stressbelle
10-02-19, 17:14
Hi all, I've struggled with anxiety all my life. I had an eating disorder for many years as a 20-something and then transitioned into severe hypochondria. My mom struggled with hypochondria when I was growing up and I don't know if seeing that affected me (she is now in her mid-60s and healthy). For a long time my hypochondria centered around the fact that we didn't have insurance and we hadn't had kids yet. Now, I have decent insurance and have two young sons, and that helped a lot. But recently my hypochondria has reared up again and it's impacting my daily life pretty badly.
I've often had the sensation of something stuck in my throat. I remember getting it as a kid and it pops up randomly sometimes. I do deal with tonsil stones and so usually assume it's something to do with that. I even asked a dentist about it a year or so again and he just said it was normal, can't remember his explanation but he didn't seem bothered at all.
I've had that stuck-in-throat feeling a little bit recently and it's made me worry. THEN I noticed a little pea-sized lump under my right armpit. It's small and easily moveable, but it does create a small bump that's visible from the outside. Of course between the lump-in-throat feeling and the underarm bump, I begin obsessing over lymphoma or something similar. I go poking around my neck and find some more lymph nodes that seem large and puffy on one side, though I can only feel them if I dig around -- they aren't obvious from a simple touch and my husband says he can't find them.
I had a doctor (actually an advance practice clinician) fit me in really quickly and he felt it and said it was a shotty lymph node that was too small to really ultrasound (not sure if this is true?). He does know I have a history of breast cancer in my family and so he's recommended I start mammograms at 35, which is in a few months, but he gave me a breast exam and didn't notice anything wrong. He felt my neck and didn't even comment on those. He also did a CBC which showed everything was normal but I know CBC doesn't usually catch cancer.
I remember that I had a bad shaving rash on my underarms a few weeks ago, right around when I noticed the bump, so maybe it's just that? I'm also a thin person and have always been able to feel some of my lymph nodes, like the ones in my groin. But between all of this -- underarm lump, stuck-in-throat feeling, possible neck lumps -- I'm convinced that something is wrong. My grandfather died of prostate cancer in his late 80s and my grandmother survived breast cancer in her early 70s.
I have a physical exam on Friday with the same doctor because I was overdue for a pap/physical. Should I press for more testing? Should I get a second opinion? I'm having a hard time shaking this anxiety. Some days I feel fine (shotty lymph nodes seem common and this one is tiny and easily moveable) but some days I'm so anxious that if I don't get an ultrasound or a biopsy, I'll be missing something that will be very dangerous down the road.
I've often had the sensation of something stuck in my throat. I remember getting it as a kid and it pops up randomly sometimes. I do deal with tonsil stones and so usually assume it's something to do with that. I even asked a dentist about it a year or so again and he just said it was normal, can't remember his explanation but he didn't seem bothered at all.
I've had that stuck-in-throat feeling a little bit recently and it's made me worry. THEN I noticed a little pea-sized lump under my right armpit. It's small and easily moveable, but it does create a small bump that's visible from the outside. Of course between the lump-in-throat feeling and the underarm bump, I begin obsessing over lymphoma or something similar. I go poking around my neck and find some more lymph nodes that seem large and puffy on one side, though I can only feel them if I dig around -- they aren't obvious from a simple touch and my husband says he can't find them.
I had a doctor (actually an advance practice clinician) fit me in really quickly and he felt it and said it was a shotty lymph node that was too small to really ultrasound (not sure if this is true?). He does know I have a history of breast cancer in my family and so he's recommended I start mammograms at 35, which is in a few months, but he gave me a breast exam and didn't notice anything wrong. He felt my neck and didn't even comment on those. He also did a CBC which showed everything was normal but I know CBC doesn't usually catch cancer.
I remember that I had a bad shaving rash on my underarms a few weeks ago, right around when I noticed the bump, so maybe it's just that? I'm also a thin person and have always been able to feel some of my lymph nodes, like the ones in my groin. But between all of this -- underarm lump, stuck-in-throat feeling, possible neck lumps -- I'm convinced that something is wrong. My grandfather died of prostate cancer in his late 80s and my grandmother survived breast cancer in her early 70s.
I have a physical exam on Friday with the same doctor because I was overdue for a pap/physical. Should I press for more testing? Should I get a second opinion? I'm having a hard time shaking this anxiety. Some days I feel fine (shotty lymph nodes seem common and this one is tiny and easily moveable) but some days I'm so anxious that if I don't get an ultrasound or a biopsy, I'll be missing something that will be very dangerous down the road.