Health Anxiety and Dr Google

[ladybird64]

I was unsure whether to start a thread on this topic but after posting in response to a comment on the "scream" thread today, I've been encouraged to do so. I have cheated (because I'm worn out this evening!) and copied my post from the thread concerned over to here. I'm not sure if people have heard of this disorder but want to raise awareness for those who haven't, it is not any attempt to persuade the forum members that any person who posts for assistance, shouldn't be taken seriously.

Re the Googling of symptoms and diabetes...
I raised this issue on a fairly recent response I gave to a lady who had unfortunately suffered a traumatic bereavement, you can see the post by checking my profile. I have the feeling what I said went down like a lead balloon and there were many posts with the alternative view, which is fair enough - I kept quiet after that. Can I just say that this type of obsessive anxiety is very specific, it's called Health Anxiety and is a truly awful thing to live with.
I was a member of an anxiety/depression/phobia forum ( not for HA) and the amount of people who had this anxiety was staggering. The old name for it is hypochondria but that doesn't come close to scratching the surface, people are CONVINCED they have illness A, B or C and no amount of medical testing/ reassurance alters their thinking, most of the time is spent googling symptoms or illnesses. The suggestion that it is anxiety is often met with total refusal to accept it may even be a possibility. The trouble is that anxiety can come from nowhere, with no specific cause and the physical symptoms of severe, heightened anxiety can mimic many, many illnesses. I was going to start a thread about this, to make people aware that it exists, and that not everybody who comes here with convincing symptoms but no diagnosis, especially after numerous tests, has a physiological problem. They're not making these things up, they are really suffering symptoms, but the worst thing for HA is repeated reassurance as it just reinforces the fear - until they exhaust all avenues and then symptoms of something else appear. Therapy can often help but it's getting someone to see that in the first place.

I want to make it really clear that this is in no way an attack on anybody who posts here for help but more to raise awareness of just how bad HA can be, how it often manifests itself in trying to make a disease/illness match the symptoms, rather than the other way around. I have seen posts here which have made me wonder if the poster is possibly suffering from HA - I also saw it on the cancer forum that I used. I appreciate that diabetes diagnosis isn't straightforward and I certainly don't profess to be an expert, LADA, reactive hypoglycaemia (or is it hyper?) etc I know very little - if anything- about. But I would think twice when posters have been tested repeatedly, often for long periods of time, show no diagnosis of any sort and continue to insist they have diabetes. I haven't had the best experiences with doctors like so many here and know just how difficult some of them can be, but I honestly believe that in these type of scenarios, we should consider that maybe the poster does not actually have diabetes but possibly Health Anxiety. A big part of the problem is as I mentioned above, anxiety in it's acute stages can produce a whole heap of very disturbing physical effects, NOT imagined, but real. And therein lies the problem - HA tells the sufferer they absolutely have the illness they fear, being advised to push for more and more tests, to not be satisfied until they get answers/diagnosis can actually make things a hell of a lot worse as it is reinforcing the belief there is something very wrong with them. I have included a link to the site I used to use, I hope it will be allowed by the mod team as it is a reputable site. Just scroll down and look under Health Anxiety. Worth taking a look at I think. http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/forum.php

 

[phoenix]

Thank you ladybird.
I'm not certain how to reply but I certainly recognise the truth in your post.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

I agree with you and have seen a few cases that I think are like this on the forum recently. It's a horrible illness because the belief that they do have a physical illness makes it so hard for them to hear people when they suggest it might be HA.

On the other hand, I spent 10 years asking doctors to do something about my heavy, painful periods, to no avail. I was told repeatedly that it couldn't be something like endometriosis, and that it was part of being a woman and to take pain relief and ride it out. Finally, a competent gastroenterologist sent me to a gynaecologist who proved by biopsy and photos from the surgery that I had severe endometriosis. 10 years! Let that sink in. If I had been desperately trying to have a baby and couldn't, the delayed diagnosis might have been the problem. I suffered so much, unnecessarily. I can never forgive those doctors who fobbed me off, when they had a duty to know the signs and get me the diagnostic surgery.

So, sometimes, people should be believed about the physical symptoms, while other times, the best thing for them would be to stop and listen, and learn about HA and get treatment for it.

The hard part is figuring out which problem they have. I encourage people to seek diagnosis of their physical symptoms, so that actual illness is not missed. But there comes a point where the likelihood of actual illness is low, and they appear to have the hallmarks of HA.

If you strike this and you're getting bashed about it in a thread, tag me and I will come and look at it and probably back you up.