Posted by fires on July 25, 2004, at 16:07:48
In reply to Re: somatoform - trying to be friend w you! » fires, posted by JenStar on July 24, 2004, at 15:40:11
> I've been taking Lexapro and it helps a bit with the hypochondria and anxiety. What's frustrating, though: Since some people know I'm a hypochondriac, I'm afraid that they'll NEVER believe me anymore when I really get sick. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf!
>
> I agree that hypoch. IS a real disease, and stuff "in the head" is as real, in a sense, as a broken leg. After all, SOMEthing is going on with nerves and neurotransmitters and all that stuff to make someone think they're ill when they're not, right?
>
> It's just that some docs are so condescending about hypochondria. They act as if it's a personal decision to be weak, to be stupid, to be needy - unlike the wonderfully strong and lovely 'rest of the population.' And I hate it when people think that things like allergies or gastric reflux are caused by 'stress' and that if I (or others) were just "stronger" we could "beat it."
>
> My own sister admitted that she used to think all people who complained about heartburn and indigestion were just weak whiners, until she got pregnant and discovered what hearburn really is. Then she apologized for making light of it all these years!
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> Anyway, I just felt like griping!
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> How are YOU doing? Tell us a bit about yourself, Fires? What's on your mind these days?
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> JenStar
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> > > Fires,
> > > I was reading up on somatoform disorder on the web. Reading about it made me mad. Most of the articles seemed to insinuate that any unidentifiable problem a person might suffer MUST be 'all in the head' even if the patient wasn't 'deliberately' causing sypmtoms. It reminded me of how I feel sometimes when I have real symptoms/real problems and the doctor acts kind of patronizing and assumes I'm just exaggerating (b/c of my past history of hypochondria.)
> > >
> > > You're right - many REAL conditions were thought to be stress-related or all in the head until we learned more, like ulcers caused by bacteria (not stress). I've read articles too that stated some people have much higher pain thresholds than others; folks who complain of chronic pain might NOT be somatoform sufferers, they might have real pain that is just more severe to their body even if a physician can't identify the cause.
> > >
> > > Bodies are complicated, and although doctors like to think we know everything, we really don't.
> > >
> > > Anyway, I'm sorry if you're been falsely diagonsed, esp. if they hid the diagnosis from you. That's horrible. I would be so mad and frustrated.
> > >
> > > How are you feeling these days? Any luck with a new doctor?
> > >
> > > Also, I really don NOT post under any other names. This is just me, JenStar!
> > >
> > > JenStarWhat's on my mind is all the talk about me needing to watch my back.
Also, I just started taking 12.5 mg Paxil. Hope it helps. My new MD said go "low and slow". Great, but meanwhile life doesn't stop.:)
I don't care to share anything else. (See my post about "The Firm") I don't believe that it is wise to share too much on web groups where any Tom, Dick, and Harry, can be lurking. I recently couldn't believe it when my niece put her real photo on Yahoo Messenger!!
bye
poster:fires
thread:366835
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040723/msgs/370387.html