Eliza1853
15-08-18, 23:59
I used to have Health Anxiety. For years, I thought I was dying of one thing after another. Then, in this past year, with the exception of a few months of thinking I might go blind (it turns out that my eyes are fine), I have had zero health anxiety.
A few years ago I noticed a bump behind my right tonsil (b/c I used to shine a light in the back of my throat to check for irregularities on a regular basis) and went to see an ENT about it. The ENT decided to monitor it to make sure it didn't grow; I saw her three months after that initial appointment, and then there were a couple more appointments spaced out over several months. It never grew. The last appointment I had was in August 2017; she said to schedule one more for August 2018 and then if it still hadn't grown we could stop monitoring it and forget about it.
That final appointment is scheduled for next week with a different ENT because the ENT I've seen previously left the practice. I'm no longer worried about the bump; it's still there, but if memory serves it hasn't grown. (Maybe I'm not as sensitive to small but significant variations in size as an ENT would be though?} Most importantly, it's not something that I would ever have noticed if I hadn't had Health Anxiety and the habit of checking my throat. (My primary care doctor didn't even notice it). The appointment would be a huge hassle in terms of cost and taking time off work (I have very limited personal/sick time). I want to cancel it. I'm slightly hesitant, though, because if my former ENT thought it was worth monitoring then maybe it's worth monitoring?
I should cancel, right? Or no? I think if I cancel I won't worry about it; and if it turns out that I do in the future, or there's obvious growth, I can make an appointment (though the wait time would likely be several months).
A few years ago I noticed a bump behind my right tonsil (b/c I used to shine a light in the back of my throat to check for irregularities on a regular basis) and went to see an ENT about it. The ENT decided to monitor it to make sure it didn't grow; I saw her three months after that initial appointment, and then there were a couple more appointments spaced out over several months. It never grew. The last appointment I had was in August 2017; she said to schedule one more for August 2018 and then if it still hadn't grown we could stop monitoring it and forget about it.
That final appointment is scheduled for next week with a different ENT because the ENT I've seen previously left the practice. I'm no longer worried about the bump; it's still there, but if memory serves it hasn't grown. (Maybe I'm not as sensitive to small but significant variations in size as an ENT would be though?} Most importantly, it's not something that I would ever have noticed if I hadn't had Health Anxiety and the habit of checking my throat. (My primary care doctor didn't even notice it). The appointment would be a huge hassle in terms of cost and taking time off work (I have very limited personal/sick time). I want to cancel it. I'm slightly hesitant, though, because if my former ENT thought it was worth monitoring then maybe it's worth monitoring?
I should cancel, right? Or no? I think if I cancel I won't worry about it; and if it turns out that I do in the future, or there's obvious growth, I can make an appointment (though the wait time would likely be several months).