Petrified waiting on blood tests

[NessMonster]

Hi,

I'm sorry that you're having such an awful day with the anxiety. I would love to be able to offer some reassurance but I'm not sure how helpful that would be. I know for me, the moment I'm reassured from one perspective, my brain latches on to some alternative angle. That being said, I have to have the full blood works done regularly and usually within in a couple of days, I either get an email to see they're fine or one to say that I need to se the doctor. Either way, bloods are checked in the labs and then by the doctor. If somethings immediately wrong, they're flagged and you would have been told by now.

What's going to be helpful to get you through till tomorrow? Do you have strategies? Does distraction work? Does anything calm you?

You can get through this, even if you have to literally do it minute by minute.

[Munchlet]

Thank you Nessmonster,

I agree about the reassurance it doesn’t work in the long run. I think I just have to work through this period of anxiety.

I’ve started reading one of my many books on Health Anxiety again and I think it is helping to calm me down a bit.

Going to have a nice dinner, binge watch something and read. Hopefully that will take my mind off of it.

[NessMonster]

I hope your afternoon is going according to plan and that you're managing to get some moments of respite.

I also hope that you know how capable and strong you are for being able to sit with this awful feeling. I think that's what people miss about some aspects of anxiety, that we have to purposefully at times put ourselves in the most terrifying situations in order to do what is best for us. Be proud of yourself for all that you've done this week and no matter how endless it feels, remind yourself that there will be an end point and you will be able to breathe again a little easier soon.

[Munchlet]

Thank you

I've had a lovely dinner and now just ordered a great big ice cream to be delivered!

I keep going over it in my mind but there's nothing I can do so will just have to wait.

[NessMonster]

Notice the thought and you're feeling. Say it out loud if you need to. Then refocus your attention on whatever else you have going on... Movie, book etc... You got this and you're doing really well.

[pulisa]

What flavour ice cream. Munchlet?

You've done really well to get through the day-Sunday is always a hard day, I find. I hope you are put out of your torment tomorrow and get some reassuring news...and I mean factual reassuring news not just us trying to persuade you that no news is good news at this stage.

[Munchlet]

Thank you NessMonster and Pulisa.

I actually had three scoops, White Chocolate, Caramel and Creme Brulee, honestly I'm so stuffed but it was lovely.

I made the mistake of reading the blood tests forum on here earlier and saw that some people had gone days after their tests and then found there were abnormalities on their LFT or Kidney test. Wish I hadn't done that! Back to binge watching I think!

[pulisa]

There will always be unhelpful posts on here but concentrate on yourself and YOUR results? Stop catastrophising because it does no good at all other than wind you up no end.

I always thought that LFT and kidney bloods were standard and included in the FBC profile anyway? Mine have always come back very quickly. My daughter's came back in a day last week (no anomalies).

Glad you enjoyed your triple scooper! Good for you-you deserve a nice treat! x

[Munchlet]

Pulisa thank you so much for your replies, they are really helpful. You are right I need to stop catastrophising. I’m actually reading my HA book and it is really helping calm me down. Just seeing in black and white all the things I’m doing which are classic HA behaviours. It’s also making me realise the impact this has on my family. I really need to get a grip on my thoughts and reactions to things. Thank you 😊

[pulisa]

Perhaps you can develop a "rule" in making a visual list of all the classic HA behaviours...and then monitor yourself when you feel yourself panicking and spiralling over an issue and compare your thoughts to those of the habitual HA-er?

I always say it's Fact over Fiction: Diagnosed Fact versus HA Fiction.