Health Anxiety

[LittleLenny]

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well,

I'm posting here cause i'm really struggling at the moment. I've been a diabetic since i was 12 (i'm now 26) and i've always been badly controlled due to having a fear of needles. I've asked every consultant i've had to consider a pump but they never have, now i'm really starting to struggle. I've got sight threatening retinopathy, trigger finger in both hands, carpel tunnel, IBS, severe depression and anxiety and to top it all off i've just recently discovered a lump in my breast, which i'm having checked out in a few days. I'm really starting to struggle to cope. All the pains and aches are just becoming too much, i'm so stressed out. All i do is worry and i feel its starting to have an affect on my relationship. Does anyone else suffer from health anxiety? And if so how do you cope? I'm so scared i'm going to go blind. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read this, Lenny x

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi @LittleLenny, I'm really sorry to hear about your health problems.

I can't help about the pump, I'm afraid, but some others should be along to give some info or advice. Perhaps you could also talk to the folk on Diabetic UK on 0345 123 2399 about your problems?

Sorry I can't help any further - I do wish you all the best though. Let us know how you get on xx

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Lenny, that’s a whole lot to juggle. I think health anxiety is often seen as a worry about things that might happen whereas you are dealing with a multitude of actual things. Have you ever had any help with your anxiety? Is your GP supportive? I wonder if the GP could write diabetic consultant and push for you to have a pump. They may also be able to look at pain meds - chronic pain can cause depression and depression can make chronic pain worse so both need looking at. A good chat with your GP might move things along. Keep talking to us too. We can sympathise and help support you through it. I hope your breast lump gets sorted quickly and is nothing too terrible.

 

[Barbie1]

Hi Lenny and welcome to the forum. Sorry you are feeling anxious at the moment, and you have so much going on to worry about, as well as the world outside.

i too was diagnosed at 12 and that was 53 years ago now. And I had breast cancer a while ago, so I fully appreciate how worrying it is in the period between discovering the lump and having it looked at. Fingers crossed it will be something they can sort out quickly for you.

I totally understand about the fear of needles too, but i must admit I had to say to myself that I was not going to let a silly thing like that get the better of me and so I forced myself to conquer that fear, just by putting it in its place, which was behind me and not in front of me, grinning at me every time I had to inject!

As for the pump, the local health authority will have their own guidelines to follow as to who they should consider eligible. When I got mine a couple of years ago, I was a bit reluctant to take that opportunity, in case I was taking it away from somebody much younger, and with their whole life ahead of them. My consultant told me not to be so silly, and I could have one if I wanted one. (I do wonder though if she sort of felt that after 50 years of injecting I might have earned it!)

I think it might be best to go back to your consultant and ask again, and make sure they tell you why not if they refuse. If you make sure you know what the barriers are, you can start to sort them out.

good luck, with everything, and stay strong!

 

[trophywench]

A great number of breast lumps turn out to be cysts - I had one and was somewhat scared (to put it mildly) not least because every member of my immediate family, mum, dad, big sis has died either of or if not, had cancer. As it happened I had a BUPA medical booked and paid for only a week later including a mammogram (I found it on Saturday, Medical the following Saturday) so I never even rang my GP surgery - but still got torn off a strip by the BUPA doc for not doing so, despite the mammogram agreeing with my diagnosis which I'd reached cos it had started to reduce in size over the intervening week.

How long have you got to wait to be seen and X rayed? presumably your GP has referred you?

 

[CosmicHedgehog]

i suffer with anxiety, Generalised but includes medication and health anxiety and panic attacks, i was diagnosed type 1 aged 7, i also have lumps in my breasts, turned out to be a fibroedinoma (benine lump) and a cyst i had both mine biopsied., lumps in boobs are really very common, most women for some reason just don't talk about them but i would suspect alot of women you know will have lumps, especially as you get older and hormones change, try not to freak out, easier said than done i know! if the doc has refered you you will be seen very quickly within a few weeks, and will get the answer pretty much straight away.

i'm also going through alot at the moment too, im just putting 1 foot infront of the other and almost on auto pilot just doing all my normal daily stuff, do what you can in terms of doctors appointments and looking after yourself and the rest is fate... atleast thats how i see it.

As for wanting a pump i would say a fear of needles is good enough reason if it is preventing you from injecting and causing even more anxiety, but to make you aware most pumps cannulas.. infact i think all cannulas have an exposed needle that you can see when its loaded in the inserter, on most you remove the needle after insertion and that leaves the teflon cannula behind and the needle is chucked away..

If you can it would be a good idea to speak really openly with your consultant and specialist nurse ( i sometimes ask mine to sit in on my consultant appointments) It would be good to really discuss the fear of needles and how thats impacting your management. Thats what the docs are there for , not just to look at blood sugars. Have you seen the tickle flex, thats designed for people with needle phobias, also there is a make of pen needles that hide the needle inside a plastic sheath so you cant see it before you inject.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @LittleLenny

So sorry to hear about everything you are going through. Thank you for sharing with us.

Like @CosmicHedgehog I was wondering whether you were using the ‘autoshield’ style needles to help with your needle anxiety.

Have you been referred for any help or support with your mental health challenges - CBT, counselling or similar?

Depression associates with diabetes, and elevated BG levels themselves have a detrimental effect on your mood, as well as the progress of your other complications. Are you managing to take your medication regularly at the moment? What has your diabetes management been like recently? Are there any small practical steps that you can take as a starting point?