A kind word would be greatly appreciated

[HarrietVanger]

Hi guys. Really need your help. I've been dealing with HA/OCD for a very long time, since I was about 11 or 12 really...I feel it's getting worse as I get older. I've tried a lot of things, hypnotherapy, meditation, medication.

Right now I'm scared I might have oral cancer. Made a thread about it but I can't post the link (I need to have more than 10 posts to be able to do that).


"So a while back I got a really painful mouth ulcer on my lip. It took more than a week to heal. It's completely gone now but the redness stayed. There's a very tiny red patch where the sore used to be. Almost like a small scar...so I went to the dentist last week, he had a quick look at it and said it looked fine. The redness is still there and I can't get myself to believe it's not oral cancer. I know what the doctor said should have calmed me down but HA is a total bitch..."

This is the first time a doctor visit was not enough to reassure me that everything's ok. I have no one to talk to. I'm at work right now and I find myself going to the bathroom every 5 minutes to check if my symptoms have changed at all. This is so embarrassing and I feel stupid and terrified.

I understand everyone here is going through a hard time and I'm very sorry to bother you all with this :unsure:. If you've had a similar experience and would like to share it that'd be great. Any feedback would be welcome really.

[Sam Winter]

Hello there x.
i haven't had similar a experience with oral cancer but i have with other things, i check my bones constantly to make sure they're in place and i check my eyes for 10-15 minutes every night to make sure i haven't got any eyelashes in it, it really sucks and effects me deeply so if you need to talk you can always drop me an email :) i doubt its oral cancer as you don't have any other symptoms plus if your dentist doesn't think so it really shouldn't x

[HarrietVanger]

Thank you Sam. I'm sorry to hear you're not doing so good yourself, hopefully we'll find new ways to cope...

[unsure_about_this]

I been through the oral cancer worry in the last two weeks, my dentist checked my mouth for me when I went for my appointment on Friday, as I was concerned about my white patch/mark etc on one of my gums, she said it was not cancer and looked fine (she would not lie to me as the dental team know I get anxious) :)

Mine will take a few weeks to heal but no damage.

Dentists know the difference where there is a problem and your dentist would have sent for tests if any concerns.

Dont Google

[HarrietVanger]

Thanks so much for replying! I keep thinking that I don't know this dentist, don't know how good or careful he is with his patients. But then that's just me going around in circles and endlessly feeding my fears. Trying to keep busy.

Glad your dentist said everything was fine too :).

[Ronan23]

Hey,

I've had HA/OCD since I was the same age as you.

Here are some of the illnesses I've convinced myself that I'm about to die from, in chronological order:

1. Bowel cancer (at 13 years of age!)
2. vCJD (Mad cow disease!!)
3. Aneurysm
4. Brain tumor
5. Rabies
6. Cardiac arrhythmia.


The most frustrating thing about HA is I'm wasting so much time focusing on dying that I'm forgetting to live. The amount of time I've spent in hospitals and other health centers depresses me. I probably could've learned how to be brilliant at guitar or made lots of friends if that time was usd better.

What I'm saying is, we only get one shot at life and we don't know when we're gonna go. The more time we spend worrying about stuff like this, the less we live our lives. I know it's impossible to just turn your scary thoughts off, so distraction can work best.

I'll suggest two methods that help me: exercise and neuro-activation therapy. The second option might sound complicated but it's quite easy to learn--I paid for an online treatment that cost me $52, called the 60 Second Panic Solution. Essentially you use finger movements to calm the amygdala, which is responsible for obsessive/scary thoughts. There's a decent review of it over at the Brain Hack blog (http://brainhackreviews.com/60-second-panic-solution-my-review/), and the guy who wrote the review was also a former HA sufferer, so I recommend checking that out.

Finally, don't beat yourself up about this either. Take it easy on yourself, and trust me, you don't have cancer. Good luck.

[Leah88]

Think of it this way, unless you have smoked and drank for 30 years your chances of oral cancer are incredibly small. Lots of things cause mouth ulcers. Hormones and dietary deficiencies are just some.

[HarrietVanger]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Ronan, reading your post made me feel better :). I'll definitely look into neuro-activation therapy. Best of luck to you too!

[nhelen79]

Hi,
i had 2 scares on this 2 years in a row. what i had was inflamed tissue that took more than 3 weeks to heal (and the scary part is if you read online, anything doesn't heal in 2 weeks is automatically bad). both times, i had to have the areas removed (2 different inflamed areas in the soft palate) and biopsied. thanks god both times were okay. From what i have learned though, if you don't smoke/drink, chance is very rare (less than 1%). Not only that, Oral surgeon/ENT doctors can tell straight by just physical exam. So if you go to the doctors and at least 2 are not worried, you are safe. I remembered countless doctors have told me that they are 99% sure it was nothing. However, my anxious mind couldn't process that. I ended up suffering going through biopsy procedures and the pain afterward just to get a peace of mind. Not sure if that's worth it though.