Health Anxiety & Medical Phobia

[constantworrier]

Hi All,

Surely, since i have health anxiety, i should be able to cope with and welcome tests/ investigations etc...to put my mind at ease whenever i have a health concern.
Although I've had a fair few tests done over the years, i'm still really scared of all things medical...especially tests. It's not just having them done that worries me, it's also the waiting for the results, when i busy myself catastrophising, and jump whenever the phone rings, convinced it's the doctor with awful news.
So, i get a worry about a particular illness and go to my doctor for reassurance. But, if the doctor can't give a diagnosis there and then, i can't face the unavoidable wait following investigations to get a diagnosis. This leaves me in limbo and trapped with the current worry (unless i go through the tests and the associated worry and fear)...not much of a choice really! Is it possible to have a medical phobia as well as health anxiety? Can anybody relate to this [?]

CW xx

"Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we could learn to dance on a moving carpet." - Anon

[Daisybun]

Hi I can relate a little to this. I like to be reassured there and then, but i have been through the tests, but i get very worked up and worry constantly about results. After they've been done and I'm all clear I relax for a while until the next thing!

Take care
Daisybun

'This too will pass'

[Wonderwoman]

Hi Red Devil,

Yes I can relate...................I want the reassurance but can't bear the wait.............it is fear, a whole lot of "what iffing"............and zero patience.

I have been really good and not been to a Doctor for 6 months now............I have had that many tests that have come back normal and felt so embarrassed everytime I walked into the Doctor's office (the cleaner used to call me by name) that I made a decision not to waste any more time and money and more importantly not give my sensations any credit whatsoever and therefore disempower my anxiety.

How have I done this you ask?? Well it hasn't been easy and I have put a lot of faith in my patient Husband - I say to him "if you were really concerned about me or thought there was something seriously wrong with me you would rush me to Hospital wouldn't you?" and he says of course I would". So now every time I get a sensation (new or familiar) I tell myself to wait and see if it is still there in an hour/a few days or a week etc and then I distract myself............depending on the persistance and severity of the symptom I will call on my Husband for reassurance and that combination works - the sensation disappears - not always straight away and it always leaves something else in its place but with this type of reasoning I have made real progress. I still get really scared and I still have very high anxiety but I am trying to expose this horrible disorder for what it really is - a liar!

I intend to visit the Doctor again before the year is up - but not with anxiety symptoms just for an annual checkup.....and by then I hope it will be as routine for me as it is for a normal person.

Hope this helps.

Sharon

[Barb]

Hi CW

I can certainly relate, I have health anxiety, especially fear of heart attack or stroke and cant get any help as wont go near a doctor, hospital or anything medical like optician, dentist. The only time I see a doctor is if I have to have one out, then I have a major panick attack. I dont know how it started really I used to be okay we I first started having panics and anxiety, and as for tests I just wont have them, as I would rather not know. How stupid is that ? I really envy people that can go and get symptoms checked out. The last time I had to go to the doctors I made a complete fool of myself and my blood pressure was so high he asked me if I was still alive!!!!!

Barb xxx

[polly daydream]

Hi CW, I can defo relate to this, I have terrible white coat syndrome, I go to the docs with a problem then panic when having the tests and waiting on results. I recently had heart tests and ended up panicking the whole way through and even had to take a beta blocker which really probably mucked everything up. I even had to ask the doc to stop one of the tests as I was having a panic attack.

Best wishes,

Polly

[manmoor]

Hi Cw,

I can relate to every word you say and sympathise with you completely. I blame it on my health anxiety. I want to know whats wrong but at the same time Im scared in case its something serious. Im going through a bad time myself at the moment and my health anxiety is sky high.

Hope You Feel Better Soonx

We are all here for each other

Take Care

Mandy

xx

[brenda]

HI CW
I'm the same as Barb. Cant cope with going for tests most of the time, get anxious waiting for results and dont go to the doctor if I can help it
I was supposed to go for tests recently but couldnt go.
Went back to the doc and was sooo bad just seeing him about my stress

So you are not the only one :-)

Pam x

[constantworrier]

Hi
Daisybun - like you, when i get the all-clear, i relax, though this is only temporary, till the next thing comes along...either another "illness", or concern that something may have been "missed" by the tests.
Thanks for the tip Sharon...good idea to observe somebody else's reactions....i sometimes get so consumed by the bodily sensations, that i don't consider that others may not be as alarmed as i am...and if they were concerned, like you say, they would react accordingly. I do find that distraction is useful...if i am busy, i hardly ever have many symptoms. Something serious would persist and probably invade distracted periods regardless? Sounds like you are making real progress. Well done!
I completely empathise with you Barb and you too, Pam,about rather not knowing..I feel the same and I think that it's probably a natural defense mechanism to avoid anything which scares us so much.
Polly, i panic just like you...so much so that if i'm having blood taken, my veins constrict so much that they almost vanish...the nurse often ends up unable to find a vein in my arm and often has to go for the back of my hand instead. I'm not even scared of needles...i'm scared of the forthcoming results.
Mandy - like you say, it's an awful dilemma...needing the reassurance and having a way to get it in sight...yet too scared to reach out and get it. Thankyou for the good wishes..hope you feel better soon too.
Thanks to everyone for their replies on this. It is a comfort to know that i'm not alone in this rather ironic aspect of health anxiety.

CW xx


"Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we could learn to dance on a moving carpet." - Anon

[Wonderwoman]

Hi CW,

I am sorry I called you Red Devil by mistake.

I am living in Viet Nam at the moment and find the language barrier at the local Doctors and the $50 US a pop fee at the foreign Doctors a good deterrant. But rest assured I live very close to 3 hospitals (just in case) hahaha.

I just wish the Doctor could do every single test to rule out every possible thing and then give me a written report saying "all clear - it is just anxiety"...........but of course that is not possible. ...........all they can do are the basic tests - ECG, blood tests and a chest x-ray and try to put your mind at rest........which is great for a couple of days but then something else pops up....grrrrrrrrrr. I often say to my Husband "How do you sleep at night? - aren't you worried about what might be wrong with you?" and he says "No - I can't live my life whatiffing - you do that for both of us".........so again I always look to him for reassurance - ie if he isn't worried why should I be............easier said than done of course.

I hope my tips help.

Sharon

[Humly]

I can really relate to everything that has been said. If I have a symptom, I want to be told by the doctor there and then that there is nothing to worry about, that I am 100% ok. But that very rarely happens and instead of feeling relief I start worrying about tests I may have been referred for and what the results will be. The "what if" syndrome. In the past I have gone rushing down to the docs with fairly vague symptoms and have come away upset because they haven't been able to diagnose anything specific. I sometimes wish they would just say to me "Go away. There is nothing wrong with you". But of course they are too nice to do that.

Anyway, now instead of rushing to the docs straight away, I come on here and calm myself down and more often than not my smptoms don't seem quite so bad.