lofwyr
15-09-15, 21:36
So to begin this year, life was pretty much anxiety (health or general) free. Life was good.
Then a few things happened that sent me back to square one. A good childhood friend, who was my age, died from colon cancer. I had my own, very legitimate melanoma scare (the doc found that one, wasn't even me) but that turned out benign. I am up and down, using CBT techniques to keep it at bay.
But anyway, now I look back a year like it was a lifetime ago. A year ago I was pretty much anxiety free. Now every little thing sets me off.
I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning this morning, which is never a big deal for me. But I noticed I had a swollen salivary gland on that flap of skin just under the tongue. Not huge, but sort of red and enlarged. No pain, no discomfort what so ever really. The dentist said she was fairly sure it was just a canker sore or some minor inflammation. But her words were "I don't think its anything serious, but if it doesn't clear up in a few weeks, you need to come back in, because then it might be serious."
To a normal person without anxiety, they just forget about it, but keep on top of it. She knows nothing about my HA, and I tend not to share it with my health care providers, just a councilor. But it set me off, big time. Down into the pit of catastrohpizing and obsessively checking the lump. The truth is, I get a lot of canker sores, but they tend to hurt. This doesn't hurt at all.
I did notice it last week but thought nothing of it, not until the dentist's comments today.
Uggh.
Then a few things happened that sent me back to square one. A good childhood friend, who was my age, died from colon cancer. I had my own, very legitimate melanoma scare (the doc found that one, wasn't even me) but that turned out benign. I am up and down, using CBT techniques to keep it at bay.
But anyway, now I look back a year like it was a lifetime ago. A year ago I was pretty much anxiety free. Now every little thing sets me off.
I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning this morning, which is never a big deal for me. But I noticed I had a swollen salivary gland on that flap of skin just under the tongue. Not huge, but sort of red and enlarged. No pain, no discomfort what so ever really. The dentist said she was fairly sure it was just a canker sore or some minor inflammation. But her words were "I don't think its anything serious, but if it doesn't clear up in a few weeks, you need to come back in, because then it might be serious."
To a normal person without anxiety, they just forget about it, but keep on top of it. She knows nothing about my HA, and I tend not to share it with my health care providers, just a councilor. But it set me off, big time. Down into the pit of catastrohpizing and obsessively checking the lump. The truth is, I get a lot of canker sores, but they tend to hurt. This doesn't hurt at all.
I did notice it last week but thought nothing of it, not until the dentist's comments today.
Uggh.