Emetaphobia anyone?

[Kailey's mom]

Just wondering if anybody else has it. I do, always have, and this is the number one reason why I'm not pregnant with #2. I'm so afraid of getting pregnant and it's a stupid reason. I want a big family, but with this fear, I don't know if I'll have the courage again to even get pg again. The last time I did it/got sick was 12/23/05 at 8:13pm. I was pregnant. This memory is what stops me from getting pg again, and I HATE THE FACT THAT I AM ETETAPHOBIC, but I also HATE THE FACT that we are made to get sick like that can anyone relate?

[joyluc]

I have emetophobia too. I am filled with dread and I am hyper vigilant whenever we eat food that might be off or are exposed to people with stomach flu or are in a gross place. I have been in therapy about this several times and it helped a little but when I feel sick or my DS or DH feels sick I am back in the same place. Hugs to you OP so sorry you are not TTCing because of this.

[tm2840]

Long, long ago I posted in a thread about this. I felt very comforted by the posts I read. It's still here on Mothering... locked due to "age," of course, but still there.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...271&highlight=

I am nowhere near laissez faire about vomit, but man, I've been working for years and I'm much better than I was. It impacts my life much less often - though I'm still limited by it more than I would like.

[jenP]

Therapy has helped a lot!

I was also afraid to get pregnant. I was really lucky - two pregnancies and no throwing up with either!! But, there are always those awful viruses going around and I sometimes got paralyzed with fear about catching one. I'm way, way better now after several years of therapy. No, I will never think puking is "no big deal" or anything like that, but now I can live my life without the crushing anxiety all the time. I mean, one year I wasted six months being nervous and anxious and afraid to go to anything public because I kept hearing about this virus going around. And we never even did catch it that year!! So I wasted all that energy worrying over nothing. I feel much freer now to just live my life. Of course I am very careful about handwashing and so forth, but I do go out. Fear is an awful thing.
Good luck to you, I hope you do have another baby (if you really want to) and no morning sickness!

Jen

[BellinghamCrunchie]

I'm a terrible emetophobe and its actually gotten worse with age, not better. I should go volunteer in a cancer ward or something. I'm really tempted to deal with this, its so disruptive.

Anyway. Perhaps you can talk to your prescriber about having a PRN anti-nausea medication on hand. If you know you've got a means of dealing with it before it even happens, it can really take that anticipatory anxiety away, and maybe allow you to feel comfortable about TTC. Zofran is the PRN I have on hand; its supposed to be safe during pregnancy, and it works really well for most people. We went through a bout of the stomach flu a few months ago and I couldn't believe how well it worked. Not even a tiny bit of nausea 20 minutes after I took it.

[Kailey's mom]

Originally Posted by BellinghamCrunchie

I'm a terrible emetophobe and its actually gotten worse with age, not better. I should go volunteer in a cancer ward or something. I'm really tempted to deal with this, its so disruptive.

Anyway. Perhaps you can talk to your prescriber about having a PRN anti-nausea medication on hand. If you know you've got a means of dealing with it before it even happens, it can really take that anticipatory anxiety away, and maybe allow you to feel comfortable about TTC. Zofran is the PRN I have on hand; its supposed to be safe during pregnancy, and it works really well for most people. We went through a bout of the stomach flu a few months ago and I couldn't believe how well it worked. Not even a tiny bit of nausea 20 minutes after I took it.

First of all, Thank you all for sharing your stories and all of the wonderful advice. I am sorry that you can relate but happy to know I'm not all alone. I like the idea of maybe having zofran on hand, just in case. I will talk to my ob about this. She knows how hard my pregnancy was; infact she thought I was psychotic at one point and had my hubby bring me to have a psych eval, because I told her I'd rather die that throw up, and I was crying and demanding that she give me something. I saw her recently for my yearly pap, and she couldn't believe I was actually a sane person.. and it was this phobia that made me so different. I was scared for 100 percent of my pregnancy, I had all day sickness, so deep breathing all day, ice chips etc to not get sick was what I did.. not to mention complications with the pregnancy itself. I'm sure she will be understanding with this. I REALLY ache for another child, and my dh and I have even looked into adoption.. but do not have the money to even pursue it With pregnancy, there was a feeling of not being in control of my body, not being able to prevent throwing up.. so I was in a constant state of fear and anxiety, along with depression. I think having something, like zofran, would be empowering.. and give me some feeling of control over my body. when it comes to getting sick.

I'm also afraid like joyluc when it comes to dh,or any other adult having a stomach flu. As a child, I would refuse to even come in the house, and remember my mother bringing my dinner outside and carrying me in the house when she could see I was starting to fall asleep in the front yard.

jenP, I've been in counseling, although I don't talk too much about the emetaphobia, because I'm scared they'll make me talk about it. I guess that means I problably should Do they make you do any flooding techniques, like watching video's of people getting ill... uck.. omg.. IDK.. that scares me.

tm2840: I'm going to check out that thread, thanks so much for posting..

Again, I'm so sorry you all have this too... I wonder what in the world causes it.

Oh, and kindof off topic, but when your stomach is feeling ill, don't you HATE IT WITH EVERYTHING INSIDE OF YOU when a family member says " just get it over with, you'll feel better" that makes the anxiety of the situation get so much worse!!

to all of you!

[joyluc]

When I did therapy for this we eventually did flooding which was hard but helped me understand some of the causes of my phobia - not feeling safe when I was a child and related control issues mainly. But we didn't start there at all, we started with the farthest away instance of vomit that the therapist could think of and then stepped it up bit by bit. I stayed anxious so we never got to a movie or anything.

Thank goodness I was never sick when I was pregnant but in my childbirth class when we were role playing the birth and they said that at this point you will be sick it made me SO anxious. Good luck and I hope you find a way to TTC.

[jenP]

Originally Posted by Kailey's mom

jenP, I've been in counseling, although I don't talk too much about the emetaphobia, because I'm scared they'll make me talk about it. I guess that means I problably should Do they make you do any flooding techniques, like watching video's of people getting ill... uck.. omg.. IDK.. that scares me.

Kailey's Mom, no there was no "flooding" or anything like that. Just talk therapy, getting to the root of exactly what bothers me about it, where the fears and anxiety are coming from, and most importantly how to deal with it and try to live a normal life. In the beginning it was incredibly hard to even bring up the subject. It was the sole reason I went into therapy, and it was so hard to make that first call to set up an appointment! I didn't even want to say what my problem was. But I am doing so much better now. Just a few months ago I started to have this wonderful feeling of NOT feeling constant, crushing anxiety.

I do wish it wasn't even a problem! Why can't we be like horses, or rats, that physically can't even throw up??

Jen

[anne1140]

Oh my gosh, me too. I've started recently to become phobic of diarrhea, as well. I hate it.

I have panic disorder, and this is my number one reason for setting off panic attacks. I haven't even "gotten sick" in about 15 years, but it's the fear of it that gets me. And now, it's the fear of diarrhea, too. That started when, a couple months ago, I was coming back from a conference with my boss and a co-worker and got terrible diarrhea an hour and a half away from home. We had to stop 7 (I think?) times. Ever since, if I have to go anywhere that's not in my town, I get anxious, sometimes to the point of panic attacks, because I'm afraid it will happen again. It was so embarrassing.

I don't really know what causes this. I've had social anxiety my whole life, so I know that plays a part. Having people see me get sick or know I'm sick is very anxiety-causing for me. But even if I was home alone, it would still be terrible. Just the feeling. Ugh.

I still really want to get pregnant, but I'm hoping that I will be one of the lucky ones. The stomach flu scares me like no other. I would rather catch lots and lots of other illnesses besides that one, so winter is bad for me. Especially since I am a kindergarten teacher. *shudder* DH got the swine flu a couple weeks ago, and he had gastrointestinal issues from it, so we thought it was the stomach flu at first. When he threw up, I started bawling.

I was also afraid to have general anesthesia for the first time (this past Mon. to get my wisdom teeth out). I was afraid I'd get sick from it, so I was actually crying as I got knocked out.

I hate my anxiety so much. I'm on Zoloft, and while it helps in some ways, in others, it doesn't. I would like to go back to counseling again, but I don't like that it costs so much, even with insurance. $20 a week adds up. I'm thinking of looking into self-hypnosis. I think that may benefit me.

ETA: What worries me more than getting pregnant is having school-aged kids who will no doubt bring home the stomach flu. *hides* I don't know how I will deal, since I am so terrible when DH even hints that he might have a stomach ache.

[pinkleeanne]

Hello, yes i also am emetaphobic and it has controlled my life for many years and caused me much heart ache and pain, i have just lost a baby for the 2nd time due to this phobia as it gets so bad during pregnancy i ended up on a sychiatric ward for a month and ended up having a 2nd termination. I tried so so heard both times to go through pregnancy but my phobia is so severe i end up very mentally poorly with anxiety dissorder and depression which caused sychosis.

i am so desperate for my babys back and to have a baby that everyday hurts so much inside, my heart is breaking just knowing how easy it could be to just get pregnant but not mentally strong enough to do it, i dont know what to do i cant accept not ever having another child. On a magical note i am blessed with a son age 3 and i guess your wondering how i did it then? well i dont even know myself i just did it although it was hard and i was hospitalized for 4 months but he was worth it. however my phobia has just got worse and worse, so out of control and i do everything in my power to try and control it by what and how i eat, prepare food, what i dont eat, carrying anti emetics all of the time, Lorazapam for the anxiety and panick and so on and on.

Both of my lost babys were planned with my mind thinking i could make myself stronger to do it and i just couldnt, i hate myself for being so weak and letting such a phobia take away what could of been a beautiful child, brother or sister to my son.

After my 2nd attempt of having another child i have had to try and resign to the fact i will never have any more children as i could never ever go through what i had just been through ever again but at the same time i have to leave my mind open to get by each day that maybe one day i would be curred from this awful awful disease in my head.

I am sorry my story is not a possitive one i just needed to share with people that could understand and if anyone has any advice for me please please write xxx

[pinkleeanne]

Originally Posted by BellinghamCrunchie 

I'm a terrible emetophobe and its actually gotten worse with age, not better. I should go volunteer in a cancer ward or something. I'm really tempted to deal with this, its so disruptive.

Anyway. Perhaps you can talk to your prescriber about having a PRN anti-nausea medication on hand. If you know you've got a means of dealing with it before it even happens, it can really take that anticipatory anxiety away, and maybe allow you to feel comfortable about TTC. Zofran is the PRN I have on hand; its supposed to be safe during pregnancy, and it works really well for most people. We went through a bout of the stomach flu a few months ago and I couldn't believe how well it worked. Not even a tiny bit of nausea 20 minutes after I took it.