector would say "no, you can`t have the vacine and you dont have rabies" one at a private clinic would say something like "I really do not believe you have rabies; the chanches are extremely low; but if you really can not stop worrying we CAN provide you the vaccine"(for money of course). This is my imporessions from experience with private clinics at least. Of course; it will cost a lot of money, but for some it might be worth it; I dont know.

It's likely the same over here, ethics go out the window for the cash. That can be seen in the tests they are willing to let you pay for when the NHS would refuse. Private docs can be a HA sufferers enemy.

I understand where you are coming from. I believe doctors have an ethical obligation no matter whether they are private or public otherwise it's not in the interests of the patient. Sadly, not all of them seem to agree.

LavenderRain
02-10-16, 08:00
I really appreciate all of your reassurance and it has been helping quite a bit. I am still feeling very out of it and having very scary symptoms. I have been shaking all day and having bad tremors and I feel very tired and I keep stumbling around everywhere and losing my balance. I also had a weird moment earlier where I was in the car with my fiance and suddenly felt like I didn't recognize him for a few seconds and got all confused but I think that could have possibly been a depersonalization thing?? Because once those kind of neurological rabies symptoms start you are usually dead within hours right?

MyNameIsTerry
02-10-16, 08:14
My money is on DP for what happened in the car. You have been in a high anxiety state and DP/DR tend to appear in those stages or when really panicking or having panic attacks because it's a form of escape for the mind from the pain. The irony being it tends to just start more anxiety/panic in us with these disorders!

With high anxiety, you will get very tired. It's exhausting and the body needs to recover from running in a high anxiety state for so long, which means it will try and make you rest. This can mean feeling drained, having brain fog, confusion, feeling out of it, etc. I've had that many times and it can go on for a time, it's not always a quick thing. It can also mean with all the brain fog, your concentration suffers and doing sums is hard, making decisions is hard, motivation goes and it's also possible you don't react very quickly which can all account for what happened in the car too.

Please try and rest up. Try relaxation exercises too. Get some light exercise for adrenaline, like walking. It can help.

flipp
02-10-16, 11:15
Rats and mice are always in the F..ing chook coup,does that sound better Terry..lol.I think I must have bloody rabies.:wacko:.

paranoid-viking
02-10-16, 19:18
I have done my research and in the United States, there are apparently ways to diagnose rabies before its too late with blood tests and spinal taps and hair. But its just like with the shots, they say they really do not believe I need them and thag its something I really don't want to go through if its not necessary. Rabies doesn't affect you quickly, it takes weeks, sometimes months on average for symptoms to appear which is the main reason I can't relax.. And I don't think I have the flu because I did get a flu shot and my fiance and his sister were both violently ill with flu like symptoms but I only got them lightly so I don't think we had the same thing. Is it possibly for anxiety to mess with your sinuses?? I really didn't know that could happen.

OK, so apperantly there is now in 2016 a way to detect rabies virus during the incubation period. Good if that is true; because there were no such things when I had my rabies scare back in 2003. But it still sounds like a very complicated measure; so it is not reasonable to spend health resppurces on testing someone who obviously do not have rabies. But if you can afford it you can probably do it at some expensive private clinic.

Anyway; since I guess that you have educated yourself on rabies through Google you should no that it would take at least a month from the bite to the disease developes and you claimed to have symptoms just a few days after you claimed to have been in contact with a bat; and you know that is impossible right? And you know that it is impossible to still be able to sit and write online 9 days after the forst symptoms appear right? You know all that of course; right? Use logic. When you think logically and rationally about it you know deep inside that you really do not have rabies either right. You also know that in developed countries rabies is as good as non-existing right; the chances that you get hit by an asteroide tomorrow is just as likely or even more likely. And it is definetely more likely that you may end up in a car crash tomorrow than getting rabies.
Although rabies in bats has been reported in Norway; the last known case of human rabies here was in 1815, 201 years ago. It is an extremely uncommon disease in humans and virtually non-existing in developed countries.
Now - I dont know wheter you have an ilness now or not but you definetely do not have rabies.
Oh - and a friendly advice - please do not do more googlin on rabiies OK? It only makes you feel worse.

---------- Post added at 20:18 ---------- Previous post was at 20:05 ----------


Ouch, fancy getting bitten there...:winks:

---------- Post added at 07:08 ---------- Previous post was at 07:05 ----------



It's likely the same over here, ethics go out the window for the cash. That can be seen in the tests they are willing to let you pay for when the NHS would refuse. Private docs can be a HA sufferers enemy.



That`s for sure. I know people who spends a fortune on testing themselves for all kinds of cancer at private clinics at least one time per year. Unfortunately I can not afford that; but being as paranoid as I am I might have done that if I was wealthier.

LavenderRain
03-10-16, 01:22
I felt a little better yesterday, but today I had a scary experience with throat spasms. I was trying to swallow a pill this morning and I just couldn't. My throat spasmed so badly it almost shot the pill out of my mouth, and when I finally did get it down it was like my tongue suction cupped to the back of my throat and it hurt really bad. Other than that I still feel extremely fatigued and exhausted and jittery but I am really trying to put it down to my anxiety. Although I have been saying really strange stuff and continuously forgetting words for things. I sit there for a few minutes trying to figure out which word I'm trying to use and earlier I said "that's a great game" instead of "movie" and I was trying to tell my grandma about my rabies fears and accidentally told her I think I have diabetes instead of rabies. If this really is all anxiety related it is really messing with me.

LavenderRain
03-10-16, 11:27
About to try and get some sleep, and I have my anxiety appointment in the morning so I will try and update everyone on how that goes. I am still having throat spasms/trouble swallowing, and earlier my temperature was a tiny bit higher than normal and I had a weird sharp headache right in the space above my nose and between my eyebrows and some blood came out of my nose.. Not a full on nose bleed just a small amount when I blew my nose and it happened a couple of times. I don't know what this means but I'm trying to ignore it.

hanshan
03-10-16, 12:12
Rabies shots themselves are pretty awful, so the hospital staff have to weigh that up. It's not like prescribing a dose of antibiotics.

Severe anxiety about an illness can mimic symptoms of that illness.

paranoid-viking
03-10-16, 21:43
Rabies shots themselves are pretty awful, so the hospital staff have to weigh that up. It's not like prescribing a dose of antibiotics.

Severe anxiety about an illness can mimic symptoms of that illness.

Actually no. Not anymore. The rabies shots used to be awful; in the old days when you had to have a shot in the stomach. Not so anymore these days; when it is an uncomplicated shot in the arm like other vaccines. It has less side effects than previous rabies vaccines as well. Mostly a sore arm and that`s it.

LavenderRain
04-10-16, 04:12
Saw a doctor and a therapist today and they want to put me on sertraline/zoloft for my anxiety. Does anyone here have any experience with it and was it a good or bad experience? I have been prescribed it before but never took it because I was afraid of the side effects.. I also still have the rabies worries because my symptoms have gotten so much worse especially since last night. The flu like symptoms are unbearable right now and I have a slight fever. My gums are all red and swollen and bleeding and my throat and even my lips have been spasming. I am dead for sure if it is rabies.

Fishmanpa
04-10-16, 04:24
I took Zoloft (100mg) for 6 months for some depression after my first heart attack. Other than a dodgy tummy, I had no other side effects an and it took the edge off while I worked on my depression in therapy. It acted as the crutch I needed until I could walk on my own.

Everyone is different but it was very beneficial for me.

Positive thoughts

PS: you don't have rabies!!!

LavenderRain
04-10-16, 06:42
Thank you, I think I will give it a try.. I've been having tingling in my left foot for a while now too and its also getting to me :/

---------- Post added at 22:42 ---------- Previous post was at 20:44 ----------

I have to ask one more thing, if any of you know the answer. I don't believe the bat that I encountered bit me if I didn't feel anything, and I don't remember feeling anything. But I get random little sharp pains from clothes sticking to me and stuff like that all the time. So.. What if the bat really did bite me but it was such a miniscule pain I just disregarded it at the time and can't remember feeling it? Or would it have been a big ordeal? Also, I am aware that most bats infected with rabies are very obviously infected to the point of not even being able to fly, but the thing that truly worries me about this bat is that bats normally don't just fly right up to people and make loud screeching noises.. I was on a swing moving back and forth very fast. If it was healthy wouldn't it have noticed I was there and tried its best to avoid my path? Please respond.

hanshan
04-10-16, 10:30
Thanks, Paranoid-Viking. I didn't know that about the rabies vaccine, and it's good to hear that it has improved.

paranoid-viking
04-10-16, 11:47
Thank you, I think I will give it a try.. I've been having tingling in my left foot for a while now too and its also getting to me :/

---------- Post added at 22:42 ---------- Previous post was at 20:44 ----------

I have to ask one more thing, if any of you know the answer. I don't believe the bat that I encountered bit me if I didn't feel anything, and I don't remember feeling anything. But I get random little sharp pains from clothes sticking to me and stuff like that all the time. So.. What if the bat really did bite me but it was such a miniscule pain I just disregarded it at the time and can't remember feeling it? Or would it have been a big ordeal? Also, I am aware that most bats infected with rabies are very obviously infected to the point of not even being able to fly, but the thing that truly worries me about this bat is that bats normally don't just fly right up to people and make loud screeching noises.. I was on a swing moving back and forth very fast. If it was healthy wouldn't it have noticed I was there and tried its best to avoid my path? Please respond.


Well, it seems like you already answered the question yourself. Apart from that there it not som musch that I can add as I am no excpert on bats.
But are you sure it was a bat at all? Could it just have been a bird?

LavenderRain
05-10-16, 01:37
It was definitely a bat. I've never seen a bird flying around at like midnight that wasn't an owl or something before, much less one that screeches so loudly.

LavenderRain
06-10-16, 03:53
Sorry to dredge this up again, but my headaches and nausea have gotten a lot worse and tonight it looks like everything is spinning and warping. I want to start my meds but I don't want to lose the ability to feel emotions or have sex or enjoy anything.. I suppose its better than believing I am about to die all the time but I am still apprehensive about it.

Bantam
06-10-16, 10:48
Hello! I know you posted this a while ago, but I've just stumbled across it. How did the sertraline go for you> In my experience the side effects are a bit crappy for the first few weeks but then settle down. The reason I looked at the thread, though, is that I thought I was alone in the whole "rabies anxiety" scenario and it was actually such a relief to see that I'm not! I know my phobia is illogical, but on holiday in Romania I became convinced I was going to catch rabies just from stroking stray cats! I managed to formulate this scenario whereby the cat had licked itself and its saliva was on its fur and that somehow transferred to my and got into my bloodstream through the bits of skin I'd picked around my fingernails! Needless to say I am still alive...
Sending you reassuring hugs :bighug1:

paranoid-viking
06-10-16, 10:54
Sorry to dredge this up again, but my headaches and nausea have gotten a lot worse and tonight it looks like everything is spinning and warping. I want to start my meds but I don't want to lose the ability to feel emotions or have sex or enjoy anything.. I suppose its better than believing I am about to die all the time but I am still apprehensive about it.

You have had the "symptoms" so long now that it is impossible that it could be rabies. Let me reimind you again that as soon as symptoms appear in a rabies victim they will be dead within a few days; and a horrible death it is. But you are alive and healthy enough to sit and write online something close to three weeks after you first experienced "symptoms". That would not be possible in a real rabies victims. It sounds like my exerience back in 2003. Dont remember everything; but I guess I had a common cold in between it all and you bet I got hysteric.

LavenderRain
11-10-16, 10:29
Hey guys, just thought I'd post on here again as its getting to the 3 week mark since my bat encounter. Seeing as symptoms normally start within 3 to 8 weeks I am going to be very on edge until around christmas at least and I need some more reassurance. My throat has still been having the random spasms and my temperature has been a little out of the normal range, but not by much. I have been experiencing very bad burning pain and pins and needles in my hands and sometimes feet for the past few days. I have been having double vision for a long time now, mostly at night as I start to get tired. Its not full on double vision, its mostly shadows on letters and small details. I have still been having nausea and feel constantly fatigued and off balance, but I have been getting my appetite back, which is nice.

paranoid-viking
11-10-16, 11:02
But you have had these "symptoms" almost since day 1 now. You are really trapped in a bad circle of physical symptoms created in your brain by your own anxiety when in fact you could be helathy and fine by eliminating these damaging and destructive thoughts from your mind. It apperantly did not help to point out to you that rabies victims dies a few days after the symptoms appear; you go on a monht after WITH your presumbed "symptoms" and still fear that any day now you will get the "symptoms" that you allready have. Dont you see how illogical that thinking is? How twisted it actually is to think like that? I know because I have been there myself. Do you have any moment where you just relax and enjoy life instead of wasting it in belief in a one on two hundred millions disease that you do not have?
Are you seeing a therapist now? I think by now that your hypocondria is becoming disabling. And dont get me wrong; I know how it is to have a potential death threath hanging over me; but you fail to see that the threat is not there.
I dont know how much reasurance I can giive you than what I have allready said. I think by now the rest is up to the therapist. You have pshycosomatic pains; and yes; they manifest themselves like that when you allow fear to take total control of your life and this is the stage you are in now.
I saw there was another American posting in the forum worrying about rabies infection the other day. About 2 Americans anually gets rabies in a population of 300 million. Beleieve me, you and that other posters ARE NOT those two.

PS! As for your burning pain; I have that too. I am also one who suffers from fear; although mine is cancer fear. So what you wrote gave me a hope that my burning pain is just caused by psychosomatic pain too.

LavenderRain
11-10-16, 12:23
Honestly, the only thing that worries me is how long the bat was flying around me and how much it was screeching. And what if I had felt a small pain or something during the incident and didn't realize.

LavenderRain
13-10-16, 08:11
I can't take this anymore I'm going insane. I have the worst headache of my life, random muscle twitches and buzzing sensations everywhere, tingling hands and feet, I found a little more blood in my nose, my eyes are so bloodshot all of a sudden they feel like they're on fire, I still have double vision and I am extremely exhausted confused and dizzy. There is no way of knowing whether or not the bat bit me or if it was rabid they won't give me the vaccine or any tests to put my mind at rest and I am so sick of living in fear that this virus will kill me at any moment. I think I'm just going to log off and wait to die.

LavenderRain
13-10-16, 23:12
I am officially abandoning this thread until the first of the new year. If I am still alive then, I will come back and post that my rabies worries are pretty much over. If not, assume its either still going on or I died.

paranoid-viking
13-10-16, 23:26
But do you think that your rabies worries will be over at the first of the new year?
Of course you will be alive then; well; you will not get rabies that`s for sure but there is no guarantee that you will not end up in a car crash or getting hit by a metorite or something.
Seriously; are you talking to your family about your health anxiety? I think you should. HA is nothing to be asheamed of an you seriously need help now.
I know I do due to the fear I have.
You say that you can not sleep due to fear - that is why your eyes get red! hat is happening when you dont sleep and are stressing. Same with vision disorder.

LavenderRain
14-10-16, 09:17
I've lost my appetite again, I have a fever, my mouth is extremely dry and foamy and my throat is dry and tight and it hurts to breathe. I can't even go to the hospital for help because thanks to them I missed the window of safety I had to get the shots in time. All they can do to me if I have it is strap me to a bed and watch me die. I'll choose to stay at home and die with my fiance over that fate.

Kathryn313
14-10-16, 09:47
How is your finace coping?

LavenderRain
14-10-16, 09:53
He's not, he's insisting that I'm fine. I hope he misses me.

Kathryn313
14-10-16, 10:12
I am sure he will. How long have you been together?

paranoid-viking
15-10-16, 14:28
Think I just rushed in for more support; although I am not sure any support is calming you down as you just keep on insisiting that you have rabies; and now you seem to have had it for a whole month. Must be a world record. And you are still able to eat, drink and writing in the computer. Extraordinary case of a rabies victim; isn`t it?
Seriously, you did not answer if you had talked to your family about your paranoia because you should. Only revieling to anonymous people online is not gonna help you much if you keep it secretely for people around you. I know it is embarrasing for people to admit that they are hypocondriacs, that it is often ridiculed by people who does not realise that it can be a serious mental health condition. I have always been open to my family about it and they understand that it is no joke. I you are open to those around you they can provide the support and assist you to profesional hekp something that us commenting on NMP can not.

You claim to have "throat spasms". I am not sure what you mean by this. Is it muscle twitching visible on your throat? In that case; this is normal when you suffer from anxiety. It may be to that you panic so much at times that you feel you can not swallow. I know what I am talking about cause I had a fear of rabies in 2003.
Of course you have been out on google and read that throat spasms are a symptom of rabies. Well, let me tell you that these so called throat spasm ascociated with rabies are in fact spasms of the aesphageus; that causes violent foaming at the mouth. And - it is when these spasms occurs that many; if not most of the rabies victims dies becuase they get strangled and chocked by their own saliva. At this stage of the disease the patients have mostly gone completely mad because the virus attacks the brain and they are certainly not sitting in front of the computer writing that they are convinced they have rabies. They are often chained to the hospital bed; litteraly chained to the bed because they can go mad an bite and attack. Does this sound like you? NO!

You have now completely left rational thinking and logic and surrendered to castrophic thinking; and this is the ugly face of health anxiety and I know because I am a sufferer myself.

Anyway; I have written what I could think of this time. But promise me that you talk to your family about it because your anxiety are now at an all time high level and because of that you suffer pshycosomatic pain. These pains will not go away as long as you convince yourself that you have rabies. It wont. You may hope that tomorrow it might be gone and THEN you will stop worrying about rabies. It is not that easy when you have allowed fear to control and rule over you life. Believe me I have been there. You are in a vicious circle now.

LavenderRain
15-10-16, 22:15
I am not close to my family, and even when I was younger none of them cared about my health anxiety and would make fun of me for it. I have my fiance and his family and they all think that I'm being silly, but the bat swooped so close to me.. And I have heard so many conflicting things from doctors regarding possible exposure. Some say I would have felt the bite and been able to see it, others say there is no way I would have felt the bite and I would not have been able to find it. Some say the thing on my back that I thought was a bite definitely wasn't, others say its too late for them to tell now. Some say there is no way I was bitten or contracted rabies, others say its possible I have it and they can't do anything for me but wait for me to die. I guess all I can do at this point is wait.. And it freaking sucks.

Mercime
15-10-16, 23:50
A doctor said it's possible you have it? They can't do anything but wait for you to die?

You're concentrating on a supposed bite (which didn't happen) and not on the facts about the disease itself - you would not be here a month later. That's it, no ifs or buts. How long will you wait before you start to believe it? Maybe think about that, what's the cut off point?

Fishmanpa
16-10-16, 04:48
"Some say... others say"? How many doctors have you seen about this?

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
16-10-16, 06:22
Far too many, and I've talked to doctors and nurses over the phone too. I'm going to die and nobody can save me.

---------- Post added at 22:22 ---------- Previous post was at 21:58 ----------

A bat straight up dive bombed me while screeching like crazy as if it were angry. Like something out of a horror movie. I am certain I was bitten and now its too late for me. I can't believe I'm going to die at 21. Its not fair.

Kathryn313
16-10-16, 07:27
How long do you think you have left?

paranoid-viking
18-10-16, 14:40
Docs and nurses saying it could very well be rabies? I dont believe it. You probably misunderstood and misinterpretated what they were saying to you. Misinterpretation is not uncommon among HA sufferers.

---------- Post added at 15:40 ---------- Previous post was at 15:38 ----------


How long do you think you have left?

When I had my rabies scare around 2003 I was preparing to die within the next week for almost a year as I can remember.

Super_Freaked
19-10-16, 00:52
if anyone here has rabies i will give u 1 million dollars

MyNameIsTerry
19-10-16, 03:02
if anyone here has rabies i will give u 1 million dollars

If I say I've got a rabbit, can I claim half? It is half of the word...:whistles::D

Phuzella
19-10-16, 05:35
:D Terry

LavenderRain
24-10-16, 03:59
Just so you all know, I had a fever the other night that was so high I had to be hospitalized. They didn't know what it was so they just sent me home and told me to take tylenol. They all whispered in the hallway for a second and then came back and watched me drink some water to make sure I could still swallow. They told me if I start vomiting and not being able to swallow and my fever can't be controlled to come back. So their idea is to ignore my horrendous symptoms and wait until I'm literally on the verge of death to even try and do anything. Nice.

paranoid-viking
24-10-16, 14:00
Again - it is not possible to have rabies symptoms for over a month and still be alive and still be able to write on the Internet. Besides - your "symptoms" are coming and going. What are these "horrendeous symptoms" you are talking about?

LavenderRain
24-10-16, 19:57
Trouble swallowing, high fever, horrible persistent double vision, nausea so bad I can't think, diarrhea, balance problems, constant intense fatigue, stiff neck, tingling and numbness in hands and feet and sometimes arms and legs. Also I have two pinprick red marks right next to each other on my collarbone that have been there for a while but I'm not sure if they were there around the time the bat thing happened or not.. I think they showed up about a week after the incident. But if I had been bitten that close to my head I would definitely have died by now right? So those can't be bite marks, right?

---------- Post added at 11:57 ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 ----------

Also a horrible headache and really bad chills and just feeling generally sick

paranoid-viking
24-10-16, 20:25
Trouble swallowing, high fever, horrible persistent double vision, nausea so bad I can't think, diarrhea, balance problems, constant intense fatigue, stiff neck, tingling and numbness in hands and feet and sometimes arms and legs. Also I have two pinprick red marks right next to each other on my collarbone that have been there for a while but I'm not sure if they were there around the time the bat thing happened or not.. I think they showed up about a week after the incident. But if I had been bitten that close to my head I would definitely have died by now right? So those can't be bite marks, right?

---------- Post added at 11:57 ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 ----------

Also a horrible headache and really bad chills and just feeling generally sick


Fisrst to answer your forst 2 questions:
1)yes
2)no

That sunds like quite harsh symptoms. I am sure I would be to sick to write on the Internet under such conditions. You say you cant think yet you have no trouble posting here. Are you sure your pain is persistent? If someone gets rabies pains ARE persistent; they dont come and go.

Kathryn313
24-10-16, 20:43
They told me if I start vomiting and not being able to swallow and my fever can't be controlled to come back. So their idea is to ignore my horrendous symptoms and wait until I'm literally on the verge of death to even try and do anything. Nice.

Didn't you say earlier that there was now nothing that could be done anyway? I don't know anything about rabies, not something we really see in the uk.

If it's not rabies, what else could causing these symptoms?
If it is rabies, how long do you think you have left?

paranoid-viking
24-10-16, 20:46
Didn't you say earlier that there was now nothing that could be done anyway? I don't know anything about rabies, not something we really see in the uk.

If it's not rabies, what else could causing these symptoms?
If it is rabies, how long do you think you have left?


If it really WAS rabies she would have been dead weeks ago.
It is not seen much in the United States; they have about 2 victims each year in a popuation of 300 million.

Kathryn313
24-10-16, 21:01
Am interested in knowing what lavender thinks too :)

LavenderRain
24-10-16, 22:24
I'm just super concerned about the fever.. Because anxiety doesn't cause fevers and they usually happen when your body is fighting an infection.. So if I don't have rabies what gives?

Kathryn313
25-10-16, 00:03
Not being a dr I wouldn't know. What do you think?

paranoid-viking
25-10-16, 00:53
I'm just super concerned about the fever.. Because anxiety doesn't cause fevers and they usually happen when your body is fighting an infection.. So if I don't have rabies what gives?

No one here is doctors. All I know is that you dont have rabies. But have you asked your doctor what it could be? It is possible to have fever; or higher body tempearature that is caused by other thiings than viral infections. Anxiety can cause a rise in body temperature as well. Have you even asked the doc what it could be or are you insisting for yourself that you have rabies?

---------- Post added at 01:53 ---------- Previous post was at 01:50 ----------


anxiety doesn't cause fevers


WRONG! It does. I had fever one time I was extremely anxious and I did not have common cold or flu or anyhting like that.

LavenderRain
25-10-16, 03:23
One of my friends just told me that she is prone to "stress fevers". I would like to believe that that could be the case but I am skeptical since I've never had that happen to me before. In my mind right now its just "everything is rabies". All my muscles feel extremely tight including the ones in my neck and head and my vision is so screwed up and I just feel sick. I am exhausted. Both mentally and physically. I hate this. I just want to be okay and I just want this to be over. I'm so sick of living in constant fear.

Fishmanpa
25-10-16, 03:43
What are you doing to treat your anxiety over this irrational worry?

Trying to maintain....

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
25-10-16, 04:18
My doctor wants to try putting me on prozac now since the zoloft keeps making me have panic attacks but honestly that's probably going to happen no matter what I'm on.. Anybody here have any experiences with it? And were they good or bad? I'm desperate and positive that I'm about to die..

Kathryn313
25-10-16, 06:53
No experience with either but I would say you have nothing to lose trying it.

If you do have rabies, nothing can change the outcome now, so may as well take them.

If you don't have rabies (which is more likely and deep down I think you think this too) then it might be anxiety, so you may as well take them.

Ultimately enough time will pass to prove things one way or the other, try the medication and allow yourself to make the most of things.

Super_Freaked
26-10-16, 00:10
it sounds like death would be a relief from all your stress about rabies. You should check the calendar and then if you time not being able to have rabies from a certain date from contact, now after that avoid dogs and cats and you should be confident you don't have rabies.

paranoid-viking
26-10-16, 12:19
I dont think it is possible to be alive after a whole month of rabies symptoms, and if it was possible it would be because the victim was chained to a breathing machine to control the constant violent foaming of the mouth that is usually causing the victim to die of strangling; and at the same time the virus has attacked the brain causing the victim to go crazy and go violent if let loose. Seriously; and for the *th time: if she had rabies she would have stoped posting here long ago; she would not be able to do it at all whatsoever. What we se here is a complete lack of rational thinking and unwillignes to look at reasonable explanations.

---------- Post added at 13:19 ---------- Previous post was at 13:16 ----------

A question I want to ask to the OP: are you sleeping at night? Do you feel comfortable when you are lying in bed and falling asleep?

LavenderRain
01-11-16, 06:57
Hey guys, every time I think I'm starting to feel okay, I get worse again. I can't take this anymore. I don't want to be in and out of the hospital all the time and I don't want to die. I just want to be okay. I have still been having random low grade fevers all week and today I woke up with an extremely sore area on my back that is getting worse and worse and now I've got random aches and pains all over. My sore throat seems to be returning and I'm living in constant terror.

Its absolute crap that I have to suffer this way. How could the bat have even bitten me? I know I was swinging and everything but I was wearing a jacket and everything was covered aside from my hands and neck and face and I'm sure I would have noticed a bat landing near my face or on my hand. Its extremely unlikely that it bit through my clothes or spit in my mouth or eyes or something and I wish I could just move on from this, but why am I having fevers and aches and pains if I wasn't bitten? I can't handle this anymore, every time I think I'm okay a new symptom appears and I have to start the waiting period over again and I just get hysterical and cry nonstop for days. I can't stand the thought of dying from a completely preventable disease all because some doctors wouldn't listen to me.

---------- Post added at 20:27 ---------- Previous post was at 20:15 ----------

But real talk, the bat would have had to have rabies in the first place, would have had to bite me, and would have had to have been shedding the virus directly at that moment. And even then some people still don't contract rabies. The odds are so high in my favour but even with all of the odds and statistics on my side I'm still 100% sure I'm about to die of the worst disease known to man.

---------- Post added at 21:38 ---------- Previous post was at 20:27 ----------

Update: my fever has spiked and I have diarrhea again. I am absolutely sure this is my last night on earth.

---------- Post added at 22:57 ---------- Previous post was at 21:38 ----------

Now I am extremely exhausted to the point of not being able to keep my eyes open. They keep trying to close and I keep almost falling asleep. I never get tired like this. Ever. So its very worrying to me. I have a horrible headache and my fever keeps coming and going. Not sure if that has to do with the tylenol I'm taking or not. I also took some pretty heavy muscle relaxers so that could be the fatigue cause. These are too many new symptoms in too little time for me to be okay or calm down. I'm terrified to sleep because I fear I won't wake up. What in the hell is with the fevers?? Also I feel so out of it and strange..

Kathryn313
01-11-16, 08:26
I was wondering yesterday how you were getting on as hadn't seen an update for a while.

LavenderRain
01-11-16, 23:31
Now my glands hurt and my face feels all swollen along my jaw and pudgier than normal

Kathryn313
01-11-16, 23:40
It's been a really rough 6 weeks for you

LavenderRain
02-11-16, 00:36
Yes it has.. The only good news is that rabies incubation doesn't typically take longer than 2 to 8 weeks, so the longer I stay alive the less likely it is I have it.. Those who take longer to show symptoms were usually bitten on the legs or feet or somewhere with thicker skin or further from direct nerves to the brain/spine. The only places I had exposed for possible bites to happen were all in places that should have killed me by now. It takes longer or shorter depending on how close the bite is to your brain. And I'm fairly short so I would most likely have a shorter incubation period. But the fact that I've been having low grade fevers for no reason and now my glands are starting to hurt and feel swollen is not helping me. Also, the only recorded case in the US of human to human transmission was through donated infected organs.. But could it possibly spread through human saliva contact? If it could spread through bat and human mucus contact couldn't it spread through humans exchanging saliva if it were to happen? I mean I make out with my fiance a lot wouldn't he be sick too if it was rabies? The fevers and body aches are seriously terrifying me.

Fishmanpa
02-11-16, 03:14
You've spent the last month+ worrying about something that is completely imaginary and without scientific basis :weep: A month+ you could have been enjoying yourself. Hopefully in retrospect, this will serve to be a wake up call to address the real illness you do have... anxiety.

Good luck and as always...

Positive thoughts

hanshan
02-11-16, 03:39
The average person gets a cold every three to four months, which can explain a fever and swollen glands. However, anxiety can certainly make a person feel feverish, with changes in blood flow near the surface of the body. You really need to measure your core temperature with a clinical thermometer. As for swollen glands, they are probably just normal bumps that you are obsessing about.

Go back through your posts over the past two months and make a list of all your symptoms and the days you had them. If not rabies, what did cause them? Possibly a cold at some point, plus loads of anxiety.

LavenderRain
02-11-16, 06:12
Thanks guys, I'm sorry I'm going nuts over here like this. This is just the worst my anxiety has ever been. My fiance is usually super understanding about my anxiety but even he is getting fed up with me right now to the point that he doesn't even want to listen to my concerns anymore. I guess I can't blame him. Honestly though your replies are helping quite a bit. I'd be even worse off without a little bit of reassurance every now and then. I just hate that every time I start to feel okay a new rabies like symptom appears and starts it all over again. I didn't even enjoy my halloween and its my favourite holiday :weep:

I have been obsessively checking my temperature. The highest its been is 99.7 F and that was right at the peak of my cold. Other than that it has never gone past 99.5, at least that I've measured.

I know that's not even technically medically considered a fever, but it is higher than normal so every time I check it and its in the 99s I freak out like "this is it.. this is the time it will go up past 100". Its heartbreaking and terrifying. I never really measured my temperature before the bat incident so is it possible that my low grade fevers are actually just a random occurence and its just in the normal temperature fluctuation range for me? I have heard some people can fluctuate more than a degree both above and below average and its pretty normal. Not to mention I have been super stressed and crying a LOT and I heard that can cause a rise in temperature as well. These low fevers have been going on for well over a week or 2 now so they couldn't be rabies right? As for the swollen glands, my fiance says I would be in really bad pain if my salivary glands were swelling up and he thinks I may have just gained a little weight in my face from all of the stress. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow so maybe I can ask them if everything looks normal there. I guess for now I just have to trust the doctors I've seen and believe that they would not risk their careers on something that could be so serious unless they really were 100% sure they were right. I even talked to the bat/rabies specialist from the CDC in my area more than once and she just laughed and told me I had nothing to worry about and that she has been bitten by bats and I would have definitely noticed if I had been bitten while fully awake and sober.

hanshan
02-11-16, 07:27
Well, you've had much better advice than I could ever give if you've spoken to the bat/rabies expert in your area.

Also, I'm not an expert in body temperature, but a quick look at Wikipedia seems to indicate that low 99s Fahrenheit are still in the normal range. Some people are definitely hotter than others (no pun intended) - I once knew someone who seemed to radiate heat. My body temperature is always lower than average - I have to warn doctors and nurses in case they think something is wrong. Also, just like blood pressure, body temperature varies during the day and night. It's possible that your average is a little on the high side - but that is not the same as having a fever.

Kathryn313
02-11-16, 08:55
Your posts are beginning to sound a bit more rational and well thought out. It is always quite impressive how articulate we can be about the conditions that we fear we have. If we put that energy into something positive for ourselves just think what we could achieve (if only we weren't convinced we were dying!). Keep rationalising and maybe try and go for a period of time - a couple of hours or a day - where you don't talk to your other half about these sensations. Ask them how their day was and be interested in the answer. Xx

LavenderRain
02-11-16, 19:41
Just a question.. In pretty much all rabies cases, isn't the person already very far gone and brain dead by the time their glands are swollen and they're foaming at the mouth?

LavenderRain
02-11-16, 23:59
I went to the dentist today to get a couple of cavities filled and they were curious about why I was asking if my salivary glands looked normal and they said everything seemed fine. A dentist would notice if your salivary glands weren't working properly or if something was off about them, right? And for that matter, if swelling in them had started yesterday morning, I would be far worse by now to the point of not being able to get online right? I don't like the fact that I may have gained some face weight but that's fixable and I would much prefer that to be the case.

Kathryn313
03-11-16, 00:20
I went to the dentist today to get a couple of cavities filled and they were curious about why I was asking if my salivary glands looked normal and they said everything seemed fine. A dentist would notice if your salivary glands weren't working properly or if something was off about them, right? And for that matter, if swelling in them had started yesterday morning, I would be far worse by now to the point of not being able to get online right? I don't like the fact that I may have gained some face weight but that's fixable and I would much prefer that to be the case.

absolutely

Kayla1992
03-11-16, 12:23
Actually no. Not anymore. The rabies shots used to be awful; in the old days when you had to have a shot in the stomach. Not so anymore these days; when it is an uncomplicated shot in the arm like other vaccines. It has less side effects than previous rabies vaccines as well. Mostly a sore arm and that`s it.


I am traveling overseas soon and had the rabies vaccine yesterday and it is even better than a normal vaccine! It doesn't go into the muscle like a usual vaccine, they inject it just under the skin with a tiny needle.
It looks like a mozzie bite :)
No pain at all!

LavenderRain
04-11-16, 21:39
I just read that early symptoms of rabies can be a low grade fever. This scares me a lot because my temperature has been spiking for about 2 weeks now. Is it possible that the virus got into my system a couple of weeks ago and I'm just having a low grade fever until it finally takes over and kills me or could it be something else? I am so hysterical and I can't find any other explanation for these fevers. I thought once any symptoms appeared it escalated extremely quickly and killed you within a few days so what is going on?? I can't stand this. Is it possible that everyone has a constant low grade fever for a couple of weeks once they develop rabies and they just don't think anything of it and don't go to the doctor until its too late so that bit never gets talked about and doctors don't know?

Scaredlady
05-11-16, 01:38
LavenderRain, a few things;

1) You do not have rabies.
2) The likelihood of you contracting rabies is in the ballpark of chance ranging from "highly slim to zero".
3)You have a phobia fuelled by anxiety and panic.
4)You NEED to stop reading stuff on Google.
5)I'm just like you in that I obsess about having an illness and I genuinely feel compassion for what you're going through but....
6)You do not have rabies.

I'm not going to tell you to "relax" or "calm down" because I know it's easier said than done but what I will advise is that you set yourself a challenge, for example; When you feel the urge to check your symptoms online, STOP - Direct your impulse elsewhere, play a game; read up about your favourite actor/musician (read anything that is not going to trigger more anxiety), in other words use distraction as a means to get your mind thinking about something non destructive.

This is what I try to do (sometimes it works, sometimes it does not) but I try and you have to try as well, you have to try to stop indulging the vicious pattern.

It's so difficult I know (I really know what it's like to be feeling afraid and it's horrible, completely debilitating and soul destroying), it's a daily battle and it's intense.

Please stop researching your symptoms (I do it too, I have done it for many months) but in the last week I have really tried to break that detrimental cycle, I've tried to replace it with researching light hearted things - I spent HOURS last night reading all sorts of celebrity news (and I have no interest in celebrities) but it distracted me for a while as I am having horrendous sleep disturbances with new medication.... Try it, distraction - It won't solve the problem permanently but it might give you a bit of a break for now.

Are you on any medication? Seeing a professional?

hanshan
05-11-16, 05:01
Your temperature hasn't been spiking into a dangerous range. It's just got barely over 99 degrees Fahrenheit, which is normal. Younger people have higher body temperatures than older people. A woman's temperature varies according to the time of the month. So a young woman can expect temperatures that regularly go above "normal".

LavenderRain
05-11-16, 18:10
Now I have really foamy saliva. Like straight up foam. Not like I'm foaming out the mouth and its so bad I can't swallow it but I can feel foam in my throat and I stick my tongue out and there is loads of foamy stuff on it.

LavenderRain
05-11-16, 23:24
I just keep having this foamy sheen on my tongue especially when I woke up this morning. My saliva feels very foamy and whenever I swallow it feels like thick foam in my throat, like when you pour soda in a glass and it gets all foamy on top and you drink some of it. If that makes any sense. If I was having rabies foam wouldn't I be dead already or in severe stages of delirium? And isn't rabies foaming caused by not being able to swallow? What is happening to me??

skymaid
05-11-16, 23:27
you dont have rabies. however you are in the grip of obsessive thoughts. please try and get some help from a professional.

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 01:02
I have had extremely thick foamy saliva since last night and it is still happening it will not go away. If not rabies what is it??

---------- Post added at 17:02 ---------- Previous post was at 16:44 ----------

I am terrified that I'm just going to die from this because nobody will help me until I am literally on the ground convulsing with foam coming out of my mouth while making scary noises.

Scaredlady
06-11-16, 01:04
I have had extremely thick foamy saliva since last night and it is still happening it will not go away. If not rabies what is it??

A dry mouth from anxiety - That is what it is, read below....

"Some of the most commonly reported dry mouth symptoms include: Dry or sticky feeling in and around the mouth, constant thirst or desire to wet the mouth, difficulty eating, swallowing, or speaking, thick, foamy, or stringy saliva, sore throat or hoarseness...."

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 04:06
Just for future reference, if I had started developing rabies foam almost 24 hours ago I would be a goner by now right? Or it would be so much worse I would be delirious and unable to think right?

---------- Post added at 19:57 ---------- Previous post was at 18:34 ----------

And could anxiety continue to keep my mouth dry while I sleep?? I literally woke up this morning with a layer of foam across my entire tongue.

---------- Post added at 20:06 ---------- Previous post was at 19:57 ----------

I just want this to be over. I don't want to go to the doctor or the hospital anymore. I just want these symptoms to stop and I just want to be okay. I don't want to die.

hanshan
06-11-16, 04:07
I think anxiety could continue to reduce your saliva production, and cause your symptoms for some days, particularly if you are obsessing about rabies. Health anxiety can actually create the symptoms of the illness you fear.

Eventually, your mind will let go of the rabies obsession. Until then, it will seem very real to you, even though it defies logic to outside observers.

Scaredlady
06-11-16, 04:11
Just for future reference, if I had started developing rabies foam almost 24 hours ago I would be a goner by now right? Or it would be so much worse I would be delirious and unable to think right?

Have you read what we have all said in our comments?

The thick foam like saliva is from a dry mouth and dry mouth can be attributed to anxiety, along with a host of other non fatal mild conditions.

I am obsessed over the thought of being sick, I am terrified of being hospitalised etc etc but I am willing to stake my life on telling you that you DO NOT have rabies.

The general symptoms of rabies initially....

Headache? I have severe headaches daily - I don't have rabies. Nausea? I get nausea a few times a week - I don't have rabies. Muscle pain? My shoulders, my arms, my neck are all in constant agony - I don't have rabies. Generally feeling unwell? That's me every day - I don't have rabies. Sore throat? Lots of people get sore throats - They don't have rabies. Feeling agitated/angry? It's anxiety/stress. Thick foamy saliva? It's from a dry mouth, which I also have despite the fact I drink 3 litres of water a day, yeah my mouth is forever dry but - I don't have rabies. Abnormal thoughts? Most people on this forum have those thoughts but they don't have rabies, etc etc.

You really are working yourself up and I honestly have to say that I am 100% certain that you are perfectly safe from rabies.

You will not become delirious from something that you do not have but you will become more anxious and ultimately cause far more panic/upset for yourself - I know this because I do it too, however I am truly very confident that you definitely do not have rabies.

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 04:22
Thanks so much for all of your responses and for continuing to put up with me. I would be so much worse without this forum. I know I sound ridiculous and deep down I'm pretty sure the bat didn't bite me. The only places exposed for it to bite were places I definitely would have noticed a bat landing on. And if it had spit in my eye or mouth or something I probably would have been dead ages ago. It even seems so highly unlikely in my mind that I was bitten. But honestly I have replayed the night of the bat incident in my mind so many times I barely even remember what actually happened anymore. I guess no matter how much logic is applied to the situation, the fact that I'm having so many weird symptoms is making it impossible for me to move on from this. Even though I never found a bite and the symptoms I'm experiencing haven't even been happening in the right order. I just can't stop believing that I have contracted it somehow. If I just hadn't gone to the park that night, everything would be fine. I honestly miss worrying about brain tumors and tetanus, because I was a lot better back then. This is probably the worst I have ever been mentally and I have been dealing with hypochondria since I was a very young child. My mind comes back to rabies every once in a while when I remember encounters with bats I had as a kid and I sit there and shudder wondering how I didn't die. But I have never actually had a rabies fear that was directly destroying my life. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. I'm living in constant fear. My fiance is so fed up with me he's being distant and cold and my anxiety is starting to destroy our relationship which is breaking my heart because this is the best relationship I've ever had. And I'm deathly afraid of bats now which makes me very very sad because they were one of my favourite animals. I hate HA.

Fishmanpa
06-11-16, 07:57
Forgive me if you've answered this but what are you doing to treat your real illness... anxiety?

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 10:19
I have medication I can start but I'm scared to. Honestly therapy doesn't seem to help me at all and now I'm having a really sore jaw and I'm scared because of the foamy saliva that is accompanying it.

Scaredlady
06-11-16, 16:09
I have medication I can start but I'm scared to. Honestly therapy doesn't seem to help me at all and now I'm having a really sore jaw and I'm scared because of the foamy saliva that is accompanying it.

I was scared to start medication too but I really had to do it and you have to as well and it will eventually help you - You're already scared (of rabies) so being scared of medication is a much lesser fear and therefore you can confront that fear easier; Take the medication!

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 19:04
I woke up with foam all over my tongue again and when I stick my tongue out to look at it I drool everywhere. Which would make no sense for rabies anyway because you don't experience foam and hypersalivation at the same time. Also its been nearly 3 days now so I would probably be dead if it was caused by rabies or I'd at least be comatose or something. I'm a mess.

---------- Post added at 10:04 ---------- Previous post was at 10:02 ----------

I had a nightmare that I had rabies and was told I was going to die and there was nothing anyone could do. I was foaming at the mouth drooling everywhere and I woke up crying so this was a scary thing to have happen right after that dream.

Scaredlady
06-11-16, 19:09
Can I ask what medication you were prescribed? I know you said you were afraid to take it but I really think something to help you relax would be a good idea at least in the short term.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a few hours of not worrying? It would be and you'd feel miles better for it. Speak to your doctor about it please, asap.

Nightmares mean nothing, everyone has them. I honestly can not stress enough that you don't have rabies and I'll reiterate again about foamy saliva - It's a dry mouth. I don't know what else I can say to reassure you!

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 19:14
I was on zoloft before but I got off of that because I felt dizzy and weird every time I took a pill. I wasn't on it long enough to experience any benefits from it and I just kept having panic attacks :/ my doctor prescribed me prozac instead and I still haven't tried it because I don't want to have more anxiety.

Fishmanpa
06-11-16, 19:36
I was on zoloft before but I got off of that because I felt dizzy and weird every time I took a pill. I wasn't on it long enough to experience any benefits from it and I just kept having panic attacks :/ my doctor prescribed me prozac instead and I still haven't tried it because I don't want to have more anxiety.

So you'd rather spend your days with severe irrational fears of a disease you obviously don't have instead of doing something to help yourself? Could it be any worse than things are now?

Well... good luck and as always....

Positive thoughts

Scaredlady
06-11-16, 20:03
I was on zoloft before but I got off of that because I felt dizzy and weird every time I took a pill. I wasn't on it long enough to experience any benefits from it and I just kept having panic attacks :/ my doctor prescribed me prozac instead and I still haven't tried it because I don't want to have more anxiety.

I'm on Zoloft (Sertraline) it's day 5 for me and I haven't felt great, I've experienced some unsettling side effects like "feeling weird" increased anxiety etc but they are just side effects and will settle in time. You already have anxiety so taking a tablet that MAY initially contribute to the anxiety in the short term isn't much of a stretch and it will at some point actually relieve the anxiety.

You truly have nothing to lose and it would help you immensely if you could relax. You have to do something to help yourself, it took me a long while to accept help but I had to start somewhere. Things will never improve if you don't try.

skymaid
06-11-16, 20:11
you don't HAVE to take medication. Therapy, counselling, cbt, mindfulness are all good ways to help with these thoughts and anxiety.

I can understand med fear though it took me ages to pluck up the courage and I only started mine in the end because I had a panic attack so bad I thought med side effects couldn't be any worse (they werent bad at in my case).

LavenderRain
06-11-16, 23:08
I think at the end of next week if I'm not feeling at least a little bit better, I will start my medication. That will be the end of week 8 which makes the possibility of rabies even less likely. Incubation rarely takes longer than that. Also by that time I will be able to relax over the foamy mouth because it wouldn't last longer than a week without killing me if it were rabies. The only thing concerning me is that it feels like there is so much foam on my tongue and in my throat I can hardly swallow it. And I don't know how it could be a dry mouth because I still do have a lot of saliva. I am getting over a cold though could it be some kind of post nasal drainage or mucus in my throat causing this?

---------- Post added at 14:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:36 ----------

I suppose the foamy stuff does seem to go down a lot and my mouth feels a lot more moist when I'm eating. Maybe it is a dry mouth even if it doesn't feel too dry?

skymaid
06-11-16, 23:08
you seem to be already be pre-planning a new illness to worry about after your rabies fear ends

Scaredlady
06-11-16, 23:39
I think at the end of next week if I'm not feeling at least a little bit better, I will start my medication. That will be the end of week 8 which makes the possibility of rabies even less likely. Incubation rarely takes longer than that. Also by that time I will be able to relax over the foamy mouth because it wouldn't last longer than a week without killing me if it were rabies. The only thing concerning me is that it feels like there is so much foam on my tongue and in my throat I can hardly swallow it. And I don't know how it could be a dry mouth because I still do have a lot of saliva. I am getting over a cold though could it be some kind of post nasal drainage or mucus in my throat causing this?

---------- Post added at 14:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:36 ----------

I suppose the foamy stuff does seem to go down a lot and my mouth feels a lot more moist when I'm eating. Maybe it is a dry mouth even if it doesn't feel too dry?

You're eating? Well this is brilliant news because surely if it was rabies, you would have zero appetite and wouldn't be able to stomach food.

hanshan
07-11-16, 04:49
People with health anxiety often delay starting medication and then suffer increased anxiety or related symptoms when they first take the medication. It might be a side effect, it can also be the health anxiety at work.

What's happened to you is that an irrational belief has overtaken you. But you are still rational, and you have to let that side of you prevail.

paranoid-viking
07-11-16, 12:19
People with health anxiety often delay starting medication and then suffer increased anxiety or related symptoms when they first take the medication. It might be a side effect, it can also be the health anxiety at work.

What's happened to you is that an irrational belief has overtaken you. But you are still rational, and you have to let that side of you prevail.


Because they/we are concerned/afraid of the side effects perhaps? I know this is certainly the case with me. Maybe not relevant, but lately I have taken probiotics which has been of some help from the issue I have which most say is IBS, but which me in my paranoid mind fear is a pancreas ilness. But yesterday I read that probiotics may in fact CAUSE pancreatitis. So now I dont dare touching it again!

---------- Post added at 12:11 ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 ----------


You're eating? Well this is brilliant news because surely if it was rabies, you would have zero appetite and wouldn't be able to stomach food.

Amen to that.

---------- Post added at 12:19 ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 ----------


I think at the end of next week if I'm not feeling at least a little bit better, I will start my medication. That will be the end of week 8 which makes the possibility of rabies even less likely. Incubation rarely takes longer than that. Also by that time I will be able to relax over the foamy mouth because it wouldn't last longer than a week without killing me if it were rabies. The only thing concerning me is that it feels like there is so much foam on my tongue and in my throat I can hardly swallow it. And I don't know how it could be a dry mouth because I still do have a lot of saliva. I am getting over a cold though could it be some kind of post nasal drainage or mucus in my throat causing this?

---------- Post added at 14:08 ---------- Previous post was at 13:36 ----------

I suppose the foamy stuff does seem to go down a lot and my mouth feels a lot more moist when I'm eating. Maybe it is a dry mouth even if it doesn't feel too dry?


You are not foaming at your mouth. It is all in your head. Whatever sensation you feel with the saliva has nothing to do with how rabies victims are foaming; you know; as in chocking i their own saliva, which is the way rabies victims often dies. When you obsessing over an ilness your body; or yourself start to pay aggresive attention to functions and things in the body that you never thought about before. And now you are doing excactly that, by obsessing over an ilness you dont have. Very sad. You are 21 right? Of course you dont have rabies, but you ARE waisting valuable time of your life with this completely unnescescary obsession. Remember that you can never get this time period back. The part of your life you are in should not be wasted. I know what I talk about cause I have been there. Everything you write with your fear and obsession over rabies I obsessed with back in 2003 for about....a year perhaps. What a waste. And so many wonderful opportunities that got lost that year which I can never go back in time to seize. Dont do the same please. Dont waste away your youth. You are at your best age and should live it to the fully not obsessing over imaginary "rabies".

LavenderRain
07-11-16, 23:30
I wish I could just get over it but its like every time I stop and think "okay I've had this symptom for too long it can't be rabies" something new appears. I'm feeling extremely hot again and I have felt very nauseas since last night. Like I'm going to throw up any second.

---------- Post added at 14:30 ---------- Previous post was at 13:03 ----------

So apparently in an attempt to try and calm me down my fiance tried to get ahold of the bat/rabies specialist again and instead they sent him to another branch of the CDC and he lied and told them the bat actually flew directly into me so they would listen. So now it counts as an exposure and they took down my information and now a nurse is supposed to call me and tell me what I should do and since this was almost 2 months ago they're just going to call and tell me I probably have rabies and there's nothing that can be done so its just going to make me even worse and I'm worried they're going to show up at my house and take me away and strap me down to a hospital bed where they quarantine me and medicate me to death. I am in tears.

brucealmighty
08-11-16, 00:08
your boyfriend lied so now it counts as an exposure?
I know this is wasted on you and various others but why don`t you look outside yourself for a while, search `active threads` or `unanswered posts` and see if there`s anyone struggling to get replies?
people all over the world could be just needing one reply, not pages and pages, it could be enough to encourage them to face the next day.

I`m extremely hot, weak in the legs, dizzy to the point of needing to sit down a lot, and my thirst is through the roof. I don`t have rabies either, I`ve got a cold.

do try and help others though I promise you it helped me no end in my recovery.

paranoid-viking
08-11-16, 00:34
I wish I could just get over it but its like every time I stop and think "okay I've had this symptom for too long it can't be rabies" something new appears. I'm feeling extremely hot again and I have felt very nauseas since last night. Like I'm going to throw up any second.

---------- Post added at 14:30 ---------- Previous post was at 13:03 ----------

So apparently in an attempt to try and calm me down my fiance tried to get ahold of the bat/rabies specialist again and instead they sent him to another branch of the CDC and he lied and told them the bat actually flew directly into me so they would listen. So now it counts as an exposure and they took down my information and now a nurse is supposed to call me and tell me what I should do and since this was almost 2 months ago they're just going to call and tell me I probably have rabies and there's nothing that can be done so its just going to make me even worse and I'm worried they're going to show up at my house and take me away and strap me down to a hospital bed where they quarantine me and medicate me to death. I am in tears.


Whatever we say this is apparently doing nothing. One moment you come to your senses and realise that you dont have rabies; the next moment you freak out totally again and are convincing yourself you have rabies and are throwing all the rational thoughts you just had overboard. You have no other choice now then to get profesional mental help. All the scenarios you are describing is completely hysterical.

Now let me make it clear once and for all: NO ONE in here believes you have rabies. No one. And no one else in the world believes it either. Not your fiance, not your doctors. No one. And they are right. There is only one in the entire world who believe you are rabies. You. And you are wrong. I am not trying to be mean; I want to help but you need to be thrown facts in your face. You. Do.Not.Have.Rabies. You are hysterical and paranoid and you are destroying yourself with it. The real threat to you is not rabies; cause you dont have it. You threat is health anxiety and it is destroying you. Severely.
I dont know what to write anymore. Almotst 2 months; you are fine; you have listed no serious symptoms that never affects people within a lifespan.

But does it help that I write this or am I wasting my time? What do you want us to do. We know you dont have rabies; so why do you keep posting over and over that you are dying of rabies? Do you want us to think that you have rabies? What excactly is it that you are trying to achieve when absolutely no reasurrance, evidences or facts about rabies is helping whatsoever? What do you want us to say or write?

I think your boyfriend called them because he is tired of your extreme paranoia and wants it to end. Apparently it backfires. I dont think it is nice to waste the time of the health services though. You are then taking up space from genuinely ill people who needs help more than you.

---------- Post added at 00:34 ---------- Previous post was at 00:31 ----------



I`m extremely hot, weak in the legs, dizzy to the point of needing to sit down a lot, and my thirst is through the roof. I don`t have rabies either, I`ve got a cold.




I have slight discomfort around the rib coming and going. A little sneeze. Some muscle pain here and there. Like in the leg. Had a cough some hours ago. I dont have rabies either.

Kathryn313
08-11-16, 01:07
So apparently in an attempt to try and calm me down my fiance tried to get ahold of the bat/rabies specialist again and instead they sent him to another branch of the CDC and he lied and told them the bat actually flew directly into me so they would listen. So now it counts as an exposure and they took down my information and now a nurse is supposed to call me and tell me what I should do and since this was almost 2 months ago they're just going to call and tell me I probably have rabies and there's nothing that can be done so its just going to make me even worse and I'm worried they're going to show up at my house and take me away and strap me down to a hospital bed where they quarantine me and medicate me to death. I am in tears.

1) you don't know what they are going to say
2) you can tell the truth at any time and they will reassess
3) they can't kill you by medication
4) if they did quarantine you they would soon realise that
A - you don't have rabies and then bring you out of quarantine or B - you
do have rabies (which you also believe) and then you will die anyway


I think your bf has done a good thing here and made you face the reality of the situation.

Xx

paranoid-viking
08-11-16, 01:31
1) you don't know what they are going to say
2) you can tell the truth at any time and they will reassess
3) they can't kill you by medication
4) if they did quarantine you they would soon realise that
A - you don't have rabies and then bring you out of quarantine or B - you
do have rabies (which you also believe) and then you will die anyway


I think your bf has done a good thing here and made you face the reality of the situation.

Xx


I dont think it is a good thing that they are wasting a nurse`s time by lying.

MyNameIsTerry
08-11-16, 06:51
I dont think it is a good thing that they are wasting a nurse`s time by lying.

Absolutely right. Now they will be speaking to someone who in no way has rabies at the cost of their valuable time. If the BF wanted to help that way he should have engaged with the correct channel - a doctor about his GF's anxiety. This way he will just end up feeding the cycle further anyway as no amount of reassurance is helping, in fact this step has lead to further catastrophizing.

What I think her BF needs to do is read this thread. That should tell him what is going on and what he needs to do.

Kathryn313
08-11-16, 08:19
Am sure her bf is aware of the anxiety but was at end of his wits so wanted to find a way of getting a final answer in order to put an end to his gf suffering. He may have gone about it in the wrong way but still he is trying to help (I think!?)

You have to admit this is an engaging thread as we all seem unable to move away from replying...

MyNameIsTerry
08-11-16, 08:28
Yes, I agree with you. Unless you know about these conditions, it will be exhausting and very worrying for him too. I think we should be clear about misuse of a medical professionals time (and especially lying to them) but I can understand it too so it's just something for them to learn from.

It's the same as all the A&E trips people with anxiety make. It's not always so cut & dry when you are faced with the situation, so just learn from it for next time.

hanshan
09-11-16, 09:09
Given that the bat event was almost two months ago, I suspect staff will quickly pick up that this is a case of "rabies anxiety" rather than the real thing, regardless of how contact with the bat was made.

Also, since every single person is telling the person that they don't have rabies but the person resists them, it has to qualify as a delusional state. It's still tenuously tied to reality, in that the person is still asking for evidence that they may be wrong, but only just.

paranoid-viking
09-11-16, 16:13
I seriously doubt that they will do any tests for rabies anyway. I never heard of such things; and if it really is such things it is extremely complicated and not something the health authorities would spend money on.

LavenderRain
09-11-16, 18:38
If it ISN'T rabies I just want to know what the hell is wrong with me so I can stop worrying myself sick to the point of complete mental and physical exhaustion. Last night I broke out in a cold sweat for like 2 hours and my temperature shot way up and I felt so nauseas and I have no idea what it was. Rabies symptoms can't come and go can they?

skymaid
09-11-16, 18:57
just assume you DO have rabies and go and live life to the full with whatever time you have left.

Mercime
09-11-16, 19:01
Did you actually take your temperature? Cold sweat and nausea are both symptoms of high anxiety and agitation.

You don't have rabies.

LavenderRain
09-11-16, 19:06
I have also been extremely pale since last night. I look like a ghost.

I woke up today in horrible pain and I am having the worst menstrual cramps I have ever had. I feel like I'm going to start violently vomiting and I have a cold sweaty fever again. This isn't rabies is it??

paranoid-viking
09-11-16, 20:57
If it ISN'T rabies I just want to know what the hell is wrong with me so I can stop worrying myself sick to the point of complete mental and physical exhaustion. Last night I broke out in a cold sweat for like 2 hours and my temperature shot way up and I felt so nauseas and I have no idea what it was. Rabies symptoms can't come and go can they?


Well, we are not doctors so we are not able to diagnose you. Have you asked the doc what he or she thinks? No, for the millionth time: rabies symptoms does not come and go. Shall I repeat it. I think you should read this whole thread as it is one of the longest posting on this forum.

What you had last night sounded like a panick attack. Considering your hysterical and irational paranoia about rabies I would be surprised if you did not have any panick attack. Many of us in here are veteran hypocondriacs and knows a thing or two about panick attack. There is a forum about panick attacks in here you may find useful.
Sorry to point it out for yoou; but as long as you are obsessing yourself with fear of rabies you will never feel fine. Panick attack and psychosomatic pain wil reappear over and over again. And you have not answered us wheter or not you are seeking profesional mental help. I am doing that due to my irrational fear of pancreatic cancer. But at least I am seeking help.

---------- Post added at 20:21 ---------- Previous post was at 19:35 ----------


I have also been extremely pale since last night. I look like a ghost.

I woke up today in horrible pain and I am having the worst menstrual cramps I have ever had. I feel like I'm going to start violently vomiting and I have a cold sweaty fever again. This isn't rabies is it??


I have a smal pain above my chest now. Had stools with blood in them today. Felt naseous one hour ago. Feel a little discomfort in my lower left back. Feel a little irritaion in my eyes. And some itching. This isn`t rabies is it?

---------- Post added at 20:56 ---------- Previous post was at 20:21 ----------


just assume you DO have rabies and go and live life to the full with whatever time you have left.


Wrong strategy. Not good. There is no such thing as living a full life and saying farewell to family and friends if one develop rabies. It is a fast and violent death. As soon as the first symptoms appear it develops very fast and the victim will die a violent and horrible death wothin 5-10 days, very often chocked by their own saliva and the virus attacks the brain causing the victim to go mad and to become ferocious. It is no such thing as "living fully" with rabies.
But having said that; the OP does not have rabies at all. It is impossible and everything she writes is completely incompitable with having rabies. She dont need to here what you say about assuming it but to be convinced she does not have it because she doesn`t. She knows itdeep inside because she has obviously read everything there is to know about rabies online. This is psychology. And your "advise" is just feeding the fear even more.

---------- Post added at 20:57 ---------- Previous post was at 20:56 ----------


Did you actually take your temperature? Cold sweat and nausea are both symptoms of high anxiety and agitation.

You don't have rabies.

If all those things she mention is rabies symptoms then everyone has rabies. Or at least from time to time.

skymaid
09-11-16, 21:34
it's actually a great strategy since the OP doesn't have rabies. If they did they did then yeah...

Mercime
09-11-16, 22:46
I have also been extremely pale since last night. I look like a ghost.

I woke up today in horrible pain and I am having the worst menstrual cramps I have ever had. I feel like I'm going to start violently vomiting and I have a cold sweaty fever again. This isn't rabies is it??

Do you think the answers you have got so far are helping you? Do you think posting on an anxiety forum is something you would do if you're extremely ill?

Scaredlady
10-11-16, 01:05
If it ISN'T rabies I just want to know what the hell is wrong with me so I can stop worrying myself sick to the point of complete mental and physical exhaustion. Last night I broke out in a cold sweat for like 2 hours and my temperature shot way up and I felt so nauseas and I have no idea what it was. Rabies symptoms can't come and go can they?

Have you been YET to see a professional with regard your ANXIETY? I did advise you to do so some time ago. Have you started the Zoloft you were prescribed? If you had started it when you were given it the likelihood is that you would have felt calmer and more rationale by now. Again I reiterate that you do not have rabies, I can't say it again, please believe that you are not dying from rabies.

LavenderRain
10-11-16, 02:16
I still feel like absolute crap. I'm lightheaded and have a horrible headache and I'm randomly sweating and having low grade fevers. But I just had another reality check. The nurse I was talking about called me and I told her the entire truth about the incident and that I have been to multiple doctors and hospitals and they all gave me over 100% reassurance that I was not bitten by a bat. She said that there is no way any doctor would chance being wrong about a possible rabies exposure because of how deadly it is and the possibility of lawsuits and losing their jobs. All of the places exposed on my body were not only places I would have noticed a bat landing on me or brushing against me, but also places that would have caused me to show symptoms much earlier. I guess its actually very rare for incubation to take longer than 2 months and I'm pretty much in the clear and that my symptoms would not come and go if I had rabies, only get worse. I would have absolutely no moments of slight reflief or clarity and it would kill me in a matter of hours if the symptoms I described were due to rabies. Apparently they literally had a CDC worker come to my town and check out the bats here and everything and they tested all the dead bats they found and none of them were rabid and they can find no traces of rabies in my area. I basically used up a weeks worth of someones valuable time for nothing. I guess I got a little more peace of mind but I feel selfish. I'm going to try and pull myself away from this thread and just hope that all of these random sweats and fevers and foamy spit are just anxiety or stress related. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and they are going to try even harder to get me help by setting me up with a health anxiety specialist instead of just a regular therapist. Wish me luck. I'm going to try replying to some other posts now because I don't want anyone else to feel as bad as I do.

Mercime
10-11-16, 02:32
What a brilliant post! Congratulations on starting to break the cycle of anxiety, taking steps to not only help yourself, but to think of others on here too. It really does help to concentrate on someone other than yourself - hopefully others may follow your lead x
Great news re the therapist too, you're doing all the right things!

paranoid-viking
10-11-16, 12:50
I still feel like absolute crap. I'm lightheaded and have a horrible headache and I'm randomly sweating and having low grade fevers. But I just had another reality check. The nurse I was talking about called me and I told her the entire truth about the incident and that I have been to multiple doctors and hospitals and they all gave me over 100% reassurance that I was not bitten by a bat. She said that there is no way any doctor would chance being wrong about a possible rabies exposure because of how deadly it is and the possibility of lawsuits and losing their jobs. All of the places exposed on my body were not only places I would have noticed a bat landing on me or brushing against me, but also places that would have caused me to show symptoms much earlier. I guess its actually very rare for incubation to take longer than 2 months and I'm pretty much in the clear and that my symptoms would not come and go if I had rabies, only get worse. I would have absolutely no moments of slight reflief or clarity and it would kill me in a matter of hours if the symptoms I described were due to rabies. Apparently they literally had a CDC worker come to my town and check out the bats here and everything and they tested all the dead bats they found and none of them were rabid and they can find no traces of rabies in my area. I basically used up a weeks worth of someones valuable time for nothing. I guess I got a little more peace of mind but I feel selfish. I'm going to try and pull myself away from this thread and just hope that all of these random sweats and fevers and foamy spit are just anxiety or stress related. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow and they are going to try even harder to get me help by setting me up with a health anxiety specialist instead of just a regular therapist. Wish me luck. I'm going to try replying to some other posts now because I don't want anyone else to feel as bad as I do.

See? You allready know that. So why do you keep asking us if it possible that every discomfort you experience is rabies? To get reasurances over and over? But as I read "I hope" it is obviously that you have not put the fear behind you and are still not 100% convinced you dont have rabies. Remember that panick attacks are not dangerous. Yeah, they are quite uncomfortable and frightening, but they are not killing you and they are never permanent. And there are ways to control them.

LavenderRain
15-11-16, 20:57
Hey guys, its officially the start of the 9th week since the bat incident and I am still here. Most average rabies cases kill the person within the first 2 months so that means the odds are higher in my favour.. But I'm currently obsessing over swollen salivary glands again and constantly poking and prodding around my neck and face and under my tongue. It started when I realized that one side of the area underneath my tongue is bigger than the other, but I'm not sure if that's just normal for me or not. It all feels very swollen and sore and tender now around my tongue, throat, and ear but I can't tell if its because its swelling or if its because I'm focusing on it so much. I'm starting to have pain on that side while swallowing so of course I am flipping out.

I also saw a doctor who agreed to test my blood for rabies antibodies as a way of trying to determine if I was exposed to it or not and I am still waiting on the results. I am trying very hard not to mess with my mouth and face and see if the "swelling" goes down on its own instead of rushing to the hospital but you know me.. I will keep you guys updated.

Fishmanpa
15-11-16, 21:14
:doh: Virtual internet bet?

$1,000,000 and my prize Martin Guitar says you're absolutely fine! :D

Positive thoughts

Kathryn313
15-11-16, 22:46
What did you do in your spare time before the rabies scare?

LavenderRain
17-11-16, 08:33
Hey everyone, the past couple days I have been feeling very feverish and nauseas and generally out of it to the point its scary.. Could anyone try and explain whether or not anxiety could make me feel like this? I feel very weird almost as if I'm experiencing depersonalization as in everything feels cloudy and dream like but its accompanied by extreme fatigue, feeling dizzy like everything is moving almost as if I'm on a boat, and my eyes are doing weird things.. Its like I can't focus on things and every time I try to stare at something my eyes dart away and refuse to focus on it and it makes me dizzy and feels like my eyes are about to explode or roll back into my head.. I also feel weirdly overwhelmed by big open spaces and panic if there are too many things around me because its hard for me to look at anything right now.. This is very scary and any ideas on what's going on would be appreciated. I'm still terrified its rabies but its been a couple days and I'm sure I would be much worse by now if it was due to rabies..

Also I thought you guys should know that I finally started my medication today, and I didn't feel any strange sensations after taking it like I did whenever I would take zoloft so I'm hoping this works out for me.. I won't get the rabies test results back until early december and I would really like to stop feeling constantly scared and weird so I can enjoy my thanksgiving.

paranoid-viking
17-11-16, 12:38
Hey everyone, the past couple days I have been feeling very feverish and nauseas and generally out of it to the point its scary.. Could anyone try and explain whether or not anxiety could make me feel like this? I feel very weird almost as if I'm experiencing depersonalization as in everything feels cloudy and dream like but its accompanied by extreme fatigue, feeling dizzy like everything is moving almost as if I'm on a boat, and my eyes are doing weird things.. Its like I can't focus on things and every time I try to stare at something my eyes dart away and refuse to focus on it and it makes me dizzy and feels like my eyes are about to explode or roll back into my head.. I also feel weirdly overwhelmed by big open spaces and panic if there are too many things around me because its hard for me to look at anything right now.. This is very scary and any ideas on what's going on would be appreciated. I'm still terrified its rabies but its been a couple days and I'm sure I would be much worse by now if it was due to rabies..

Also I thought you guys should know that I finally started my medication today, and I didn't feel any strange sensations after taking it like I did whenever I would take zoloft so I'm hoping this works out for me.. I won't get the rabies test results back until early december and I would really like to stop feeling constantly scared and weird so I can enjoy my thanksgiving.

You have had all sorts of "strange symptoms" for almost three months now. Early in the thread you were convinced you would not survive the weekend. Can you take 5 minutes and think rationally about it.

You talk about a "rabies test" but also mention it is to see if you have "antibodies" which means to see if you are actually vacinated against rabies; and based on what you have allready told us you are not; so I really dont see the point of such a test. One week to Thanksgiving right; last Thursday in November if I am not right? Are you preparing for that? Maybe you should focus on that and not being alert on every possible body movement to see if anything is normal; whan you do you will always find something "that is not normal". The perfect boydy that is in perfect shape everywhere with no lumps and bumps does not exist. When you are fine one place something is less godd another place. Right now my right ear is clogged. It is a pain in the ass but nothing to panick over. I go to my doc and get an ear flush. It is free here.
And one more thing if I have not mentioned it earlier:winks:...you dont have rabies.

LavenderRain
19-11-16, 00:24
Last night I got out of the shower and developed a strange red tender itchy spot on my lower leg near my foot. It itched so bad I kept scratching it for like 20 minutes and ever since it has been burning all day and it has been warm to the touch the entire time since it appeared. My fiance recently had mrsa, but I don't think its that because from what I've read it always starts as a pimple or a lump and it doesn't usually itch.. The redness has become pretty much nonexistant and it no longer itches but it is burning and it will not stop. I also feel EXTREMELY nauseas like I am going to start vomiting nonstop any second. I forgot to mention that a week or so after the bat incident I found two strange pinprick like puncture wounds that resembled a bite mark right in the area that is currently burning.. I didn't rush to the hospital that time because my fiance kept promising me that they weren't bite marks and I would have noticed it earlier if the bat had bitten me there. The marks went away in a few days after I noticed them. Well now I am flipping out because the CDC says one of the first symptoms to appear is burning and itching near the site of the bite. If that's what this is I will develop a fever and start vomiting and then die horribly in 2 to 10 days. I am trying to stay calm and rational but it kills me to think I could die because of the ONE thing I actually DIDN'T rush to the hospital for..

Also, this is my third day on prozac.. Hoping that it all just gets better soon but I really feel like this is the start of actual rabies..

Fishmanpa
19-11-16, 19:23
I really feel like this is the start of actual rabies..

Wow... 15 pages of this! I actually feel sorry for you at this point :weep:

Hope you have a good thanksgiving and holiday season and kudos for starting the meds.

Positive thoughts

paranoid-viking
19-11-16, 19:47
Last night I got out of the shower and developed a strange red tender itchy spot on my lower leg near my foot. It itched so bad I kept scratching it for like 20 minutes and ever since it has been burning all day and it has been warm to the touch the entire time since it appeared. My fiance recently had mrsa, but I don't think its that because from what I've read it always starts as a pimple or a lump and it doesn't usually itch.. The redness has become pretty much nonexistant and it no longer itches but it is burning and it will not stop. I also feel EXTREMELY nauseas like I am going to start vomiting nonstop any second. I forgot to mention that a week or so after the bat incident I found two strange pinprick like puncture wounds that resembled a bite mark right in the area that is currently burning.. I didn't rush to the hospital that time because my fiance kept promising me that they weren't bite marks and I would have noticed it earlier if the bat had bitten me there. The marks went away in a few days after I noticed them. Well now I am flipping out because the CDC says one of the first symptoms to appear is burning and itching near the site of the bite. If that's what this is I will develop a fever and start vomiting and then die horribly in 2 to 10 days. I am trying to stay calm and rational but it kills me to think I could die because of the ONE thing I actually DIDN'T rush to the hospital for..

Also, this is my third day on prozac.. Hoping that it all just gets better soon but I really feel like this is the start of actual rabies..


Hello. What did I tell you about RATIONAL thinking. You clearly told us that the bat you saw this late summer or early autumn whatever was FLYING OVER YOUR HEAD. How on earth would it be possible for it to bite you ON THE LEG? A totally different part of the body than the place the bat were flying over. Think rational. Please. You are thinking rational in periods I notice by reading but then you completely give in to irrational fear again.
If you are honest to yourself you have felt "like this is the start of actual rabies" for 3 months now. Itching and redness are usually and more often than not a reaction to something, in other words what we call allergy. And people can be allergic to a lot of things, we are all different. In the shower? Could be an allergic reaction to some liquids. Dunno, but that is more likely than rabies. In fact; as godd as everyhting on this planet is more likely than rabies.
Are you seing a pshycologist. I am starting to see one in early February - if I am alive by then. You see, I also have a crazy fear of dying a horrible death in the near future; although not from rabies but from something else. My fear of rabies is now 13 years ago. I wish I had not waisted such a youthful year on that fear. I can never get it back damnit!

---------- Post added at 19:47 ---------- Previous post was at 19:46 ----------


Wow... 15 pages of this! I actually feel sorry for you at this point :weep:

Hope you have a good thanksgiving and holiday season and kudos for starting the meds.

Positive thoughts

You have a happy Thanksgiving too. Unfortunately we dont have an autumn feast like that in this part of the world.

paranoid-viking
22-11-16, 11:26
How is it going today Lavender? Preparing for Thanksgiving?

LavenderRain
30-11-16, 20:27
Hey everyone, looks like I've probably made it to December. I had a decent thanksgiving which was nice. I had a weird bout of excessive thirst for 2 days after but it went away and my doctor isn't concerned. They tested me for diabetes just to make sure and my blood sugar levels are well within the normal range so it was probably just some weird medication side effect or a possible dry throat from anxiety. I am still going batty over the rabies thing but my doctor is literally staking her career on promising me that I am fine. I really am concerned over the weird bite mark like thing I remember finding on my leg near my ankle about a week after the bat encounter but she assured me that with my height it would have effected me by now even if I had literally been bitten on my toe. I guess being short has finally come in handy lol. I've read multiple horror stories about people who were bitten on the leg and took like 8 months to over a year to show symptoms and die but she said that even among the 30,000+ human rabies cases across the world every year, cases with an incubation period longer than 3 months are few and far between and usually have a lot of weird complications. Such as the person was bitten directly on scar tissue or the bite was infected causing the rabies to take longer because it had to move through infected tissue or the people were a lot taller than average etc. its just that those cases are more likely to be on the news and written about online because the crazy circumstances bring in more media attention. And apparently my weird temperature fluctuations are still well within normal range as long as they don't go over 100 F which they haven't.

However I can't shake those two little marks on my leg from my mind and I am left with some burning questions..

1. Would I REALLY have for sure felt a bite?
2. If I was on a swing, wouldn't the bat had to have been pretty firmly attached to my leg in order to leave two fairly perfect bite marks? Surely it couldn't have swiftly bitten me while I was moving in midair without leaving a scratch like mark and I probably would have noticed it latching onto my leg.
3. Everything I read about says that bats can actually see fairly well and that they prefer to stay pretty far away from humans.. That healthy bats rarely go close to humans.. So isn't the risk of it being sick pretty high if it was swooping down so close to me and screeching like it was angry or terrified if it had been able to see me? Doesn't it seem like the bat probably would have noticed me swinging there and would have avoided me or at least not have been startled by me if it was healthy and thinking straight?

If anybody could give me their input on these questions I would really appreciate it.. I'm getting so sick of living this way.

Fishmanpa
30-11-16, 20:32
I'll just defer to your doctor staking her career on this.

You really have to find a way to let this go already.

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
30-11-16, 20:39
I just feel like its not okay to relax, like the second I start to believe I'm fine it will get me. Ridiculous, I know, but I can't get that night out of my head. I wish I could just really know what happened.

brucealmighty
30-11-16, 21:54
be logical for once, how can any of us on here possibly tell you what happened that day, or how likely you are to have any health issues?
this has gone on way past the rabies danger flags you mentioned some time back so you must now make a conscious effort not to post or continue this cycle. I can happily not answer as can most others, but its you that needs to play your part by stopping.

16 pages of it so far. do you think another page will yield results? thats not being harsh it just isn`t doing you or anyone else any good.

paranoid-viking
30-11-16, 22:27
I just feel like its not okay to relax, like the second I start to believe I'm fine it will get me. Ridiculous, I know, but I can't get that night out of my head. I wish I could just really know what happened.

Hi Lavender. It is nice to hear from you again. How was your Thanksgiving? Di you have a HA-free day. I really hope so.

LavenderRain
01-12-16, 04:49
My thanksgiving was actually very nice, given the circumstances..

I started calming down today too but my temperature just jumped to 99.9 F and I am freaking out

LavenderRain
01-12-16, 19:26
Now I've got a horrible dry mouth and a bad sore throat as well as some pretty bad aching in my back.. I really feel like I'm going to die. I'm so tired of this

brucealmighty
01-12-16, 20:05
bet you`re not as tired of it as the rest of us.
try to absorb this - I`m off work with actual flu, as in proper flu not just a cold. so my symptoms are breathlessness, dry sore mouth, itchy teeth, aching muscles, extreme pain in my shoulders/collarbones when I cough or sneeze, heavy legs, blinding headache, actual pain in my eyes and all my joints hurt. I`m bringing up brown jelly like phlegm, it hurts to go to the toilet in any fashion and my thoughts are foggy and disjointed.

now please don`t think I`m trying to outdo you but when my health anxiety was bad like yours, those symptoms would have fitted to allsorts of illnesses wouldn`t they?

stop with the rabies posts please. either you are having some fun at everyones expense, or you need help that can`t be found on here from well meaning amateurs.

paranoid-viking
02-12-16, 01:46
My thanksgiving was actually very nice, given the circumstances..

I started calming down today too but my temperature just jumped to 99.9 F and I am freaking out

Keep it going as you did during Thanksgiving as you said were very nice. Please stop looking at what you oerciece as "symptoms" of rabies as it been going on so long now that it would look like a joke for anyone else than those of us who realise that heath anxiety is very bad for someones well being. Now you should focus on Christmas and what to come then. And please dont look for any stories about rabies online. It will do you no good I tell you.

paranoid-viking
02-12-16, 12:52
I've read multiple horror stories about people who were bitten on the leg and took like 8 months to over a year to show symptoms and die but she said that even among the 30,000+ human rabies cases across the world every year, cases with an incubation period longer than 3 months are few and far between and usually have a lot of weird complications. Such as the person was bitten directly on scar tissue or the bite was infected causing the rabies to take longer because it had to move through infected tissue or the people were a lot taller than average etc..[/QUOTE]

Stop.Reading. Multiple.Horror.Stories.About.People.Getting.Rabie s.Period.

30 000 human rabies causes among the world anually. Sounds like a lot? NO, it is not a lot at all. There are 6 billion people in this world. Almost 7. You do the math. Think about it, in developing Asian countries, where there are hundres of millions of people there are huge populations of stray dogs and rabies is found among this. Still, you have to dig very very deep to hear about confirmed cases of people getting rabies in these countries and people there are living with the stray dogs every day to put it in perspective. People there are dealing with much greater health risks than rabies, like malaria, dengue fever or cholera.

---------- Post added at 12:40 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------


its just that those cases are more likely to be on the news and written about online because the crazy circumstances bring in more media attention.


Excactly! You are a rational when you want to. Media loves sensationalism because it sells, not because they are writing about things that is common. In fact; common things are not interesting for sensationalist media. I hate clickbait journalism. That is why I use AdBlock so I can drive this type of degenerating for of "journalism" to bancrupcy.

I have asked you before but I think you did not answer: how could the bat have bitten you on the leg if it was flying fast over your head? It makes absolutely no sense at all. Zero sense.

---------- Post added at 12:44 ---------- Previous post was at 12:40 ----------


I just feel like its not okay to relax, like the second I start to believe I'm fine it will get me. Ridiculous, I know, but I can't get that night out of my head. I wish I could just really know what happened.

All of us goes through that in life at one point; that we really want to remember clearly what happened here or there. But if we did not really put much attention to the surrounding we just have to let that go. If your mind was elsewhere you can not go back in time to make a clear picture. You just have to let it go. And why shouldn`t you. You dont have rabies so why waste your golden years worrying about it?

---------- Post added at 12:46 ---------- Previous post was at 12:44 ----------


be logical for once, how can any of us on here possibly tell you what happened that day, or how likely you are to have any health issues?
this has gone on way past the rabies danger flags you mentioned some time back so you must now make a conscious effort not to post or continue this cycle. I can happily not answer as can most others, but its you that needs to play your part by stopping.

16 pages of it so far. do you think another page will yield results? thats not being harsh it just isn`t doing you or anyone else any good.


I like to be around to post insight because I have been through the same scare myself but I see now many yearl later how irational it was. I recognise perfectly everything she writes here. When you obsess about something you fear you have it is no easy way out, but I got out of it.

---------- Post added at 12:48 ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 ----------


Now I've got a horrible dry mouth and a bad sore throat as well as some pretty bad aching in my back.. I really feel like I'm going to die. I'm so tired of this

I have a dry mouth today too? Because of rabies? No, because I had a few beers last night. That causes dehydration. Drink water. That helps. And relax. Sore throat. That is common. I have had that a lot and it was never rabies. Take some Fisherman Friends if the throat feels bad.

---------- Post added at 12:52 ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 ----------


bet you`re not as tired of it as the rest of us.
try to absorb this - I`m off work with actual flu, as in proper flu not just a cold. so my symptoms are breathlessness, dry sore mouth, itchy teeth, aching muscles, extreme pain in my shoulders/collarbones when I cough or sneeze, heavy legs, blinding headache, actual pain in my eyes and all my joints hurt. I`m bringing up brown jelly like phlegm, it hurts to go to the toilet in any fashion and my thoughts are foggy and disjointed.

now please don`t think I`m trying to outdo you but when my health anxiety was bad like yours, those symptoms would have fitted to allsorts of illnesses wouldn`t they?

stop with the rabies posts please. either you are having some fun at everyones expense, or you need help that can`t be found on here from well meaning amateurs.


You actually believe it is trolling? I can not say 100% it is not, but I can confirm to you that I have had this fear in my life so it fits perfectly with how people who fear rabies are thinking and acting.
So I give the benefit of doubt and I think we all should. But yeah - it can be too much repetitive if posting everytime she gets a sore throat or muscle joints. Updates should be more concrete I agree on that.

So Lavender - please; be more concrete with updates than just post every time you have sore throat and muscle spasm because everyone has those. Just a friendly advice.

skymaid
02-12-16, 14:11
If i posted how often i worry some symptom might mean i could be sick (emetophobia) people would think i'm trolling.

You have my sympathies, when an anxious thought like that gets lodged in your head its hard to shift even if you know its senseless to continue worrying about it.

I hope you find something that works for you.

Kathryn313
02-12-16, 21:03
Yay - you are still alive! your truly thought you would be dead by now. Keep going!!

LavenderRain
06-12-16, 22:03
Hey everyone, I do apologize for freaking out over every seemingly minor ache and pain but I've just been in the worst mental state lately. I promise I would never troll anybody over something like this. I have suffered with health anxiety since I was very young but until now I have never been this bad. Its my third week on prozac as of today and I am still not feeling any better. I'm aware that it takes over a month to really do anything but I was told it would improve my energy levels within the first 2 weeks and I have been more fatigued than ever before. I sleep for nearly 11 hours a night and I am still tired all day long. Its been so bad I am almost falling asleep wherever and whenever I sit down and I am able to take naps now, which I couldn't do before. This is really new and scary for me especially since I know extreme fatigue is a rabies symptom. I have also felt extremely nauseas like even more than normal. I have had intense stabbing pains in my upper abdomen for almost 3 days that I almost went to the hospital over and I almost threw up once. It only helps if I burp so maybe I am just really gassy or something. Still having headaches and lightheadedness but that's not new. Although last night my entire right outer forearm went numb and was tingling in a very strange way that I had never experienced before not like regular pins and needles. It went on all night and it was so scary and since I woke up this morning my entire right arm has been kind of achey and sore. Earlier this week my temperature jumped to 100.2 but only lasted a few minutes. My next doctors appointment is the day after tomorrow but I'm really not doing well.

paranoid-viking
07-12-16, 01:26
Hey everyone, I do apologize for freaking out over every seemingly minor ache and pain but I've just been in the worst mental state lately. I promise I would never troll anybody over something like this. I have suffered with health anxiety since I was very young but until now I have never been this bad. Its my third week on prozac as of today and I am still not feeling any better. I'm aware that it takes over a month to really do anything but I was told it would improve my energy levels within the first 2 weeks and I have been more fatigued than ever before. I sleep for nearly 11 hours a night and I am still tired all day long. Its been so bad I am almost falling asleep wherever and whenever I sit down and I am able to take naps now, which I couldn't do before. This is really new and scary for me especially since I know extreme fatigue is a rabies symptom. I have also felt extremely nauseas like even more than normal. I have had intense stabbing pains in my upper abdomen for almost 3 days that I almost went to the hospital over and I almost threw up once. It only helps if I burp so maybe I am just really gassy or something. Still having headaches and lightheadedness but that's not new. Although last night my entire right outer forearm went numb and was tingling in a very strange way that I had never experienced before not like regular pins and needles. It went on all night and it was so scary and since I woke up this morning my entire right arm has been kind of achey and sore. Earlier this week my temperature jumped to 100.2 but only lasted a few minutes. My next doctors appointment is the day after tomorrow but I'm really not doing well.


Extreme fatigue. Rabies symptom. Really? I must have had rabies for year then. I feel that all the time. Especially in times of anxiety. Stabbing pains in upper abdomen? I have that too. Have had a fear for months now if it is because of damage to the pancreas and/or liver.
You know what? You are hyperaware of everything about the body right now. If you focus on something you will feel something.
Maybe you are developing IBS. That is common in people with health anxiety; I mean it is often caused by health anxiety. Anxiety = tense muscles = stomach and bowels becomes irritated. Cuasing uper abdominal pain, gass and ocasionally nausea. Perhaps you should try the IBS forum for some tips?

PS! Whatever happened to that rabies test you said you were going to take?

LavenderRain
07-12-16, 01:41
I'm most freaked out by the strange numbness in my arm and my random fevers. I'm supposed to get the test results back around the 9th.

Catherine S
07-12-16, 02:18
Paranoid viking, why do you keep drawing this person back into this rediculous thread. Good grief, entertainment is one thing, but for pity sake just leave it alone now ok? I doubt it's a genuine thread...you know it, we all know it so give it a rest now and let this person and her bat move on. Much appreciated Thanks.

ISB

LavenderRain
07-12-16, 02:54
You can think I'm trolling all you want but my life is currently being ruined by this anxiety episode. I know how ridiculous I sound but it doesn't change the fact that these are genuine worries. What kind of troll would go on with something like this for so long and go into so much detail and do so much research on a disease just to bother a handful of people on a forum? I'll leave this entire website to give you all a break from my constant posts but this is all genuine fear and worry and it has been absolute hell for me. I appreciate everyone's posts and I'm sorry if you all feel like this has been going on too long, believe me I know it has but I guarantee you it is worse for me considering I am literally going through it. I will leave this thread up but I am going to try as hard as I can to stay away from it from now on.

Catherine S
07-12-16, 03:05
Alot of trolls do go on for many many pages believe me, they get hours, days and weeks of fun out of one thread. It happens alot so we are naturally wary when we get a thread like this. It makes us so angry that we end up foaming at the mouth.

ISB

LavenderRain
07-12-16, 03:27
Well I am not having fun, I am a real person who is suffering from constant fear to the point I have been put on meds and have been in therapy for hours every week. The rabies jokes really aren't funny. I am honestly scared. But I understand why everyone is upset with me. I'm leaving now.

Catherine S
07-12-16, 03:31
But you're also ignoring everybody with every piece of advise given to you during this long thread, you haven't been reassured at all. So yes, maybe leaving the thread alone now is the best thing for your health.

ISB x

Fishmanpa
07-12-16, 04:16
But you're also ignoring everybody with every piece of advise given to you during this long thread, you haven't been reassured at all. So yes, maybe leaving the thread alone now is the best thing for your health.

ISB x

This is an example of feeding the stray cat :doh: I believe the cat is genuinely hungry, but feeding it provide no benefits.

Positive thoughts

Catherine S
07-12-16, 04:20
Precisely FMP :wacko:

MyNameIsTerry
07-12-16, 05:43
Well I am not having fun, I am a real person who is suffering from constant fear to the point I have been put on meds and have been in therapy for hours every week. The rabies jokes really aren't funny. I am honestly scared. But I understand why everyone is upset with me. I'm leaving now.

Not everyone - 1 or 2 posters forgetting the advice from Admin EVERY time this situation occurs, that they don't need to read threads they don't like.

Seriously, don't let unpleasant exchanges with strangers on an Internet forum force you out if you have a genuine reason to be there. If you are genuine, who cares what a small minority think?

paranoid-viking
07-12-16, 11:39
Paranoid viking, why do you keep drawing this person back into this rediculous thread. Good grief, entertainment is one thing, but for pity sake just leave it alone now ok? I doubt it's a genuine thread...you know it, we all know it so give it a rest now and let this person and her bat move on. Much appreciated Thanks.

ISB

Because I want to help, although I think the discussion tends to go in circles; reasurrance helps for a little while and then it comes back.
But I believe it is genuine - I went through the excact same fear of rabies back in 2003 and I recognise almost everything Lavender writes about here - a deja vu feeling. It is not so common to be afraid of rabies so based on wht I read it seems genuine. I was also like that - believed that I suddenly got sick and so much worse after my percieved "exposure". It was all in my head and the anxiety defintely created "symptoms". And I would like to help as I have experience. You know; I was very afraid back then that I was not going to survive the next month but; well; I am still here after all those years.

---------- Post added at 11:37 ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 ----------



---------- Post added at 11:39 ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 ----------


Not everyone - 1 or 2 posters forgetting the advice from Admin EVERY time this situation occurs, that they don't need to read threads they don't like.

Seriously, don't let unpleasant exchanges with strangers on an Internet forum force you out if you have a genuine reason to be there. If you are genuine, who cares what a small minority think?


Excactly! OP are obviously suffering, not from rabies, that is beyond any possible logic; but fear and anxiety and needs help for it. But I dont think constant reasurrance is not helping in this case and that she should seek out profesional treatment.

Fishmanpa
08-12-16, 16:46
I dont think constant reasurrance is not helping in this case and that she should seek out profesional treatment.

I believe it's genuine too but totally agree about the reassurance. The fear has totally taken over and requires professional intervention.

Positive thoughts

ThaAnimeGumpster
16-12-16, 19:00
OP, if you are still here and are reading this, know that I understand. Having gone through several episodes of rabies panic before I can tell you that convincing yourself that you are alright is really really hard considering that the symptoms continue to manifest without any reason. I wish I can find the right words to say that could give you comfort, but I have no more to offer than what I, as a member of Anxiety Zone, have heard myself. I guess all I can tell you is that if you got it, you would've been dead long before Thanksgiving. I would also recommend that you simply shut up and enjoy life. This is what killed my similar rabies panics and all other health panics i have. Just shut up and enjoy life. The rest will work itself you.

I hope these words provide comfort to you.

LavenderRain
16-12-16, 22:38
If anybody was wondering, I got the results of my rabies blood test back 2 days ago and I show no signs of ever having been exposed to rabies. Yes, it is the same test they use to check for antibodies in people who have been vaccinated to make sure they are still protected, but my doctor said if I had been bitten my body would have started making antibodies for sure by 2 months after being bitten. People just die because their bodies can't make enough antibodies to keep up with the virus.. It still would have shown up in my blood. She said they don't get false negatives it would only possibly have been inaccurate if it had come up positive then they would have had to do more tests to confirm it or rule it out but if it comes back negative it just means I don't have it. I don't feel entirely convinced that I'm safe but this is as much reassurance as I will get so I just have to try to relax. I have been on medication a little over a month and have stuck to it every day. I still have some scary things happening like the walls moving and "ghost" images/slight double vision and numbness in my hands and arms. Hopefully its all just anxiety related.

brucealmighty
16-12-16, 22:42
I`ve had a bad virus this last week or so and have been very off balance and noticed numbness, I`m not bad at seeing symptoms for what they are but yes, anxiety can certainly cause minor visual disturbances and numbness.
glad you`ve finally had the all clear with your rabies worries I hope this is a nice step forward for you

ThaAnimeGumpster
17-12-16, 01:04
If anybody was wondering, I got the results of my rabies blood test back 2 days ago and I show no signs of ever having been exposed to rabies. Yes, it is the same test they use to check for antibodies in people who have been vaccinated to make sure they are still protected, but my doctor said if I had been bitten my body would have started making antibodies for sure by 2 months after being bitten. People just die because their bodies can't make enough antibodies to keep up with the virus.. It still would have shown up in my blood. She said they don't get false negatives it would only possibly have been inaccurate if it had come up positive then they would have had to do more tests to confirm it or rule it out but if it comes back negative it just means I don't have it. I don't feel entirely convinced that I'm safe but this is as much reassurance as I will get so I just have to try to relax. I have been on medication a little over a month and have stuck to it every day. I still have some scary things happening like the walls moving and "ghost" images/slight double vision and numbness in my hands and arms. Hopefully its all just anxiety related.

I am happy for you. As I have said before, I understand because I've gone through several rabies scares 2 years apart. It's not nice, and it sucks the life outta you. But one thing I learned is that everything in your body can be explained in due time. You just need to relax first.

LavenderRain
17-12-16, 02:58
Just wondering, does anybody experience double vision on specific things? There is a blue circle shaped LED light on my dvd player and I've been watching movies with my fiance every night the past week and in my left eye I see multiple blue circles all around the edges of it. Through my right eye it looks normal but I do see ghost images in both eyes sometimes. I have astigmatism and it has been about a year since I got my eyes checked. Could this be my astigmatism and I could just need new glasses? This is my biggest concern at the moment but I read that if you only have double vision in one eye or in both eyes even when you have one closed it isn't a neurological issue and is most likely in the eye itself. My rational mind knows the double vision thing can't be rabies because its gone on for quite a while now but I'm still on edge about it and wondering if anyone else gets this.

ThaAnimeGumpster
18-12-16, 03:51
Just wondering, does anybody experience double vision on specific things? There is a blue circle shaped LED light on my dvd player and I've been watching movies with my fiance every night the past week and in my left eye I see multiple blue circles all around the edges of it. Through my right eye it looks normal but I do see ghost images in both eyes sometimes. I have astigmatism and it has been about a year since I got my eyes checked. Could this be my astigmatism and I could just need new glasses? This is my biggest concern at the moment but I read that if you only have double vision in one eye or in both eyes even when you have one closed it isn't a neurological issue and is most likely in the eye itself. My rational mind knows the double vision thing can't be rabies because its gone on for quite a while now but I'm still on edge about it and wondering if anyone else gets this.

I experience some form of double vision, but only with my glasses off. Because I am currently going a health crisis, it has amplified my tolerance for pain. Also, check the anti-glare coating on your glasses. Mostly stuff like that wears off at least 1-2 years so your double vision on your left eye could be a sign that you need new lenses.

LavenderRain
22-12-16, 19:43
Trying to take things one day at a time and stay calm. I just passed the 90 day mark since my bat encounter so I am now past the point of showing symptoms in like 75% of cases but I just can't shake the fear that those marks I found on my leg a couple months back were a bat bite. The past few days I have gotten the shakes really badly in my arms and hands and have been worried I am having seizures. I've been having the worst headaches of my life which is strange because I don't get headaches very often. And last night the soles of my feet started tingling and it spread up my feet and calves and into my lower thighs and I woke up this morning and the tingling is still there. I have heard that rabies often manifests this way and I'm so scared. I am approaching the 6 week mark since I started prozac and my doctor wants to up my dose if I still don't notice any changes by then. I am so sick of feeling so awful.

NancyW
22-12-16, 21:04
Anxiety never ceases to amaze me.

I hope you feel better with each passing day.

LavenderRain
23-12-16, 04:16
My feet and legs feel very strange and the tingling keeps spreading upward.. And now my legs and feet are very sore and painful. It hurts to use them too much.. I walk a lot and it hurts my legs to walk too fast or too much. I almost missed my bus earlier and had to run and my legs were killing me. I also bent down earlier for a while because I was wrapping a present for someone on a short counter and it hurt so much to bend down for too long. My legs feel extremely heavy like lead and they are tingling and so sore. I am freaking out ugh.

LavenderRain
24-12-16, 08:34
I'm literally in the worst pain I've ever been in. My muscle tension in my back and shoulders has also spread into my neck and scalp and is so bad I cry. My feet keep getting that weird tingling sensation that spreads up to my knees and into my thighs and everything from my thighs down tingles and feels funny. My legs and feet are also sore and feel so so heavy its almost hard to move. I can't bug my doctor because its christmas and I really don't want to end up in the hospital during christmas.. I feel so awful and scared that this is rabies I just want it to stop. I am in so much pain right now its impossible for me to believe nothing sinister is going on. I've had health anxiety my whole life and never dealt with pain this bad. Everything hurts. My legs feel like I just ran a marathon and the tingling is really worrying me.

ThaAnimeGumpster
26-12-16, 16:41
Hello Lavender, how was your Christmas? I hope you are taking it one day at time and not worrying about every little thing.

LavenderRain
27-12-16, 20:24
Hey everyone sorry I went a little crazy again there. My christmas was good. I got one of those really cool adult colouring books and its been keeping me very occupied, only it gives me eyestrain and causes minor double vision sometimes so that isn't nice. I was doing a bit better but woke up this morning feeling extremely nauseated and couldn't eat breakfast. I think its because I was obsessing over my face last night and thought one side was bigger than the other which has me worried about swollen salivary glands again. So I woke up straight into an anxiety episode.. My face still feels and looks more puffy to me than normal and I have had aches and pains all over my face and jaw but my fiance is insisting I don't look or feel any different.. I have also been focusing too hard on my saliva production again and it has been making me salivate even more. I googled hypersalivation and literally the first thing to come up is rabies so that's very annoying. Other than that my temp is 99.0 right now which is abnormal for me but I guess I just have to remind myself that its not medically considered a fever or anything close to it.

Fishmanpa
27-12-16, 20:37
That's the first rational post I've seen in months :D Good going! :yesyes:

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
01-01-17, 19:30
Just thought I'd give a quick update. My new years was amazing. My fiance and I went to the park where he proposed to me to watch the fireworks and a bat flew over our heads as we were kissing at the stroke of midnight. I'm going to look at it as a positive message from the universe that this nightmare is finally over and good things are coming. I hope you're all doing well and I apologize for all the pages and pages of this post I've put you all through the past few months. Its still not easy but I'm really going to try a lot harder to beat my anxiety this year.

Fishmanpa
01-01-17, 19:40
Just thought I'd give a quick update. My new years was amazing. My fiance and I went to the park where he proposed to me to watch the fireworks and a bat flew over our heads as we were kissing at the stroke of midnight. I'm going to look at it as a positive message from the universe that this nightmare is finally over and good things are coming. I hope you're all doing well and I apologize for all the pages and pages of this post I've put you all through the past few months. Its still not easy but I'm really going to try a lot harder to beat my anxiety this year.

I take it you said yes? :yesyes: Congrats! I'm so pleased to read this post. Now you have so much to look forward to without the anchor of this fear holding you back.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2017!

Positive thoughts

LavenderRain
15-01-17, 02:59
Hey everyone, sorry to dredge this up again but I'm having my first rough patch of the new year.. The past couple of days I have felt so exhausted I can hardly stay awake.. Its like I have been up for days straight even though I've been getting around 8 hours of sleep every night. A few days ago my legs were hurting so much I could hardly walk. That went away and I was fine for a few days aside from the severe exhaustion. But today has been awful. I have been incredibly nauseated all day since I woke up this morning like I am going to vomit any second, I'm still so exhausted, I keep sweating and having bad hot flashes, and I have been having the worst pain on the right side of my forehead which has me worried about my frontal lobe being inflamed or swelling or something. It is a strange sharp throbbing pain and prickling sensation that feels kind of numb and weird and its tender to the touch. It is ONLY on the right side of my forehead and cuts off directly in the middle. The entire left side feels normal. I was also playing a memory game earlier and did horrible which is NOT normal for me and has me even more worried about my brain since the frontal lobe controls memory. I feel so sick and awful. Does anyone know what this is? I also checked my temp and I don't have a fever.

LavenderRain
16-01-17, 10:02
I am doing awful today. I am so hysterical and in so much pain I can hardly concentrate. About 12 or so hours ago something I can only describe as menstrual cramps hit me so suddenly it completely knocked me off guard. I just finished my period about a week ago so I knew it couldn't be that. I went to the bathroom and my urine had streaks of blood in it. I wiped and there was blood all over the toilet paper. Everything down there is on fire and it burns so badly when I pee and every time there is blood in it. It is becoming more and more bloody each time and whenever I am done it still feels like I need to go. My entire abdomen hurts from the bellybutton down and my lower back is in pain. I cannot just disregard this as nothing. I am so so scared.. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow but I am terrified to go to sleep for fear of not waking up. I am terrified its something that is going to kill me or get me hospitalized or I might need surgery. Does anybody have any idea what could be wrong with me??

glassgirlw
16-01-17, 10:52
Sounds exactly like a uti with a kidney stone to me. Both easily treatable, but very painful. Spent yesterday morning in the hospital with a stone. Please don't panic as its very common. Keep drinking a ton of water.

LavenderRain
16-01-17, 22:20
I'm just concerned about the memory issues and headache and crazy brain fog I've had for the past couple of days. Could a uti cause that?? I have an abcessed tooth that I've had for about 2 months that I haven't managed to get taken care of yet due to money reasons and I'm worried that it may have gotten into my blood and went to my kidneys or brain. I can't calm down and my brain is having a hard time staying off rabies again but in general I'm so worried about my brain.

Kathryn313
17-01-17, 00:12
UTIs can definitely cause brain fog and headaches. Dr is the only way to know for sure.
You really need to get that tooth sorted too.

Best wishes.

LavenderRain
17-01-17, 01:19
Whats really scaring me is the way I can't seem to think of certain words.. I'll be talking normally and then its like my mind just hits a wall all of a sudden and I literally can not think of the word I'm trying to use.. Not like that kind of thing where its on the tip of your tongue and you think for a second and then remember. I mean I literally can not remember. The word is not there. I will sit there thinking for like 5 minutes until I eventually just have to give up and use a different word or ask someone what the word I'm trying to use is.. Its very scary especially since I'm only 21.. I think I'm suffering from some kind of serious brain infection or losing my mind from stress. But I also have a headache in the area that controls things like memory so I doubt its only stress..

glassgirlw
17-01-17, 03:19
Whats really scaring me is the way I can't seem to think of certain words.. I'll be talking normally and then its like my mind just hits a wall all of a sudden and I literally can not think of the word I'm trying to use.. Not like that kind of thing where its on the tip of your tongue and you think for a second and then remember. I mean I literally can not remember. The word is not there. I will sit there thinking for like 5 minutes until I eventually just have to give up and use a different word or ask someone what the word I'm trying to use is.. Its very scary especially since I'm only 21.. I think I'm suffering from some kind of serious brain infection or losing my mind from stress. But I also have a headache in the area that controls things like memory so I doubt its only stress..

I think you have health anxiety. You need to read back through your posts and see just how much your symptoms bounce from one thing to another, and back again very rapidly. This is trademark HA and until you work towards treating the anxiety, you will continue to have these symptoms. Just my opinion though!

On a more serious note, if you truly do have an a abscess in your tooth, get that taken care of asap. Can cause some real health problems, not to mention the pain!! I've had them myself!

LavenderRain
25-02-17, 04:32
Hey everyone, its been a while. I just wanted anyone worrying about rabies who may be looking at this post to know that it has been a little over 5 months since my bat encounter and I am still here. Sorry I haven't been on for a while, I just got over a bad flu and a really nasty UTI but I'm alive. My only current anxiety is that I have noticed one of my pupils seems to always be slightly larger than the other but I'm doing my best to ignore it until my next doctor's appointment. I hope you're all well.

LavenderRain
28-09-17, 03:36
Remember me? The rabies girl? Well the fear is back again, and it's not so far fetched this time. I was walking home from the store with my husband when a small flying thing came out of a bush we were walking by and flapped around near my hand for a few seconds before disappearing into the night. I didn't get a good look at whatever it was. I came home and noticed two small puncture wounds that were swollen and red and really painful, very small and close together. I ran to the emergency room with my husband immediately. I did NOT want a repeat of last year's rabies incident. They looked at it and said they wanted to reassure me, but in their opinion it was better to be safe then sorry and they thought I should get the shots. They told me I only had a little while to decide before it would be too late for me to get it, and that if I chose not to it was up to me but they told me the risks. I was terrified but I got the shots anyway. There is of course a chance that I was not bitten by a bat and that if I was, it wasn't rabid. But I am sick with worry. I picked at the wound before I went to the hospital without thinking and it bled and I'm worried I may have helped the rabies get into my system and now the vaccine won't work. I also read that some people who are bitten on the hands (which is where my marks were) have a greater chance of the vaccine failing because of the nerves in the hands being easy for the virus to travel on quicker than the body can build up defenses. I'm also worried, of course, that maybe I did not get bitten or contract rabies and now I have rabies in my body for no good reason and maybe I will be the first person to contract rabies from the vaccine itself. This was all just last night, they gave me the shots and sent me home, telling me to come back if I experienced any severe symptoms. I have had a headache and a cold sheen of sweat over my entire body, and intense nausea, all day today. Now I am feeling weird tingling and prickling sensations in my feet and hands, which can be a rabies symptom and a more serious side effect of the vaccine. I am so scared I'm going to die again and I just can't calm down.

LavenderRain
29-09-17, 19:44
Anyone??:weep:

paranoid-viking
29-09-17, 22:25
Hi Lavender. I remember you. Interesting you refer to yourself as "the rabies girl". Last year you posted what I think was the only rabies thread in here; but now; for the last few months there has been numerous rabies threads; one more crazy than the other. I have never heard that anyone gets rabies from a rabies vaccine! Maybe you have googled and read it; but I guess that it is something ectremely rare incident; and from the old days when the vaccine was not as good as these days.
I must say that I had a major rabies scare in 2004, 17 years ago. That year alone was hooryfying, but I got over it. There were times when the fear kept coming back; just like wth you know, but the severity of the anxiety were not as bad and in the end it died. So you are having your first aftershock of rabies anxiety, just like I had. Today it is 100% gone. I wish I could say the same thing about my cancer anxiety though.
So dont worry. You dont have rabies and you wont get it. Please try hard to not think about rabies and please dont google anything related to rabies. Rememeber your stiatisticly low chance of getting rabies at all; it is virtually nonexisting. Please continue to enjoy your life and not be afraid of rabies. And please read the thread I started about a reflextion of all the rabies posters.:)

LavenderRain
01-10-17, 07:54
I remember you too. It's nice to hear from you again. I am very ashamed that I am letting these worries come back, especially since I was so completely over them as little as a week ago.. but now I've started the shots and I got my second dose today (day 3) and the nurse who did it this time was very adamant about the fact that the shots could cause me major neurological damage and kill me if I continued them, but also that I shouldn't discontinue them because that could also kill me. She was very cold and uncaring and the other doctors who gave me the shots on day 1 told me severe reactions are very rare and that I would be fine, but this lady made it sound like I WAS going to die and used the word "lethal" way too many times for my liking. Now I'm having tingling in my feet and my face feels numb. I'm familiar with the numb face feelings because it happens to me a lot when I have panic attacks but the feet tingling is different and really freaking me out since it can be a neurological side effect of the vaccine that could kill me.

LavenderRain
02-10-17, 00:51
I am REALLY not doing well now. It's the day after my second dose and my left leg is killing me and having muscle twitches, my head feels all funny and heavy and my lower back is all stiff. I'm so scared that I'm going to die.. I almost wish I had refused the vaccines. I read other people's experiences with the rabies vaccines and I seem to be a rare case. Everyone else who gets them seems to be totally fine. This scares me so much. I could end up hospitalized and dead.

weezy20
27-10-17, 17:39
I understand your dilemma. I'm in the same fix as you. I saw a bird or assumed it was bat which flew over me and now I'm scared of it giving me rabies. I've had countless things tell me it could be rabies and I've gotten 5 shots in the past. Recently though after reading about the side-effects the vaccines could possibly trigger including Guillan-Barre syndrome which could be permanent stopped me from taking another round. I really don't like taking vaccines and I don't like being afraid. You aren't alone.

au Lait
29-10-17, 01:36
I've had the vaccine series as well and it makes you feel like crap. I felt terrible for two days after each shot (nauseous, sore muscles, slight numbness in the arm where the shot was given, tired, etc). That's normal after many vaccinations. And the symptoms you described are very common anxiety symptoms as well.

The rabies vaccine is 100% effective when given in a timely manner. You got it in time so no need to worry anymore. You already know that there is a very, very large chance that whatever you saw flying didn't have rabies and most likely wasn't the cause of the punctures on your hand. But getting the vaccine validated your HA in a way, and now it's opened the floodgates for even more HA worries to come rolling in like a storm. I understand how you're feeling because I felt the same after my rabies scare. Getting the vaccines only made my HA worse, and I was a wreck for weeks. Sick with worry that somehow the vaccine wouldn't work or that I'd have some kind of reaction.

Believe me, as someone who's been in your shoes, you're safe. Don't fall down the same mental rabbit hole that I did. I had all the same fears that you wrote about here and I am fine. :) You will be too.

The vaccine will make you feel icky, but that's completely normal. The rabies vaccine is comprised of what's called a "killed virus". That means that it is impossible to contract rabies from the vaccine.

LavenderRain
28-01-18, 03:19
I want to start this off by saying that I am so terrified of rabies that when I thought I had possibly been bitten by a bat back in September 2017, I went and got the entire series of vaccinations. The doctors messed up on nearly every shot, putting the very first one into the wrong part of my arm and then letting half of the last one completely leak out of my arm. The hospital I kept having to go back to said "oh you'll be fine" and decided against re immunizing me. So I have no idea if I am actually protected against rabies or not.

Now a few weeks ago my little sister, who lives with our grandparents, told me about an adorable stray/feral cat that showed up and is now living on their front porch. They've set up a little area for him and have been feeding him so he is probably there to stay. He doesn't show any signs of having rabies, but he has scratched my sister and both of my grandparents since he showed up. They think I'm being ridiculous when I tell them to go get rabies vaccines. Of course there is a chance this cat was someone's pet and has been vaccinated, but seeing how fearful he is of humans, I highly doubt it. My sister's birthday was yesterday, and she stayed over at my place with me and my husband. I didn't want to say anything because I know it sounds crazy but since she has left I've been terrified to touch any of the dishes she used for fear of them possibly having rabies germs on them. My husband made pizza last night, home made, and I don't eat pizza but he really wanted me to try it so I had a small bite of my sister's piece. She hadn't put her mouth on it or anything but she did tear me off a small piece with her fingers and I took a small nibble off of it, trying to bite into an area her fingers probably didn't touch because I know if something or someone has rabies and they've touched their mouth lately or anything they can spread it to people with their fingers. I didn't touch the pizza again after that tiny nibble but I am having horrible anxiety now and wishing I just hadn't eaten any of it. Apparently my sister vomited when she got home this morning and I'm freaking out so badly. A few hours ago I started having a crazy bad hot flash out of the blue. I'm not hitting menopause or anything, I'm 22, so it's not that.. my whole body has been drenched in sweat and I can't make it stop. I don't have a fever, at least not when I checked a few minutes ago. My hands are shaking really badly (actually I think it's my whole body), and when I woke up this morning I was really sore and stiff all over and it hasn't gone away. I did try a new workout routine yesterday though so I'm blaming that. Also I had a full blown panic attack earlier after getting harassed by some men when I was out by myself. Can sudden hot flashes occur way after an attack? So I've just had a really anxiety filled awful day. Please respond and tell me whether or not I'm being ridiculous because I get so sick every time my anxiety over rabies rears its ugly head :weep:

Oh and when I dropped my sister off at home, I saw the cat in person. I didn't touch it or anything I just said hi to it and watched my grandpa feed it. But I'm still having anxiety over the fact that it could have rabies and I was right next to it.

AntsyVee
28-01-18, 05:00
You’re being ridiculous ��

Elen
28-01-18, 09:24
Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Elen

42Falcon
05-02-18, 06:09
So, Lavender, you are worried about rabies from a vaccine, as well as contracting it yourself from this mystery animal. Let's begin with the vaccine. Vaccines are not just "here, let's inject the virus into you" or anything like that. In fact, many vaccines are designed in a different manner nowadays. All viruses, from rabies (lyssavirus) to the common cold (rhinovirus) are comprised of a protein coat and viral RNA. The protien coat never enters the cell, just the RNA is injected. This RNA overwrites the cell's normal function from whatever it was to "Make as many copies of the virus as possible." The way vaccines work is different depending on what is used, but there are two major ways it is done. Thie first is that the virus is heated well beyond fever temperatures (above 104 degrees F, often higher) to the point that the Viral RNA cannot work properly and does nothing. This "Whole virus" vaccine is then injected, but since it can't do anything the body is able to fight it and develop a resistance.

The other way vaccines are made is based around the protein coat. Each virus species has a unique protein coat to prevent it from dissolving in the body. The flu's coat is going to be different than rabies's coat, but serves the same purpose (like different cars). Some modern vaccines take a small part of the protein coat and nothing else, and inject that. Your body learns to attack that protein coat, so when the real deal shows up it reacts the same way.

Whichever type the rabies vaccine is, it is impossible for the vaccine to hurt you.

Now, let's talk about your little sister and her cat. Yes, it is true that cats can carry and transmit rabies. You wouldn't be worried if you didn't know that. HOWEVER, even if an animal has rabies, they cannot transmit it until around a week before they show symptoms, and even then ONLY through saliva. Rabies cannot be transmitted through claws, or sweat, or even animal poop. Theoretically an infected human could bite another human to get them sick, but they'd be foaming at the mouth by then. The only known human/human transmissions have been through donated organs.

Now, what's really important is this stray cat. Here's how rabies with pets works, because odds are you don't wanna put your precious puppy/kitty down should it bite someone. Essentially, the animal is put on quarantine and monitored for two to three weeks. If it does not show rabies by then, it was incapable of transmitting at the time of the bite. Again, I said BITE, because scratches won't transmit the virus. They sting, but they'd need saliva to get someone sick.

Lastly, the pizza. Even if we go down the rabbit hole to wonderland and assume that merely touching an object places rabies on it, rabies cannot spread across a surface unlike bacteria. Bacteria can self-replicate, viruses need animal cells to do so. If there was a place for you to bite where she hadn't touched, no rabies or other viruses were in that spot. (Next time take a bite of your husband's to avoid the scare though)

Lastly, I'd like to mention the idea of knowing the truth but still fearing the lie. I've been panicking over rabies myself recently, and scratches have begun appearing on my skin because dry winter hands and I forgot to buy hand lotion. My mind is screaming rabies even though I know it's not. No bats live in my area this time of year, and my college dorm is a closed room whose door stays closed. But even still those marks kinda look scary. I've talked to my doctor to up my prozac by 10mg, and in a few days we will see if it helps. Talk to your doctor about antianxiety meds if you don't take them already. They help a lot.

Stay calm, be rational, and keep pushing through. There's no mountain without a peak, and once you get there it's smooth sailing all the way down.