Trying to figure friend out so I can help her

[cricketsarge]

I am new to the site, and my name is Cricket. I have run of the mill anxiety and am on Lexapro for it, so I understand anxiety. I am, though, here trying to figure out my friend so I can (hopefully) help her save her job. I got her a job in my department and she is this close to losing it. I think she has health anxiety, and I am not sure though. I also do not know what to do to help her. She has had health problems in the past, real ones, but they have been solved. She is constantly complaining about her health. She was convinced she had RA, but the Drs said the test showed no. So now she thinks it must be a "rare: type or they just did not find it. She will show her hands to me at work and say they are swollen and she is in pain. When I look, they are NOT swollen at all. Every day it is a new thing. She complained about her legs in severe pain, went to the doctor and they find nothing wrong, and he tells her she needs to lose some of the weight. She will not believe them. Today it was complaining about having bladder spasms. Every day it is something! She carries a large satchel full of pills to work. She takes them all day at different times. She puts a pulse ox meter on the corner of her desk. She will check it and declare that her oxygen is too low. It will be 92, and that is what mine is, and I am ok. (by the way, we live at a very high altitude). he carries on all day long. She comes to work looking a mess. She will not fix her hair or herself up. My boss is ready to fire her because she is now refusing to lift any boxes of papers saying it hurts her shoulders too bad. We have a 70 year old women that does it, and I have Lupus and don't feel like running the 50 yd dash every day but...geeze!  We all work in a medical records department at a hospital.

Do you think she has health anxiety/hypochondria? Is there anything that I can do to help her get out of this? If not she is HIST and will not have a job.

Thanks for listening.

[angela52884]

Hi! Im sorry your friend is feeling this way. I have hypochondria and it is aweful! Your mind really plays tricks on you. Does your friend know that she is getting ready to lose her job? The only advice I can give is to try and talk to her as a friend. Maybe recommend that she goes to talk with a therapist or something. It does sound like she suffers from major anxiety and I know it REALLY sucks! I hope you are able to talk to her so she doesnt lose her job. Let us know how it goes!

[crystalhanzelka]

Wow I want a pulse oxometer...lol...and an EKG machine...This sounds like typical well maybe severe health anxiety....She needs therapy...

[Kayteecatt]

You would have thought that her doctor would have diagnosed her with health anxiety already.

[tulip :)]

she 's got health anxiety for sure...i'm the same way and at one point it ruled my life I even ended up dropping out of h.s because I convined myself I had MS ...now I'm in the mid dealing with another illness I may have and checking my temperature every hour and examining my skin etc....your friend is is PAIN...just because she doesn't have an illness does not make it better...advanced hypochandria is an illness in it's own right....a true nightmare:(I know people who actually have an illness and don't let it run their life the way hypochondriac do....severe anxiety is absolute hell

[*GiRL_21*]

be there for your friend, tell her to go to the doc get a full check up, she needs reasurannce.

tell her to take some anti anxiety meds