Trying not to let this bother me any thoughts?

[Thelegend27]

So i some how found what seems to be a lump behind my left ear right in the soft spot. Im not sure if its a bone, muscle or lump because if i turn my head certain ways i ant really feel it as if the muscle relaxed and the lump becomes softer as if its part of the muscle. But then i start thinking well what if it is a lump and when turning my head it pushes it closer to the skin and thats why i can feel it. I don't feel much behind the right ear but im aware we are not completely symmetrical. Ive dealt with anxiety over lumps for almost a year now and im trying to avoid developing a new anxiety especially over something i cant decide if its a lump or not.

[Velociraptor]

I had a small lump in this spot last christmas, and it freaked me out a bit too!

Honestly, I left it for about a week and then I couldn't even feel it any more.

Leave it a lone for two weeks - seriously don't even touch it!

In a couple of weeks time you can have a little feel, and re-assess the situation then.

You got this :)

[Fishmanpa]

I agree with Velociraptor...

Careful... you're truly beginning to live up to your name concerning node concerns ;)

Positive thoughts

[Ellient]

Let's be honest. It's probably bone, I have a small lump behind my ear and feels normal to me. You have enough posts to know you don't need to worry about glands till they're bigger than 1 cm blah blah, although I wouldn't even worry then. keep that in mind, read them back it might help you :)

[Thelegend27]

Yeah but im not even sure if its a lump let alone a node. When i relax my neck and run my fingers down behind my ear i don't feel a lump sticking out and the hard spot that i do feel when i turn my head feels softer when my neck is relaxed so its confusing because it seems as if its a muscle but it gets pretty hard when my heads turned. Ive had problems with my ears thoughout my whole life and as a child i got multiple ear infections and most of my problems were with my left ear and still to this day that ear gets full, pops, and hurts sometimes especially when binding over which leads me to believe that this spot may be related some how but then again it may be just normal structure and my overactive mind just gets the best of me. Im not going to make a big deal out of it i learned my leason with that, if its something to worry about then im sure it will get bigger so ill try to put it aside and wait and see if that happens. I made the muscle sore by rubbing it so much earlier comparing he two sides so if i dont stop poking around i will probably cause a knot and in return that will just further my anxiety so the best thing can probably do is leave it alone do you agree?

[Ellient]

If you aren't sure if it's a lump it isn't a lump or a node. It is probably normal, on another users thread you are telling them how it's fine because we are asymmetrical and go onto to say how your left rib sticks out more than the right, well this isn't probably what has happened here. Why on earth are you bending your head in all different positions? I don't think a doctor advises you to do that, if you had something swollen you wouldn't have to dig so hard you make yourself sore, but you already know this.

I have to ask is this site beneficial to you anymore? You are giving advice on problems similar to yours and not taking your own advice. I understand you have health anxiety but sometimes you need to help yourself before you try and help others.

:bighug1:

[budgie1979]

I have a firmish lump in the same place on both sides. One side is more noticeable than the other. I freaked out when I noticed it years ago at the height of my node obsession, but I'm still alive so it must just be a normal thing.

[Thelegend27]

i'm not concerned with my neck not being symmetrical i already know this is normal. i just simply said the two sides dont feel the same because some people tell you to compare the two.

[Ellient]

But you are giving people advice and not taking your own is what I'm saying. It isn't a lymph node, if it is isn't swollen look at all the effort you're going to find it, I don't think you'd have to tilt your head to see if somethings swollen, it'll truly stick out as it is on a bone.

[Thelegend27]

Well to be honest if i had to guess i'd say it's a bone, and i think the left just sticks out a little more than the right. im not overly concerned, in fact i didn't even think about it today until i got on here i seen this thread. but even if it were a node i wouldn't be surprised because my ear has been giving me some trouble, i also have a tiny palpable nude in front of the lleft ear it feels much smaller than a cm but that one hasn't given me any anxiety i just blew that one off.

[Annaboodle]

You're completely ignoring the helpful point Ellie is making above about giving people advice but not taking your own though :shrug:

[Thelegend27]

Well it is sorta easier to see through someone else's anxiety more than your own. You tend to take things more personally when it has to do with you. that's like i could see someone with a golf ball sized node on their neck and i wouldn't be overly concerned unless it doesn't go away, but if i woke up in the morning and had a golf ball sized node on my neck i'd probably have a heart attack lol. but i do understand that i need to look at myself as i would look at someone in my position because that will help one see things more clearly and your thoughts won't be so distorted by anxiety. the thing is, i know what i need to do, and i tell people what they need to do in the hopes that they have the strength to do so, as for me i have yet to find that strength but hopefully i will soon.

[Ellient]

I think anyone would be concerned if they had a lump the size of a golfball appear in their neck. I know what you're trying to say but it's not the best advice to give someone on lymph nodes when all they have to do is look at your posts and see you worry excatly the same. If this site helps your anxiety fair enough, but I see it as you're looking for more reassurance and helping people makes you feel more secure about your own issues. You have been suffering for a year and I can tell you now 100% you do not have any type of cancer. You can easily try and find a way to cope with your anxiety, is this site really the answer?

[Thelegend27]

i know i dont have cancer, but it's that what if thought that keeps us all up at night, and until we can figure out how to eliminate that thought we cannot move forward. a year has passed and rationally speaking thats a HUGE reassurance itself, but i guess it scarred me in a way, and that anxiety just lingers in the back of my mind, but it's likely due to the fact that i spent a whole year worried sick, and it became a part of me some how and now i have to figure out how to forget it and move on which i desperately need in order to improve my quality of life.

[Ellient]

i know i dont have cancer, but it's that what if thought that keeps us all up at night, and until we can figure out how to eliminate that thought we cannot move forward. a year has passed and rationally speaking thats a HUGE reassurance itself, but i guess it scarred me in a way, and that anxiety just lingers in the back of my mind, but it's likely due to the fact that i spent a whole year worried sick, and it became a part of me some how and now i have to figure out how to forget it and move on which i desperately need in order to improve my quality of life.



You are correct, you have anxiety and that is a illness and that is hard to forget a bit like breaking your leg - it wouldn't heal and you'd have no pain it would take time for it to all be okay again. I know it must be awful seeing every symptom as cancer when you're trying so hard to get over health anxiety, are you seeing someone for help? I believe this is one of your only options now.

I have these things you describe infact I found them today while putting my lotion on, I'm not worried. I think it's bone but if it isn't they're small so why sit here worrying?

My nan had lymphoma and not to scare you this is to reassure you she had lymph nodes the size of eggs you could see them quite clearly for a while she was in denial and refused to go to a doctor, time she did it wasn't looking good BUT she recovered she's in remission and healthier than ever.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I always find it strange when people on here talk about changing the position of a body part and how that changes what they are feeling on that area. That's how the human body works.

It's like curling your bicep and wondering why it's now much bigger to the eye.

Doctors are trained to exam the body. When they do it they move body parts around to gain better access to them. If you read a lymph node examination guide it would tell you how to bend, stretch, tense or apply weight in order to force the node to be more accessible.

Without reading a guide like that, which I wouldn't recommend to people on here but it's a self check cancer remission patients are often told to do for obvious reasons, you don't know if you are doing it right, finding the right place even or what size they should start at.

It's pretty common for people to feel the neck when they have sore throats which gives them a clue but when your doctor checks that same area there is a reason he forces your head down & forward.

Anxiety makes you notice things and not realise they were always there. I get that too but for me I just wonder when it came along, I don't see any link to something worrying. But a physical symptom that can be like anxiety is noticed easily and off we go with more anxiety.