Please help me through this...please...

[helloKtty]

For the past couple of hours I've been having symptoms of a stomach flu...vomiting...diarrhea (sorry TMI) ... the thing is like most people here I have health anxiety and freak out easily.

Instead of just accepting "stomach flu" I keep thinking heart attack :( I'm so scared and I'm just making myself feel worse by panicking... my mind thinks rationally for a couple of mins saying "OK...the sandwich with the cheese sitting out of the fridge all day at work was a bad idea" ... and then as soon as I'm nauseated again I freak out and think "ok this is it this time...." I think I'm going crazy. I don't know what to think or believe.

please help me calm down... please??

[Going home]

What makes you connect these symptoms to your heart?

Anna x

[helloKtty]

I have a heart attack phobia :( and I remember reading somewhere (I have stopped using Dr.Google...) that heart attacks in women can just show as vomiting ... without chest pain etc. thats the thought that keeps going through my mind.

I TRY to tell myself that all the symptoms scream stomach flu but I can't convince myself and that makes things worse by adding my anxiety symptoms to the mix :(

I probably sound really stupid...but I really am scared...even tho I know that my fear is irrational

[Going home]

You call it stomach flu, is this because its been diagnosed by a doctor?

[daybyday]

I think it is likely either a tummy bug or maybe that sandwich didn't set well.
Hope you feel better soon.
No more eating foods that have sat out of a fridge. Especially diary like cheese.

[helloKtty]

@ going home: stomach flu...food poisoning...gastroenteritis lol ... I call it that because the only times I have had vomiting and diarrhea like this is when I've eaten something bad, or I've caught some kind of bug.... your post worries me tho

[Going home]

Who's post kitty? you mean about the sandwich?

[helloKtty]

thank you daybyday..that helps me relax a tiny bit.

I've been a long time sufferer of health anxiety...with all the lovely palps and symptoms we all know very well. I've been reading this forum on and off for quite some time...never wrote because so many posts here could have been written by me. But I really felt the need to sign up tonight and get some help....

[Going home]

you said a post worried you, which post?

[helloKtty]

Sorry going home :) my freaking out is causing confusion. Your post worried me because you're asking me why I'm calling it the stomach flu.... it set my mind off again with a zillion thoughts!

[Going home]

Oh sorry, didnt mean to worry you, but just wondered why you call it stomach flu :) but listen, i also have a heart phobia so i know how you feel really, I freak out more when i get pains in my chest, arms or back strangely! How do you feel now?

Anna x

[Nigel]

Hi helloKtty,

Sorry I don’t know a lot about medical stuff – if I did I’m sure I’d very soon start scaring myself too. But one thing to bear in mind is that extreme anxiety and panic can often cause vomiting and diarrhoea too.

So it could just be a bit of a tummy bug or a dodgy sandwich and the effects are being made worse by worrying about it.

Hope you start to feel better soon.

Nigel

[Going home]

How are you feeling now, any better?

[helloKtty]

Thank you guys for talking to me through this...it is a huge help. :) Going home I also freak out over every ache and pain..

I'm feeling better anxiety-wise...I think I'm starting to accept that I'm just sick with something but I'll live through it...but I feel horrible...drained - tired and sick :/ the vomiting continues because I keep taking sips of water...I feel like all the fluids in me have disappeared!!..but I can't hold it down at all. I hope I manage to fall asleep at some point (a bit scared to) ...and hopefully this will be better tomorrow!

Anna I have CONSTANT pain in my arms, neck, back, chest etc due to being a graphic designer lol ...I know what you mean. I've had all types of pain for years and years...they still worry me every time *sigh*

[Going home]

Welcome to the club! But seriously, it does sound like some sort of stomach upset rather than your heart. I know its scary but try and get some sleep if you can. If it was a heart attack it would've happened by now...ive been waiting 30 years for mine, and I kid you not!

Anna xx :flowers:

[helloKtty]

Oh I know the feeling...I've been expecting to drop dead for the past 10 years. I will try and get some sleep....thank you Anna and everyone else for replying. Just talking about it helped a great deal.. :flowers: