Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: EnglishRose on October 28, 2018, 04:29:31 PM
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So the title says it all.
I believe it's absolutely possible. I think I've done this to myself or rather im wondering
I've been obsessing over a rare specific nerve disorder for a month and I'm wondering if I can undo the damage.
Health anxiety means we can lay down neural pathways in our brain so that we think the symptoms are there when actually we've made them appear by obsessing and worrying and reading other true sufferers experiences.
Anyone had this phenomenon and got past it ?
X
https://learn.mytherapist.ie/courses/overcoming-health-anxiety-using-cbt-and-neuroscience/lectures/1770562
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Yes I believe the mind is a powerful thing and can make us experience the very symptoms we're panicking over.
An illness I constantly panicked over for quite a while had me going to A&E where I was diagnosed with something minor but I didn't tell the Dr what I thought I had but asked why then did I have this other symptom and he said ‘it's psychological'. As soon as he said that and confirmed I didn't have said illness the symptom disappeared!
I've had HA for years. When I'm in a good place I laugh thinking if all the supposed illnessss I've convinced myself I've had but when I'm in the throes of an attack it's very hard to rationalise and convince myself it's all in my head!
It's a viscious circle and I hate that I have it. Peri menopause has actually made it worse ☹️
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Yes I believe the mind is a powerful thing and can make us experience the very symptoms we're panicking over.
An illness I constantly panicked over for quite a while had me going to A&E where I was diagnosed with something minor but I didn't tell the Dr what I thought I had but asked why then did I have this other symptom and he said ‘it's psychological'. As soon as he said that and confirmed I didn't have said illness the symptom disappeared!
I've had HA for years. When I'm in a good place I laugh thinking if all the supposed illnessss I've convinced myself I've had but when I'm in the throes of an attack it's very hard to rationalise and convince myself it's all in my head!
It's a viscious circle and I hate that I have it. Peri menopause has actually made it worse ☹️
Hmm 🤔
I'm wondering if I've fallen down the rabbit hole myself. This is new to me truky, whilst I google symptoms I always always look for common and benign causes bc I know the worst ones come up first in search.
This one has me by the short and curlies though... not a very common symptom so not much in the way of benign reasons to find.
I'm going to buy that online course I linked to in my first thread I was crying watching that video as it describes what I'm doing to a T.
It's onky 79euros I'd pay 100x that to be happy and at peace x
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I think that we can talk ourselves into symptoms. As a phobic if anyone sneezed or said that they felt sick I was GONE ..... feet didn't touch the ground and I had the symptoms without the bug :'(
It didn't matter that they weren't in my space for that long :-\
I cannot feel symptoms that I am not aware of. i.e. I can sympathise if someone says that they are full of cold but I can't represent those feelings of dry throat, itchy eyes etc..
We can worry that X, Y, Z might be O, O, O! I then have to ask 'what's the worst that could happen?' and make note of when symptoms happen and the fact that I survived last time ::)
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Yes absolutely! It's like an anti-placebo effect.
Phantom pregnancy is the most common one and for those who convince themselves enough, their hormones will start to behave as if they're pregnant and physical signs will occur.
Perimenopause causes higher stress hormones due to the hormonal volatility so any anxiety becomes magnified.
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Yup - 100 percent you can 'make symptoms occur' with your strong mental responses. I worked with a student who wasn't actually disabled, but was in a wheelchair, cathaterised, had spasms, was unable to do anything for herself physically at all as could only move her hands and head. She spent a few years like this, but as hard as it was to believe, she had nothing physically wrong with her at all. She is now a 'normal' (sorry, not that I think disability is not normal, but can't find an appropriate word to use) healthy young woman, walking, talking, eating and the same as any other with no disability.
In my 20s I had a major anxiety episode and was entirely convinced I had a brain tumour. For a few eeks, my left side became weaker and 'unable to function' and eventually I could barely use it and was falling on that side. I had a smaller eye on that side, pain on that side of my head, had tingling and pins and needles and assorted other symptoms. (Expect there was nothing wrong) The mind is VERY powerful and - can it be unlearnt you asked? Yes, its totally and entirely reversible as my subsequent 3 decades prove. lol
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If you want to see a huge number of examples of people having 'developed symptoms' and being 100% certain of them, you only have to look at the Health Anxiety board on 'No More Panic'!
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I hope this is the case as I'm feeling really scared and anxious right now. My stomach pains are still there and not getting better. Spoke to the doctor on the phone earlier and she said it didn't sound like a perforation and she thought my gut just didn't like being subjected to all the gas so she thought it was gas related. I'm hoping my anxiety is actually making it worse rather that there being something awfully wrong.
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I hope this is the case as I'm feeling really scared and anxious right now. My stomach pains are still there and not getting better. Spoke to the doctor on the phone earlier and she said it didn't sound like a perforation and she thought my gut just didn't like being subjected to all the gas so she thought it was gas related. I'm hoping my anxiety is actually making it worse rather that there being something awfully wrong.
I think your Dr is right as it's same with anxiety being a cause of IBS. No wonder the bowel gets irritated with all the worry we put ourselves through with anxiety. Like when people get nervous before an interview say and always feel the need for the loo. Anxiety causes the bowel to be irritated.
On the lines of what Carys was saying when my young son was in hospital there was an older boy who came in with a problem with his leg and foot and was on crutches. He had all sorts of tests but they couldn't find anything wrong with him although he insisted he could not walk on that leg. In the end they put it down to anxiety and said it was all psychological!
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I hope this is the case as I'm feeling really scared and anxious right now. My stomach pains are still there and not getting better. Spoke to the doctor on the phone earlier and she said it didn't sound like a perforation and she thought my gut just didn't like being subjected to all the gas so she thought it was gas related. I'm hoping my anxiety is actually making it worse rather that there being something awfully wrong.
Me too. To help you ease your anxiety when my anxiety was higher I would often feel like a needed a BM but I didn't. And when ever I did hsve a bm it stung like when u get the runs.
That's passed now, but it shows the link to the bowels and stomach. (I have chronic constipation so I NEVER get those kind of symptoms)
My mood lifted before bc I decided it was all in my head but then had two uncomfortable hours and all my confidence went.
I'd inserted a Vagifem pessary this afternoon and it triggered symptoms to my bits which is what I'm anxious about.
I also have nerve like restless sensations to my buttocks lower back upper back and legs, like someone's walked over my grave, shivery shudders without being cold.
That admittedly could be anxiety but it's not a typical symptom of anxiety for me.
I've spent a month of FT all day every day googling symptoms of a rare nerve disorder so I know the symptoms inside out... and discovered this horrible rare nerve disorder the very same day I had the mildest of symptoms... little twinges to my clitoris... it's morphed into something much more uncomfortable now and I'm torn... have I made my symptoms?
would that twinge have faded away had I never googled and found that dreaded disorder?
I think it's hormonal bc at the same time my appetite for food has gone through the roof when normally anxiety makes me not want to eat anything.
Plus my feet are always cold too...
I've read on these forums several women who had physical arousal without causevor trigger as a result of HRT or lack of and I know I'm low on oestrogen with Progesterone being dominant.
Am I just experiencing too much testosterone causeing an unusual high libido the likes of which I've never experienced before?
It's makimg me miserable with fear. 😞
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Yes I believe the mind is a powerful thing and can make us experience the very symptoms we're panicking over.
An illness I constantly panicked over for quite a while had me going to A&E where I was diagnosed with something minor but I didn't tell the Dr what I thought I had but asked why then did I have this other symptom and he said ‘it's psychological'. As soon as he said that and confirmed I didn't have said illness the symptom disappeared!
I've had HA for years. When I'm in a good place I laugh thinking if all the supposed illnessss I've convinced myself I've had but when I'm in the throes of an attack it's very hard to rationalise and convince myself it's all in my head!
I'm at the end of peri now... been through the bs symptoms thr typical symptoms since I turned 40 I'm 50in jan.
I think my ovaries are on their last legs and trying to compensate for lack of eggs.
I knew it all got serious a year before the grande finale but I didn't expect a mega increased libido the likes of which I've never experienced in my 50 years, many women embrace it.,, I crawl into my bed and fall apart lol
It's a viscious circle and I hate that I have it. Peri menopause has actually made it worse ☹️
I knew peri was at its worst a year before the grande finale I expected an increase in existing symptoms... this one has me baffled
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I think that we can talk ourselves into symptoms. As a phobic if anyone sneezed or said that they felt sick I was GONE ..... feet didn't touch the ground and I had the symptoms without the bug :'(
It didn't matter that they weren't in my space for that long :-\
I cannot feel symptoms that I am not aware of. i.e. I can sympathise if someone says that they are full of cold but I can't represent those feelings of dry throat, itchy eyes etc..
We can worry that X, Y, Z might be O, O, O! I then have to ask 'what's the worst that could happen?' and make note of when symptoms happen and the fact that I survived last time ::)
The worst that can happen is it gets worse and I'm not strong enough to cope. I've read about the author of My Menopausal Vagina I've seen her posts right back to the start of her truly horrible ordeal. I take comfort that she's much better now. But I'm sure I couldn't cope with what she had to live with. Strong lady she is, ❤️
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Absolutely yes! Our mind plays a huge role in the way we perceive the reality.
I was in panic a year ago. I thought that I would age immediately and die...
Our fear can cause a lot of dark thoughts and increases health anxiety for sure!
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Very interesting and certainly you can increase the intensity of symptoms by thinking about them. I get locked into the cycle of worry where I think about my symptoms non stop, which amplifies them and makes me worry more because of the physical sensations.
I've definitely got a problem with anxiety in general and I wish I could find a way to overcome it.
And as for “what's the worst that could happenâ€. Well same for me Rose, it would be I couldn't cope and would end it all.
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So the title says it all.
I believe it's absolutely possible. I think I've done this to myself or rather im wondering
I've been obsessing over a rare specific nerve disorder for a month and I'm wondering if I can undo the damage.
Health anxiety means we can lay down neural pathways in our brain so that we think the symptoms are there when actually we've made them appear by obsessing and worrying and reading other true sufferers experiences.
Anyone had this phenomenon and got past it ?
X
https://learn.mytherapist.ie/courses/overcoming-health-anxiety-using-cbt-and-neuroscience/lectures/1770562
I have had this problem too but haven't really found a solution as yet despite trying to persuade myself. I get it just before I am due to go on holiday. I develop symptoms and have occasionally cancelled the trip. On occasions when I didn't cancel, the symptoms have sometimes disappeared once I am there (but not always). Friends ask me why I am worried about the trip. That misses the point. I am not worried about the actual trip but about being ill during it and causing inconvenience for other people! the overall effect is that I don't enjoy the anticipation of the holiday as much as I could do. When I do cancel, I usually regret it afterwards but hindsight is an annoying thing and each individual event is different......!
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Once I have made the decision not to do something planned the anxiety is relieved. I am back in control and do not have to justify myself to others. For me it's a physical surge of nausea .......... which certain situations will make worse. I no longer look at what is on at Theatre/Folk Clubs nor do I track where my friends are playing as the more important to me the more likely anxiety will happen and ruin it :'(
I never wanted to die, simply to sleep until the pain went away. So that I could wake and know that I would never suffer anxiety.
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I remember many years ago I suffered quite badly with health anxiety and one time in particular I had nagging tooth and jaw pain for about 18 months. On and on it went despite various tests which came up with no reason. So every day I was focused on this pain. As soon as I woke up my first thought was about how I was feeling and how was the pain and this fed the anxiety and the physical symptoms.
Well someone in my family had an accident with possibly devastating consequences which would have affected them/us personally and financially. I got such a shock that this pain I had been experiencing just vanished in an instant. I stopped thinking about it and it went. I focused every thought on this new problem instead and my dentist just could not and still cannot believe it went away.
Power of the mind.
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Shock. Adrenaline burst. Endorphins?
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I remember many years ago I suffered quite badly with health anxiety and one time in particular I had nagging tooth and jaw pain for about 18 months. On and on it went despite various tests which came up with no reason. So every day I was focused on this pain. As soon as I woke up my first thought was about how I was feeling and how was the pain and this fed the anxiety and the physical symptoms.
Well someone in my family had an accident with possibly devastating consequences which would have affected them/us personally and financially. I got such a shock that this pain I had been experiencing just vanished in an instant. I stopped thinking about it and it went. I focused every thought on this new problem instead and my dentist just could not and still cannot believe it went away.
Power of the mind.
I've had HA for years but when my Dad died suddenly I had too much to think about and with looking after my Mum, my anxiety disappeared for quite a while. Probably because I wasn't focused on me but someone else.
Unfortunately it did come back again but I do find the busier and more occupied I am..less time on my own with my thoughts it does go away but never completely.
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Totally agree that distraction is the answer. I find that when I think ‘Oh, I haven't had a symptom for a while', they come back!
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Totally agree that distraction is the answer. I find that when I think ‘Oh, I haven't had a symptom for a while', they come back!
Definitely!
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The mind is very powerful and I firmly believe we bring on symptoms by worrying. No easy answer, but distraction is helpful and also talking to others. Two of my closest friends are also sufferers and we end up having quite a laugh about it all. Very therapeutic!
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I am now feeling faint every time I stand up, heart racing and tummy jittering. Just because I gave blood and had low blood pressure. Am really gutted as was in magic health for three months recently, now this.
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I am now feeling faint every time I stand up, heart racing and tummy jittering. Just because I gave blood and had low blood pressure. Am really gutted as was in magic health for three months recently, now this.
It's because you are so aware of it. It's very hard to rationalise when you're in panic mode ☹️
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Thing is though when I'm in the midst of it all I cannot distract myself but I'm trying hard. This past few days I've just laid about watching easy stuff on Netflix. Don't care about jobs around the house, just being kind to myself.
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Sparkle - And you find yourself saying "yes I've got that too" and laughing about it. Best therapy ever and reassuring!
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Yes absolutely! It's like an anti-placebo effect.
Phantom pregnancy is the most common one and for those who convince themselves enough, their hormones will start to behave as if they're pregnant and physical signs will occur.
Perimenopause causes higher stress hormones due to the hormonal volatility so any anxiety becomes magnified.
I'm attempting to desensitise myself to all of the research I've spent full time daily on for a month.
I avoid anything that may lead me down the road of the health issue that scared thr bejesus out of me.
I'm also reducing the progesterone I've been using as I had no oestrogen to balance with it as well as starting Oestrogel and 10 days on Vagifem to address any early VA.
I've had a very good pelvic floor examination done by a lady I head hunted and my pudendal nerve was checked for entrapment. Normally if the nerve is irritated or trapped, pushing down on the nerve in the pelvis will cause tingling, pain or something, I felt nothing after she tried three times..
There are no other trigger points found upon examination and my pelvis is not hypertonic or slack nor was my pelvis misaligned.
This had a huge impact on my anxiety once told there was no pudendal nerve entrapment. I was confused but relieved with a touch of doubt.
It does not appear to get worse when sitting which is classic for pudendal nerve issues, if there is any pattern it tends to happen late afternoon early evening regardless of the daily activity. It never as yet appears when I'm in bed at night or asleep nor do I wake up with it.
My anxiety is 80% better but I'm still hyper aware of my body and still nervous of the symptoms appearing. The symptoms alternate from vaginal pain to sensations of arousal whivh could be in or out and anywhere within those areas.
Pain to my lower back and hypersensitive or restless type feelings to spine, buttocks and legs. It presents as restless leg syndrome or more skin related such as sensitive to clothing brushing against the skin.
It would appear the severity of symptoms seems to be slowly declining and I'm wondering if that is due to my reducing anxiety as I've come to accept the symptoms are there whether I like it or not. It does appear to be morphing into more pain than arousal. But not severe pain just mild stabbing inside or outside of the vagina.
I am aware of a hand full of women here on these forums who had the same symptoms (arousal outside the context of desire) some very acute, that either went away with time or once they got on HRT or balanced their oestrogen from it being very low as mine is.
Yesterday was the first day since this nightmare started that I had almost no arousal and only pain with no skin or restless leg back issue.
If I do indeed come through this it will forever change me bc I have never had health anxiety to this extent in my life, I've had “scares†and even had cancer but never in my life has anxiety over a health related issue taken hold of me like this has. I think bc it's such a horrible torturous disorder with no cure or treatment and very little understanding by the medical establishment in general.
I'm glad I never started taking nerve drugs which was what I begged the doctor for on my first visit.
I've been refered to a gynaecologist with s request to scan my lower spine for cysts. Once that's been ruled out then I guess I'll be at peace totally and can accept fully this is one of many strange and uncommon symptoms of declining hormones.