Do you have health anxieties

I have found that the more chronic the migraines have become, the more into my health I am.
I dont want this, but as I have low life quality....(IBS and FMS too),
I have a lot of time stuck here and seem to notice every damn thing.
I have a fear of getting something bad and not being able to get it sorted because of the migraines...this is not unrealistic.
Also scared to take stuff because i just cant afford to get any worse with any of the above...
What a yo yo.............
Is it just me please.....I hope no...

You're not the only one at all Pen. For example, I've done something to my neck/shoulder, probably just slept on it funny, but am now really worried that the tension there will bring on a migraine.

I'm concerned about my hormones in general and have my suspicions about what's going on, but am terrified of ALL the medications they might prescribe for them as they'll induce migraines.

I'm absolutely NOT a natural hypochondriac - I think I've said before, for most ailments I'm very much of the school of 2-aspirin-and-a-cup-of-tea treatment, however I find myself web-doctoring at the drop of a hat these days, and drive myself mad in the process...

i find myself doing the same thing...i have IBS,RA,Fibro my back and neck are erodeing but of all of them the migraines are the worst for me...

magic

lizholmesod wrote:You're not the only one at all Pen. For example, I've done something to my neck/shoulder, probably just slept on it funny, but am now really worried that the tension there will bring on a migraine.



I'm absolutely NOT a natural hypochondriac - I think I've said before, for most ailments I'm very much of the school of 2-aspirin-and-a-cup-of-tea treatment, however I find myself web-doctoring at the drop of a hat these days, and drive myself mad in the process...

yeah i agree completely with this, these migraines have turned me into a real worrier and as they got worse so have i, it is a real struggle to find the sensible practical person i once was, instead i look in the mirror and see someone who is just waiting for the next migraine to hit, i know thats silly but the migraines have sucked all the confidence out of me, well nearly.

Oh thank goodness. I mean I am sorry for all of you as well, of course, but I have been told I have health related anxiety.
I just feel I cant afford to have anything else, can barely cope with what have...
I am now to embarrassed to go to the dr as I think they see me coming....
This is not me....I used to ignore everything.....
have had a dodgy tummy for a few days....I cant seem to ignore it, well I am stuck on the couch, but it is looming larger than it should and I fear the worst....so annoying...
What have these diseases done to us....

P

Mine have lessoned somewhat. There was a time when I was getting these migraines so bad, nonstop , day and night, in my sleep, that it was freaking me out because I didn`t understand everything that was happening to me. That was the first time I had them that bad. At the time, I was wondering if it was more than just a migraine even though I was seeing a neuro.

They sent me for CBT to try to help with the anxiety but I think put here. 6 weeks for assessment, and then I missed an appointment. 2 weeks later I missed another....they dumped me....
I will never know it it would have helped...

Pen,

I have anxiety about many things. Health issues is just one area of worry. What bothers me most about health issues is worrying about how I'm going to pay for it. My insurance at work pays only part of my care and prescriptions. And yes, I don't have all the tests I should because I'm so worried about the money.

That "little" 4 day stay in the hospital last October, for pneumonia, costs many thousands of dollars for my portion. The hospital barely waited a month before they sent the collection agencies after me. Oh well, my credit is so bad anyway that I'll never be able to buy a house.

Migraine is just one of many problems, medical and otherwise.

Chris

I do now thanks to powers beyond my control.

LOL....

ROTFLOL

The anxiety comes with the territory. The past week has been one big migraine. I have experienced a new symptom, dizziness. I find that I am walking like I might have had one to many drinks for lunch. I do not drink. I hit the corner of the wall when going around the corner in the hall. The worst is that I missed a red light today and almost ran into someone. I am off of the preventatives and pain pills because of side-effects.

Hal

Pen - I know you don't like medication but maybe you could get an anti-anxiety prescription. This could be a great help.

In my case migraines have caused the opposite (which isn't good either). Before migraines, I went in for my check ups and had anything checked out if I was concerned. It has been several years that I have been to a doctor except for migraine related issues. They took over. Nothing else seems important. I do go to the dentist and eye doctor but with anxiety about the horrible bright lights they use. I'm surprised I do that (my eyes and good teeth matter to me). I won't go in for any tests that require fasting as this could trigger one. The only tests I will have done are migraine related in hopes of solving the mystery. I was never like this. It is like migraine is the ultimate in diseases and nothing else will compare.

I worry about my body constantly. It is falling apart.

here's the flip-side to the migraine problem.

if you do get sick, develop another disease, or confluence of diseases you'll look at migraines as minor compared to the other stuff.

yes they are irritating, (evil), but if you can cope with migraine, you can cope with a lot of things.

just my .02

I have had another disease, and they almost prevented me from getting treatment. Which was dangerous.
Irritating would be good.
Lucky you, yours must be a lot less frequent than mine.

Never heard anyone describe them as irritating before, except those that have one a year.
that cant be you, you wouldn't be on here....
Must just be very brave and strong I suppose....

I admire and envy you .

I don't know Porsche - have to wait until I get there. I did just think of a plus side though. Whenever I'm having a not particularly good day, I can tell myself "at least I'm not having a migraine". And when I do start getting a migraine, I actually tell myself I won't complain about a darn thing when this pain subsides. Just being pain free is good enough for me no matter what else happens rest of the day. Pretty pathetic way to live.

I agree with you there Pen. Irritating isn't the word. If I couldn't abort mine, I wouldn't want to live.

estre004 wrote:I don't know Porsche - have to wait until I get there. I did just think of a plus side though. Whenever I'm having a not particularly good day, I can tell myself "at least I'm not having a migraine". And when I do start getting a migraine, I actually tell myself I won't complain about a darn thing when this pain subsides. Just being pain free is good enough for me no matter what else happens rest of the day. Pretty pathetic way to live.

maybe but isn't it nice to be able to appreciate things that ordinary people don't appreciate? I agree this sucks but when you look at it the other way around...at least you aren't a stuck up b!$#%

I say this with a big fat migraine!

Pen,

Please don't have envy. I've been on the old site for quite a long time and know what severe daily migraines are, and have suffered through them. It has taken years of time, energy, and resources to find a proper treatment for my migraines....and much sacrifice. I do have complicated migraine and have a migrainous headache every day--some days are better, some are worse.

My success has been to treat the underlying diseases that contribute to my migraines. Each person is different--thus the extreme difficulty in treating them (plus the medical community's own feelings towards migraine itself).

I have too learned to accept migraines. To me, they will be there and there isn't much to do about it. When I have one coming on, I just say to myself "well, here's another migraine." I have learned to deal, adjust life around this problem, and to keep active in activities and interest.

I have been diagnosed with some complex medical issues in the process of performing the migraine diagnostics. For me, testing opened a true Pandora's Box. However doing so helped to treat the underlying disease process that was making my life pretty miserable from migraines.

And I'll stand by what I say, it is an irritant that does give you strength and endurance when things get bad.

Some people have luck with finding the right treatment (and I do mean luck) while others never get a good way to treat their migraines.

I have just read a great post on another forum about childbirth with the quote "in acceptance there is peace". I think it totally applies to chronic migraine. The post was about fear of labour and the fact that fear=tension=pain.

Acceptance and meditation/relaxation exercises have really helped my quality of life in my migraine journey. I do all I can to prevent migraines, and try one thing after another, but nothing has helped as much as this.

I agree with Marc when he says this:-

I have too learned to accept migraines. To me, they will be there and there isn't much to do about it. When I have one coming on, I just say to myself "well, here's another migraine." I have learned to deal, adjust life around this problem, and to keep active in activities and interest.

and like Marc I have daily migraine. Severe daily suffering does not preclude a state of mind other than despair and angst.

Amy

Good post Amy, acceptance is a good thing if you can acheive it, i struggle, some days i accept migraine, but some days i dont (cant) but there is always someone worse off than myself and in that i take comfort (rightly or wrongly) but i do.

To Amy - If relaxation helps child birth, I would sure hate to experience it with tension. You could have fooled me

Theresae - I thought exactly the same thing this morning. I'm not even having a migraine and I'm complaining to myself that I have to put in my darn contact lenses everyday. How pathetic am I. I immediately thought of people that are actually blind and don't have that option and of paralyzed people who can't even get up and of course all the people waking up today with migraines. (On top of that, I could always go get lasek surgery). How selfish I was for a second. There are always going to be people worse off. Do you ever wonder who the worst off person is though that doesn't have someone worse off? Has to be somebody.

Estre004,

LOL. Thank God for people that are worse off than me. Now I do not feel so bad! The pain level has not changed a bit, but I sure feel better. That poor, miserable wretch that is at the bottom of the pile. He/She must feel as if the weight of the world is on their head. The more pain they have, the better I feel Yeh, pile it on. Oh, that is so much better.

You crack me up. On the serious side, that is a sobering thing to think about. You are correct, there must be someone that feels the worst. May God have mercy. I'll take some of their pain. Thinking of how awful they must feel brings tears to my eyes. I know how bad it can be for me and it is Hell. Think how bad it must be for that person who is so, so much worse off than our worst days. I don't think I could take it.

Hal

Hal - You just cracked me up too.

Estre004,

Glad I could put a smile on your face. We all need more smile in our life.

Hal