View Full Version : My many worries
So today we put the Xmas decorations up, and as it always does, the idea of Xmas has set my anxiety off and I’m spiralling!
My anxiety has fixated back onto an underarm lump that I noticed 4 months ago.
It’s in my right armpit, and kinda feels like a small (3cm) pencil with a layer of something (fat/muscle?) wrapped around it. It’s painless and hasn’t changed in the 4 months since I found it. Not mobile either.
I asked my GP about it a few months ago, and she said it was probably the edge of a muscle, and definitely isn’t a lymph node so she isn’t worried.
But I am!
I’m wondering whether to get a second opinion? I don’t have anything similar on the other side. And if it’s “the edge of a muscle” why havnt I noticed it before?! It’s quite close to the surface so I’m sure I would have noticed it in my 35 years of life! And how can they be sure it’s not a lymph node?
If anyone has been through anything similar, I’d love to hear!
I asked my GP about it a few months ago, and she said it was probably the edge of a muscle, and definitely isn’t a lymph node so she isn’t worried....... if it’s “the edge of a muscle” why havnt I noticed it before?! It’s quite close to the surface so I’m sure I would have noticed it in my 35 years of life!
You probably did and never attached your anxiety to it. 2nd opinion? "Told Ya So Gang" on standby if you do ;)
Positive thoughts
Relax,as you told by your doc it’s not a Lymph node.Don’t keep fiddling with it.x
Thank you both.
I’ve been trying to just check it monthly as per my CBT to make sure it isn’t changing. But each month when I feel it, it sends chills down my spine. 😢😬
I went to see another GP, and she said it’s a tendon...but I’m not convinced she felt the right thing!
Can anyone else feel this type of thing in their underarm? I can only feel it on my right...nothingbon my left!
Two medical professionals have said the same thing and you still doubt. I'm afraid nothing said will convince you otherwise :shrug:
Positive thoughts
ShaunRyder
13-12-19, 13:51
I went to see another GP, and she said it’s a tendon...but I’m not convinced she felt the right thing!
Can anyone else feel this type of thing in their underarm? I can only feel it on my right...nothingbon my left!
When my HA first started and was at its worst about 7-8 years ago this was one of my first big worries, I felt a lump under my left armpit and there was not one under my right, HA kicked in and convinced myself I had a cancer, turns out it was just a tendon. It is still there now and never caused me any problems.
NotDeadYet
13-12-19, 15:24
I went to see another GP, and she said it’s a tendon...but I’m not convinced she felt the right thing!
Limeslime,
You aren't a doctor so you have no basis to not be convinced. You've now had two medically trained professionals tell you its not a lymph node. Please trust them or your are going to drive yourself bonkers.
Best Wishes.
When my HA first started and was at its worst about 7-8 years ago this was one of my first big worries, I felt a lump under my left armpit and there was not one under my right, HA kicked in and convinced myself I had a cancer, turns out it was just a tendon. It is still there now and never caused me any problems.
Oh really!! That’s so reassuring! Did d you have to get yours scanned or anything? And if not, how did you accept it was just a tendon and move on?
Limeslime,
You aren't a doctor so you have no basis to not be convinced. You've now had two medically trained professionals tell you its not a lymph node. Please trust them or your are going to drive yourself bonkers.
Best Wishes.
Thank you for replying. I don’t really think it is a lymph node...but it still feels like a small mountain protruding from my underarm which freaks me out!
I don’t think the second GP was feeling the right thing either. So the second opinion hasn’t given me the reassurance I needed
NotDeadYet
13-12-19, 22:04
Thank you for replying. I don’t really think it is a lymph node...but it still feels like a small mountain protruding from my underarm which freaks me out!
I don’t think the second GP was feeling the right thing either. So the second opinion hasn’t given me the reassurance I needed
With health anxiety, you will never receive enough reassurance. Sure, you may receive some reassurance and feel really great but then your mind will begin thinking of things it may have never thought before. You will then latch on to these thoughts and the cycle begins all over again.
Trust me, I have spent the last 2.5 years working through this exact anxiety. I discovered a lymph node on my neck and went spiraling. I was constantly poking, prodding, and thinking about it. I went to two doctors who both said it was nothing to worry about. I then began looking for other lymph nodes. Lo and behold I found a huge lump in my underarm just like you. I was on a work trip in Kansas City, Missouri and instead of exploring the city and spending time networking, I was in my hotel room freaking out: poking, prodding, looking in the mirror to fully understand what it was. It was large (5 cm), completely immobile, hard and there wasn't something like it on the other arm. I spent the entire night snooping around forums just like this for any reassurance. The entire trip was ruined. You want to know what it was? A MUSCLE!!! A muscle that has been there my entire life (30 years) but I never noticed it because my brain didn't care. I was so frustrated with myself that I allowed my time to be absolutely wasted on something that was nothing.
I finally got into therapy and learned that I will never get better unless I learn to challenge my thinking. Limeslime, you need to pause when an intrusive, scary and very real thought about this lump enters your mind. You need to take several deep breaths and then you need to tell yourself a few things: 1) These are just thoughts. These are just words. These thoughts are not reality and 2) I have been to two doctors who have both said this is not threatening. You have to ground yourself in reality and facts. Unfortunately, if you don't do this, you will continue down the path of repeated doctor visits, tests and eventually madness because you will never receive the reassurance your seeking for something thta is actually nothing to begin with.
Best Wishes.
With health anxiety, you will never receive enough reassurance. Sure, you may receive some reassurance and feel really great but then your mind will begin thinking of things it may have never thought before. You will then latch on to these thoughts and the cycle begins all over again.
Trust me, I have spent the last 2.5 years working through this exact anxiety. I discovered a lymph node on my neck and went spiraling. I was constantly poking, prodding, and thinking about it. I went to two doctors who both said it was nothing to worry about. I then began looking for other lymph nodes. Lo and behold I found a huge lump in my underarm just like you. I was on a work trip in Kansas City, Missouri and instead of exploring the city and spending time networking, I was in my hotel room freaking out: poking, prodding, looking in the mirror to fully understand what it was. It was large (5 cm), completely immobile, hard and there wasn't something like it on the other arm. I spent the entire night snooping around forums just like this for any reassurance. The entire trip was ruined. You want to know what it was? A MUSCLE!!! A muscle that has been there my entire life (30 years) but I never noticed it because my brain didn't care. I was so frustrated with myself that I allowed my time to be absolutely wasted on something that was nothing.
I finally got into therapy and learned that I will never get better unless I learn to challenge my thinking. Limeslime, you need to pause when an intrusive, scary and very real thought about this lump enters your mind. You need to take several deep breaths and then you need to tell yourself a few things: 1) These are just thoughts. These are just words. These thoughts are not reality and 2) I have been to two doctors who have both said this is not threatening. You have to ground yourself in reality and facts. Unfortunately, if you don't do this, you will continue down the path of repeated doctor visits, tests and eventually madness because you will never receive the reassurance your seeking for something thta is actually nothing to begin with.
Best Wishes.
Excellent post. That's the real deal. Personal experience and wisdom. This reply applies in most cases here. Replace the symptom (nodes, bloody poo etc.etc.) and the same things apply.
Positive thoughts
Oh my god, please help guys, I’m so frightened!
I’ve found an actual lump in my vagina!!! It’s inside the opening of the vagina, to the right hand side and hanging down. I took a mirror and a torch to have a look (not easy) and it looks the same colour as the surrounding tissue, is kidney bean shaped and about 0.7cm deep x 2cm long. It looks puffy, but is really soft.
It’s two days before Xmas, I cannot believe this is happening! I don’t know what to do! There are no GP appointments til 20th jan!!! 😢😢😢😢
I’ve just checked it again. It’s a pretty soft lump, and to be honest, if I hadn’t seen it, I probably wouldn’t have felt it.
I’d almost think it was normal anatomy stuff if it weren’t for the fact that there isn’t one on the opposite side.
It’s to the right side of that solid, anterior wall that firms a curve at the entrance the the vagina. But there isn’t one on the left
Unicorn1985
23-12-19, 12:08
I’ve just checked it again. It’s a pretty soft lump, and to be honest, if I hadn’t seen it, I probably wouldn’t have felt it.
I’d almost think it was normal anatomy stuff if it weren’t for the fact that there isn’t one on the opposite side.
It’s to the right side of that solid, anterior wall that firms a curve at the entrance the the vagina. But there isn’t one on the left
Its probably normal anatomy you haven’t noticed. You can also have left over hymen remnants which can look like flappy/lumpy bits of skin by the vaginal opening. Mine is much lumper and bumpier on one side of my vagina opening. Dr recently checked me and said all looks normal. No two vaginas look the same. Xx
Thanks unicorn. I honestly wish I hadn’t looked! I’m such an idiot!
Does your bumpy bits sound like mine? I have what looks like skin tags surrounding it too, or little tentacles 😬 but it’s this long oblong lump that worries me!
Unicorn1985
23-12-19, 13:18
Yes exaactly that! Those skin tag like things are called vestibular papillomatosis and are completely normal. My lumpy bit is completely covered, I was convinced she would say cancer but completely normal xx
Yeah, I’ve heard of VP but mine seem too big for that. Compared to the lump though, I’m not so worried about them!
I’ve figured that the lump feels normal with my finger. It’s only when I can see it that I worry! So maybe it’s just normal and most people dont go looking!
If I had felt it but not seen it, it wouldn’t have concerned me enough to think it needed checked out!
Where did you go to get checked? Did you go to GP or GUM clinic?
Unicorn1985
23-12-19, 20:48
Yeah, I’ve heard of VP but mine seem too big for that. Compared to the lump though, I’m not so worried about them!
I’ve figured that the lump feels normal with my finger. It’s only when I can see it that I worry! So maybe it’s just normal and most people dont go looking!
If I had felt it but not seen it, it wouldn’t have concerned me enough to think it needed checked out!
Where did you go to get checked? Did you go to GP or GUM clinic?
they can vary in size. Mine are long and some look like bubbles.
Mine was a gp but she’s always diagnosed me right in the past so I’m trying to trust her x
I’ve got this it’s inside but when I have my legs open and pull the skin to the side I can see it on one side. It’s not pea shape it’s more oblong but attached to the wall. My gp said it’s normal but of course I still stress about it from time to time
I’ve got this it’s inside but when I have my legs open and pull the skin to the side I can see it on one side. It’s not pea shape it’s more oblong but attached to the wall. My gp said it’s normal but of course I still stress about it from time to time
Really, that’s so reassuring! Thank you for sharing that!
I’ve calmed down a lot since I found it, but it’s still on my mind a lot.
Yours sounds just like mine!
It feels soft and harmless to touch, but to look at, it’s like “waaah that isn’t supposed to be there!”
I’m so confused!!!
I don’t know whether to go to a GP or a STI clinic about this! It is one big lump, surrounded by lots of tiny, skin-tag like things.
I’m worried the big lump might be a tumour or a cyst, and I’m worried the little ones could be HPV/warts. (Although I’ve been with the same man for 12 years!)
I can’t figure out how they’d even see the big one to diagnose it! A speculum would flatten it, and a finger cannot feel it because it is too soft.
I went to an sti clinic on the weekend as I’ve had burning down there for a while and the gp is not taking me seriously anymore, he had a good look around and said it all looks normal. I didn’t mention the lump but he looked down there using a speculum and he didn’t mention it. I don’t think you have anything to worry about hun, mine is long ish, but is horizontal, attached to vaginal wall if that makes sense?
Thanks Lady! Mine is so soft and spongey that I think a speculum would flatten it and miss it!
I’m thinking of going to an STI clinic....
So did you get any tests or diagnosis at your appointment? We’re you seen by a nurse or a doctor at the STI clinic?
If yours is horizontal, I wonder if it might have just been a ridge.
Mine runs up the side of the anterior wall, but it’s right low down, near the opening. It’s almost like a fold of skin that dangles down too low and is puffy like a kidney bean....but I can stretch it out til it pretty much disappears! It’s so weird, and I cannot find anything remotely similar online!
I was seen by a doc and there was a female in their too, prior to this I showed the lump to my gp and she said it’s normal. But of course that wasn’t enough for me! Regarding the burning they couldn’t see a reason for it said could be dryness or mild inflammation but nothing visibly different
So, would you recommend a GP or STI clinic for this? I’m so confused 😢
I would go to a sexual health clinic they are much more specialised with those bits
Thank you! I just want to know it’s not a tumour! Classic HA sufferer!
Unicorn1985
27-12-19, 21:22
Thank you! I just want to know it’s not a tumour! Classic HA sufferer!
An sti clinic will be far better as they see lady bits day in day out. I think this is either left over hymen or from having kids! When I was fixated of vulva cancer I found another site which has a section dedicated to it, lots of people post pics of their privates, all of them never had kids and it all looks a lot neater and tidier than mine. My gp said I looked normal x
Thanks unicorn. I think it might be too far inside to be the hymen, and I’ve never had a vaginal birth, only C-Sections!
I’m hoping it’s just some bizarre anatomy, but I know I need to find out for sure!
Ok...I’ve made an impulse decision. A rare GP appointment became available for today with a doctor I really like (but who never has availability!) so I’m gonna go and get this lump checked out!
If I’d chosen to go to an STI clinic, I’d have had to wait til my kids were back at school, then my period happens to be due that same week...so I’d have had to wait til the 3rd week in January AND potentially be examined by ex colleagues!
So yeah...wish me luck! My stomach is doing flips!!!
The GP said she could only see skin tags. I’m not 100% sure that she saw the lump, as she sounded a bit confused in her tone. I kept describing it to her as a kidney bean, and after a while she said “yes, there is one like that.” 🤷*♀️
She didn’t feel it, she just accepted my description of it as being soft, and told me that the first rule of med school is “scary things are hard, not soft”.
So yeah...to me, it doesn’t fit the criteria of a skin tag because it isn’t hanging by a stalk, it’s literally growing downwards along its whole length, and from everything I’ve found from my frantic research, skin tags don’t grow internally!
Please can someone talk me down.
I’ve been to my GP twice in the past month for different reasons and was made to feel like a nuisance, so I really don’t want to go again, but this is driving me insane!
My left collarbone, towards the sternum where the bone gets fatter...I have a lump on the top of it. Like, actually ON the bone. Not behind it or under it.
I’ve been trying to make sense of it for two weeks now. It feels like a boney ridge along the top of the bone, pointing outwards, with a soft, movable, round ball at the end of it. It’s hard to explain, and I just cannot figure out what it could be, and it’s causing me to get obsessed.
If it were just the round ball, I’d think lymph node (it’s approx 7mm) but the boney ridge that seems to be attached to it, well...I just don’t know!! Normal anatomy?
Is 7mm worrying for a collarbone node? I know the rules on these ones are slightly different!
Anyway...please can anyone calm me down with experiences of collarbone lumps/lymph nodes that ended up being benign?
You're just circling around to a previous worry (https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?228594-Lymph-node-question) :shrug: Poke and prod and find some normal bodily anatomy to obsess over. Take a look at some of the replies there.
Positive thoughts
nomorepanic
05-01-20, 23:25
Probably just part of your body to be honest. Seek and you will find
My anxiety is fully heightened right now due to a family member dying in hospital from cancer because she chose to ignore her symptoms.
I’ve been doing the same lately...blaming everything on my HA.
Guys...how urgent is it to get a collarbone lump checked?
I’ve got a pea sized lump on my collarbone that I’ve been aware of for a month. It’s smaller than 1cm (but only just) and is quite mobile. I don’t know for sure if it’s a lymph node because it feels like it is wrapped in fatty tissue.
I’ve booked an appointment with my GP for 12th feb, hoping it might go away by then.
Am I being stupid or sensible here? I cannot tell anymore!
Neverending_story
17-01-20, 14:00
.
Am I being stupid or sensible here? I cannot tell anymore!
Any medical expert will advise that you get any new lump/bump checked out - its worrisome for you I know but it sounds like a node to me (I am no expert so only going by what you have described) - get it checked for piece of mind.
One piece of advice though - I had a lump behind my ear and I fiddled so much with it that it increased in size ten fold - so dont prode or poke :)
I feel some relief with reading this! I too just found little tiny bumps in my hollow of my collarbone. Mine dont feel like nodes so i can tell either, mine are like a cluster of tiny tiny bumps? kinda weird. mine are also mobile. is yours in the hollow area? I dont think youre being stupid at all!!
No Rox, mine is sitting on the bone itself...almost feels attached. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just fatty tissue or muscle, but the fear of it being a lymph node is overwhelming!
I don’t know what size they need to be before they’re concerning....everywhere else they’ve gotta be bigger than 1cm to raise a doctors eyebrow. But I think on your collarbone that rule might be different? I’m hoping someone knows cosvim trying to keep off google!
No Rox, mine is sitting on the bone itself...almost feels attached. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just fatty tissue or muscle, but the fear of it being a lymph node is overwhelming!
I don’t know what size they need to be before they’re concerning....everywhere else they’ve gotta be bigger than 1cm to raise a doctors eyebrow. But I think on your collarbone that rule might be different? I’m hoping someone knows cosvim trying to keep off google!
I’ve never heard of lymph nodes on top of the collarbone but I’m not a doctor so sadly idk for sure. Don’t google! Resist it, google will just tell you you’re dying from some rare form of something. We will get through this :)
You don’t have lymph nodes on your collarbone. They are more in the soft tissue on the underside, closer to your neck. What you’re feeling is likely not a lymph node.
Oh really!!!! That’s so reassuring to hear, thank you!!!! So do they run down behind the collarbone rather than infront of it?
Although. It’s sitting on the top of the collarbone? But yeah, definitely ON the collarbone rather than behind it...
UPDATE***
Just updating this incase anyone finds themselves in a similar situation.
I’ve just been to my GP to get this lump checked.
She started by asking if I’d had a sore throat or cough recently, as they can cause swollen lymph nodes on the collarbone...but I hadn’t.
She then checked the lump, and confirmed this is a normal sized lymph node. She said it’s only concerning if it gets bigger than a grape!!! I dug further about this, cos I’d read that collarbone nodes are concerning if they’re bigger than 5mm, (not true according to her!) and mine is some where around 1cm.
She then told me something interesting....
It’s not as big as I think! She likened my condition to anorexia, where underweight people see themselves as bigger than they are. That’s what HA is doing to me when I’m feeling this lump. My brain is playing tricks on me, and my anxiety is fuelling it’s power to do so.
So now I’m finally starting on medication to try to beat this demon....
Congratulations! Hope it works out as well for you as it has for me.
Congratulations! Hope it works out as well for you as it has for me.
Thank you.
They’ve put me on Venlafaxine. The list of common side effects looks like it could be very bad for my HA!
But hoping for the best....
I get married in September. I don’t want to enter married life feeling like this. I’m terrified to go back on meds, but I think it’s my last resort! Trying to be brave!
So, I noticed a skin tag-type thing behind my wisdom tooth, and whilst checking it with a mirror, I noticed a tiny hole in the roof of my mouth...it’s inside the arch/groove about 1cm from my tonsil.
When I touched it, thick yellow stuff came out.
(But I had eaten cheese on toast for tea-so I’m not sure if it was trapped food or discharge. Sorry, gross I know!)
I see my dentist every 6 months for check ups, and also a hygienist every 3 months, and neither have mentioned this to me before, but I guess it’s easy to miss!
Does anyone know if it is normal anatomy stuff? I cannot find one on the opposite side. I’m not due to see my dentist til March, but I’m wondering whether I should bring it forward?
I don’t want to go down a new rabbit hole if oral cancer, but I’ve spent the past 2 hours looking at diagrams of the soft palate, and I cannot find anything that looks like this!
Unicorn1985
25-01-20, 21:43
So, I noticed a skin tag-type thing behind my wisdom tooth, and whilst checking it with a mirror, I noticed a tiny hole in the roof of my mouth...it’s inside the arch/groove about 1cm from my tonsil.
When I touched it, thick yellow stuff came out.
(But I had eaten cheese on toast for tea-so I’m not sure if it was trapped food or discharge. Sorry, gross I know!)
I see my dentist every 6 months for check ups, and also a hygienist every 3 months, and neither have mentioned this to me before, but I guess it’s easy to miss!
Does anyone know if it is normal anatomy stuff? I cannot find one on the opposite side. I’m not due to see my dentist til March, but I’m wondering whether I should bring it forward?
I don’t want to go down a new rabbit hole if oral cancer, but I’ve spent the past 2 hours looking at diagrams of the soft palate, and I cannot find anything that looks like this!
I believe these are tonsil stones you’ve pushed out! Gunk collects in that area and people push it out using a cotton bug (you can find videos online to see its the same area you are talking about). You must have a strong gag reflex lol! X
I believe these are tonsil stones you’ve pushed out! Gunk collects in that area and people push it out using a cotton bug (you can find videos online to see its the same area you are talking about). You must have a strong gag reflex lol! X
You absolute star!!!! I’ve just googled this and I think it could have been a tonsil stone...what came out certainly looks very similar!!! I’ve never heard of this before! And it wasn’t actually on a tonsil!
So do you know if the hole will heal up or leave a scar?
And yes, it did make me gag! 🤮
Unicorn1985
25-01-20, 22:53
Ha ha I think we all have these holes from what I read about them. Could be wrong though. When I was going through my throat cancer phase I found similar to what you describe just couldn’t push anything out as I was almost sick lol x
Unicorn1985
26-01-20, 08:10
A what ?
Typo lol. I meant cotton bud! Or you guys call them Q tips? :)
My tonsil isn’t swollen, it’s flat as a pancake on the left hand side, but has a strange honeycomb pattern on it! Sort of brownish and fleshy coloured.
Anyone know if this sounds normal? Infection? Cancer?
There is no pain or symptoms at all.
It looks like a different texture to the surrounding skin but it’s too far back to know for sure.
Why are you exploring the back of your mouth?
Positive thoughts
Unicorn1985
26-01-20, 14:18
My tonsil isn’t swollen, it’s flat as a pancake on the left hand side, but has a strange honeycomb pattern on it! Sort of brownish and fleshy coloured.
Anyone know if this sounds normal? Infection? Cancer?
There is no pain or symptoms at all.
It looks like a different texture to the surrounding skin but it’s too far back to know for sure.
My daughter had tonsillitis twenty times before she finally had them removed. I’ve looked at tonsils a lot lol. I’m sure they are just capillaries and nothing more x
Please read the below message from Admin. You are posting about a lot of different things frequently. Perhaps start a thread where you can keep all of your worries in one place.
Can posters, especially those who are posting a lot about a variety of fears please confine their posts to one thread.
This helps others to build up a clear picture of what is happening and makes it easier to offer suitable advice.
You may not see the pattern but usually it is there, especially if you are posting frequently about different things.
Your co-operation with this would be greatly appreciated.
Elen
Typo lol. I meant cotton bud! Or you guys call them Q tips? :)
Thank you "cotton bud" wouldn't have helped lol. Now QTip I get but really why do we call them THAT? :-)
Thank you "cotton bud" wouldn't have helped lol. Now QTip I get but really why do we call them THAT? :-)
It's the name brand in the US so the name sticks regardless of brand.
Positive thoughts
My tonsil isn’t swollen, it’s flat as a pancake on the left hand side, but has a strange honeycomb pattern on it! Sort of brownish and fleshy coloured.
Anyone know if this sounds normal? Infection? Cancer?
There is no pain or symptoms at all.
It looks like a different texture to the surrounding skin but it’s too far back to know for sure.
that's what my tonsil look like.
Oh really! Did you ever find out what it is?
It reminds me of a healed burn on skin, like that sorta thing. It’s weird! But I’ve never looked before so I don’t know if it’s normal or not!
I see my dentist regularly but I don’t suppose she looks at my tonsils cos my tongue is in the way!
Hi again... I’m feeling a bit confused and just wanted some opinions...
I went to my GP on 22/1 about a lump I’ve had on my collarbone for atleast 6 weeks.
Its about 8-10mm, it’s hard to be sure. Abit like a tic-tac and sits flush on my actual collarbone like a big ridge.
The GP said it was normal sized and dismissed it. She said it’s only concerning if it gets to the size of a grape!!! 😮
But from everything I’ve read on forums, people seem to get an ENT referral simply for having a palpable lymph node of any size in that area cos of the high chance of malignancy
Should I persue this, or is this my HA making me paranoid?
I’ve got some strange markings and holes on my tonsil/soft palate (tonsil not swollen nor been unwell) and I’m worried the lymph node could be connected in a metastatic capacity 😢
The GP said it was normal sized and dismissed it. She said it’s only concerning if it gets to the size of a grape!!! 😮
😢
So if that ^^ doesn't reassure you, what will? Surely not a forum full of health anxiety sufferers with no medical training. Right?
So if that ^^ doesn't reassure you, what will? Surely not a forum full of health anxiety sufferers with no medical training. Right?
Thanks Nancy, I’m just worried that she was fobbing me off cos of my HA, and not taking me seriously. Cos most of what I’ve read on forums says all palpable lymph nodes in the collarbone area should be treated as suspicious unless proven otherwise.
I’m just wondering if anyoner else has been to the GP for similar and whether they were told the same?
Yes, I have. Twice on the same side. One time from an infected tooth and another from a really bad canker sore in my mouth. Freaked out both times and would only go down after the infection was gone and I kept my hands off of it. I think I touched it so much the second time that it never fully went away and if I touch that area enough, it'll swell back up. It's been a year, so I'm sure it is nothing.
Yes, I have. Twice on the same side. One time from an infected tooth and another from a really bad canker sore in my mouth. Freaked out both times and would only go down after the infection was gone and I kept my hands off of it. I think I touched it so much the second time that it never fully went away and if I touch that area enough, it'll swell back up. It's been a year, so I'm sure it is nothing.
How big was it? And did your doctorknow straight away it wasn't sinister or did they order tests?
How long did it last? I first noticed mine in early December!
ankietyjoe
31-01-20, 08:13
You've made multiple posts about the same thing and had it checked out by a Doctor who has told you it's nothing.
You need to practice letting this go, not incessantly looking for more and more reassurance.
And not googling.
NotDeadYet
31-01-20, 15:29
I'm not a doctor so obviously I can't diagnose you but once I had a freak out over a lymph node on my neck (not supraclavicular). I went to the docs and he said it was fine but checked all of my nodes. He put his finger on a node in my supraclavicular area and said, "oh I can feel one here. See you have nodes throughout your body that you can feel. You're fine." My point being, you can feel a supraclavicular node and be OK.
The real issue in this case is your inability to trust your doctor and recognize your thought pattern. I would work on that
Best Wishes.
Unicorn1985
31-01-20, 16:58
I had a lymph node come up behind my ear. Hadnt been ill. Google told me it was cancer. Left it a month hoping it was just a cyst. Eventually plucked up the courage to go to the dr, she said yes lymph node if it’s still up in a few weeks come back and we will test to make sure it’s nothing nasty like cancer and you’ve got one right at the front of your neck swollen too! Well I wasn’t even aware of the one at the front of my neck. I came home in tears. The one on my neck was by my windpipe. I have reflux. I thought throat cancer. I googled that specific node as I found out it’s actual location name. It just kept bringing up lung cancer! Well I calmed down and remembered the lymph node behind my ear was half the size it when I first found it at that point. Fast forward it took 6 months for the one st the front of my neck to go down until I couldn’t feel it. The one behind my ear never went down fully and I can still feel it but not on other side. This was about two years ago now. I’m still alive. It doesn’t always mean cancer.
As for your tonsils i told you what that was already and it’s normal. Deep breaths this is your anxiety taking over xx
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I appreciate everything you’ve all said.
I have a 2cm lymph node behind my ear, and recently had a 2cm one one the back of my neck too...butvthey didn’t concern me. I just waited for them to go down in their own time.
But because this one is on my collarbone and the rules are slightly different in this area, I’m completely worked up!
I first noticed it in early dec and I estimated it to be about 5mm.
Last week it seemed to be 7mm
And today is about 9mm. It’s like a puffy baked bean sitting on the bone!
If it were anywhere else I’d be ok... but I’ve not been ill, it’s been nearly 2 months, it’s growing and the collarbone area is an unusual and dangerous place to find nodes!
I’m scared guys. Rationally or not, I’ve not felt this frightened in about 2yrs. I cannot handle this feeling 😢
But my GP said it’s not a worry unless it’s as big as a grape. That’s 3cm!! We all know that rule does not apply to the collarbone nodes...which is why I feel she fobbed me off because of my HA. I’m not even sure she made a proper effort to feel it. I’m overweight, and its toward my sternum end of my collarbone, so not the easiest to locate!
Please NMP, don’t attach this thread to the bottom of my old thread, because I just want advice on improving the symptom, not trying to diagnose it!
Does anyone know how to get a possibly “shotty” lymph node to go back down?
I’ve got a 1cm x 1cm node sitting on my collarbone which is terrifying me beyond relief. My GP isn’t concerned. I touch it all the time, trying to measure it against the pad of my finger to check if it has changed in size. It has got bigger, but maybe just because I can’t leave it alone!
It’s buried deep, so I don’t think heat or ice would get to it.
Is there any other remedies that might help it to go down so I can stop panicking?
(I know trying not to touch it is the obvious choice, but that’s so much easier said than done when I’m this frightened!)
NotDeadYet
11-02-20, 15:32
Hello Limeslime
Unfortunately shotty lymph nodes generally do not go away. Shotty nodes are lymph nodes that were once reactive and thus enlarged for benign reasons and then never go away. I have a shotty lymph node on my neck that has been around for 2.5 years. This may be a situation that you have for the rest of your life and the real remedy is learning how to cope with having it on your body. I was just like you and CONSTANTLY touched my lymph node. I finally started using the CBT techniques I was learning in therapy and now I don't even think about it.
I know this isn't the answer you're looking for but sometimes our bodies don't go back to "normal" and we have to learn how to cope with the changes.
Best Wishes
Hello Limeslime
Unfortunately shotty lymph nodes generally do not go away. Shotty nodes are lymph nodes that were once reactive and thus enlarged for benign reasons and then never go away. I have a shotty lymph node on my neck that has been around for 2.5 years. This may be a situation that you have for the rest of your life and the real remedy is learning how to cope with having it on your body. I was just like you and CONSTANTLY touched my lymph node. I finally started using the CBT techniques I was learning in therapy and now I don't even think about it.
I know this isn't the answer you're looking for but sometimes our bodies don't go back to "normal" and we have to learn how to cope with the changes.
Best Wishes
Thanks so much for the advice! I don’t know for sure if it is reactive or shotty (or malignant, but trying to keep my brain from going there). I’m just assuming “shotty” because of the damage I might have done messing with it. Maybe it would have got bigger regardless, but I’ll never know 🤷*♀️
I was just hoping there was something I could try, in hopes of it shrinking. I’ve had it for three months. It’s the location that terrifies me...if it were anywhere else it wouldn’t concern me too much.
I’m on a 12 month waiting list for high intensity CBT, and I’ve just finished low intensity CBT which didn’t really help much. 😢
I feel like I could only cope with having it there if I could know it’s benign! 😢
NotDeadYet
11-02-20, 18:34
Thanks so much for the advice! I don’t know for sure if it is reactive or shotty (or malignant, but trying to keep my brain from going there). I’m just assuming “shotty” because of the damage I might have done messing with it. Maybe it would have got bigger regardless, but I’ll never know 路*♀️
I was just hoping there was something I could try, in hopes of it shrinking. I’ve had it for three months. It’s the location that terrifies me...if it were anywhere else it wouldn’t concern me too much.
I’m on a 12 month waiting list for high intensity CBT, and I’ve just finished low intensity CBT which didn’t really help much.
I feel like I could only cope with having it there if I could know it’s benign!
I've been following your posts quite closely because of our shared HA issues and it sounds like you've been told by multiple professionals that it is benign. It's good you are making attempts to keep your brain from going down the path of it being malignant when in fact you have been told it isn't.
My node shrunk a little when I stopped touching it. Because HA is a lifelong recovery, I do find myself poking my node every now and then and it certainly gets bigger when I do. Really practice not touching it. If you are touching incessantly then start with something small like an hour and then work your way up to a day then a week. Whenever you feel the urge to poke or prod just think, "It hasn't grown in the last (enter time) so it certainly hasn't grown in the last (enter time). I don't need to touch it." This is CBT and it grounds you in reality. This is the exact process I followed and it helped me immensely.
Best Wishes.
That’s great advice, thank you so much!!
I’ve actually only had one GP look at this particular node. And to be honest, I got the impression she’d already dismissed it before she’d even checked it. She straight away said “if you have to dig around to find it, it’s nothing to worry about”. I was like, “whoa, hang on, I havnt even showed you it yet!”
It was like I was being judged because of my HA and not taken seriously. So I really didn’t leave feeling as reassured as I should go!
But thank you for the advice! I’ll give it a try!!
The longest I’ve went without touching it was 4 days. Then I spent an entire day prodding it and undid all my hard work!
I just wish it would go away!
I’m terrified 😢
First off, this should be merged as it's all about the same thing... NODES. Secondly, we have 500-700 nodes in our bodies. They're our sewer system for lack of a better description. They range in size from BBs to 2cm and all are normal. Sometimes they swell and never go back to their original size and often times they can become shotty (permanently enlarged... notice I didn't say swollen), especially if you poke and prod them enough.
What NotDeadYet said is spot on. Learn to live with it.
Positive thoughts
NotDeadYet
12-02-20, 04:22
“if you have to dig around to find it, it’s nothing to worry about”.
This is a true statement. Trust your doctor.
Best Wishes
You asked for this not to be merged but unfortunately the thread has turned into a reassurance seeking post.
I have therefore merged it with your previous post on this subject.
Elen
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.