Help for Hypochondriacs!

A friend found a handy tool for us hypochondriacs on the "Real Simple" website. It's called the:

Hypochondriac's Handbook.

The "handbook," which is a 12-page web article, deals with such diverse subjects as chronic thirst (not necessarily diabetes), breast pain (not necessarily cancer) chronic headaches (not necessarily a brain tumor), and so on.

Time Magazine has also recently published articles about hypochndriacs. How to Heal a Hypochondriac talks about the tendency of medical students to become raging hypochondriacs as they gain more and more medical knowledge, truly illustrating Alexander Pope's contention that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing."

The article goes on to talk about hypochondriacs in general:

"For doctors in training, nurses and medical journalists, hypochondria is an occupational hazard. The feeling usually passes after a while, leaving only a funny story to tell at a dinner party. But for the tens of thousands who suffer from true hypochondria, it's no joke. Hypochondriacs live in constant terror that they are dying of some awful disease, or even several awful diseases at once. Doctors can assure them that there's nothing wrong, but since the cough or the pain is real, the assurances fall on deaf ears. And because no physician or test can offer a 100% guarantee that one doesn't have cancer or multiple sclerosis or an ulcer, a hypochondriac always has fuel to feed his or her worst fears."

Sound like you? I know it sounds like me. Apparently we hypochondriacs are becoming a big wasteful clog in the medical system's pipes. And if you found this site by searching the Internet, you, like me, are part of the problem, and there is even a name for us - cyberchondriacs!

"According to one estimate, hypochondria racks up some $20 billion in wasted medical resources in the U.S. alone. And the problem may be getting worse, thanks to the proliferation of medical information on the Internet. 'They go on the Web,' says Dr. Arthur Barsky, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, 'and learn about new diseases and new presentations of old diseases that they never even knew about before.' Doctors have taken to calling this phenomenon cyberchondria.'"

Luckily for us, there are those who are taking our situation seriously.

"...a few clinicians, like Barsky and Columbia University neuropsychiatrist Dr. Brian Fallon, have begun to take the condition more seriously. 'It's not correct to say there's nothing wrong with a hypochondriac," Fallon asserts. "There is something wrong, but it's a disorder of thought, not of the body.' And, as he points out, disorders of thought are neither imaginary nor untreatable."

Dr. Fallon realized that hypochondriacs had a lot in common with those who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.

"'Both disorders,' he says, 'involve intrusive, worrisome thoughts, the need for reassurance and a low tolerance for uncertainty.' Psychiatrists had lately come to think that OCD could be treated with Prozac and similar drugs, and Fallon decided the medications might work for hypochondria as well. With only 57 subjects, the study was too small to be definitive, but it was certainly promising: about 75% of those who got the drug showed significant improvement."

I can vouch for the fact that since I've been on a low dose of Prozac for the past several years, I am much less apt to go into panic mode and have an anxiety attack when I notice a new symptom, nor am I as apt to immediately assume I have some new disease the second I hear about it (it usually takes at least a few days now!).

Because some of the patients who responded were actually being given placebos, Dr. Fallon concluded there may be other causes of hypochondria, such as depression (stemming from guilt or loss) or a tendency to overanalyze and overreact to every bodily sensation, which is called "somatization."

Whatever the cause, hypochondria becomes a vicious cycle, and it is hard to break. To deal with this, Barsky recommends cognitive behavior therapy.

"'Just as focusing on a pain makes it seem more significant, ignoring it can make it seem much less,' says Barsky. Patients are also instructed to counter panicky thoughts with self-reassurance, reminding themselves, for example, that stomach pain almost never means stomach cancer. Both cognitive therapy and medication seem to work, and at this point it's hard to say whether one is better than the other."

Let's hope both doctors and patients become more aware of hypochondria and try to treat it. This way it will be a win-win for both!

Medical Sabbatical

Hello fellow hypochondriacs! I just wanted to pop in and apologize for my long absence. I had been intending to write another information-laden post about, of all things, appendix cancer. (Yes, there is such a thing - and a friend of mine was recently diagnosed with it.) But I haven't had enough time and energy recently. (Do you think there's something wrong with me?)

I still want to write about that cancer, but was sidetracked for the entire month of February due to some family issues. Then I was on vacation for two and a half weeks, and have just gotten back into the swing of things. In addition, politics, my other obsession, has been taking up what time I have had for blogging, on my other site, Mauigirl's Meanderings.

I think to get back to my medical calling over here, I will write some shorter posts about recent medical developments before writing the long post. I hope to have something up in the next day or two!

In the meantime, no, that hacking cough you have is NOT lung cancer. It's from the dry heat in your house. Or the pollen that I hear is already blowing around out there despite the fact that every tree in my area is still starkly naked.

Of course, if the cough doesn't go away please do get it checked out...Just because you're a hypochondriac doesn't mean you don't have a fatal disease!

Worry About the Right Diseases

CNN had a good article today about the odds of people getting some of the more obscure diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, compared to more common ones like heart disease and osteoporosis.

Now, let's face it, as a hypochondriac, you probably spend a lot more time worrying about things like Mad Cow Disease than about osteoporosis. I admit it: I still worry about sausages I ate in Great Britain during the 1980's and wonder if eventually the Mad Cow prions are going to come home to roost! And I make a point of buying grass-fed beef at Whole Foods because I don't trust the USDA to inspect our meat properly.

But, as an overweight middle-aged woman with high blood pressure, I am much more likely to suffer from heart disease and diabetes in the future rather than Mad Cow Disease. But do I exercise? No. Do I lose the 25 lbs. I should lose? No. The two most useful things I could do to protect my health, I don't do. But do I go to the doctor any time I get a weird symptom that I'm afraid is some much less likely disease? Absolutely. Do I order new dietetic supplements that purport to prevent various diseases that I probably won't get anyway? Of course. It's so easy to take a pill.

The CNN article was a good wake-up call to remind us that we should focus on the proven things that we know can protect our health - exercising, achieving a healthy weight, and eating more fruits and vegetables - while of course still being vigilant about checking out new symptoms (did that mole really get bigger? Why am I so tired?) and getting our mammograms and colonoscopies regularly.

The challenge is that exercising, losing weight, and eating more fruits and vegetables require planning and effort, and the benefits are not seen immediately. Preventing these diseases requires a long-term commitment and change in lifestyle. But if your goal in being a hypochondriac is to have a longer and healthier life, these are the things you should be doing to achieve the goal!

Please see the link below for the full CNN article.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/06/14/healthmag.diseases/index.html