New Here / Having Health Anxiety

[Rebecca]

I'm so glad I found this forum! I've been dealing with generalized anxiety and health anxiety for the last couple of years. The generalized part has gotten much better - no more head zaps and the panic attacks are very rare now. But my health anxiety has me cowering in fear. It started with my pulse a couple of years back. I used to smoke (have quit now for six months but still do nicotine replacement therapy). A nurse took my pulse once and remarked it was running fast - almost 100 beats/minute. As I sat there for a few minutes it calmed down and stayed about 84. That's about where it remains today, and after asking several doctors and nurses they assure me that's normal. But it was that one incident of a nurse telling me that it was running fast that made me focus on it for so long and have so much anxiety about it.

Fast forward to today. Like I said, have quit smoking for six months and I'm terrified I have something wrong with my left lung. Seems like my entire left side is always congested - my nose is always closed off on the left. There's always drainage on the left side of my throat. Seems like it's just all draining into my lung - or at least that's how I perceive it. I do get many days in a row now where it clears up. I'm not hacking up anything, so not sure what to make of that. When I smoked I'd hack up clear mucus about once every three months. I always get annual physicals and everything is fine except low on Vitamin D. I'd take an antihistamine to see if it helps, but this anxiety has me scared to take ANYTHING. Last time I took something for my stomach I had a massive panic attack. And I'm obviously afraid to ask my doctor about this for fear I do have some illness that will require me to take medication. I started behavioral therapy this week.

Therapist says the easiest thing for me to do is to go to the doc and ask about it. If it's nothing, problem solved. If it's something, then worry about that if it becomes reality. I just read another thread on here about people having sinus issues with their anxiety. I guess I'm just reaching out to get some comfort from you all. Health anxiety is such a debilitating condition. The constant fear and worry is overwhelming.

[L]

Hey sweety,

Welcome to the forum - every one here is really friendly and will help in any way they can. It sounds like you are going though a difficult time but that you have founds ways of hopefully getting a handle of that. Behavioural therapy is a very good idea but you need to be open to it working and it will take time to see a change.

If you need anything pm or message me anytime
Take care
J,x

[Otherside]

Hey, and welcome. And I have to agree with your therapist. Try not to look at is as a "yes there's something wrong with me" or a "No I'm fine" answer. More as, if there is something wrong with you, you will simply have more information, and you will know what to do to treat it and recover. If there isn't, well, you'll still have more information. I hope it goes well for you in behavioral therapy.

[merc]

I have terrible anxiety when I have to visit the doctor. It messes up my blood pressure readings.

[BladeBiersack]

^^So do I....I haven't had a physical done in forever. I refuse to have one done because I have such bad trust issues and anxiety...I'd have a panic attack


-KeepHoldingOn<3

[besrfriend]

Hey sweety, I didn't see this post before I replayed to the other one. If you have been diagnosed with health anxiety what treatment are you undergoing for it? What are you doing to ease the symptoms?