I had health anxiety which really took over my life. I also went to Dr. apts all of the time and got a BUNCH of tests done.I also went to the hospital for it before. The last time I was in the hospital and I got told everything was perfectly fine, I decided enough was enough. I seriously just told myself I will no long freak out about things. I stopped looking up things on the computer, If I really did feel something and wanted to know my Fiance would look it up for me instead. Also I refused to go to the Drs and eIecially the emergency room. I now give everything days or a week before I will make an appt. Also once I started being so afraid of the symptoms they started going away. Now dont get me wrong the health anxiety is still there, but it does not control me anymore, I am no longer afraid of it. Every once in a while I will still get heart palpitations and feel off balanced or dizzy but I just take a breather and calm down and it goes right away.

I agree with #1 in that's where we want to be. I am not there yet. I hate the heart palpitations and feeling dizzy but after 4 trips to the ER I discovered it wasn't going to kill me.

I do have Ativan for when it's bad. And I just started Wellbutrin today to see if that can help.

I know you are limited being pregnant and all, but try breathing in your mouth and out your nose and holding it. Believe it or not it does work for me -- to a point.

Probably cant do much until you have the baby , but maybe you havent found the right drug. Some pople do well on SSRIs, some on
the Benzos like Klonopin and I have even found Buspar to be very
helpful. As far as blood clots, there is generic Plavix , but the docs
wont prescribe it unless theres a reason because of the beeding risk.
Next best thing is asprin.

Howdy ma'am! I would recommend you join the support group named "Hypochondria" here on dailystrength. This forum regularly discusses health anxiety related issues (which is one of the reasons I visit both), but "Hypo" is geared directly toward those of us who spend our days googling symptoms, worrying, visiting medical professionals, diagnosing ourselves with everything negative known to man. Also there are MANY "I thought I had a blood clot and I was incorrect" stories from hypos on a support group site called www.thehypochondriac.com. The forum isn't NEARLY as active today as it was in the past evidently, but the discussions and lessons are golden. I love the hypo and anxiety forums on dailystrength because the membership is very active, honest, and friendly.

I'm no doctor, but I'm gonna' go out on a limb and propose that your health is perfectly intact. With that many visits, there's not a thing wrong with you. Pre-congratulations on the birth of your child :). Somebody above suggested an SSRI. I'm on 20mg (low end dose) of citalopram and my anxiety is definitely reduced. I'm glad you found this support group. By the way, I've been wrong about my "blood clots" too.

thank you all for listening, your advice, and support.

West Texan: i will def check out the other support group. and it is amazing to know that i'm not the only one. thank you so much for responding. even tho it is not funny, your last sentence definitely brought a smile to my face.

Years ago I took Tranxene 7.5mg for random panic attacks - NOT fun to have when ur dirving down the interstate! =O

Recently my sister has been having EXTREME - and i mean EXTREME - anixety! She took Tranxene and is doing GR8 now!!

just sayin' - if you try something for anxiety tranxene is worth a go - but remember its a Benzo so it can be habit forming - although I personally know several ppl that have been taking it for YEARS and are doing fine. The way they see it -- is that peace and tranquility are a habit they NEED DAILY - so if they have to form a "habit" to GET that "habit" - then so be it!

I deal with CFS - so SLEEP disruption is a MAJOR THING - and in CFS sleep is a MAJOR REQUIREMENT! Soooo - i just apply the same thinking to it when I take a benzo for sleep. Sleeps a "habit" and I gotta have it - so damn the torpedoes! I'll take a habit forming med to reinforce my HEALTHY habit! >;} In the end though I do try to "rotate" my sleep (and/or anxiety meds if or when I take them now) i will take a different class of sleep med (like Ambien) after 4-6 months - bc I dont want to build a tolerance for Benzos, as they do work so well!

ok - so plz excuse the rather OT reply here MissMelissa! I DO hope u can get that health anxiety "monkey off ur back" so to speak!! Extreme anxiety over anything can handicap our lives....

BUT - I think if prozac helped then after ur baby comes there should be no problem taking it again if ur not breastfeeding!

AND - CONGRATS on ur beautiful baby to be!! =D

Hope this rant helped alittle!!
Hugs! =}

& PS - I TOTALLY AGREE with Slizzo here!! ''Dr. Google" can absolutely make u ***NUTS***!! Be very careful when u walk into "his office" bc most likely what he's tellling you about symptoms and whatnot can apply to HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of various relative health "things"!!

I can totally sympathize with you. I have health anxiety too. I worry more about having a heart attack, but have had the blood clot obsession as well. After I had my daughter, as a part of my discharge instructions the doctor mentioned blood clot and that started me down a path of worry. I did finally get over it, but on to something else.
I have a lot of pain in my body, so that doesn't help my anxiety at all. I have been the doctor several times, but they don't care. It can be frustrating....
Do you see a counselor?

lol, yes. dr google is my worst enemy, i think once i learn to stop that y health anxiety will improve. health anxiety (or any kind) is definitley handicapping. it is so nice to hear others say that. the people around me are supportive but they really have no idea how awful it is!!

mistigale: i do not currently see a counselor but i tried for about add year and it just seemed to make thinks worse!! yes, i had heart problems for the first year of developing health anxiety...i thought i was having heart attacks. and thought i had every heart condition in the book at one point or the other.

i think my problem is going to the er every time...how do you not go to the emergency room every time you have one of these fears?? i really wish i could figure out a way to deal with it on my own with out the embarrassment of going to the er so much!!

Hey @MissMelissaMarie :) I totally know what you're going through.. All of my anxiety has been health related, mainly with my Heart... it sucks and it can be handicapping, but honestly... I went to the Doc in the past for it and they prescribed me Zoloft to help with the anxiousness, obsessive worrying, etc. The thing about antidepressants for anxiety, is that the first couple of weeks on them suck. Side Effects and yeah, you do kind of feel Zombie-ish... but once you get past those few weeks. you honestly begin to feel better and you don't sweat the small stuff quite like you used to. In fact, you feel like a whole new person that can do anything. Also, I go for a run every night somewhere peaceful, this helps me to relax and know that I'm taking care of my body. Try to avoid alcohol and eat healthy. That way you are confident and sure you are doing everything you can to keep yourself healthy daily. Believe me, I need to follow my own advice. Lately, my anxiety has been triggering at bedtime because I hate to hear my heart beat, it just freaks me out.. So i'm trying to deal with that lol, but as everything else does, this will pass. Hope that helps, message me if you ever wanna chat more about it :)

Hi there hunny just wanted to add my support for you, you really are not alone, I have been and am still going through my life with constant levels of Anxiety, Can have good days, then can have horrendous days. Not only does it effect me but also my family and people who care about me, this is what brought me to DS, myself also looking for support. At the moment I am medication free but for how long I'm not sure :-) So hope you start to feel better being 9 months pregnant is a life changing time, a lot to adapt to once baby is here. Take it one day at a time, that's what I try and do at present. Sending happy and positive thoughts your way hun, will be thinking of you, hugs xxxxxxxxBeckaxxxxxxxx