Health anxiety #4

[QueenBW]

Can anyone else feel painless hard what I assume is a lymph node in their groin? not really how I want to start off a new year but the what ifs are spiralling

Not right now but I've felt it and it could be many things, among them your body fighting a virus. The lymph nodes everywhere can get swollen and become palpable. Keep an eye on it, if you don't come down with something or feel sickly and it doesn't go away in a couple weeks you can get it checked but in my experience it's never been anything serious.

 

[ChampagneBox]

My prescription came in today as normal so panic over for now! They have given me loads of packets though lol

 

[QueenBW]

So last month my period cycle was only 22 days, which is the shortest ever for me, so now this month I’m paranoid it’ll do it again and I’ll have to go to the drs and it’ll turn out to be ovarian cancer or something

Big breaths and remember periods do funky stuff for all sorts of reasons. Stress chief among them. If your weight fluctuates. If one hormone is off for some totally benign reason. Keep track of it as well as other things like spotting, headaches, pain anywhere, mood, weight fluctuations, so if it does it a few more times and you go to the doctor you have a robust data set of the anomalies for them 🩵

 

[Suzesnooze]

So last month my period cycle was only 22 days, which is the shortest ever for me, so now this month I’m paranoid it’ll do it again and I’ll have to go to the drs and it’ll turn out to be ovarian cancer or something

I have never heard of that as a symptom of ovarian cancer?

I wouldn’t worry about your cycle. Mine has never been regular and used to be all over the place.

 

[JLXRD]

All the clinicians were absolutely amazing, I think they could tell I was close to tears haha. My lump turned out to be nothing, just breast tissue. I had an ultrasound (not old enough for a mam) which confirmed it and then I was off on my way. Took about 20 minutes tops.

Have a Google of your local breast clinic. It's likely you would have been referred there.

Oh thank you, I’m glad they were so lovely. I’m also thinking I might not be old enough for a mammogram? (31, though maybe in boob terms that is old, idk ). I kind of hope so bc it doesn’t look very comfortable, obvs I will have it if needed though.

Ive just logged into my NHS app and I can see the referral letter with some details so if I don’t hear anything over the next couple of days I’ll give them a call.

 

[ChampagneBox]

If you suffer from health anxiety it’s not something I advise - with my current issue all notes and referrals got uploaded at once so it looked like a abormal ultrasound triggered a CT scan, MRI & biopsy - had a absolute meltdown & luckily dr called me back within a few hours but it’s defo put me off reading it as a non healthcare person xx

I agree with this, if you’re sensitive don’t do it!!

 

[Tommyb]

Don’t know if this is the right place to post but I felt a lump in my breast a few days ago and started to prod and poke it to get a good feel, today it feels much more prominent. Has anyone experienced this? Have a docs app booked

If you poke and prod it will swell! Had this 100s of times. Try to leave it alone... hard I know. Likelihood is it's nothing but get doc to check it out to help put your mind at rest.

 

[Tommyb]

Tummy seems to be much better, still a little sensitive but the poop is still green. I don't want to google but will try and see the Dr tomorrow. Hopefully just an infection or bug???

It could be as simple as eating too many greens but generally a sign a of food going throughtl the intestines too quickly so IBS/ stomach bug etc.

 

[Honeystar]

Hi Everyone. Feeling really anxious about a red mark I've found on one of my breasts. It's been there a few weeks, originally I thought it might have been a spot and would go away but its still there and it hasn't really gone down in size. It's probably about the size of a 1p, reddish with a little bit of purple in the middle. I'm not sure if I've potentially made it worse by poking around it. I have made a doctors appointment but it isn't until the end of July so I'm a little bit stressed and googling isn't helping at all. I suppose I'm just asking really could it still be a spot after a couple of weeks, or a blemish of sorts or has anyone else had similar? I can be a bit of a nightmare when it comes to my body and always panic about the slightest change.

I’ve had something similar, I had a red patch/spot appear that then grew a yellow head and the whole thing looked so angry. I actually happened to be at the breast clinic after finding a lump (which was also fine) and I flagged it up to the breast nurse. She said it was dermatological eg a spot, and that something on the skin like that is rarely anything concerning. She also said the skin on our breasts is sooo thin and sensitive compared to the rest of our body so even a hot shower can make it flare up and things tend to look angrier on the breast than elsewhere on the body- I’m sure it’s something similar but know exactly how you’ll be feeling whilst you wait!

 

[Interestingbitsnbats]

Does anyone find having mental illness and anxiety makes you worse when you get flu I'm a crying mess that hates being ill. Being in bed trying to recover makes me over think. The though of having to move (ie toilet,go downstairs for my fluids) makes me cry. My head gets too hot and I spend most of my time not sleeping it off and worrying about not being believed at work I'm ill. Feels like my tablets i take don't mix well with cold and flu tablets

 

[BBC1HD]

Oh thank you, I’m glad they were so lovely. I’m also thinking I might not be old enough for a mammogram? (31, though maybe in noon terms that is old, idk ). I kind of hope so bc it doesn’t look very comfortable, obvs I will have it if needed though.

Ive just logged into my NHS app and I can see the referral letter with some details so if I don’t hear anything over the next couple of days I’ll give them a call.

Yeah you won't have one! I'm 33!

Honestly, take a deep breath. I spent weeks googling statistics and the odds are in your favour that it will be ok.

 

[QueenBW]

Anxiety is an evil bastard and non sufferers don't understand that it's not just mental health that's affected, it has masses of physical symptoms. At my worst, I was constantly dizzy, getting head rushes, tingling, chest pains, breathlessness. Bizarrely, now I'm post menopause (touch wood), I rarely get attacks any more. Easier said than done, but try not to let your mind overtake you and know that you have had tests that have ruled out anything sinister. I really do sympathise.

Hormones affect so many physical things that can in turn affect mental health, like the thyroid gland, our gut, etc. Anxiety can be part of PMS and the question of which came first, the hormonal changes or the anxiety in that scenario as far as I know isn't fully answered. The menstrual cycle likely has direct effects on our MH, but of course research is limited because... who even cares about something that happens to 50% of the population every month for like a significant chunk of their lives, eh? I've got PCOS and anxiety is one of the major symptoms too.

I wish mental health were better researched and understood, because yes, it's not "just in your head" at all. I once landed in hospital with a panic attack, convinced I was having a heart attack and it was bad enough that I did get an EKG and other tests ordered by the doctors.

I'll get off my soapbox now haha. Hope you all feel alright today <3

 

[ChampagneBox]

And another thing freaking me out. Got blood test results back and while my platelets are fine now, now my eosinophils are low. Anyone had that before?

Yes I had this! But it was my neutrophils I think? But mine wee as possibly related to the radio iodine treatment I had for thyroid cancer, and by the next blood test they’d gone back to normal!

Anyone else had this bad cold/flu that’s going around? waking up in the morning damp from night sweats and my glands are more swollen than usual for when I’m ill…

 

[Cthomas491993]

Hi guys, wondering for any advice at all… terrible HA sufferer, had therapy etc, and constantly flipping from on disease to the next, whether about myself or my children … anyway over the last couple of days I’ve feel like pressure type of feeling above my pelvis, right at the bottom of stomach, almost on my pelvic bone in the middle, feels wierd in my thighs when i walk and also a feeling on pressure / pulling feeling when I wee, it’s so strange! Can anyone shed light on this? Obviously Google tells me all sorts of cancers etc, which are sending me more, otherwise feel ok in myself x

 

[JLXRD]

Thanks all here for the reassuring messages, helped to have somewhere to put those intrusive thoughts about signs etc so i appreciate it

 

[Tommyb]

I’ve had this exact fear! If you’ve lost weight or like the poster below have saggy boobs, that can cause stretch marks that look like dimpling! I had an US and consultation with a breast consultant and I was fine!!

Thank you!. I do have stretch marks!. I can even see a couple running through the area!. Iv been looking in all forms of light today and finally looked in full daylight and there is no pulling in of the skin. It just a different colour and more flat the rest of the area. (likely from the stretch marks/veins) to the rest of it. It just trying to tell my eyes what they are seeing is wrong!

I'm going to show my mum this week. She's always honest with me.

 

[JLXRD]

Going to sound nuts but I feel like I’m getting weird ‘signs’ and I know this is ridiculous but…

The book I was reading the person found a lump and got breast cancer. The tv show I’m watching, one of the cast just announced they had been diagnosed with breast cancer. My audio book just had a character die from … you guessed it, breast cancer.

I know it’s mad to make those associations but my brain immediately goes ‘the universe made you choose those things to read/watch/listen to as signs’.

this is a thread on health anxiety so if I’m going to share my irrationality I may as well do it here

 

[Lucie1001]

Oh that's good to hear! I'm hyper vigilant with moles and freckles and a new one sends me spiralling every.single.time

yeah, skin cancer is my biggest fear!

 

[MidnightAura]

No one knows your boobs better than you, the go can only say what they feel in that moment, but chances are it’s just a normal lump! its really hard waiting I know do you have an appt yet?

No, not yet,the GP says I should hear “within the month” Meanwhile my mind is going crazy!
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So I have a weird humming/muffled feeling in my left ear. It started last Thursday after I used earphones for too long. And maybe too loud. Then it went away over the weekend. Then on Monday like an idiot I used them again and it restarted.

I'd obviously convinced myself it's a brain tumor or MS.

And then I started having a scratchy throat.

So now I'm like... Coincidence? Covid? Something else?

This close to Christmas I truly can't cope with my health anxiety .

Sending hugs, health anxiety is the worst. Is your ear blocked? I had that before it was blocked with wax.

 

[JLXRD]

Yeah you won't have one! I'm 33!

Honestly, take a deep breath. I spent weeks googling statistics and the odds are in your favour that it will be ok.

Thank you! I hope so so reassuring to hear from someone who has recently been through the same and it was ok so thankyou. All I could find online otherwise was the stories that didn’t turn out so well so it’s nice to see it’s not necessarily going to be bad news.