Thin neck and panicking over what i see

[cricket0148]

I swear anxiety is through the roof here lately. yesterday i spent the day obsessing over checking my neck for lumps and panicking over what i thought was one but now think is tracheal cartilage/windpipe and then worrying about my thyroid... is it enlarged. i was looking in the mirror, doing swallow test to check thyroid and then noticed right under front of chin, on each side, two thing muscles i guess they are..i dont know and obsessing abotu that now. I am a thin individual in the united states, weigh 110 pounds and 38 years old so i know i feel things more and see things more but sheesh now in a state of panic over this. any ideas?

[Wanderlust]

Hi Cricket :)

I can relate, I had a period of time a number of years ago where I was utterly convinced I had some kind of growth in the neck/under chin area, I checked it all the time, learned a thing or two (or a thousand) about the lymphatic system and the muscular structure in that area, its quite complicated! we are technical beasts us humans, and after a lot of wasted time agonising and worrying, came to the conclusion it was all natural after running things by my doctor.

Under the chin there is a whole chain of glands and long thin muscle structures, turned out I just had an abnormal gland, I also found out the windpipe it oddly shaped and the knobbely bits are OK! hehe.

The absolute best thing to do is not to worry (as much as anyone can not worry) and book a docs appointment, I know its hard to not go crazy with worry, its only our brains trying to keep us safe after all, but my technique these days is to tell myself 'it wont kill me in the next few days' (I can be pretty extreme at times), see my GP, no matter how silly it may seem or what the cause, and get piece of mind if I can.

Really hope you can find some resolution to this soon :)

(edit: Also am a very thin guy, and completely understand what you mean by feeling and seeing things more than normal)

[cricket0148]

I know this because when i thought i found a breast lump, doc said i was thin chest walled and what i was feeling was normal rib or muscle in my breast but havign a flare of my costochondritis... i trust my chiropractor more than anyone... hard to believe but he sets me straight. he knows im a nervous nelly and i had this knot in my back at the bottom of my ribcage. i said doc what the heck is this. he said well i know what youre thinking... tumor he said but seriously its a floater.

[Wanderlust]

Wish I had a doc like that :) mine is so serious, hard to talk to.
Hope you have managed to get the checking and worry under control.

[cricket0148]

Well trying to get it under control... im quite the hypochondriac.

[Wanderlust]

Completely understand, Im doing exactly the same as we speak (for a different ailment), trying to meditate to get control and lower my BP at the same time, but thoughts are racing and having a hard time settling them down tonight.
Do you have a good technique or distraction that you can use to manage the worry ?