Fever and fears! Please offer advice

[MarieLily]

Hello. I posted the other day about my fears of appendicitis.
Yesterday after developing a low grade fever, my parents took me to ER. The doctor there didn't even suspect appendicitis after I described my symptoms, but did blood work and urine anyway.

The blood work and urine were generally okay, my white blood cells were 11.7 and normal max is 9 but online it says 11 so I guess he just dismissed it. My CRP was 5 and normal max is 6 in my lab so he dismissed me. He did say that if I continue vomiting or develop diarrhea, to return for more testing.

I am very scared right now, because I do feel sick to my stomach and I've been having constipation for a week now. And this fever is not high but it's also not going away. I just feel so tired.

I should say that I was under a lot of emotional stress, and with these fears even more additional stress. On Friday I was taken to the ER because I fainted and once I woke up I had what I believe was a panic attack because I just kept screaming and they had to sedate me and my hands began tingling and clenching. It was a very scary experience. I have moments where I feel relatively okay and even my appetite returns, but other moments I just feel completely paralyzed with fear and throw up and am sick to my stomach. It probably didn't help that yesterday out of fear I didn't sit down for over 10 hours and kept pacing around.

I don't know what to make of this, tomorrow I will go to my GP and see what he thinks about all of this and maybe he will wanna run some more tests. I am just so tired and scared I want this all over with.

 

[AMcSwain]

I am so sorry you are having to deal with all of that. It seems like if the test were all normal you are just making yourself sick to your stomach thinking about it.. happens to me all the time! I hope everything works out for you... do you take anything for your anxiety?

 

[MarieLily]

I am so sorry you are having to deal with all of that. It seems like if the test were all normal you are just making yourself sick to your stomach thinking about it.. happens to me all the time! I hope everything works out for you... do you take anything for your anxiety?

No I do not I only go to therapy but my therapist is out of town until September and I am having the worst week of my life. I am so scared that this is appendicitis but I asked the doctor and I asked my parents and people are saying symptoms will be far more severe if it were appendicitis. I will go to my GP regardless and ask for a confirmation or anything to help me really but I am feeling miserable and hopeless.

 

[Xhemal Leka]

 

[MarieLily]

Hey I am bumping this.
Today my fever seemed to be going from 98 to 99 during the day (my normal usually is 97) but I didn't throw up even though my appetite was gone and I felt sick on few occassions.
I am still scared of appendicitis and tomorrow I'll try and have a talk with my GP about all of this.
I sometimes have stomach pains but they are mild and short lasting. When I press down on my stomach and release theres no change or pain.
I am concerned about that 0.7 increase in the white blood cell count but my father and mother reassure me its nothing major and I would have far more severe increase if it was appendicitis (I try not to google this)
I am still scared and I don't know what to make out from all of this.

 

[AMcSwain]

Hey I am bumping this.
Today my fever seemed to be going from 98 to 99 during the day (my normal usually is 97) but I didn't throw up even though my appetite was gone and I felt sick on few occassions.
I am still scared of appendicitis and tomorrow I'll try and have a talk with my GP about all of this.
I sometimes have stomach pains but they are mild and short lasting. When I press down on my stomach and release theres no change or pain.
I am concerned about that 0.7 increase in the white blood cell count but my father and mother reassure me its nothing major and I would have far more severe increase if it was appendicitis (I try not to google this)
I am still scared and I don't know what to make out from all of this.

Well keep us updated. I’m sure you are going to be just fine..try not to worry yourself to much more until you talk to your doctor tomorrow.

 

[Hal 9000]

Hey I am bumping this.
Today my fever seemed to be going from 98 to 99 during the day (my normal usually is 97) but I didn't throw up even though my appetite was gone and I felt sick on few occassions.
I am still scared of appendicitis and tomorrow I'll try and have a talk with my GP about all of this.
I sometimes have stomach pains but they are mild and short lasting. When I press down on my stomach and release theres no change or pain.
I am concerned about that 0.7 increase in the white blood cell count but my father and mother reassure me its nothing major and I would have far more severe increase if it was appendicitis (I try not to google this)
I am still scared and I don't know what to make out from all of this.

Hi Marie, I almost envy your fear of appendicitis, my go-to fears are much scarier (I'm not making light of your fears, just making a little joke).
I know it's not possible to beat an anxiety with logic but you sound like you are trapped in a cycle of fear rather than an illness, but that's easy for me to say.

What you are going through is an unfair burden that a lot of us go through. I'm better than I used to be, but it will always be a challenge.
Something that worked for me was to break my routine when I was scared. Instead of going to WebMD, talking to people, Googling symptoms, etc., I stopped doing that. It was very difficult at first, even a little harder, but the more times you can break that routine the better you will get. Find a distraction when the anxiety starts.
There are reasons for this having to do with the amygdala, hard wiring your brain, fight or flight, etc (you can Google the science).

If you do try to break the cycle you're in, remember, it will be harder at first because your brain wants to follow that path you've established, but it can be done. Living with this burden will always be a little difficult, but it can get a lot better.

 

[MarieLily]

Hi Marie, I almost envy your fear of appendicitis, my go-to fears are much scarier (I'm not making light of your fears, just making a little joke).
I know it's not possible to beat an anxiety with logic but you sound like you are trapped in a cycle of fear rather than an illness, but that's easy for me to say.

What you are going through is an unfair burden that a lot of us go through. I'm better than I used to be, but it will always be a challenge.
Something that worked for me was to break my routine when I was scared. Instead of going to WebMD, talking to people, Googling symptoms, etc., I stopped doing that. It was very difficult at first, even a little harder, but the more times you can break that routine the better you will get. Find a distraction when the anxiety starts.
There are reasons for this having to do with the amygdala, hard wiring your brain, fight or flight, etc (you can Google the science).

If you do try to break the cycle you're in, remember, it will be harder at first because your brain wants to follow that path you've established, but it can be done. Living with this burden will always be a little difficult, but it can get a lot better.

This was a very nice reply, thank you! But you will be disappointed that my fear from appendicitis shifted to a fear of rabies I even made a thread for it and have been paralyzed by fear for few days now