Andy Dunlop
08-03-10, 18:30
After losing my (lengthy) post 4 times now, I'm going to keep this one short (ish)!
I don't know why, but the past month has been really tough, and I have convinced myself I must have some horrible disease. And even though I keep being told by professionals that I don't, I keep looking for more reasons they're missing something - "if there's nothing wrong, why do I feel like this?!" - that's my main train of thought.
I'm 28, male, relatively healthy (I hope!) from Glasgow, Scotland.
My health anxiety started after finding a bony lump on the back of my knee about a month ago.
5 Feb - Lump found
6 Feb - visited out of hours doc at hospital after Dr. Google convinced me it was sinister. Wrongly told it was bakers cyst.
8 Feb - Saw GP, referred to X-Ray. X-Ray taken, nothing more said - cue more anxiety!
10 Feb - X Ray results back. Pretty vague "broad based bony exostosis" - weeks till orthapedic specialist would see me.
12 Feb - couldn't wait, so had an appointment at private hospital. Told "should" be nothing to worry about.
16 Feb - follow up at GP. Tried to get across my fears/anxiety, GP wasn't getting it (not my usual GP)
22 Feb - Went to GP (my regular GP this time!) again, this time I'd found a fatty lump on my back. GP told me it was a fatty lipoma - nothing to worry about. Brought up concerns about increasing anxiety, she said she'd refer me to a specialist.
24 Feb - Specialist at NHS hospital. Showed me X-Ray, mind put at rest for that!
Since then, I've convinced myself I have all sorts of disease from cancer, to kidney disease, heart disease to brain tumours.
My main concern recently has been testicular cancer. I have had an ultrasound previously (Jun 2007) on my scrotum which found a large cyst, and "numerous sub centimetre" cysts. Since I first found the lump on my knee, I've been pretty much examining my testicles daily! I've had 5 doctors examine them in the the past few weeks also! (for those interested in the details, I have 2 small cysts at the head of the epididymis, one on each testicle. The right one is about the size of a grain of rice and "transilluminates" nicely, the one on the left is about the size of a small pea, hard and does not transilluminate. It isn't directly attached to the testicle - its the left one that's causing me some anxiety! I was at the local GUM clinic only this morning, where the doctor told me her professional opinion was that it was a "fibroma", again, nothing to worry about.
Since becoming obsessed with the testicular cancer issue, I've moved onto examining my lymph nodes in my groin, thighs and arms - which in turn, due to my poking and prodding, has made them quite tender to touch! As we speak, my left armpit feels bruised, although not swollen.
I've had all the aches, pains, shivers, trembles, coughs, itches, skin crawling, panic attacks and freakouts you can think of. I've lost my appetite, I've lost my drive, I can't sleep at night or alone, my work & social life have been affected and I'm losing my self confidence.
As I said, my doctor has referred me to a specialist to discuss thes problems, and I'm currently just waiting on that letter dropping through my door.
I hope I can bring something to this site, sharing my thoughts and experiences, as well as taking something from here too.
Thanks for reading my ramble!
I don't know why, but the past month has been really tough, and I have convinced myself I must have some horrible disease. And even though I keep being told by professionals that I don't, I keep looking for more reasons they're missing something - "if there's nothing wrong, why do I feel like this?!" - that's my main train of thought.
I'm 28, male, relatively healthy (I hope!) from Glasgow, Scotland.
My health anxiety started after finding a bony lump on the back of my knee about a month ago.
5 Feb - Lump found
6 Feb - visited out of hours doc at hospital after Dr. Google convinced me it was sinister. Wrongly told it was bakers cyst.
8 Feb - Saw GP, referred to X-Ray. X-Ray taken, nothing more said - cue more anxiety!
10 Feb - X Ray results back. Pretty vague "broad based bony exostosis" - weeks till orthapedic specialist would see me.
12 Feb - couldn't wait, so had an appointment at private hospital. Told "should" be nothing to worry about.
16 Feb - follow up at GP. Tried to get across my fears/anxiety, GP wasn't getting it (not my usual GP)
22 Feb - Went to GP (my regular GP this time!) again, this time I'd found a fatty lump on my back. GP told me it was a fatty lipoma - nothing to worry about. Brought up concerns about increasing anxiety, she said she'd refer me to a specialist.
24 Feb - Specialist at NHS hospital. Showed me X-Ray, mind put at rest for that!
Since then, I've convinced myself I have all sorts of disease from cancer, to kidney disease, heart disease to brain tumours.
My main concern recently has been testicular cancer. I have had an ultrasound previously (Jun 2007) on my scrotum which found a large cyst, and "numerous sub centimetre" cysts. Since I first found the lump on my knee, I've been pretty much examining my testicles daily! I've had 5 doctors examine them in the the past few weeks also! (for those interested in the details, I have 2 small cysts at the head of the epididymis, one on each testicle. The right one is about the size of a grain of rice and "transilluminates" nicely, the one on the left is about the size of a small pea, hard and does not transilluminate. It isn't directly attached to the testicle - its the left one that's causing me some anxiety! I was at the local GUM clinic only this morning, where the doctor told me her professional opinion was that it was a "fibroma", again, nothing to worry about.
Since becoming obsessed with the testicular cancer issue, I've moved onto examining my lymph nodes in my groin, thighs and arms - which in turn, due to my poking and prodding, has made them quite tender to touch! As we speak, my left armpit feels bruised, although not swollen.
I've had all the aches, pains, shivers, trembles, coughs, itches, skin crawling, panic attacks and freakouts you can think of. I've lost my appetite, I've lost my drive, I can't sleep at night or alone, my work & social life have been affected and I'm losing my self confidence.
As I said, my doctor has referred me to a specialist to discuss thes problems, and I'm currently just waiting on that letter dropping through my door.
I hope I can bring something to this site, sharing my thoughts and experiences, as well as taking something from here too.
Thanks for reading my ramble!