My PATM cure!

[Stone1234]

My PATM started about 3 years ago, I can remember the exact day that I first became aware of it and it was a happy, normal day at work.

A little about me: I was then a young, unmarried, female medical doctor, and I like to say, with no problem in this world. So, no psychological, emotional or financial stress beyond the usual.

Post PATM; Within the first 6 months, I became a shadow of myself. I read every article, every research, every theory, every...I washed my apartment with bleach, was convinced it was a bug, I went on strong antibiotics, antiviral, antifungals, even anti worms, ran a number of tests, shared my situation with a few doctor friends who didn't believe me.

I would enter an hospital room with very sick people and many would break out coughing vigorously, I feared I was going to kill someone, and I started having panic attacks, severe anxiety. I had every PATM symptom known to man, both the believable and unbelievable once. It was an ordeal.

The cure; About 8 months later, I summoned the courage to see specialists on ear, nose and throat who found nothing significant but they called in a psychiatrist who suggested placing me on antipsychotics. I refused and took a month work leave.

During this leave, a traveled to see old friends to relax, then I did some self reflection, and decided to never mention my PATM again and pretend as if nothing is wrong, and take my life back. When I go on dates, I screened them on how much they react to me. I pushed my PATM to the back of my mind, stopped all medications and never discussed it.

PATM now; It's not gone, it's with me everyday, I have some degree of social phobia and I don't go out unless necessary, and I think it snipped off some of my sense of pride and self esteem. But beyond that, I'm happy, I am married and expecting my second child, (I was scared I would hurt my baby too), but she is fine. I have less friends not because of PATM, but because I became more introverted.

Happiness is a choice!

[endya1]

I love this! Thanks for sharing! I wholeheartedly agree with happiness being a choice for all of us until someone finds an answer for this. May I ask, had you taken any pain meds before the onset of PATM?

[Stone1234]

No. I don’t think so, it’s been a while it started but knowing myself , I don’t take anything stronger than Paracetamol ( tylenol) , and that’s like once in 6 month.

[patmhalp]

Doesn't sound like you cured PATM only that you learned to live with it and ignore it, something I myself have been trying to do over the past several years.

With your connection to the medical community, couldn't you find a doctor in your network that didn't think this was a psychological disorder?  Like find somebody who always has allergic reactions to you, especially sneezing and empirically show this other doctor what happens when you are nearby?  This would be a great first step into better understanding this phenomenon.

[PATMsince2022]

Patm is electromagnetic sensitivity, try to stay from wireless devices such as mobile phones as much as you can for a day or two and then compare the reactions you get or lack thereof

[Stone1234]

During the heat of it, I had a close male doctor friend who was present through it all, He agreed with me, but I doubt if he truly believed me. Also, my anxiety was massive, so much that I destroyed all my clothes, moved out of my house into his house and later into a BnB, while I washed my house down with bleach,  I think this would have also casted some shadow on whatever I said. Also, another male doctor friend visited me during this period, and was with me while I went to see a child patient and I tried to show him, his argument was that the child was already sick and was oxygen, that anything could have caused the bout of cough. These were friends that have known me for 10-15 yrs, all doctors. Even my parents didn’t, they were more concerned when I went to have a CT done, and also when the psychiatrist were called in.