I think my husband is a hypochondriac and it's getting on my nerves. Anyone ever been in my shoes?

I have not laughed this hard in ages! Men are babies when it comes to pain.

First of all, if he is a hypochondriac you can tell him CAT scans give him a lot of radiation.

Here’s the thing. Does he think he is dying, or does he have more shit happen to him than you. If he has a two or three day headache, and has not recently quit caffeine, that is odd. Is he like this about every little thing that happens? Or, only particular health problems?

If I have a headache, I just take an aspirin and a cup of coffee. We men seem to think that the pain is worst than it is. That’s why woman give birth. If us dudes had to do it, the human race would become extinct

Sounds like he’s related to my husband. Though I know with mine some of his ailments are real but most could be remedied if he took better care of himself. Practically everyday I have to hear him tell me he is going to die before me. And yes, he has doctors appointments at least once a month, not to mention all the meds he take.

To you I say stay strong.

@JLeslie He doesn’t drink coffee (maybe once a month), and the shit that he complains about are things like headaches, or his chest hurts or he feels “funny” (and this is a real quote from him). He has never had a serious symptom where the doctors found anything wrong with him even after many expensive tests and exams. While we were in the ER today, I happened to mention that my big toe was hurting a little. Probably because I was running on the treadmill today for an hour. No big deal to me. He immediately said that I should have the doctor look at my toe. My TOE?!?!? This is the way he thinks. If something minor is bothering you, it’s time to see a doctor. In the past he has had headaches and it might last a day or 2. I suggest taking a tylenol or Motrin but he will insist on going to a doctor because he’s convinced his blood pressure is thru the roof and he’s going to have a heart attack. I think he gets the headaches and makes himself have the other symptoms to back up his diagnosis out of anxiety.

I’ve got to stick up for some men here. My husband can take the pain. Now his friend Andy, he’s a completely different story. Biggest pussy evah!

I also think it is hereditary. My FIL act the same way. He has doctors appointments for different specialists every day of the week and his ex-wife calls him the ‘Guinea Pig” because he has had so many surgical procedures and aches and pains. My husband on the other hand is healthy and only 37 yrs old. He will complain about his stomach, and gas pains, and his shoulder hurts, etc. It takes a lot for me to go seek medical attention. I’m a rock. If I’m in pain I drink some herb tea and take a nap.

@AmWiser LOLOL. Im comforted that Im not the only wife putting up with this.

@Akua trust me, I could tell you some stories. tehehehe

No. (I don’t have a husband) and No I’ve never had a partner who was a hypochondriac. Nymphomaniac, but that’s for another thread.

@Akua Well, you live with him, so I would guess you would know if he is like this all of the time, exaggerating symptoms, and seemingly liking going to see the doctor. I have crap wrong with me all of the time, but I tend to avoid the doctor, and I never think I am dying, except one time, when I was really really sick. My husband, who is a little bit of a baby when he is sick, does whatever I tell him to do. He won’t get the medicine himself, he has to be waited on, but if I tell him to wait a week and see if he gets better, he will do it. If I tell him he has to go to the doctor, he will do it. If he had a three day headache I would have him go to the doctor, but he does not suffer from headaches, except when he fails to have his caffeine. Actually, my husband generally is in the frame of mind that a doctor will make him feel better, even for things that I can treat him for. But, like I said he defers to my opinion. I’m always right by the way. LOL.

Your husband may have some weird thing wrong with him, and then he works himself up into a tizzy. The actual thing wrong with him may never be diagnosed, because like a doctor once told me, if you are not sick enough, doctors probably won’t be able to detect anything, bu tyou know something is not right. This knowledge makes me go to the doctor less often, not more. When the doctor clears him of brain tumors and intestinal cancer does he breath a sigh of relie? Or, is he frustrated they found nothing?

Today the doc told him that they were going to give him a CAT scan and he smiled and said “Oh Good!”. I wanted to slap him. He seemed happy to have them testing him however they wanted to but then seemed disappointed when they told him they found nothing. Everything was great and he’s in good health. He seemed almost embarrassed and couldn’t wait to get out of there then.

@Akua I agree with you, I think he gets it from his dad. I still say tell him he is going to get cancer from the CAT scans.

Laugh all you want. When he dies from an aneurysm or some other brain defect you will cry your sorry eyes out for how you felt here.

When I was in high school, I overheard my mother arguing with my dad that she thought I was a hypochondriac. It hurt so much because I realized that she didn’t believe a word I was saying. It was possible that I was perfectly healthy, but it felt as though there was something seriously wrong. Getting tests done, paying for hospital visits – it’s all a pain in the arse, but it’s worse living with the fear that you might be ill.

@Ben_Dover When he has a legitimate health issue (and even when he doesn’t) I’m still there for him, just like I was in the ER with him today. I could have told him to wake me when he got home. But as I suspected the CAT scan didn’t see any aneurysm. As a matter of fact I told him before he went in that I hoped he didn’t have one.

@muppetish I understand you perfectly. I too have had times when fear has gripped me and I worried about being terminally ill. I’ve had a lump in my left breast and thought it was cancer (it wasn’t) and I have worried over abnormal pap smears (also nothing). But in each of those cases I had a reason to question my health. It showed up on a test or I had real symtoms. Life is too short for me to look for sickness. I know my body well enough to know when I really need to see a medical professional and when it’s just a little twinge or ache and it’s a part of life. Bodies do that.

@Akua You said he doesn’t drink coffee, that is not the same as not drinking caffeine. Does he drink soft drinks?

No soft drinks, no coffee. He is very conscious about his health for the most part. He likes his sweets tho and the only thing I see him consume with a moderate amount of caffeine is chocolate. but not enuf to give him the symptoms he has.

I think my stepson is like that. Everytime he comes home on leave I spent the day at the ER because his jaw hurts. They found nothing. He was worried one time because a condomn broke and he screwed a girl at port and he had a disease. Spent another day at the doctor. Nothing. It seems one thing or another. But I must say he has awesome insurance. I love him him so I deal with it, with a smile.

Well, we did not get his age, if he is not a spring chicken anymore he might figure better safe than sorry.

Maybe he loves the attention he gets from doctors.
I have the opposite problem. Mine minimizes any illness no matter how serious it is or could be.He could be in utter agony and just sleeps. I’m surprised he’s still alive.

Maybe he just needs a real serious ailment to straighten him out. I hear that malaria is good for that.
I like to think that most guys are more like @Aster‘s husband.

@Akua Salt can cause blood-pressure headaches as well, in some people. But most of the time, a headache is a headache.

@Nullo where can I get a syringe full of Malaria? I’d be willing to test out your theory.

@Akua Malaria is a naturally-occurring substance. See map for details.

@Nullo thanks.