worried about throat cancer �� and been doing so well ��

[Beckie4567]

Last Thurs I noticed my throat was abit sore wen I swallowed food�� only on left side abit sometimes notice it sometimes not.then I noticed the right side was sore not the left .i think I remember burning my mouth on hot food but cant really remember now its just sore wen I eat food not massively but I'm aware of it and thinking about it all the we time.im worried about throat cancer and angry at myself as I feel I'm slipping bk to worrying again.

[Gary A]

Throat cancer actually, believe it or not, very rarely gives you a sore throat.

Pain when swallowing would suggest a very simple throat infection, maybe tonsillitis.

[Elen]

Beckie first of all don't be too hard on yourself, this is one wee setback not a return to where you were.

It is the season for summer bugs and that is the most likely explanation.

Keep hydrated and throat sweeties, cough syrup or good old honey may help to alleviate the discomfort.

Not sure if your therapist has given you any strategies to help rationalise this, but that would be helpful too.

What you have achieved recently is amazing and you should be proud of yourself.

You have

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou for your comments I do suffer badly with hay fever but don't no if that's related :(

[Fishmanpa]

Yeah... allergies mess with your throat big time (post nasal drip etc.). As Gary said and as I know first hand, throat cancer doesn't present like you describe.

And as Elen said, this is just a little blip. You've been doing fantastic. Don't let this little blip slow you down!

Positive thoughts

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou all �� hope it clears soon

---------- Post added at 19:59 ---------- Previous post was at 19:57 ----------

When u google tho and I no I shudnt haven't in ages but it says sore throat ��

[Elen]

Beckie please do not go back down that road.

Also if you google hay fever - sore throat you get loads of results, likewise summer cold sore throat.

[Beckie4567]

Thanks ill try

[Elen]

You will do it Beckie

You have proved over the past few months that you can do this.

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou elen for your support ��

[dale12345]

I think you will be ok. When my sinus act up my throat and stomach hurt all the time.

[Greenman50]

Get it very often ......a sore throat on just one side , this time it was the r/h side .

lasts a few weeks then goes ?

Had it so often i dont worry anymore but used to

[Hck80]

I have this too, it comes and goes and I've been assured by my gp that I do not have throat cancer

[MyNameIsTerry]

Don't let it suck you in, Beckie. You will have wobbles like this, it's just part of learning to handle them and getting stronger. We al go through it in our different ways.

Anyway, I'm having sympathy pains from your thread...I had a sore throat last night and now I've got a cold.

Like you said, you could have easily burnt your throat on some food and forgot about it. It might have not been significant enough to notice at the time and then it's left a bit of a sore spot.

Think about how common things like that are in life and how colds & sore throats happen in the mega millions each year. Compare that to throat cancer, the chances are absolutely tiny by comparison.

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou for your comments ��

[Beckie4567]

Cant get it out of my head now thinking about it all day.and prob making it worse ��

[Beckie4567]

Been a week still sore ��

[Elen]

Beckie STOP

This is the HA talking.

This obsession will prove as groundless as your previous fears.

Do you have any techniques to ground you and help rationalise this?

It would be great if you could nip this episode in the bud.

[Beckie4567]

My throat feels worse it feels like its stinging or burning constant now ��

[Elen]

STOP - thinking about and discussing your symptoms only increases the obsession

Your pharamicist will be happy to give you advice on which over the counter product will work best.

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou elen its hard not to think the worst I think need to up my dose of meds ��

[Elen]

I know its hard honey. Really don't want to see you going into a spiral.

Possibly upping your meds would help, I don't know enough about it to comment.

Rationally I would be asking myself, is there something going on which is increasing my anxiety levels (not talking about symptoms because that is not the real problem here)

Are you getting therapy for the HA?

Terry might have links to some resource specific to HA which will help.

[Beckie4567]

I don't no what is increasing it I'm still on 20mg but feel its no longer helping really.I'm going away next wee for two days to legoland and feel that everytime I go away something happens to raise my anxiety so I don't enjoy it properly �� just want this sore throat to go ��

[Elen]

I think that there a number of people posting similar stories at the minute.

Increased anxiety due to trips, holidays etc resulting in health anxiety.

Off the top of my head I cant remember the people who have posted but might be good if you guys could chat together and rationalise the reason for the anxiety.

Beckie, even you thinking like this is a huge step forward from where you were. You will beat it. Honest

[Traceypo]

Beckie, I had a post about going on holiday, it appeared every time there was a life event that I was stressed or anxious about then the HA would rear it's ugly head.
Leopard is fab, we had a great time, take swimwear and towels for the outside water bits.
Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, picture your little boys face when he sees it all, the excitement and special memories you'll make.
I'm fairly certain once you're there, you'll forget all about your sore throat, incidentally my sore throat that lasted over 1 year has totally disappeared since I beat the anxiety.
Have a brill time away.
Xxx

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou will try and beat this!was so looking fwd to legoland before this throat came �� its strange it feels as though my throat is burning or stinging .

[Traceypo]

It could be acid rising Beckie, that can cause a burning feeling, don't go round in circles with it, either go to docs and accept his response or put to the back of your mind and do a deal with yourself that you'll see doc when you get back if symptoms are still there.
You've done brilliant Beckie, you've come so far, you can beat this.
Xxx

[Beckie4567]

Thankyou for all your support xx

[Beckie4567]

Its strange coz it dosnt feel as tho my throats particuly sore as in my throat downwards it the part sort of on the top between my throat and nose if u get me �� just stinging burning �� so panicked right now its been like this bad for 4 days ��

[Elen]

Beckie SLAP

Logically :- You have an irritated throat either through the hot drink you had, your hay fever or most likely a throat infection.

You are anxious about your up coming trip and you HA has gone into overdrive. Your brain is now hyper sensitive to anything going on in that area and is throwing up red flags over ever twinge.

4 days is nothing for an infection.

What is it about your trip that is stressing you out?

Can you talk to your partner about it?

Only you can stop this from getting out of control. Please dont get back into the habit of obsessing over harmless symptoms.

Plan something to do with your family today, bet you dont notice your throat nearly so much if you are kept busy.

[Beckie4567]

Nothings stressing me about the trip at all I just know I wont be able to enjoy it because I have this throat and ill be worried about that the whole time ��

[Elen]

Could be a bit chicken and the egg.


I'm going away next wee for two days to legoland and feel that everytime I go away something happens to raise my anxiety so I don't enjoy it properly ��

[Beckie4567]

I meant as in something happens health wise I get symptoms of something like sore throat this time and other stuff other times.

---------- Post added at 13:52 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------

What do u mean by chicken and the egg ?

[Beckie4567]

Now my throat and chest are burning aswell

---------- Post added at 18:13 ---------- Previous post was at 18:12 ----------

Praps ill try gaviscon or my omeorazole

[Gary A]

Certainly sounds like some kind of reflux. Try over the counter antacids.

Stop obsessing over cancer, you don't have it.

[Fishmanpa]

You got this Beckie... I just bragged off to another member how meds had helped you tremendously... Don't prove me wrong ;) Go find something to distract yourself. You know hanging on the forum and Googling is not good for you!

Positive thoughts

[Beckie4567]

Still sore and stinging on one side �� starting to worry more now def something not right shudnt be stinging non stop for nearly over a week

[Gary A]

Still sore and stinging on one side �� starting to worry more now def something not right shudnt be stinging non stop for nearly over a week

Yeah, you used to say this a lot. You're simply delving into old patterns, whereby you're finding a symptom, obsessing over it, monitoring the length of time you feel said symptom, then telling us all that it "isn't normal to have 'X' for...time."

Having a sore throat for one week is not at all unusual. It's most probably just a slight irritation or possibly a minor infection. Take some over the counter lozenges. If it persists for over 3 weeks then you may be justified in seeing a doctor, but right now you have a perfectly normal sore throat.

[Beckie4567]

Its been nearly 2 week now ��

[Gary A]

Its been nearly 2 week now ��

So which is it? Nearly two weeks or nearly just over a week? Beckie, this should be when you look back at all your old posts and see the similarities from this and those. You were always sure that having a particular symptom for a period of time was a sign of something awful. You were wrong every single time.

You have to start realising that this really is all in your head. You may have a physical symptom, but the way in which you lead yourself to believe that these symptoms are a sign of some fatal condition is as predictable as the tides. You need to start recognising this pattern, that's the only way you'll break the pattern.

You've done incredibly well to get as far as you have, don't let it slip now.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Beckie,

Do you know how long some of my symptoms have lasted for? I've got one that's been there for the whole period, nearly 10 years now. I've got ones with my breathing there for probably 4+ years. I've had muscular tension for years now. I've had this horrible lightheadedness and fatigue pretty much every day in some respect for over a year now.

BUT I'm still here. If there was anything seriously wrong with timescales like that wouldn't I be pretty ill by now?

What would you tell me?

I had headaches for about 3 months a couple of years back. Daily for hours at a time.

If I had HA would I have been worrying about a brain tumour? Others on here mention that with headaches. But wouldn't I have been extremely ill? I wouldn't still be here 3 years late I bet.

You have a sore throat and it's been there for a week or two. A week is nothing with a sore throat. A couple of weeks may mean someone takes a trip to the GP but not because they suspect something bad, because it may be an infection, a basic infection which a course or so of antibiotics will deal with nicely.

You have been doing much better. What you are experiencing now is likely to happen, we have blips and for me, you are quite new to starting the work on your anxiety anyway so it's still very early days. The fact you have felt better in those early days is very encouraging, it took me much longer in my relapse than this.

A big part of learning to control this more is acceptance. Learning to accept that crap happens, we feel bad and it spikes our anxiety. You are not expected to be able to handle this right now, it's a skill that takes time to learn and it's a damn hard one. It took me years to control things like this and it's still hard work now years on.

---------- Post added at 06:49 ---------- Previous post was at 06:45 ----------


I know its hard honey. Really don't want to see you going into a spiral.

Possibly upping your meds would help, I don't know enough about it to comment.

Rationally I would be asking myself, is there something going on which is increasing my anxiety levels (not talking about symptoms because that is not the real problem here)

Are you getting therapy for the HA?

Terry might have links to some resource specific to HA which will help.

A good resource that I know others on here use is by CCI in Australia. I've seen Annie post it in the past and didn't realise it was the on the site I get tools from.

http://psychology.tools/health-anxiety.html

Why not have a go at them? A good one is the Thought Record. It will encourage you to think through your thought like Elen is saying.

And keep on with everything. Don't stop and succumb to your anxiety if you can, try to keep your day going how it normally does.