View Full Version : Brown spot on nail, worried, advice please!
Hi All, firstly i think i have health anxiety because over the years i have feared having a few different serious illnesses and got very very worried and also not believed doctors and been back to see them again about the same thing. I havent had any of this lately though until recently, there has been a brown spot on my big toenail for definitley over a year, maybe 18 months or more im not sure. Now i always just didnt worry about it because its small (measures 5mm across and 1.5mm thick) it is across my nail like <----> rather than vertical. It hasnt grown or changed since i got it, although there is also a slight white bit around it which looks like the white marks on my finger nails, except i dont have that on any of my other toenails! I just though its a bruise or something, but then i thought if it was it should have gone by now so i googled it and got VERY worried as you can imagine everything on google says this could be cancer. So i went to the doctor, just over a month ago, told him how long it was there, and i refrained from telling him what i was worried about because basically its up to him to make a diagnosis, although i maybe should have mentioned it for reassurance purposes. Anyway he simply looked at it and said "its just a simple discolouration of the nail, not a fungus and there is no bleeding but its not something i can treat for."
Now of course, i was fine with that for a while, but then i start getting these sensations near that toe..not pain...almost like a very faint pins and needles i guess...and you can imagine the worry this has caused. Possibly they are a normal sensation that i am just aware of because my health anxiety has been reawakened? But i start thinking cancer again and that i should go back to the doctor, because of all the WHAT IFS and doubt springing into my mind. I searched on this forum and it seems the usual course is to get something like this removed, but my doctor didnt obviously feel the need to have it investigated further, and i suppose i should trust him although my Anxiety makes me doubt as im sure you all know.
I dont really want to go to the doctor again, i never worried about it before and i want to stop worrying now, but my mind is full of WHAT IFS!!!! and i get really scared. I always tend to worry that i know more than my doctor, although i really want him to be right!!:ohmy: would really appreciate comments and advice.
I have posted about something similiar I had way back in January of this year.I noticed a black like spot on my toenail whilst in the bath and thought it was a bruise and my husband said that he didn't like the look of it and asked me to get it checked.I stupidly googled and it came up with Melanoma which I didn't even know you could get under the nail.I panicked instantly and went straight to the gp who referred me to the plastic surgeons over at my local hospital.The specialist I was under was brilliant and booked me in to have it removed within the next week,the procedure was done under local anasthetic and I waited about 2 weeks for the results.I admit that I was scared for the 2 weeks as i knew that if it was Melanoma they would be removing my toe completely.The results were negative and it was just a collection of cuticle like cells that had gone haywire for some reason and I was so pleased when the doctor told me that I jumped off the bed and hugged him.I am sure that you probably have something like this but to put your mind at rest I would go back and demand a proffessional have a look at it as you shouldn't take a chance with something like this.I am pleased that the gp you saw didn't think it was anything to worry about as that is great news as my gp instantly looked worried when she first saw it and would not discuss the outcome with me when I pressed her until she saw the results.If your doc thought for 1 minute it was anything suspicious he would have referred you but if you still feel uneasy which you obviously do I would argue for another opinion-good luck.
Hi, thanks for the reply, i think i read your post when i did a search. Im sure as you say, if he thought it was suspicious he would have sent me off for further investigation, but at the same time im not sure WHY he doesnt think its suspicious, when everything on the net says its not normal at all. I was quite happy in trusting his opinion, i just have this slight worry that what if the doctor never heard about skin cancer under nails and so wouldnt know what he was looking for? Thats probably stupid because im sure all doctors are trained to recognise anything suspicious. I dont really want to go through the hassle of going back, if its nothing to worry about then im happy. I keep thinking that every other time i've thought something was a serious illness, i was completely wrong, and so perhaps this time i should believe the doctors, who have always been right in the past!
sunflower7
13-06-10, 11:52
Hi There,
Reading your post takes me back to about 3 years ago when I had exactly the same thing. I was a nervous wreck and convinced it wasn't 'trauma' to the nail as I couldn't remember knocking it or anything! I trawled the net searching for melanoma under nails and studied the pictures. I was obsessed and would not listen to anyone. I told the Doctor my concerns and didn't believe him when he said it was nothing sinister. I even paid to go to a choropodist for a second opinion but that only helped for a little while then the doubts crept back in! Infact i think this was the start of my health anxiety. It took me long time to get over it as I was convinced. My toe would tingle too but this was just the anxiety as I was so focused on it all the time. The Choropodist said these marks can take months if not years to grow out so please try not to worry. I hope these posts have helped you as I know they always help me when I am scared about something.
Take Care
thanks for that! I have to say though it doesnt look anything like a bruise really. just a brown spot. Im sure it would have grown out by now if it was going to??? it might even have been there 2 years im not sure.
If you have also been to a Chiropdist and she didn't think it was anything to worry about(as I am sure she will know what Melanoma under the nail would look like in her job),then I am fairly certain it will be nothing.I only went to the gp because mine was a black smudge like spot and it was an irregular shape which moles are.I am glad 100% that I went as I know suffering from anxiety that I would have worried myself stupid without a proffessional opinion.I hope everythings ok and this has helped you.
mothermac, i havent been to a chiropodist, sunflower did. Mine does basically look like an elongated mole, its kind of almost a line like __ about that size but thicker as i said in my first post about 1.5mm thick. It doesnt look particulary nasty which is why i always ignored it. These posts are helping me as it had become a bit of an obsession which i guess is where health anxiety comes into it, whereas normal people would just trust their doctor when he isnt concerned about something.
still not sure about this...
This is still on my mind, not constantly but im still worrying about it sometimes, is this just health anxiety, i keep telling myself to trust my doctor and the last thing i want to have to do is go to the doctor again. Im tempted to start google researching again but dont think thats a good idea! This thing has probably been there for 2 years i think...ive described in my post above what it looks like...nobody replied after that post:( Should i just stop thinking about it altogether? I did what you should do when anything concerns you, i showed it to the doctor, and he said it was nothing to worry about so i should take his advice right?
I'm sure this is nothing for you to worry about. But it's obviously still playing on your mind. Go and see you doc, and explain that you are worried that this might be something serious, he'll probably only too glad to put your mind at rest. Don't freak out if he decides to refer you to a specialist, he may do this to provide you with extra reassurance. My doc does this sometimes, when I'm very worried, but I rarely take him up on it.
Make the appointment and put this to rest. :)
I think im scared of going to the doctor again. Firstly if he didnt think it was anything to worry about then i dont want to bother him by going back, ive done this before with other doctors and its always been them thats right and not me. I would absolutley FREAK if i was referred to a specialist because this has been there for so long now...i just want to stop worrying about it but are my worries rational or is it health anxiety? Ive shown my parents and my doctor and none seemed worried so maybe its just anxiety. I had mostly forgotten about it until i got the "sensations" in that toe but they seem to have mostly gone now, or ive noticed similar ones in the other foot as well. But it was enough to re-ignite my worries about this.
randomworry
30-06-10, 23:47
stinger try and not look at the mark too much im sure its fine as doctor said try and find something very productive to do to take your mind of it.
all the best
Ok then, get yourself a good book on health anxiety, eg "It's Not All in You Head" by Amundsen and Taylor. I find this very helpful, when my HA is in full swing. Also try and distance yourself from the thought by saying something like "I'm having the thought that this mark could be cancer" and don't try to comfort yourself, just carry on doing what ever it was you were doing, and don't engage with your thoughts, just say "so what" to them. Books on Mindfulness are very good for HA and all other anxiety.
Also try not to keep checking the mark, this will make you more anxious to start with, but eventually you start to calm down.
Another thing to do is write down, "I have asked my Doctor and family if they think this mark is a sign of something serious, and they all say it is nothing to worry about".
Hope this helps
Good luck:winks:
thanks for that. I always just worry that the doctor doesnt know what hes looking for, and almost in the same way that i initially looked at it and thought "just a small mark, nothing to worry about" he probably just does the same. And then you read how only dermatologists are qualified to make these distinctions etc and it worries me that maybe he dismissed it too easily. I guess we have to assume that doctors know when something needs to be investigated further, and trust their opinion when it doesnt.
If i was sure that this was just in my head then i can deal with it, like you say i just focus on doing something else or dismiss the thoughts as irrational and its fine, i forget about it and get on with other things. But it does creep back into my mind as i logically cant think of any other explanation for this mark. Then i will forget about it again, then a week later start being concerned again except this time i will think "maybe i shouldnt keep ignoring this!?"
If this was me, I would definately go back to the doctor again, but this time tell him exactly what you fear this is and that you don't want to be a pest, explain you have a problem with HA. I'm sure he will give you an explanation of why he doesn't think it's anything to worry about. I know you dont want to go back, but you need to put this to bed.
Hi again, the thing is maybe i should go back but im scared to. Everything ive read online about this suggests than any discolouration under a nail that doesnt grow out with the nail is very suspicious and it doesnt offer any alternative to it being skin cancer. The only other options are bruise or fungus and my doctor specifically said that it was neither of those things! Ive gone from forgetting about this to being really worried again:( Everything i read says only dermatologists know about these kind of things, but it wasnt suggested that i see one. Even if i go back to the doctor, im not going to force them to give me a derm appointment because its just rude telling them how to do their job. I have no experience with doctors as i havent been since i was 16, im 22 now. It wouldnt be so bad if id got it looked at immediatley but BECAUSE ive suspected that i have health anxiety in the past, i told myself it was a small mark and nothing to worry about....now its been there SO long im not even gonna go into what my fears are:(
I think you need to face your fears, because even if this is what you fear, you probably couldn't feel any worse than you do now. You don't need to demand anything from your doctor, you just need to explain why you are worried, that is not being rude, or telling him how to do his job. If he think there is any cause for concern then he will refer you. Doctors are there to help you what ever you may read or hear. So go on, just feel the fear and do it anyway.
Good Luck
Do you think realistically there is reason to worry though? This doesnt seem to exhibit many of the symptoms, its just a mid brown mark near to the top edge of the nail...i dont think there has been any growth or change in the whole time ive had it, it isnt a line from the base to tip of the nail, and there is no pigmentation on the skin around the nail. There is also no logical explanation for what this and i havent found anything that really looks similar on the internet. Its irrational to think that without some kind of change or growth to this mark that i could be dying from it, right???
randomworry
02-07-10, 14:46
yeah if it doesnt change there is no way it could do harm
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