Had a Dr appointment and still anxious

[rc906]

Been having throat issues that have been giving me anxiety. Lump in throat feeling, somewhat of trouble swallowing (food goes down but feels like it takes longer than it should). No real red flag symptoms like weight loss (other than the mild trouble swallowing) but obviously been thinking it’s cancer related (I know, I know).

Had an appointment with my primary care doctor yesterday, who listened to my symptoms and said “I could refer you for tests but it would be expensive and I don’t really think it’s necessary. Cancer would be down the list of things that I think this could be.” He then gave me a PPI prescription and said to follow up in a month or two if it’s not resolved.

My anxiety is stemming from the fact I didn’t have the tests done, endoscopy etc. Logically I know it’s probably nothing but I can’t shake the anxiety this time.

I guess what I’m trying to ask is, like if there was any concern at all that this was something serious he would have ordered the tests right? Like I’m assuming he sees similar symptoms all the time. I don’t even feel like he was dismissive or anything I just feel like I was dumb for not getting the tests even tho they would be expensive without insurance

[Catkins]

If he thought the tests were essential he would have insisted you have them. I would give the PPIs a go.

[rc906]

Thanks for the response :)

Logically I know that it doesn’t make sense to stress but logical thinking isn’t usually as powerful as illogical anxiety

[BlueIris]

This is why it's important to work on your logic muscles.

[ankietyjoe]

Is it logical to believe that strangers on the internet who have never met you somehow outrank the medical professional that's examined you?

[rc906]

I’d say it’s not really a matter of outranking or not believing. Just a matter of second guessing if I should have pushed for testing or not

[ankietyjoe]

I’d say it’s not really a matter of outranking or not believing. Just a matter of second guessing if I should have pushed for testing or not

And then what? Follow the same anxiety behaviour next time you have a benign symptom (which is inevitable).

"Doctor, I sneezed twice, but faster than usual, can I have an MRI to check for booger cancer......."


Because that's where this leads.

[Scared-to-human]

Omg I have this now and it’s terrifying!!!! It feels like I’m swallowing big lumps of food and it’s taking ages to go down!!!!

[NoraB]

Omg I have this now and it’s terrifying!!!! It feels like I’m swallowing big lumps of food and it’s taking ages to go down!!!!

Is it still so terrifying when I tell you that anxiety causes the muscles in the throat to constrict, and even the smallest amount of food can feel weird going down?

HA will tell you cancer, every time, though this is the least likely cause. The most likely causes for this are anxiety and reflux.

It's really not terrifying at all when you understand how anxiety affects the muscles in the body....