I Just Know my 24 year old son is having A/P

It's not enough that I have this DD...

My son...who has always been a bit hypochondriacal (with good reason...had some health problems when he was little: pneumonia that lasted a month at age 10, high blood pressure at age 11, an ulcer at age 12, asthma ... none of which he still has..). When his gf went in for surgery on Monday to have her gallbladder removed (scheduled for over a month), and she's recovering fine, but right after that he started having chest pain, shortness of breath, feeling of a lump in his throat, some heartburn (do these symptoms sound familiar?). He went to his doctor and had check-up and chest x-ray, all was fine. He still thinks something is wrong and I can SEE this A/P in his face! He is a wreck! I keep telling him it's anxiety over worrying about his gf, but he doesn't believe me... "I don't want to have anxiety" is what he is telling me. He is going to make another appointment and see the doc again to be re-checked. I asked him to read up on A/P, but he is totally convinced that he has some horrid disease. I'm not telling him to go on meds.. just to try to realize that this stressful event probably caused him to have anxiety, and now the health anxiety is making it worse...

Any suggestions?

Bear

Hey bear, sorry to hear that your boy is going through a tough time. I think it was a good move to encourage him to read and get some info on A/P, but ultimately he will have to come to terms with this on his own and in his time. Be patient and give him lots of love and support, as I'm sure you are already doing! It would be a good idea for him to mention to his Dr. that his mom has A/P, as they will probably tell him that this does run in families...thus making the diagnonses easier for him to accept. (he can blame it on you, isn't that what our kids are sooo good at? lol!) Take care, hugs and prayers to you and your son.

Scaredy Cat

Hi Michelle, Scaredy Cat, and Lyn,

Thank you all for your kind replies. My son is going back to see his doctor again tomorrow (and his girlfriend is going with him to make sure he asks ALL the right questions). I am totally convinced he is having panic attacks... last night (during one of my insomniac episodes) he got up and told me he couldn't sleep... feeling like he couldn't breathe, and I could see the fear in his face. I talked him into joining us , which he did, and has gotten many helpful replies. This is all new to him, and I remember how it feels for this to just start up "out of the blue". I'm hoping the doctor will be able to alleviate some of his fear. It is so hard to see my son go through this, and with me being in the middle of a relapse with my depression, it's really difficult. Thank you again for your kind support.

Bear

(Hugs) Im sorry about your son! Its so difficult to go through it ourselves but to watch one of our children go through it must be awful. Mine are all still young, but I worry that they will have it when they are older. ( My mom had it) Good luck I hope he finds some relief at the Dr. Maybe get on some type of med to help calm him.