Major Health Anxiety & The Patch

Hello hello!

I’ve been to my sexual health clinic and they’ve put me on the Evra patch as I’m going back onto isotretinoin and one of the requirements is that I need to be on a form of contraception. I was so ready to whack it on this morning but did as advised and read the leaflet first and well, now I feel like crying.

I know statistically that the pros will outweigh the cons and that rare side effects mean RARE. Yet no matter how much I try to self convince, I still have the nagging doubt in my mind saying “well couldn’t you be one of the unlucky few”. I constantly imagine the worst out of every situation in my everyday life and think something catastrophic will happen multiple times a day. I worry that I’ll go onto this patch, fixate on the symptoms so much that I’ll somehow end up experiencing the symptoms, freak myself out and rip the patch off. I am in therapy for my extreme health anxiety but don’t see them until the end of this week to share my concerns.

Has anyone had any serious symptoms whilst being on the patch? Would anyone not reccomend the patch? Am I being ridiculous right now? Probably.