Doing it again

[knuckles]

I'm so focused on the pains in my leg. I've pushed, proded and rubbed every inch of my right leg so many times now trying to feel something. I even got out a thermometer and compared temps various places on my right and left leg - not sure what that was supposed to show. Anyway, I found a small lump on my upper thigh and off to the internet I went and all kinds of cancer info comes up. I can't stop focusing on my leg and it hurts and is tingly.......

Knuckles

[marlou]

I've done exactly the same thing and listen to me, my doc told me the one and only place we should ever examine for lumps is breast as the rest of our body is full of normal ones and their presence is not a concern, please dont worry

[girlrock]

Hey Knuckles,

If there is one thing I'm learning about this damn health anxiety its that the more we focus on a part of our body the more it hurts, feels swollen, etc. Since Xmas Eve I was having some pretty scary symptoms...the feeling of being strangled, chest pain, and even more recently now I'm dizzy to the point where I feel like I'm a cruise ship...which is freaking me out cuz I'm used to the head-spinning dizzies...not swaying dizzy. But anyway...I wasn't able to get in to see my doctor but I had to talk myself out of the worry or I knew I'd go crazy...so guess what? My strangulation feeling and chest pain have gone away...and I'm not dizzy when I'm calm. I think that my neck and throat/trachea are swollen and hard but all day today I told myself, "Don't TOUCH!" And then you don't think about it so much if you don't go poking. I'm just saying that I know how you feel right now(I think I have esophageal cancer) but I'm seeing results in trying to forget about it...it goes away.

Oh and the number 1 rule for health anxiety...don't Google!!! It's the same as the don't touch thing. When you even THINK about Googling...go to a different website...like here. Don't dare type in that "google.com" Trust me...as in quitting anything else like smoking or drinking...you will feel SO proud of yourself for not doing it! And you won't drive yourself as crazy! Please try this for me...the next time you want to touch your legs or any other part of your body to inspect...give yourself a mental slap on the wrist and say NO! I hope that I could help you a little bit by telling you how I'm dealing with my problems at the moment. Good luck to you :bighug1: