can people tell me what they would do please?

[randomworry]

obviously i will make my own decision but what would you do?

I was obsessively checking my neck for lumps saw one when i pressed one side but not the other. so i got scared!

I told my endocrinologist and said i felt a lump he checked it out and did not feel anything. he also did a thyroid ultrasound which was clear. So now i am worried that the 'lump' was some kind of neck cancer and not thyroid cancer which i was originally obsessed with and 'looking' for.

I will be seeing my GP next week should i tell him about this or leave it before i get more and more obsessed as I have to bear in mind the 'lump' could have been a bit of my enlarged thyroid which i have.

thanx guys

[randomworry]

i know you probably read this and think why not tell the doctor but i have already had one doctor feel my neck and i feel if i go again i am pushing the belief in my head that there is a problem even deeper if you get my drift!

[pollyanna]

hi random

this is a tough one for you.. the thing is you have already ask a doctor who i presume that you trust , to feel something and could they have checked it out, and they felt nothing, most people would be reassured by that and not think of it again, but in our minds, and i so include myself in this, as i am very guilty of this, that initially it is reassuring, and usually for a brief period all is ok, then the irritaional mind takes over, and you start to worry again, and the scenario changes slightly. doctors know what to look for, and if they can feel nothing, there is nothing there. if you were to ask your gp to check for you, and they also agreed that they could feel nothing, do you think that would be the end of it ? i strongly suspect it would be ok for a while and then it wouldnt be long before the doubts set in, and you are back to where you started. The problem is not only do we have to trust our doctors, we have to trust ourselves.

i had a very similar discussion with my pyschologist this week, about when to or not to seek medical advice/reassurance, and i think that if you are doubting yourself, and not sure whether to ask another doctor to have a look, then i think thats when you know yourself that there really is not a problem, but if you are actually certain that there is a problem and you have no doubts in your mind, that when you seek medical advice.
i am myself trying not to seek reassurance from my gp etc when i have doubts, i am trying to trust my own insticts, because in the short term it does ressure you, but longer term as you say, it only increases your problem and gives you more anxiety.
I hope this makes sense, i know i have kinda rambled on a bit

i would be interested to know your thoughts on what i have said.

best wishes

P