White patch at back of throat.

[Jan63]

I am absolutely beside myself with worry about a white patch right at the back of my throat behind where my tonsils would be if I had any - I had them out when I was eight years old. I have convinced myself it's definitely mouth cancer.:weep: I had a mouth cancer check up at the dentist five months ago which was okay - well he said it was anyway. I had a sore throat a couple of months ago which I think I caught from my son because he had one. It then went to just one side of my throat and stayed there a few weeks but eventually went. I still feel there is something wrong with my throat although I do suffer badly with health anxiety (since September last year) and so this could be in my head - it's so hard to know what is a real symptom and one that you think is real with health anxiety isn't it.:unsure:

I plucked up the courage to phone my dentist this morning because it said on my appointment card that he was open from 7.15am till 1 today but I rang up and they are closed till Monday.:weep:

Has anyone else here had a white patch right at the back of their throat and it not been mouth cancer? Also if my mouth cancer check was clear 5 months ago do you think if it is cancer that it will be in the early stages?
Thanks.

[leeann]

Hiya I remember once having a few white patches at the back of throat. I went to pharmacy, got them to have a look And they said it was due to stress.

Im sure every thing will fine xx

[Jan63]

Oh I do hope it is that Leeann - I am going out of my mind with worry here. :weep:

I don't think it's thrush though because it's only in the one place - right at the back of my throat where that dangly thing hangs down and to the left right in the very far corner.

[Jaco45er]

Hi Jan

I get white patches at the back of my throat when I have a cold or run down.

You can also get it with sparrow, no hang on, thrush.

It is very common. "Oh yer?" I hear you cry, "how do you know?"

When I had bad health anxiety, this was something I seen my dr about. Infact I seen my Dr about my throat, heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, brain (that was a mistake, that one, disappointing results), arms, legs, mens bits ( I don't mean like power drills and the TV remote) infact, the only thing I didn't see him about was my toes as I hadn't googled enough to scare myself senseless about them.

I would pop back to the dentist, not because I think it's anything sinister (you had a check up 5 months ago, and white patches are common), but to give that anxious mind some relief when he tells you all is well, and he will :)

With health anxiety, you need to learn to pace yourself, you can't go worrying about the same problem for too long, if you want to get to my high level of dwelling and worry, you need to know when to accept that you are fine (sometimes takes just a little reassurance from a medical professional) so you leave enough energy for the next phantom disease.

Now I am going to say something really stupid now, put it to the back of your mind until you pop to the dentists.

If only it was that easy, eh ;)

TC

Jaco

[Jan63]

Thanks Jaco.:hugs: Yes that's what I am going to try to do because I have an eight year old little girl and she soon picks up if I'm worried about anything and I don't want to worry her.

Do you think I would be better booking with the dentist or the doctor - I don't know which one is the best to see?

I am so sick of this stupid health anxiety - it seems to have been one thing after another since last September. First acid reflux which seems to have been okay lately and I've not had to take any omeprazole for a couple of months and then I got a breast lump which I was sent to the hospital with for tests and thankfully it was a cyst and now this. Just wish it would give me a break of more than a couple of weeks.:weep:

Thanks again.:D

[Jaco45er]

hi Jan

Going to the docs might be quicker, but either will ease your mind :)

Anyway, if you go to the docs, you might be able to sneak another health issue in, bit like buy one get one free ;)

Now try and have a relaxing weekend, go on, dare ya ;)

TC

Jaco

[Jan63]

Yes I do need some more citalopram - I was so much calmer and didn't let things get to me as much when I was on them so maybe the docs is a better idea.:yesyes: Plus she might throw in some diazepam too if I'm lucky.:winks:

I am going to try to go two days without sticking the torch down my throat.:unsure: Did you do this too Jaco? If I had tonsils I would have never seen the white patch - wish I hadn't had them out now.:huh:

[kate]

I had a white patch develop 2 years ago. Convinced I had throat cancer. Waited a week then decided had to face it and went to GP.

I went in, burst into tears, and told her I had throat cancer. She said she would have a look and said "Oh you have a little cyst" :blush::blush:

I still have it now, have to check still every few days :winks:

Best to go and get it checked out as googling and self diagnosis are not the way forward! :winks:

Kate

[Jan63]

Thanks Kate:hugs: - I really hope that's all it is - I would be over the moon if that's all it was, I'd feel like all my birthdays have come at once.:)

[kate]

Trouble is, you get reassurance on 1 symptom and then another appears :scared15:

I never had HA until the "throat cancer" but, since then, I've had a new terminal illness every few weeks :doh:

I even had a spot at the top of my leg this week that I was convinced was an abcess. Turned out to be just a spot after all :blush:

Kate

[Jan63]

Yes I'm exactly the same:D - never used to be like this so don't know why I am now to be honest.:shrug: I haven't had a brain tumour yet but no doubt it will come.:blush:

[kate]

Oh I've had quite a few brain tumours over the years :D

Kate

[Jan63]

:D:D:D

[Stressed32]

Jan- I am in your boat....had phenomina and never had that before so to hear the Dr. say it scared me. It went away quickly, but I googled it and read HIV...downhill scare from that point. Strep went around and I had a bit of a sore throat so what does this HA sufferer do....you guessed it...I took a flashlight and began to look in my throat. Never in my life had I done that so I really can't say what it looked like before that day...but that day there were yellowish whiteish bump things on the posterior wall of my throat, a patch of them like maybe 3 small bumps a one larger one.
I FREAKED! Went to Dr. and was put on antibiotics. No change so then I became obsessed with HIV bumps and really got myself worked up (I even had a - test and coul dnot let it go) because of google. Went to a different Dr. and she told me it was "viral". That was in Jan. and they are still there. I was just back a week ago for sinus infection and slipped it in (buy 1 get 1 free right?) and now she says it is from using my voice and that people who sing get it...I teach so I do use my voice a lot. Anyway, I have post nasal drip and often wake up to see mucus stuck to the back of my throat and I think that is what causes it along with stress. Are your allergies acting up?
I had a friend who went to a ear nose and throat Dr. and he told her it was stress. When you are under a lot of stress, which we are or none of us would be here, your tummy makes extra acid which can work its way up your throat and cause those patches and bumps on the back of your throat. He also told her that anxiety causes excess drainage in your nose which runs down the back of your throat. At night when you sleep, you don't swallow as much so that stuff just sits there. That is more likely than cancer as to what is causing what you are seeing. I hope I have helped....if nothing else just know there is someone else who looks in the back of her throat atleast 2 times a day ;) LOL, aren't we silly sometimes?

[Jan63]

Yes I do have a sort of dust allergy and sneeze quite a bit sometimes although I haven't really got a cold. I really hope it is something so simple and if it is the big C then it hasn't spread far because surely my dentist would have noticed something 5 months ago and he always does the mouth cancer check with that torch and puts that orange shade over your eyes - I only found out what it was for last time I went because he never told me before.:huh: He's a private dentist and does the cancer check up as part of the routine every 6 months so I am hoping that he would have spotted anything nasty last time. My o.h is with an NHS dentist and he only does the cancer check every 18 months or so. My dentist was an NHS dentist that suddenly went private and I didn't really have a choice because it's hard to find an NHS dentist in our area now. I pay £13 a month but you get your check ups free and the hygienist and an x ray a year I think so it isn't really too bad. You just have to pay for the fillings or extractions. I do notice he takes more care than an NHS dentist ever did though and seems more thorough so I stay with him.

I have suffered with the acid problem a few months ago so maybe it is this, I hope so anyway. I've never really looked at my throat before - never thought of doing it until my throat was sore for a few weeks and I googled and then came up with mouth cancer.:ohmy: I've even tried sticking a cotton bud to the back of my mouth to see if I can scrape it off which has made my throat more sore now.:blush:

Thanks Stessed for your very informative reply.:hugs::hugs:

[Stressed32]

Oh hun, I am so sorry that you are so worried. I did the same with the scraping, but did it with my finger and darn near threw up all over the bathroom...LOL. I really think it is just allergies causing some dripping in your throat. Do you have fever? I aks b/c if you get fever with white bumps, it may be strep throat.

I really beleive that if you had cancer bad enough to see it, other things would be happeing too. STAY OFF OF GOOGLE! It is not a doctor but rather a devil that makes HA sufferes like us go into panic mode.

If you have no fever, try to take an antihistime (over the counter allergy pill) med for a few days and see if it helps. Hey, you might be like me and it just may be something you have had forever and never noticed b/c not many people look in their throats :). I read that there are lympth tissues on the back of the throat that act as taste receptors. They swell and turn colors due to allergies and acid from stomachs. I look everyday at my throat and it looks different each day. I can have lots of the bumps in the AM and few in the evening...sometimes they are yellowish and other times they are more white and clear....go figure.

[Jan63]

Well I went to the doctors yesterday and he just had a quick look and says he thinks it's a cyst. He didn't feel my neck to see if my glands were okay or examine my ear even though I told him I had a different sensation in that ear to the other one. I even told him that I had lump that I could feel with my finger at the back but he wasn't concerned at all.:huh: I waited for 35 minutes over my appointment time and I was there 10 minutes early so 45 minutes for 5 mins and he didn't do any proper checks.:weep: I told him my concern of throat cancer but he just said 90% of throat cancer victims are very heavy smokers and drinkers and as I don't smoke I'd be okay.:huh: Doesn't account for the other 10% does it.

I feel a bit annoyed that he didn't do more checks - he hardly even looked - just a quick 3 second look.:huh: My throat feels sort of achey but I don't know if that's just anxiety or not or if it's real.

I also got a prescription for more Citalopram too.:)