Abdominal pain question?

Question

I have upper middle to right abdominal pain that sometimes spreads to my back in the middle right area. I know most of you willl say go see a doctor but I have Iatrophobia which is a fear of going to the doctors. It sounds stupid but I'm cursed with this. Some people told me it may be gallstones that is causing my back and abdominal pain. Are there meds or home remedies I can try or what other problem could my symptoms be? Those are the only two symptoms I have. Bowel movement and urination are both normal.
Thanks

Answer 1

Based on your description, gall stones are a good possibility, but the timing and patterns of the pain are also an important diagnostic. It would be foolish to try remedies for gall stones without knowing if gallstones are a problem, and for the most part, there are no effective home remedies anyhow. Bear in mind that complications from gall stones can kill you, so if you begin to experience nausea, more intense pain, or your urine starts appearing brownish, you will have to decide if going to the doctor is worse than dying from a blocked bile duct.

Maybe you need to do two things: (1) try a few self-help techniques to overcome the doctor fear - it is sometimes amazingly easy if you work at it; and (2) make an appointment to get evaluated.

Here's something to consider about phobias: you know the fear is irrational, but your body reacts like there is real danger, so you experience rapid breathing, maybe feel like you are going to pass out, your pulse rate increases, and you feel panicky. Once you experienced this sort of thing by visiting the doctor, what you actually end up fearing is the symptoms of a panic attack, and not really the doctor.

With most phobias, the problem is that when you begin to feel anxiety or panic, you try to fight it, which creates more anxiety, and causes more panic. The more you try to fight back the panic, the worse the panic becomes. It doesn't occur to most people that there isn't any reason to fight the panic because it is nothing more than a normal reaction to adrenalin.

So, tell yourself that you expect to experience panic feelings when you visit the doctor, and that you know there is no actual threat when you feel panicky. Learn a few techniques to calm yourself, and you may be able to cope with a doctor visit. The link below is very helpful.

Answer 2

Since you have fear of going to the dr do you also have fear of a telephone?/ If not call your local er and ask for a triage nurse and ask her