Hey folks,
I've been dealing with my hypochondriac mother for years now, but recently it's been having a profound negative effect on everyone in the house.
A couple of weeks ago, she lost her driving license, for a year, as a result of an epilepsy* diagnosis; basically, a few months ago, she had an episode in which she experienced a repetitive deja vu feeling, which lasted, on and off, the entire day.
This was persistently reported to various doctors, and ultimately led to my mother being diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy.
I don't disagree with the diagnosis. However, I feel that her tendencies towards being a hypochondriac, in general, have caused her stress levels to rise, such that her "seizure threshold" (epileptics know what I'm talking about) has been breached.
Over the past couple of months, my mother has had all of the following:
Any normal infection=leukemia
Wisdom tooth coming in=gum cancer
Contact dermatitis=chemical burn
Vitamin B deficiency=cancer
Rumbling stomach=stomach cancer
Good blood result="highly unusual and suspicious" blood result
Small tonsular cyst=throat cancer
Blood blister on tongue=mouth cancer
Aforementioned diagnosis of epilepsy=brain tumour
More recently, she's been acutely aware of snapping at myself, my father, or the dog, and she's now convinced that she's "losing the plot" -mentally- so to speak. She has been taking anti-epileptic medication, as prescribed, and is wary that this might be a contributing factor.
I work with a girl whose mother has a bona-fide brain tumour, so I sometimes feel that this is not a particularly big deal when put into the greater context of possibility. That being said, I find myself thinking that at least that girl and her mother have a real enemy to fight against, and not an army of phantoms. Banish the thought!
My question is; how do I deal with this condition?
*As an interesting aside; I, myself have epilepsy, and have done since 2005 (although I have now been seizure free for a number of years, and can drive), the seizures I experienced, were of a more...obvious nature.
I've been dealing with my hypochondriac mother for years now, but recently it's been having a profound negative effect on everyone in the house.
A couple of weeks ago, she lost her driving license, for a year, as a result of an epilepsy* diagnosis; basically, a few months ago, she had an episode in which she experienced a repetitive deja vu feeling, which lasted, on and off, the entire day.
This was persistently reported to various doctors, and ultimately led to my mother being diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy.
I don't disagree with the diagnosis. However, I feel that her tendencies towards being a hypochondriac, in general, have caused her stress levels to rise, such that her "seizure threshold" (epileptics know what I'm talking about) has been breached.
Over the past couple of months, my mother has had all of the following:
Any normal infection=leukemia
Wisdom tooth coming in=gum cancer
Contact dermatitis=chemical burn
Vitamin B deficiency=cancer
Rumbling stomach=stomach cancer
Good blood result="highly unusual and suspicious" blood result
Small tonsular cyst=throat cancer
Blood blister on tongue=mouth cancer
Aforementioned diagnosis of epilepsy=brain tumour
More recently, she's been acutely aware of snapping at myself, my father, or the dog, and she's now convinced that she's "losing the plot" -mentally- so to speak. She has been taking anti-epileptic medication, as prescribed, and is wary that this might be a contributing factor.
I work with a girl whose mother has a bona-fide brain tumour, so I sometimes feel that this is not a particularly big deal when put into the greater context of possibility. That being said, I find myself thinking that at least that girl and her mother have a real enemy to fight against, and not an army of phantoms. Banish the thought!
My question is; how do I deal with this condition?
*As an interesting aside; I, myself have epilepsy, and have done since 2005 (although I have now been seizure free for a number of years, and can drive), the seizures I experienced, were of a more...obvious nature.
