Hi, I'm new to the forum and until now (I'm nearly 42) I never knew there was such a society.
Now, I don't I'm really 'phobic' since I don't spend quite so much of my life avoiding every possible situation that might induce V*. I'm allergic to crab so don't eat it and white wine/champagne can make me ill as it's very acidic.
OK - to the point!
Every time that v* becomes inevitable (such as with norovirus which I've had twice) or even possible (too much to drink and room spinning - I hate that), I do everything possible to avoid 'it'. I won't lie down (makes it worse), I'll stand out in the cold fresh air, I'll spend hours and hours all night pacing around trying to quell every wave of n* and I have also recently started taking anti-emetics (this is an aside).
So - sometimes I 'win' and it doesn't happen (the drink scenario). But sometimes I lose.
Question is, does anybody else go through this 'fight'?
And second thing - I don't think I have the same general anxiety levels, but my phobia is more based on the physical sensation (based on bad experiences as a child? I'm not sure...). But the fear for me doesn't start until the feeling that I may actually v* becomes pretty obvious. Is there anyone else like me out there??
I'm about to go skiing in France and I'm paranoid enough to be taking a lot of measures with me to avoid contracting norovirus again. It's bloody horrible.. to say the least.
ems