Obsessed with scrutinising myself

[Jonesle]

Hi everyone,
Thinking back I've always been health anxious, I've obsessed over everything. I've imagined HIV, scabies, thought my chicken pox were herpes, my infected chicken pock(real word?) was going to go septic and I'd have to have my whole arm amputated and that's if I was lucky enough to make it through the night.
Anyway, recently I'm obsessed with skin cancer. I'm consistently checking my moles. Doctor looked at some and said they were fine, but he didn't check ALL of them. I'm looking at mine so much I imagine they've changed. I prod the one so much it hurts which makes me think it's itchy... I can't go on checking my moles every 3 hours (that's when I'm busy and go to the loo to check!)
How can I get past the "what if it really is" "what if it has changed" and how long do I wait to see if it has significantly change, will it then be too late?
Sorry for very long ranty message, hope all makes sense.
Thanks in advance for any replies
L xx

[RoseEve]

I had this obsession. Best solution for me was going to the dermatologist. They will give you a full body scan and put your mind at ease. I had something I thought for sure was nodular melanoma and it was just a broken blood vessel.

[Jonesle]

Thank you for replying, did your gp refer you or did you go privately?

Actually I see your not from the uk... I think il go back to docs in the week and tell them I won't be happy until i see a specialist
Thanks again

[RoseEve]

I went straight to the dermatologist but to be honest I would have taken my GP's word. If it will give you peace of mind I say go the dermatologist. When I went I asked if I should come back next year he said come back when you are 50. A lot of people with HA obsess about moles because they are so visible but skin cancer is extremely curable.

[GlassPinata]

I agree with the suggestion to go to a dermatologist to set your mind at ease.
As for the obsessive checking, I also have this problem, and I find that it is a good exercise in discipline to force yourself NOT to check frequently.
Perhaps set aside a time, such as before bed, and check once per day. Force yourself to stick to that.
Remind yourself that these things could not possibly progress (or even change noticeably) within a matter of hours or minutes, so the constant checking does not help.
I find that I am MORE anxious when I allow myself to check obsessively.
When the checking stops, the anxiety seems to subside.
I believe compulsive checking merely feeds the anxiety.