Cheek pain triggered me off, bleugh :(

[snowflake293]

Hi guys

After getting into a proper state this morning over going to the doctors (was totally calm after) I am now panicking again cause my cheek feels all weird. It is painful and hurts when I smile!

I have fears over sinus cancer as I have nasal polyps and my nose gets blocked a lot and sometime I get a lot of blood in the tissue when I blow. It seems worse on the left side and this is where the cheek pain is!

Trying to rationalise it. I have shingles at the moment and I'm on a lot of different medication so it could be due to that, or just a sinus infection, or just a spot coming!

It feels kind of numb/pressured though which is making me worry I have a tumour in my sinuses and that is what will have caused all the other symptoms, argh :( I hate how my brain works :(

Anyway when I saw the doctor earlier I was worried about cancer and he said if anything was wrong it would have shown up in the full blood count test I had a couple of weeks ago. Surely if I did have sinus cancer it would show up? I am really scared :( Also I had night sweats last night (occasionally get them every couple of months or so) but the doctor told me this was most likely due to the shingles.

Please can someone offer advice on how I can relax and calm down over all this? I am really stressing over it, and I am stressed out the stressing if that makes sense? :wacko:

Feel so poorly at the moment and fed up of my brain going over and over and over things! Managed to distract myself for a few hours earlier with some TV shows and that helped.

Thanks guys xxx

[snowflake293]

The pain is still there, can't work out what it is. Thought it was gonna be a spot coming but can't see anything. Think it might be tissue rather than bone pain, its really weird and really freaking me out as I have never had it before.

I am so tired of every single tiny change/sensation in my body causing me such grief :( I had to miss CBT this week as I am ill and I can't see the therapist now for another two weeks.

Feel anxious about being off work too, don't want to pee anyone off there! :(

Sorry to moan on, just really fed up of all this.

xxx

[Mindknot]

Hi Snowflake, read back to yourself what you wrote about what the doctor said about the blood tests and how they would show up ANYTHING wrong first....

next, some info. Anxiety quite often causes you to clench your teeth, there is some physiological reason for that, I'm not sure what it is, but you have two muscles in your cheeks that are basically in control of that jaw joint of yours. So with your state of high anxiety lately, you have probably been clenching a lot (maybe even at night) and it's quite probable that those muscles will be a little overtired and therefore likely to feel all sorts of weird... so it's most likely that. I have it a lot. Please try and rest and recuperate x

[snowflake293]

I am just worried they might have missed something :( I know I need to think rationally and sensibly but once the seed is planted in my brain it just grows and grows and gets out of control. I am running my tongue inside my cheek now convinced I have mouth cancer :( it is ridiculous.

I do clench my teeth a lot. As a kid I had to wear a gum shield at night as I used to grind my teeth so much I damaged my jaw and I still get pain and clicking/locking in my jaw now. That makes a lot of sense mindknot, thank you :)

I just wish I could relax and switch my brain off from all this. Yesterday I took some time out away from my phone and the internet etc... and watched some TV shows and it felt really good! Just want to get back to work though really, fingers crossed the shingles goes soon!

xx

[Mindknot]

I am just worried they might have missed something :( I know I need to think rationally and sensibly but once the seed is planted in my brain it just grows and grows and gets out of control. I am running my tongue inside my cheek now convinced I have mouth cancer :( it is ridiculous.


That unfortunately, is the problem with anxiety. If you can't keep off the internet, try looking up some CBT resources and advice on anxiety. You can start working on this now while you're off work, it's a great opportunity - order/download some books to read (about anxiety). I found that helped me a lot in the early stages of acceptance. :hugs:
The doctor is not going to do anything if you go back now, the tests are only two weeks old. So wait it out, cancer (of any type) is not suddenly going to develop now just because you are a/ ill or b/ worrying about it. Just focus on the problems that you know you have, and on getting better.

[snowflake293]

Thanks hun that makes so much sense and really helps *hugs*

I guess a bit part of it is being on my own off sick whilst my other half is out at work. I am massively reliant on him and sometimes I feel like he has almost taken on a carer role which I feel terrible about because he is recovering from severe anxiety himself.

I think I ruminate a lot and find it hard to 'let go' of feelings and habits, especially Googling! I can beat it though, coming here and seeing other people get over it is giving me so much hope and strength.

xx

[Mindknot]

:)

It's hard when you are on your own, that's why I found this forum, my bf was away during a significantly panicky week... Look on the positive side, the fact that your partner has experienced severe anxiety means that he knows what he's dealing with with you, and you can both help each other. The first step is to accept the anxiety part though, and not so much let go of those feelings and habits as to just be aware of them, and try to cut down bit by bit. I.e. Take a tally whenever you find yourself checking your cheek today, and try and cut it down by a little bit tomorrow even if you're still worried.

[snowflake293]

:)

It's hard when you are on your own, that's why I found this forum, my bf was away during a significantly panicky week... Look on the positive side, the fact that your partner has experienced severe anxiety means that he knows what he's dealing with with you, and you can both help each other. The first step is to accept the anxiety part though, and not so much let go of those feelings and habits as to just be aware of them, and try to cut down bit by bit. I.e. Take a tally whenever you find yourself checking your cheek today, and try and cut it down by a little bit tomorrow even if you're still worried.

Thanks hun, yeah it is tough when I am on my own sometimes. I know what I need to be and should be doing, but the devil on my shoulder always leads me astray! Ended up comfort eating which is very unlike me... these days anyway lol! I am really hungry though, think its the meds I am on at the moment! All I had was a fish finger sarnie and a creme egg but I feel dead guilty about it, gah!

Will definitely try keeping a tally of how often I check my cheek, gonna grab my notebook! He will be out all day tomorrow too so it will be a good way of me measuring my progress if I can cut down how many times I check tomorrow :)

My fella is really good. Not long after we got together he had a very bad bout of anxiety and panic attacks. He always tells me I helped him and if it wasn't for me he wouldn't have gotten over it, but it was him who got over it, I was just there to support him. We have a very close and supportive relationship and I trust him completely which makes it easier to tell him whats going on, hes the same with me. Would be lost without him *passes sick bucket round* haha xx