I started peri pause at 39 I'm now 40.... Anyway, here lately I go in panic mode every time I feel something different about my body... I start totally freaking out, and sometimes I even swear I'm looking to find things wrong with my body....
Please don't think I'm crazy... For example I have been doing alot of gardening, and I got sore below my breast in between there and my rib cage, well I started freaking out and then my sister told me more than likely you have pulled somthing out of place, so she suggested me using a heating pad and ibuprofren, its alot better now still a litlle sore but I tell you before I talked to her I got it in my head something awful was wrong. While rubbing some muscle rub on that area I also think I felt a small like lump knot under the skin, but I think there is one on the other side of me in that area so here I am now freaking out again, not knowing if its fatty tissue or muscle or what.... Please help me here am I totally loosing it here.
Now where I have felt around of that area so much I have made it score.
About a month ago I got a sinus infection and ear infection in both ears and had a limp node to swell on the right side of my neck and never had that to happen before with a sinus and ear infection and yes I totally went balistic thinking something was horribly wrong with me. So, now here I sat freaking out again over whatever this is I'm feeling under my skin.
What is wrong with me, I hate this I feel like it is controlling me, I constanly worry something is horribly wrong with me. Has anyone experienced this if so please tell me what I should do.... I can't keep going through this.

Hi sdblue

I know exactly how you feel as I'm in that faze now myself with the extreme health anxiety. I don't watch TV programs like House or ER or Greys Anatomy anymore in case there is someone on there with a symptom like I think I have and I'll start to panic that maybe that's whats wrong with me......I discovered a breast lump nearly 2 yrs ago just after I turned 39 and that has been the catalyst to what I'm like now. Thankfully the lump turned out to be fatty tissue only but I had myself dead and buried within minutes of leaving the doctors office. I never used to be like this and now I'm all consumed with having some illness. I'm actually in pretty good health I think as deep down my gut instinct is telling me I'm perfectly fine but my dumass head is saying something different. I find not exposing myself to too much doom and gloom concerning other peoples health issues seems to keep me sane for now. My anxiety goes through the roof every month at the same time (when my body is trying to ovulate) and I feel real awful when I get my period (lightheadedness is worse then and insomnia) but after I supposedly ovulate I feel more in control and happier until I get my period and then it all starts over again. My doctor thinks I'm too young (41 soon) for menopause but I tell him it's not menopause but perimenopause and he doesn't seem to know what I'm talking about. I've had some bloods done and everything was normal and the hormone levels I had done last year showed my estrogen to be a little on the low side then so who knows what it's like now. I seem to suffer with post menstral syndrome rather than pre menstral syndrome lol.

I just take each day as it comes now and I'm about to keep a peri journal to map my cycle and the weird symptoms I get at certain times of the month so I have a written reference for future use and it may be of some help to my daughter one day when she approaches this stage of her life. I just have to tell myself that each month at a certain time I'm going to feel crappy for a few days then I'm going to feel real crappy for another few days then I'll even out for a week or maybe more if I'm lucky so in that time when I'm good make the most of how good it is and live in the moment and not take any notice of some of the weird things going on in my body. Most of my doctor visits have been at the same time every month (when trying to ovulate) so there is definitely a hormonal pattern emerging there even if the doc keeps telling me it's just anxiety, yes I agree it's anxiety caused from my freaking HORMONES man!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo just wanted to reassure you that you're not alone in all this and I have found great comfort on this site and a little anxiety at times when I read too many things that fuel my health anxiety so now I'm selective as to what I expose myself to. And the ladies that indulge in the insta chat are fabulous and a good distraction (anything that makes you laugh is good medicine and boy do they make me laugh sometimes ) so try not to worry too much as worry leads to stress and stress is the #1 precurser to many ailments.......

Hi Rox & sdblue

Oh I so know what you are talking about. Health anxiety is one of my worst peri symptoms. Even today I am struggling with it for a sore throat low down around my adam's apple that I've had for a few days ...a sore throat I ask you? Why am I worried about that? Well it may have started with an ulcer or scratch, but now I am thinking I may have an infection or worse. The sore throat is in a weird low down place Ugh!

I have had some one-to-one therapy in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which does give me some tools to fight it with, but it doesn't take away the anxious thoughts in the first place. Maybe with time and practise I am hoping they will decrease. I have to keep trying to reassure myself of the most likely, least serious reason for a symptom. It's hard work. I have posted about the techniques I was taught on PS if you wanted to search. Also Suziesmiff has posted the notes that she took on a group-based course. I also have acupuncture for general anxiety (& palps) which has helped somewhat but my next session is a week away.

I am 42 so also share the problem about the docs not recognising me being in peri too. They are taught that it is something that you get at 50, for 2 years or so, just before the menopause.

sdblue - I wonder whether you have inflamed rib cartlidge (costochondritis). There are several people posted about it on here - quite common in peri. I have it from time to time - it is not serious. You can get I anywhere on your rib cage.

Rox - yes I cannot watch any of those program's either or read women's magazines for fear of learning something that will start me worrying in the future. The only programs that I can watch are about children born with a birth defect or something that I know neither myself or my family will ever develop.

OMG squiggle you are so like me in only watching the things that you know you can't possible get....We are such a weird bunch aren't we . And I'll rip out the pages of an article in the magazine that I buy weekly if it's regarding any health disorder before I read it...........

And sdblue, squiggle is right about the possibility of it being Costochondritis as this was one of the first peri symptoms that would start my health anxiety and I still get this pain around my ribs on ocassion but that is the least of my worries now, my health anxiety has moved onto bigger and better things like MS Lupus RA and many other degenerative disorders which is not unlike many other women on this site from what I have read so that has put my mind at ease that I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

But like I said earlier I'm more inclined to think this way at certain times of my cycle and at other times I can think perfectly rationally.

Anyhoo I'm off to bed now to hopefully sleep for the whole night without any weird stuff to annoy me (that includes the hubby getting fresh lol )

Catch yous later

Hey Rox - don't you just freeze up when you see the front page of a magazine that mentions Breast Cancer or something equally awful?
Also I just dare not read some of the serious health issue threads on this site in case it sets me off! I am scared to learn anything new healthwise.
If someone speaks to me about someone with cancer or describes some surgical horror story, I just freeze inside with fear.

Yes it is such a relief to feel that we are not alone.

Have a good sleep - I am in the UK, so your night is my daytime.

Hi squiggle, rox,

I'm so with you in this!
When I first started peri, some of my symptoms then were and still are very similar to some of MS/lupus like diseases.
I have been through a lot of tests to rule those out and I was falsely diagnosed with lupus and took medication for over a year!
Anyway I posted this story somewhere else, but what I wanted to tell is that in that very stressful period of tests, waiting for results, doctors visits etc. I bought 1 magazine and two books to distract myself a little from horrible thoughts. In each of the books the protagonist had MS and in the magazine there was an article of a young woman having it and in the same week there was an article on it in my local newspaper! This is not a joke although it sounds unbelievable!
I thought at that time this had to be a "sign" or a "message" for me having it also... !You can imagine how I have been feeling for a very long time and still do from time to time... .
I really don't want to learn anything new healthwise anymore. I don't look at tv programs about serious life-threathening health issues or read about them.
I don't want to listen to people talking about them. This may sound like I am selfish and uninterested but I am not. I just know that I am very sensitive and I have to protect myself and take really good care of myself especially in this period of my life.
I believe that the more we have negative thoughts and anxiety about our health, the more we will "see" of it! That's what happened to me!

Nic

I can tell you that from reading these posts this is a very common anxiety disorder for women in this "era". I suffer from worries myself, it seems not a day goes by that something does not cross my mind regarding my health. I do not want to feel ripped off, like i am spending my free time in worry, what a waste. On the other hand what a battle to rationalize and let it go.

I won;t even get into what the ailment is now. I just try to find a way to resolve the ill at ease feeling whether I try logic or see the Dr and talk it over. I don;t care if I have to see my Dr even if I feel like a nut, she likes me and has been very good about taking time with me when needed. We have discussed my anxiety and i was going to try some meds but changed jobs and thought maybe not a good time. Its still an option. In the interim I try to not obsess when I am not busy.

WE ARE NOT ALONE! (and we are lovable nuts!)

I go thru the same thing on a daily basis. everything you all have said, its me! It really is a dtruggle every day. I have gotten us into debt from going to the Dr. or the ER so many times. Its like i cant help myself, when i get something "stuck" in my head and i obssess over it, i cant put it to rest until ive been seen and ressured that its not going to kill me! that usually means ultrasounds of heart, legs, neck... MRI's on my knees stomach and head... blood work over and over... out of control. i can only watch certain things on tv and read certain books and certain artcles in magazines. its all me.! I wish there was a support group in my town for this. Oh and the ads on tv for all the drugs and their side effects?!!!! Its like theyre shoving it down our throats!! I have a medicine phobia now and its only made my health anxiety worse because if i DO get sick with something i'll have to take meds for it and that scares the hell out of me! I need a tivo so i can block out all those ads.

Thanks You All For Sharing..... It gets very frustrating. I get very angry at myself for this and I have a lot of shame and guilt at the same time.. Mostly for doing this to myself. My children proably thinks I'm totally whacky especially my 16 year old daughter. She's like mom stop it quit worrying over every little thing.
My hubby for the most part is understanding, but even once in a while you can tell I get on his nerves.. But I hate going to the doctor, I even panic when I think I'm going to have to go. so afraid they will tell me something horrible, and I honestly don't think that I could handle it right now..
Plus my mother has lost 2 sisters to cancer and now she has a brother with terminal cancer. So you can imagine what that does to my mental state of mind.
I went and visited my mom's brother yesterday, and it was very very hard. I kept putting it off not because I don't care, but it just kills me to see anyone like this and it also sends my mind into over-drive..
I do a lot of praying and that helps a whole lot. I just know that it helps to know that your not alone, that many of us are going through alot of the same things.

The health anxiety also was the worst for me and still is to a point. I am seven years post and have more or less reconciled to the fact that I have lived a good life, am 61 and if something does happen, be it a diagnosis or "keeling" over, then so be it. With that mind set, I am able to cope with a brown spot on my skin, a strange ache anywhere in my body, eye sight becoming more blurred, etc. Maybe that is the secret "taking one day at a time" and finding something about that day that makes one feel good. Just being alive and in reasonably good health is good enough for me.

Hi Nic & squiggle

I can so relate to your experiences and especially about opening a book or magazine and completely by chance it will be on a page about MS or something like that which is worrying us and as you said we think it's like some kind of sign that we do have it......

And yes squiggle I do freeze up when something about breast cancer comes on the telly or is in a magazine so like I said I'll rip out the pages and burn them before I can read them and I'll change channels on telly to avoid watching anything medical. It just seems to be the best way of dealing with the exposure at this present time in my life. I have read heaps about anxiety and health anxiety and it's the power of suggestibility that feeds it. It's almost like if you read about a symptom even if you don't have it at the time you can almost guarantee that within minutes you'll be feeling it lol

Anyhoo I have found distraction to be quite good for occupying the mind but that in itself can be quite exhausting trying to be busy all the time when sometimes you just want to blob and kind of daydream into oblivion

Well I'm off to do my volunteer work at my daughters school this morning and I'm having my hair coloured this arvo and I can't wait for that (I'm a hairdresser so you can imagine how bad my own hair looks )

Catch you all later

Rox

Count me in ladies!

I've posted numerous times about this very topic. It was so bad a couple of weeks ago that I was actually worried I was going crazy. I used to love to read medical books just to gain knowledge, but now it scares me too much. It doesn't help that I have aches and pains in every possible body part. And every time one of them tweaks, the panic starts. But it's not ongoing. Something seems to be setting it off and it lasts for only a few days. I'm tracking my symptoms in a notebook right now to see if there's a pattern. I thought it was around ovulation time, but I'm not sure about that now.

Boy, we are all in the same boat!!!!
The anxiety started on me in april. my doc put me on lexapro, and it has helped with the shaking and pacing considerably.
but, now i worry what the Lexapro could be doing to me.
i want to wean off of it, but, i am really afraid of the tremors, missed sleep, pacing, etc. that was happening before.
so, i just take it one step at a time.
i just tell myself, i have only been on the lexapro 1 and a half months. not so bad.
and, if i feel a lump, pain, etc, i still start to get a little nervous, so, now is not the time to wean off ...... yet.
I bought the Claire Weekes book, to deal with phobia and anxiety. it is helping,.
and, knowing i have done everything in MY power to be healthy, that, if i do get ill, it is meant to be and all the worry in the world isn't going to help, woory will just aggravate the situation.
Reading this fourm helps too!!!!! Knowing i am not the only one out here!!!!!
hugs to all!!!!
lulubell

Hi, Lulubell,

I know what you mean about worrying about medications. I am constantly agonizing over whether to take something or not. If the lexapro is helping, maybe you might stay with it a bit. Everything has trade-offs it seems. I'm chicken to even start the lexapro until I get my hormones straightened out. I'll probably be chicken then, too!

If you do decide to wean off, ask your doc for a rx for liquid lexapro. I've heard that it makes it easier when quitting the med. You decrease it by a tiny amt. from week to week.

Still, if I had something that was working for me, I'd stick with it for a bit.

Good luck!

Colleen

I am so glad I found this thread! This is my first time posting on Power Surge, I just recently found this site and have been reading and trying to learn and absorb as much information as I can.

I truly have been freaking out lately!! I was sure I was going crazy or becoming a hypochondriac or something, I just can't tell you how relieved I am to find out that this is a "normal" part of the perimenopause process.

My biggest fear is cancer. I am so phobic about even reading or listening to anything that mentions any kind of cancer. Right now I am convinced that I have cancer of the cervix, vagine, uterus, ovaries....one or all of the above. I've been having strange bleeding and everything I've read on the internet mentions the big "C". I did see my doctor last week, had a pap smear done on Wednesday and an ultrasound on Friday....I don't know the results yet. But I am literally driving myself crazy with worry. Yesterday I sat here and cried most of the day. I am scared to death, and I don't know how to deal with it.

I can relate to how you're feeling 'twodogmom' as recently my dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer and has since had a huge operation to remove part of his bowel. When my mum first told me of his diagnosis I was really angry and scared to heck as I've suffered for most of my adult life with IBS so you can imagine what thoughts were going around in my head. This only made me feel more guilty too as I was obsessing about myself and my problems when poor old dad was the one going through it. Long story short his prognosis has been excellent and no need for chemo or radiation as it hasnt spread so a huge relief all around so now I tell myself if I'm going to inherit that from him then I'll be fine too since he is lol Weird reasoning I know but it's what gets me through each day now.

And yes the hypochondria seems to be a normal part of peri for a lot of us. If it isn't one thing it's another that we obsess about. I have been sure I have one thing or another over the past year or so since this started for me and I still haven't got it under control yet. I just don't expose myself to too much doom and gloom now and stay away from googling symptoms and watching medical programs.

I have succumbed to taking a mild AD for the anxiety and this has helped to calm me enough to reason logically about my symptoms. I just can't handle any additional stress at this moment as that seems to set me right back to where I started, my body is still very sensitized to the adrenaline rush that shock and stress can activate.

The Dr Claire Weeks books that others have recommended are brilliant, I have three of them and read them when I need to remind myself of what anxiety can do to your body. It seems to be when you get used to one symptom and it no longer worries you your body throws in a new one just to freak you out and set you back again......

I'm sure all will be okay with your tests and don't google the internet anymore with symptoms as one symptom can be a symptom of many many things most of which will be minor but they only mention the few bad ones on the net, probably just to scare us poor peri women as we don't seem to have much self control to not google lol Curious creatures that we are .....I must have been a cat in a former life lol

I can soooooooo relate to this thread....my health anxiety is through the roof right now since having a hysterectomy...I guess all thought peri my biggest fear has been my heart, with having palps and sometimes a racing heartbeart at times during my peri years... I also have panic disorder which doesn't help. Then four years ago, my husband, who was only 47 at the time, had a heart attack....so of course now I have a total fear of having one myself...the fear consumes me at times. I have gotten a few odd chest pains from time to time during peri, but my EKG's are alway good...I just had an EKG last week that was just fine. But yesterday and today, I have had a few brief twinges of pain in my chest in the early morning..actually it feels more like a brief adrenaline rush that actual pain....it never lasts but a few seconds to minute or two and the rest of the day I am fine....but it never fails to kick my health anxiety into high gear....I am afraid of every little strange thing I feel going on with my body...this all stinks so bad!!!!!!! I was to feel normal again and not worry about every little body sensation.

Hi girls!
yes-I have health anxiety too! However, I've had mine since I was 10. Unfortunately, peri, with all it's weird symptoms is not a good time if you suffer from HA! Mine took off big time when I started peri but seeing a CBT therapist has helped quite a bit. I now tend to stop my mind racing & catastrophizing & say to myself 'well, it will either get worse or get better. If it gets worse I'll just go to the doctor.'
Most times it just disappears. Sometimes I can do this but then other times I can be completely irrational & find it hard to reassure myself but I am getting better at not panicking straight away. I have also tried very hard not to google stuff!

Once my husband & I were watching a programme called 'Casualty' ( like your ER) & I was able to diagnose every single case correctly before the 'doctors' did!
When my son had to go to a big childrens hospital for a consultation ( he had flattening of the back of his head due to positioning ) there were about 8 medical professionals there so it was a bit intimidating. The main consultant was talking about his head & I finished his sentence for him using the word 'suture'. He asked me if I worked in the medical field & I said 'no-I'm a hypochondriac' They all started laughing-at least it broke the ice.!
If I read any medical stuff or see it on tv, I seem to be really good at storing this information & if I, or someone else, gets a symptom, my mind automatically retrieves the condition it could be linked to-not a good thing at all because my mind just jumps to conclusions.
Having said that, I once read about a condition that affects babies & small children called bronchiolitis which can make them quite ill. A couple of weeks later my baby boy was in his cot & I noticed he wasn't breathing properly, kind of forced out breath, I immediately thought it could be this & the next day he was admitted to hospital. He was poorly for afew days but made a full recovery a week later so it can be a useful thing too I suppose. Most of the time though, I think a little knowledge can be dangerous.

I do get very annoyed with other peoples attitude to this fear though. People make fun of it & just don't understand how awful it can be. Do they really think we enjoy worrying ourselves sick over every little symptom? Mental health issues can often be very poorly understood & tolerated, most people just think it's something to laugh about. Having said that I often use humour to deal with it but when it's bad it's not funny at all!!
There's a UK website that is set up for people dealing with panic & anxiety & it has a very good section on health anxiety which I found very useful. If you google 'no more panic' you should find it.

I feel for all of you dealing with this, I know how awful it can be & it's very hard to get support & understanding from doctors, family & friends-but don't worry because you can always come to PS where there are loads of us struggling with this!!
Hope you're all having a good day!
love Sarah xx

I didn't realise anxiety over health issues were a peri/meno symptom, thank god!! I wondered why I kept worrying about every little twinge that was happening in my body convinced it was something more sinister.

After having anxiety and panic attacks that have control over, (I still have anxiety to a degree when I seem hormonal) I never gave the health issue a thought of being anxiety until I read sdblue's comments. Well now I can look at this problem differently. Thank you! I have seen a councellor and will use the tools I have been taught to try and stop these thoughts. I guess when we age the body starts to do all sorts of weird things, chest pains, back pains, joint pains, mouth ulcers etc and so after not having any pain what so ever it becomes a shock and so we always think the worst.

Cheers choco

I really thought that I was going crazy until I read on this board that health anxiety during peri-pause/menapause is quite common. I found a fatty lump above my rib cage and breast and I went crazy, went to my doctor and he said it was fatty tissue, I even asked him twice are you sure???
I'm on colonpin for my nerve and anxiety issues, he wants me to take two a day for 10 days and then only take them when I feel a attack coming on, well thats about everyday seems like, but I'm so afraid of getting addicted to the things. Well Ladies just know that we are on this roller coaster ride together only this ride seems to keep going, but I know there will be a end sooner or later.

My heart just aches for all the anxiety people here are going through - as I know too well those feelings. I began symtoms of total anxiety along with a toxic fear of cancer when I was in my early thirties. In the space of about 4 years I lost both my parents, my grandmother and a aunt. After that I never was the same. I lived my whole life "waiting for the other shoe to drop". I went through a phase when my children were young of not wanting to hug or touch them for fear I'd find a lump on them. If any medical problem arose that didn't have a specific reason, I would completely lose control. A pap smear or mammogram would paralyze me with fear. I would hide in the closet, unable to function at all. Through the years I spoke with my doctor - but I never felt like she really understood the extent of the anxiety and panic. She sent me to a psychiatrist who gave me relaxation tapes and sent me home. My husband was fed up with the emotional turmoil I was constantly going through so I had to learn to hide it from him. Finally, last year my dr. put me on two drugs - clonazapam for anxiety and citalopram for depression. The combination seems to work - but now I'm going through some medical problems - some bleeding after 2 years of menopause - and I'm barely holding on. I do have an appt. with a gyno on August 7 for an endometrial biopsy (even the work biopsy makes me shake) - I don't know how I'm going to make it that long - I'm convincing myself I must have ovarian cancer. I have no answers for this anxiety - but in my experience I've learned that you have to try tolove yourself first and don't blame yourself for your anxiety. Join a gym, keep as active as you can, pamper yourself with a facial, read good books and keep away from anything medical related. I will add everyone suffering from this terrible disease - because it is a disease - to my prayers. Good luck to all of you.

Let's just say that health anxiety tends to rule my life (not all the time, though quite often).

Health anxiety put an end to my crush on George Clooney! I could no longer watch George on ER, every episode caused me to go to bed convinced that I had whatever was the diagnosis of the evening. House was another favorite of mine, I just adore Hugh Laurie. Nope, had to scratch that one as well. According to me, I had the extremely rare and utterly bazaar sickness that Hugh's patients were suffering from. I had to also scratch Grey's Anatomy, Dateline, and Strong Medicine off my viewing list as well.

I drive my husband, mother, father, brother, and closest friends absolutely crazy with my self-diagnosis. I'm doing everything in my power to turn this around so that my son does not become a hypochondriac. Now I have a breat biopsy coming up, and if it weren't for all these wonderful and supportive ladies, I would be in a total tailspin!

We are all in this together, and we'll come through this together as well.

(((HUGS)))
Karen

I wish I could remember the medical term for this phenomenon - feeling the symptoms of the disease/condition. It's prevalent in med school/nursing school. And yes, with so many medical shows on TV, if one is prone to health anxiety I can see where you might succomb to this phenomenon. I watch House all of the time - one of my fave shows albiet a bit ridiculous at times.

Marrin - my doc and CBT counsellor call it Health Anxiety as it's medical name.

I like this topic as I relate to it totally, I do not watch any hospital programs at all, I do not read about anything to do with any illness, if i do then I am sure i have a symptom or two, Why do we become so health concious during this time in our lives, as a teenager we are a bit more care free, no alot more, as we get older, we worry about everything and most of the time we worry ourselves to death over something we dont even have. Its as if we are looking for some serious illness, isnt it really a bit scary, i wonder if i am like this now in my late 30's what will i be like in my 40's or 50's ???

Is it that simple??? For some reason I remember it having a very long medical name - but it's been so long......

HYPOCHONDRIA?

Hi everyone,
you know when doctors & medical staff suffer from this during their training & fret that they have one of the conditions that they're studying, they should be forced to really examine how they're feeling so that when they come across patients who have health anxiety then maybe they could think back to their own experiences & be abit more understanding & empathetic!
I know that with health anxiety you have to learn to reassure yourself rather than keep going to the doctor but if the doctor recognised this in the first place & worked on helping you cope with HA then it would save his time & maybe your sanity!!
Just a thought! I like to get on my soapbox for this subject as I think it is a very misunderstood condition & I get really annoyed at how people-including doctors-treat those of us with it. I don't think it's taken seriously enough & recognised as a real health problem in it's own right.
Vent over!
Sarah xx

Hi everyone,
you know when doctors & medical staff suffer from this during their training & fret that they have one of the conditions that they're studying, they should be forced to really examine how they're feeling so that when they come across patients who have health anxiety then maybe they could think back to their own experiences & be abit more understanding & empathetic!
I know that with health anxiety you have to learn to reassure yourself rather than keep going to the doctor but if the doctor recognised this in the first place & worked on helping you cope with HA then it would save his time & maybe your sanity!!
Just a thought! I like to get on my soapbox for this subject as I think it is a very misunderstood condition & I get really annoyed at how people-including doctors-treat those of us with it. I don't think it's taken seriously enough & recognised as a real health problem in it's own right.
Vent over!
Sarah xx

oops sorry! Just came back to my computer & thought I hadn't sent the first one!

Vent away - It's so uplifting to find that I'm not alone in this - my sister suffers too and we feel like we're sometimes all alone in the world. I can say that I'm definitely not a hypocondriac. I'll do ANYTHING to avoid doctors, hospitals, clinics - that's part of the fear for me. I go only when the fear becomes so overwhelming that my husband makes me. I've had the same dr. for years and I've tried so many times to explain to her - but she just doesn't get it - I think she takes it as some sort of insult that I'm afraid to even be in her office. I often watch these shows where they have people with phobias of "red balloons" or "clowns" or "kittens" and they're actually taking this seriously and giving these people help - it just seems to me that those of us suffering with our fears are just left on our own to cope. Doesn't seem very fair.

Guess my vent is over too...

No, not that either. Now it's bugging me and I'll have to yank my books out and start looking........

Just googled this because it was annoying me too & found 2 terms
'medical students disease' ( duh! l & 'nosophobia'.
Are either of these right?!
Sarah xx

"noso" would be disease, so fear of disease. I'll bet that's it! Thanks Sarah