Scalp/Skull Lump

[Tifa]

Hiya first id like to say hello im new here but have been a lurker for a longtime. Ill make this short as possible. I suffer with extreme health anxiety and other anxiety but this one is bad. I am cracking myself including my family and husband and daughter up with it and even myself so i need a place i can come and this seems nice so here i am.

I found a lump/bump on my head on Boxing day i thought not much of it and then started to poke at it and get worried, it feels solid and a bit like a pea maybe a little larger...if i pull the skin it seems to pop out more and if i press firmly it stays squashed down for a little while. I have had it a little while and in the end got myself into a panic and went to the docter, a nice man who i proceeded to break down in front of and explained my fear of it being a tumour and my anxiety, he checked the lump and said it was nothing and i had probably banged my head ( I have not) i told him this and he said it was nothing and that it moved and was in my skin and that the hair and everything looked fine, i was praying he would say cyst as i have googled this and i could cope with that and would prob leave alone. He said keep and eye on it and if it got bigger or sore to come back. He said it is not a tumour but what is it? i am going out of my mind with worry i am on google every chance so i have come here in the hope i can get some help. He also gave me tablets to treat my anxiety and i am seeing him in another week, any help would be apreciated and i am sorry for the long post ^^

[and_y]

I think the fact that the doctor didn’t worry is a good sign as if he thought for a second it was something bad he would have run more tests it does sound like a bump or maybe even just a spot the fact that you have been probing it prob just made it a little irritated i would just try not to touch/think about it and you'll prob find it will vanish.

[Tifa]

Heya thanks for the reply, it is really worrying me and i know it isn't a spot as it feels quite hard and no blemish on the skin itself...i am trying not to poke it but i am terrible :( i also know the Doctor knows best its just having no diagnosis thats making me panic more.

[Tifa]

Anyone else going out of my mind with worry :(

[theharvestmouse]

You've had it for over 2 weeks? Don't think its a spot then, you can always go back for a 2nd opinion.

[Tifa]

Hiya thanks for replying ^^

Its not a spot no and had it almost 3 weeks, if i pull the skin on my scalp it kind of pops out like a pea and is quite hard, then i have been pressing on it also >.< and when i do it goes flat, and stays down then comes back up and there is no redness or soreness or anything just this lump. I thought maybe it was a cyst and i can handle that but he said it was nothing to worry about but it wasn't a tumour or cyst he said...it is squishy as i can flatten it. Sorry im so worried.

[Carys]

Does sound like a sebaceous cyst doesn't it, odd that he couldn't tell you what it was.

I have something quite similar to what you are describing that I get from bug bites, and I currently have 5 or 6 in assorted places. I had them checked by the doctor a few years ago and apparently they are a sort of localised reaction under the skin that results in the soft squishy non-hurty lump you are describing. Mine tend to stick around for a few years and then spontaneously disappear, oddly.

Tumours that are close to the skin surface are really easy for doctors to diagnose (apparently) as you can tell by how they are connected to the skin, underlying tissue and their texture/feel. So, I'm sure he would have said if there was any need for biposy etc.

[Tifa]

Hiya Carys thanks for the reply :)

Yeh i can't handle not knowing what it is :( its a bad thing as you know for people who have this type of anxiety. I am due to go back on Friday as i he ran some blood tests for hormone imbalance etc. I will try not to poke it..though i know i will!! It is hard but can be squashed flat, not sure about a bug bite but it could be anything so i don't know. He said there was nothing to Biopsy but when you can feel it yourself and it feels like a hard/pea lump it frightens you. Thanks for your kind posts it does help :)

[Tifa]

Well i went back to the doctor and told him i was unsure about medication Citalopram and was still thinking about it. I also had a chat and he looked at the lump again and still insisted it was nothing and sometimes we get things and don't know what they are :( which didn't really help as it is still there and i am still worried about it. He said it was nothing sinister thats all i needed to know. Anyhow he has referred me to a Pyschologist not even sure what will happen when i go there. He said i have severe phobias and health anxiety which i already knew and i have had them since my early 20s i am now 40. He also gave my blood results and mumbled the results to fast he mentioned white blood cells and infection and something about them being high but nothing major and nothing to be concerned with. He also was leaving the surgery that day to move to a new practice and he was very nice with me...now i am going to have to explain to another of the Doctors if i can get a appointment all over again. I feel so sad and worried all the time, its never ending.

[lelespears]

I'm the same a nervous stressed mess!!!! I got my bloods back and my white blood cell count was low!! And my lymphocytes my dr said don't worry as the vary all the time but obviously I googled and I'm now convinced I have leukimia or something dreadful!!!

Lele x

---------- Post added at 15:40 ---------- Previous post was at 15:39 ----------

Ps I have a few of those lil lumps in my scalp I think they are little cysts??

[Tifa]

Heya Lele ^^

Thank you for the reply, i know i am terrible its a awful thing to deal with and unless somebody else has or is going through HA they don't really understand. I am sure you are fine google is my worst enemy at times and i try to come here in the hope somebody can help. I actually felt the lump move last night it seemed to roll under my finger which it hasn't done before >.< and now its just the same...wish it would go away i can't get on with things. I am a little worried about the blood thing he was on about but i am trying to tell myself he knows best, though i do worry because of the HA they don't believe me when i have something genuine like this lump QQ

Ps He did say it wasn't a cyst which i thought it may be...but if it got sore or larger it maybe so im confused.

[carlos2011]

Hey,

Ironic..I mentioned my skull lump to the doc yesterday. I've got one on the top to the right, mine is really hard though. One doc said it was a cyst, the other wasn't sure but also wasn't concerned. She said you wouldn't have anything like a brain tumour as they wouldn't be felt like that, and if it was you wouldn't be able to walk!

I was only concerned as I'm still lightheaded and have been for a year now..i've had countless tests, MRI scan..all clear.

I really wouldn't worry, you have to have fath in the doc.

Carl

[Tifa]

Heya thanks Carl for the reply :)

Mine is on top to the right also lol...and it did feel quiet hard but if i push it down it makes a crackling noise and goes flat >.> i should just leave it alone and try to get on with my life. I have no idea of what types of cancers you can get in your skull/scalp and google scared me so i stopped.

[carlos2011]

Yeah very rare that a lump on the head should be anything to worry about. It's more than likely a benign cyst, but they do feel hard. It could also be excess bone. If the doc say's it's ok, then we have to trust them..hard isn't it? lol

Carl

[rubbisheeny]

have had these, and still have one big one, dont worry, they are sebacious cysts - often you get them on your back and scalp as here the skin is oily. Had one removed in the GP surgery - it looked like a baked bean when he showed me. Irritating but harmless - if you think about it when your feeling calmer you can see that if you can feel it, it means its kind of on top of your skull bone and under your skin, thats not what a brain tumour would feel like. Hope you feel better soon x