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Is my friend a hypochondriac?


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My friend last night had a slightly puffy face/neck and headache, claiming that it was hurting her to the point where she could hardly open her mouth. As she doesn't have transportation to the hospital, she called an ambulance to take her.

 

However, she told me later that her heart rate in the ambulance was 150 with high blood pressure and yet they wouldn't do anything to help her. At the hospital, apparently no tests were run because "they could only check for one thing and she should see a primary care doctor otherwise." She was given Oxycontin for the pain and clindamycin (I assume with the assumption that it'll help whatever infection may exist).

 

She told me "that the doctor didn't even know she came in an ambulance" and was surprised when she mentioned it. After all was said and done, she was returned home, and she's really upset with the hospital for "once again not helping her or caring."

 

Now, to me, I have to call BS here. For one thing, her claim about "the fact the doctor didn't even know she came in an ambulance" just indicates to me that she expected the doctors to assume her reason for being there was serious even though she only took it for transportation purposes. I have to also assume her "heart rate claims" were not accurate because a resting heart rate of 150 would definitely warrant some additional examination. That's a heart rate I get when I'm exercising on an elliptical or bike. She also has a tendency, outside of this issue, to be very self-victimizing -- blaming her downfalls on others when she is in fact allowing herself to be taken advantage of. "I don't know how they expect me to swallow these pills when I can barely open my mouth."

 

What are your thoughts? It's very hard for me to have a conversation with her over the matter when it all seems to point to "I'm overreacting."

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Boundary Problem

Is your friend a hypochondriac? I don't know. But she sure has your spidey-senses tingling.

 

 

With a hypochondriac their complaining/actions are disproportionate to their medical/health reality.

 

 

Here is what hypochondriacs may do:

1. They go to the dr once a week (or more);

2. They never are diagnosed with anything we would consider serious (they actually tend to be very healthy because they are at the dr once a week so minor rashes are always looked after etc.)

3. Everything is all about the medication (which they don't properly take);

4. They love talking about the side effects of the medication;

5. The "side effects" from the medication they are improperly taking spawn a round of at least 4 new doctors/specialists;

6. An appointment in a month with a specialist is never good enough. They keep calling the dr office to get the appointment moved up;

7. If they need a MINOR procedure done, they phone everybody about it, like the rest of us would do if we were going for something like open heart surgery.

8. They don't want to be interrupted when they are discussing all their multitude of pain and symptoms.

9. They will outlive us all.

 

In my experience you cannot change them. All you can do is decide to stop listening.

 

Their diagnosis becomes their way of life.

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I find the best tactic when a hypochondriac begins to speak about their medical issues is to say loudly in a very sympathetic voice: I am so sorry I am having an episode of tinitus and cannot hear you over the loud ringing in my ears. I will tell you when it stops. And then just point helplessly at your head.....

 

 

 

My friend last night had a slightly puffy face/neck and headache, claiming that it was hurting her to the point where she could hardly open her mouth. As she doesn't have transportation to the hospital, she called an ambulance to take her.

 

However, she told me later that her heart rate in the ambulance was 150 with high blood pressure and yet they wouldn't do anything to help her. At the hospital, apparently no tests were run because "they could only check for one thing and she should see a primary care doctor otherwise." She was given Oxycontin for the pain and clindamycin (I assume with the assumption that it'll help whatever infection may exist).

 

She told me "that the doctor didn't even know she came in an ambulance" and was surprised when she mentioned it. After all was said and done, she was returned home, and she's really upset with the hospital for "once again not helping her or caring."

 

Now, to me, I have to call BS here. For one thing, her claim about "the fact the doctor didn't even know she came in an ambulance" just indicates to me that she expected the doctors to assume her reason for being there was serious even though she only took it for transportation purposes. I have to also assume her "heart rate claims" were not accurate because a resting heart rate of 150 would definitely warrant some additional examination. That's a heart rate I get when I'm exercising on an elliptical or bike. She also has a tendency, outside of this issue, to be very self-victimizing -- blaming her downfalls on others when she is in fact allowing herself to be taken advantage of. "I don't know how they expect me to swallow these pills when I can barely open my mouth."

 

What are your thoughts? It's very hard for me to have a conversation with her over the matter when it all seems to point to "I'm overreacting."

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SadandConfusedWA

I will only comment on the heart rate: resting heart rate of 150 is possible when someone is feeling highly anxious or having a panic attack. (I had a heart rate of 160 just before I was about to go on stage and speak in front of 3000 people).

 

She could have been feeling panicky in the ambulance and it is quite possible that her health issues are very "real" in her mind even if they are not "real" in reality.

 

While she probably is a bit of hypochondriac, it doesn't mean that she is not scared, worried and in need of support.

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A resting hear rate of 160 is cause for alarm.. and is something that needs to be checked right away especially if it's sustained for longer than 20 minutes. I think your friend did the RIGHT thing by having that checked asap. Now, if they gave her a good cardio check up and her heart was said to be fine it's very possible she had a panic attack? I have been there.. with the same symtoms and after over a year of testing mine was ruled as anxeity related. So, I do not think your friend is a hypo. She probably got scared and with good reason. When your heart is racing off like a race horse for NO apparent reason it's enough to make anyone real nervous.. and when your nervous, your body can take the flight or fight response, it's the bodys natural panic button. If no other causes where found, I suggest she seek some counseling to try to get her anxiety under control.

 

Mea:)

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The first thing that came to mind with swollen face/jaw and hard to open mouth is TMJ. ( I had that before )

 

The second thing that came to mind was Fibromyalgia.

 

Either way, none of us here are doctors. Before you can conclude she is suffering from Hypochondria , I would go see your family doctor and see if he thinks she is in serious need of help and being ignored . Or if she in fact has this disease ( hypochondria ) and seeks attention for her lonliness.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Boundary Problem
With a hypochondriac their complaining/actions are disproportionate to their medical/health reality.

 

In my experience you cannot change them. All you can do is decide to stop listening.

 

Their diagnosis becomes their way of life.

 

 

 

This struck me as particularly true today.

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I can't even get my heart rate up to 150 when I'm on the treadmill. I'd say that if your friend talks about her ill health often, then she probably is a hypo. But if this is a one-time or rare incident, then it was probably legitimate.

 

She probably thought she'd get special treatment when she came in on an ambulance - and she will when she gets the bill. But, if she was for real, a lot of times drs don't always know what to do. It sounds like she had an allergic reation to something but it seems they would've figured that out fast enough. I would just back off from talking to her so much until her illness subsides, or let her talk about it for awhile and then change the subject.

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Boundary Problem
II would just back off from talking to her so much until her illness subsides, or let her talk about it for awhile and then change the subject.

 

 

A true hypochondriac is not willing to talk about anything else. They only talk about themselves and their illness.

 

Deciding not to listen is to walk away from a relationship with them.

 

Their "illness" becomes their reality and to keep talking about it reinforces their false reality. As I said, the true hypochondriac I know will likely outlive me and she is one of the most truly healthy people I know.

 

Basically they get to occupy the microphone, with little regard to the needs of the people around them.

 

They end up living a lonely life because they do not have empathy for the lives of those around them. Relationships are give and take.

 

Again I'm just basing this on my experience with a true hypochondriac, but I've had the "pleasure" of seeing her operate for about 8 years. And it never changes. When she feels like she is losing her audience, she ups the drama. The ambulance attendants try not to smirk when they show up. Because her screams of agony are totally disproportionate to the pain of her arthritis in her hands. And then she wants morphine injection after morphine injection.

 

On a particularly bitter day, I ask myself whether hypochondria is an excuse for drug addiction. Legalized drug addition because the medication is prescribed.

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Sounds like she has a real nasty tooth infection that has gone into the jawbone and surrounding muscles..

Many teeth that need root canals and left unattended can and will do that..

 

The pain is horrendous..

 

That being said.. she seems to have side for the dramatic.. an ambulance for a tooth infection..

 

Her resting heart rate would not have been able to be read in the ambulance.. she was under too much stress to have that read..

So I doubt they did her resting heart rate

 

It has always been my understanding that your resting heart rate was taken after sleep before you get out of bed..

 

How is her jaw bone now ?.. it take at least 2-3 days for clindamycin to stop the pain by killing the infection.

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Boundary Problem
Why wouldn't you take a cab, much less expensive than an ambulance. :eek:

 

 

Because they are "too ill" to walk 10 feet to open their own front door.

 

They prefer walking 5 feet to the phone and calling a family member to drive 1 hour across the city to open their front door for the ambulance attendance.

 

As I said, this has nothing to do with the reality that the rest of us live in.

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