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dizzydruid
14-07-05, 13:16
Hi,
ok my throat is a lot better, still get the feeling of something there but not all the time in the last few days which is good.
A few months ago I I feeling for my glands in my neck [Sigh...] and I discovered that on one side of my jaw, right at the end behind my ears one side is larger than the other. I can feel like a bony structure on both sides if pressed but one side is definately slightly bigger than the other :s
I fogot to mention this to the doctor on my several visits to see her over my throat. she did however feel all around my glands and ears at the time and obviously didnt notice anything untoward but I'm worrying that this is abnormal now. It doesnt hurt or anything, well it didnt until I started pressing really hard and trying to wiggle it around and now it does [:X]
I would feel really stupid going back to the doctors yet again over this. i hate being like this

lucy x

Kez
14-07-05, 13:39
I went through this last year. Exactly the same thing. I started feeling all the lumps and bumps in my neck and - yes - mine are different sizes too. I was convinced I had all sorts of ailments. I then moved on to feeling my windpipe and so on and so on. The thing to remember is we're not symmetrical! we are all different shapes and sizes and there isn't anything wrong it's just the anxiety. One thing I had to learn was to trust my doctor, which is difficult I know, but if you don't have that barrier/cut off point then anything could be a possibility when it comes to anxiety. You must convince yourself that the doctor is your final port of call if he/she says nothing is wrong you must trust them. Use their diagnosis as a stop sign to put that particular worry on the back burner. I've got over the gland worry, and now i worry about my eyes, I'm still here so obviously there wasn't much wrong with my glands.

Take care

kez

KEZ

Meg
14-07-05, 15:58
Really glad to hear your throat issues are better !! Hurrah .

The structure is not a problem. Just as our two feet are not exactly the same size , or hips the same height this is similar.

If you hadn't have had the throat things you would never have noticed !


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

shona
14-07-05, 16:15
Try not to worry Lucy. About a year ago i was getting bad migraines and found a lump on the back of my head - of course I convinced myself I had a brain tumour! Obviously I dont it is just the shape of my head happens to have a lump on it. The next time you are at the doctor mention it to him if you are still worried, dont be embarressed that is what doctors are paid for and if it reassures you just ask. But Im sure its normal. take care, shona

SFAOK
14-07-05, 19:26
I've also been worrying about the glands in my throat recently. My reason is that I had cancer previously in the year that spreads via Lymph nodes - so even though I am currently 'cured', I'm still on red alert.

Just this last week I was worried about asymetrical lumps underneath my jaw (you've got two big ones on either side anyway). They felt bigger than normal, and they hurt sometimes when I swollowed.

My oncologist examined me today and he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. The pain (and perhaps swellling) is probably due to the fact that I've been poking around there every day for the past month on and off. What I try to remember is that I've been looking for these mysterious swollen glands for weeks BEFORE anything showed up. A bit of a coincidence.

dizzydruid
14-07-05, 21:21
Thanks everyone, SFOAK are these asymetrical lumps where your jaw begins near the ear? If so this is where mine are. To me there is quite a difference in size, one is only just noticable with pressure, the other instantly noticable as soon as i touch it. It just feels hard and like you I have been poking it so much I'm not sure whether I have caused it to feel painful or not now.
I am going to try to put it to the back of my mind I will have to see the doctor to discuss my medication next week anyway so hopefully I can last until then and get the doc to have a quick look.
thanks as ever for your help.

x

SFAOK
14-07-05, 21:28
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Thanks everyone, SFOAK are these asymetrical lumps where your jaw begins near the ear? </td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">
If I press my fingers against my jaw bone, and then slide downwards so that I'm holding onto my neck, then they are there if I feel along the bottom of my jaw.

You have two rather large glands there anyway I believe - not sure what they are. Saliva glands?

BrandyK
15-07-05, 03:38
Hi, I think that if there was something abnormal there your doctor would of felt it. Try not to worry about it, it will just get worse!

Brandy

"Never give up the Fight!"

dizzydruid
15-07-05, 08:29
Hi,
feeling better about it I think. Talked to my partner last night who has had many operations on his ears in his childhood so he is kind of an expert. He says it is my mastoid bone and there is nothing to worry about. I feel a lot better and will try to not poke it anymore but will still get the doctor to check it next week to totally reassure me:D
I really hate all this worry about health,it driving me up the wall.
thanks for the reassurance
x

EricFla
15-07-05, 14:48
Maybe by sharing my situation which is really similar, we can both feel a little less alone :) I'm 33, and my first period of health related anxiety can around March of this year. I had some slight abdominal pain and didn't have to go to the restroom for a day or two. I foolishly went to Web MD to see what it could be, and convinced myself I had colon cancer. Of course, my problem was really a terrible diet, and once i got a little fiber in me I was normal, but I was still spooked. Since then, I eat much better and exercise daily, and I'm as regular as clockwork.

Fast-forward to May of this year. I get a sinus infection like I do regularly. I'm congested, my ears feel plugged, and I get painful swelling in the throat. I know what it is so i ignore it instead of getting antibiotics like I should. Two months later, I feel very slight, non-painful swelling off to the left of my throat, and I convice myself its something malignant. I think about it constantly and can convice myself it hurts if I think hard enough, even though it really doesn't. I have gotten paranoid that things are getting stuck in my throat so I chew everything to mush, even though nothing ever gets stuck. Last week I was convinced a piece of rice from the chinese food I ate was stuck there.

OK, so I break down yesterday and go to the doctor, I'm open and honest and tell him everything. He knows I struggle with anxiety. He looks in my throat and says it appears normal. Ears, normal. Feels all around my neck and says he can't even find any lymph nodes, so normal. Looks up the old nose and says, "let me guess, left side, right?" I say yes, and he says he can see redness and inflammation and I have a minor sinus infection, and that explains the occasional ear weirdness and the slight swelling of the oral pharynx. Gives me antibiotics and tells me all is well and sends me on my way.

I should be fine, right? Of course not. I still worry endlessly. You're not alone, not by a long shot. Hang in there.

dizzydruid
15-07-05, 16:00
thanks Eric,
I know what you mean. i also should be fine but am still worried. My throat problems are much better, not so worried about the bony lump thing but have an ear ache for a week now and am now worrying about that. It just seems to go from one thing to another and I just wish I could stop the worry

thanks, lucy x

Cinders4
18-07-05, 22:03
Hi, I too have been into checking the lumps on my neck, jaw, throat head etc etc at various times. When Ive pushed and prodded them enough they hurt, but then I think of something else to worry about like my arms legs, feet mouth etc etc and low and behold the other lumps stop hurting or disappear.

I believe that when Im feeling flaT AND CANT FIND A REASON FOR IT, i AUTOMATICALLY THINK THERE MUST BE SOMETHING PHYSICAL AT THE ROOT OF IT, AND ALMOST START SEARCHING..... THINGS THAT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE SUDDENLY FEEL HUGE, HURT AND WORRY THE HELL OUT OF ME. I AM CONVINCED THIS IS MY WAY OF HIDING FROM WHAT THE REAL ISSUES ARE FROM MYSELF......

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

PM ME IF YOU FEEL YOU WANT TO CHAT MORE ON THIS

JO
X