Hello, I am a little better. I have been trying to keep perspective. I found an article trying to look at risks of DIY exposure and it was estimated 1.4 x risk (1x is non exposure) so there can be an increased risk but overall it's still a small increase. From speaking to my parents (we used to play with the stuff) to my neighbour (used to have an asbestos ironing board and loved pulling it apart) and my brother (has cut through a few insulation boards by mistake in line of work) they are all not worried about this, they are all living their lives. The risks are massively increased by smoking, so not smoking will help us. Also the men who remove it, their face masks etc do not filter out every particle and they are regulated to remove it and get some exposure. 
 

Did you ever see any information that helped?
 

I'm 36 with a 15 month old boy. I've got everything I could want in life. after moving into an older property that had a few problems I looked to fix them myself to save money. In the process a family member cut a A4 sized hole in what I now know is AIB while I was present. This sort of exposure is much higher than most of the examples on here but I'm stuck with a very silly mistake and all my fingers crossed I get to see my boy grow up. 

danieluk37    Would it be possible to also receive the iinformation you received from the leading researcher? I too am a nervous wreck over asbestos that it has consumed my daily life.i wish we didnt have to worry about dangerous things in life!!!

dee dee i sent u a friend request

Hello [@Danieluk37]‍ 

Would it be possible to please forward me the information you have sourced?

[@Deedee4321]‍ 

We have very similar stories and I am also struggling and reacting the way you are too. I am so sorry you are going through this too.

Your home is supposed to be your safe place so to have that safe place not feel safe is traumatic. 
 

I have OCD and health anxiety which stems from my daughters birth as she was quite unwell when born. Rationally I know my brain is predisposed to react this way and my rational side of my brain is reassuring me the risk is small. 
 

Knowledge is power. You have identitied the asbestos in your home and moving forward you can now manage it safely. You now have control. A large proportion of homes in the UK contain asbestos and a large proportion of home owners don't even know it's there. You are now in control and can make informed decisions when choosing to decorate/ renovate.

I have sought GP advice, started medication and am due to start counciling soon to help with my anxieties. 
 

I see so much reassurance which is incredible but sometimes no amount of reassurance will do when your brain is wired the way it is. 

Sending you love x

I too like the majority of people in this thread have been exposed to asbestos. In my case more than once. 

There's too many instances of it in our own house. We live in what used to be a bungalow which was converted to a dorna bungalow in the 80's. Unfortunately whichever company did the conversion used a lot of asbestos cement as packers below the joists inbetween the downstairs ceiling and the upstairs floorboards with added dust and debris.

I could write paragraphs and paragraphs as to what I keep finding in the house or how I come in contact with asbestos.

It's driving me crazy. My OCD is getting way out of hand and at the moment I'm not coping very well.

[@Danieluk37]‍  Is there any chance you could send me the info you have, it sounds like you did a lot of detective work which helped your anxeity.

[@Deedee4321]‍ I hope you are sorted now.

I'm not sure if Danieluk37 will see this as he last signed into this message board over a year ago. I also see its been nearly a year since Deedee4321 signed in. I hope she is ok.

Did anyone who requested info from Danieluk37 receieve it? 

Thanks in advance

Hi DeeDee. 

I'm in the same situation as you. We've been having work done in the kitchen. We had asbestos tiles under the flooring. A family member decided to try to take these tiles up and in doing so broke many of them in the process. I was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time and was in a sling. I came downstairs to find broken tiles, dust and debris on the kitchen floor. I've since discovered these tiles were asbestos. Now I'm worried sick, frustrated and angry. This may sound silly but what worries me more than anything is my dogs' health. I can't help it. I've worried myself sick over this. 

In my experience, builders are as cautious about asbestos as you are and won't risk themselves by being casual about what they are doing with the stuff. Aside from their health, they could be fined or sued. It's usual to feel anxious when we have a new baby and sometimes when we are in hyper vigilant mode our minds will look for things to worry about. This is how we protect ourselves and those we love. It can be hard to switch this off as it's almost like a habit. Do have a chat with your health visitor or GP if you stay anxoius like this. Congratulations, by the way X

Morning all,

Dad and I removed my floor tiles and a ceiling in my house, not knowing they contained asbestos (assumption as I never got them tested).. My mental health suffered for 6 months once I found out (couldn’t eat, sleep, work, function, Suicidal  thoughts!) Then my logical brain kicked in (after countless arguments with my dad and brother about this), my dad and brother are right! The house work I did caused me to have low exposure (lets say 1-4% asbestos in floor tiles and artex) to asbestos, most of the fibers would have been bound with other materials. So over all my risk are low.. As my brother pointed out am I going to start worrying about the harm fried food does to my body? Stop having BBQ because the burn’t food is carogentic? Stop eating red meat? Stop drinking water because of the contaminants (he’s a marine biologist).. not get into a car because I might have a accident? The list go on... as you can see, we (high percentage of the population) have been exposed to asbestos but there are more important things to concentrate on. You need to accept your exposure which is more than likely to be low and move on.. because it won’t be asbestos that kills you, it will be something else.

take care, much love xx