Anxiety over health
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Anxiety over health
| Sun, 09-03-2006 - 9:15pm |
Does anyone feel most anxious over their health? I am beginning to think I am a hypochondriac seriously. Last summer I watched a show about skin cancer and I had a suspicious mole and I freaked thinking I had skin cancer. I was very anxious but not like I am now. Now I have had pain under the arm. I went to the dr's (quite a few actually) and they all told me it was muscle related but I kept pushing and now i have a mammogram weds. I am freaked, I am so anxious, I feel like I can't function, I've convinced myself I have breast cancer and it's totally taken over my life.
I was never this bad until after I had my second child a few months ago. I think alot has to do with me having a terminally ill child also. I just feel crazy.


10 days on meds is not very long at all. You probably really are not feeling any help from it yet. And yes, I think it must be pretty common for people who have anxiety/panic problems to worry about their health. I know I certainly do and I've heard tons of other ladies so the same thing! I worry endlessly any time any one of us in my family has any little ache or pain. I always think of the worst case scenario, cancer, heart attack, ect. With medication, I do calm down tons! I still worry but it is much more realistic. That is the trick I think is to realize that overworrying is not realistic. Most likely everything will be fine! I've been told by a doctor that probalby 90 - 95% of his patients that come in will get better without any help at all but that he can make them more comfortable and well quicker. 90-95%! I remind myself of that!!! It is ok, however, to have things checked out at the doctor. Peace of mind is a good thing.
Hang in there! I suspect the Zoloft will have you feeling better in another week or two!
HUGS!!!!
Laura
Thanks. See that is my issue right now. I can't think rationally. In a normal situation, I'd think the chances of me having breast cancer are not great but right now I am not thinking realistically, just freaking out way too much. She also gave me Klonopin to take in the meantime but only five so I try to take half at a time and that has helped me a little. I did really good Friday but then yesterday and today I have had a relapse.
Thanks for writing again
Tina
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I've taken Xanax over the years when I needed it. Especially when I was switching meds and starting something new and it had not taken affect yet. My problem quit often with that is that I would not take enough Xanax because I was too afraid I would become addicted or act like I was taking a tranquelizer (people would know). And when I would really get bad and have to take the Xanax, I would look up the max dose because I was so afraid of taking too much. I don't know how many times I looked that up! I have it memorized finally by the way! And I was always way way way under the max dose. Still I worried about it for years!
Have you tried relaxation techniques at all? Deep breathing and things like that? They have helped me too but not until I've practiced them over time. And they are only effective if I keep practicing them on a regular basis. They do work though.
Hang in there!!!! Remember that with the down times there will also always be up times!
Laura
No I haven't tried that yet. I am new to all this. Usually I just sit and freak out or go to sleep and I finally found this board and am slowly getting through all the threads. I did order "the anxiety cure" though.
Tina
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Hi, Tina! Nice to see you;) I am sorry that you're stressing over health issues. I have had many imagined health fears. What makes us focus on them so much is that they *could* be real. Learning to relax through meditation, belly breathing & positive thinking has really helped me. I allow myself 20 minutes or so to focus on the fear, then make myself keep body & mind occupied. It will come for you. It is possible to keep the *what if* thinking in check.
The worst anxiety I ever had was after the birth of my second child. This is par for the anxiety course. Any major life change or event can be a trigger. I think therapy is a great idea. You can learn to identify the patterns of behavior that contribute to your fears & how to manage them better.
The antidepressants take 4 to 6 weeks to reach optimal effect. Give it some more time. Good luck with the mammogram. My T&P's are for a negative test result. Please keep in touch. Good luck & GBU! (((hugs))) jan
That is me exactly! Except mine was underarm pain=breast cancer even after I was told it was muscle strain. That is when I went and asked for medication.
Tina
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Tina, give the meds some time to work, it usually takes 4-6 weeks.
Sheri Ann
Thanks. I will get the results right away. I'm just so anxious over Wednesday. Hopefully that will be negative and then the meds will kick in soon and I will be a much happier person.
Tina
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