Health Anxiety Victory and Advice

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 5:29 pm

Charlie - what wonderful news!!! Congratulations and an important life lesson for all of us to take "to heart."

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:07 pm

Thanks much, Steven.

to take "to heart."

LOL. Good one.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:33 am

Originally posted by Spectrum:
I have a major problem with health anxiety but I think I always have cancer. I never think of my heart! Isn't it interesting how we can all have a specific fear and other fears don't even come to mind. I wish I could conquer this fear of having cancer.

I just started the program because I have anxiety, especially about my health. I worry specifically about getting cancer, although from time to time I worry about my heart and/or other deadly diseases. Have you been able to overcome your fear of cancer? I have no family history, but everytime I hear of someone dying from cancer (especially if they are near my age - 44 yrs old) I get really freaked out and fear that it will happen to me, too. Any advice?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 12:34 am

I am so happy I found this posting as this is exactly what is happening to me. Have been to the er 6 times recently and always rated as anxiety. I am now having this problem for 5 days and cant shake it. Have no history of heart disease in my family whatsoever. I have ordered the book from amazon and cant wait for it to be delivered

samcat · Post by **samcat** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 1:19 pm

Hi hugbear,

I'm happy this thread helps. I hope the books are beneficial.

If possible, speak to your dr and see about going to a cardiologist. Getting tested definitely helped me start accepting there is nothing wrong with my heart.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:23 pm

Just an update on me, I was so sick of getting the pains in the chest i went to er yesterday, they did all these tests and everything came up negative. Since yesterday I have not had any chest pain at all, I am totally stunned that anxiety can get so bad that you think that you are having a heart attack, Honestly I could swear that I was having one. Still have stress test tomorrow though

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:42 am

hugbear,

It's good all the tests came back negative. After tomorrow's test, I would recommend (from personal experience) to really begin accepting the chest issue is anxiety and not a cardiac problem. Believe me, I know.

Between 2006 and 2008 I had been at several ERs feeling, believing it was a heart attack. Trust me: I did not want it to be a heart attack. But based on the physical symptom, it HAD to be one. When all the tests came back negative and I heard those magic words "no enzymes were released" (when a person has a heart attack, cardiac enzymes are released into the the blood stream), I was thrilled. Yet I wondered and worried about the next time. It took a very long time for me to accept the test results and that when I get chest tightness it is either anxiety or costochondritis, a condition that causes chest pain due to inflammation of the cartilage and bones in the chest wall. It feels like a heart attack.

I also take into account when I feel the chest tightness, I have no other heart attack symptoms. And, recalling the times the triage nurse asked on a scale of 1-10, ten being the worst, how would I rate the severity of the symptom, I have never gone past 1 or 2.

Hope that helps.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:04 pm

thanks for writing that, yes i had my stress ecg today and nothing is wrong, the qwave that I was panacking about the cardiologist said it was an error, so its great to know that I dont have heart disease, I really appreciated your postings

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:43 pm

Congrats on your heart results. Re: qwave--God knows I have panicked about things (health and non-health issues) and later found out nothing was wrong.

My pleasure. I am glad I could help.