Testicle "Issues" and Health Anxiety

[Aleman200]

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking on here for a while reading some of the fantastic articles written up here so i figured i would finally get around to posting my story, and see if anyone can offer any advice.

Last thursday i noticed a small red lump on the very side of my testicles, right up against my inner thigh. So i thought "oh it's just a dirt spot" and tried to pop it. Some clear fluid came out and it went down. I went to sleep and woke up on the friday only to find it was still there.

I immediately began to feel incredibly anxious, my hear started beating really fast and i started shaking because i was under the impression "oh god it's cancer" or something similar. So being the responsible 24 year old man i am, i rang up my local doctors and made an appointment with my GP, which of course they could only fit me in on Tuesday (tomorrow).

Since then, i've been panicking almost non-stop during the days, i've fiddled around down there trying to find something. Anything. To confirm that there's something wrong. Since Friday i've felt a discomfort, not a pain or anything, just an odd sort of feeling from down there. I'm not entirely sure if it's just my brain playing tricks on me or if it's genuinely swollen or something. I have no clue what i'm feeling for honestly.

Fast track to last night. I had an incredible struggle to even get to sleep because my body would not relax. My poor girlfriend has been doing her best to reassure me everything will be okay at the Doctors tomorrow. But my brain continously goes through the motions of "what if i i have to live with it" "What if i can't have kids" "What if it's incurable". And the cycle repeats itself until it drives me mad. I broke down crying on saturday infront of her, which i haven't done for the whole 3 years we've been together. To top it off i haven't had "morning wood" for the past 2/3 mornings. I'm not even sure if it's normal, could it be down to my anxiety and panic attacks before i sleep? I am constantly waking up during the night too.

It's becoming tiresome not being able to focus on anything just knowing that it's at the back of my mind and i can feel the panic creep up inside me whenever i feel anything slightly off down in my testicles. I'm honestly hoping it's nothing serious when i go to my GP. But at the same time i hope she finds something to alleviate my concern if you know what i mean?

Sorry to ramble on and kudos to anyone who has read this far, any advice, or success stories of people who have been in this kind of situation before would be appreciated.

[Aleman200]

Just thought i'd post an update. I went to my GP today, she had a good feel around, said it was nothing cancerous or the such like, but did notice some swelling around the area of what she said was a hair follicle infection from where i had shaved. I got prescribed some anti-biotics and was sent on my way.

Is this normal? Or should i be worried? I'm terrified of the anti-biotics not working and somehow missing out on something more sinister down there.

[Fishmanpa]

Totally completely normal!

Positive thoughts

[Aleman200]

Thanks for the reply.

It's only the first day of anti-biotics, and i'm already scared it won't ever go away or get better. Christ.

[Aleman200]

Promised myself i'd keep this updated.

It's the third day of being on anti-biotics. I'm not even sure if it's made a difference, i still feel this weird tightness around my left testicle and an ache from my inner thigh. It seems to go in the morning but reappear during the day and in the evening! I've read around (I used Dr.Google and i've been trying so hard not too aswell) and i'm thinking it might even be some sort of muscular problem? I booked another appointment with my GP for the day after my anti-biotics end, so hopefully something will get done.

It's driving me insane. I'm constantly worried it might be something else.

[uru]

If it was anything serious the dr would've told you.

[unfitwellhappy]

all kinds of normal mate - I had an ingrown hair which became infected on my baws once and it totally ruined me for weeks

[Aleman200]

Thanks for the reassurance guys. Just want it out of the way honestly!

[Aleman200]

Coming back to update this again!

So after the week of anti-biotics had passed and worn off everything was fine. No swelling or pain or uncomfortable feeling. So hopefully it's sorted for good now! Still gave me quite the scared and panic attacks let me tell you.

Fast forward a bit to last friday and a bloody bat/bird (Couldn't see in the dark) flew into my arm, and i thought it scratched me and i had Tetanus! Went to A&E to get it looked at, got sent home with nothing more than a smile. Which over the course of the past weekend wreaked havoc on my Health Anxiety, i was convinced i was going to die. My poor girlfriend was very supportive about it and reassured me an awful lot. Went to the doctors yesterday. Found out i was immune anyway! What a load of old tosh this anxiety turns out to be.

The one thing i have noticed though is since the entire testicular scare and the tetanus scare. I've not woken up with an erection in the morning at all. And i remember reading somewhere that Anxiety can really affect you down there. I mentioned this to my GP and she said it could be attributed to large amounts of stress. So I was just wondering if anyone else had any advice or similar stories about not having one during anxiety filled periods of your life?

[MyNameIsTerry]

You can't expect to wake with an erection every day. So, I think you are noticing things too much, things that aren't there...the classic hallmark of the Cognitive Distortions demonstrated by the HA sufferer. But yes, anxiety/depression can cause such things and also during sex e.g. lack of erection, inability to maintain one, low or non existent libido, problems climaxing, etc. That's nothing to worry about.

The tetanus issue is a good indicator of an anxiety overreaction for me. It's incredibly unlikely and even more unlikely to be a bat since our bats eat fruit/insects and have excellent navigation skills. If you go in the bat houses in zoos they just fly around you and it's in their best interests not to fly into a large heavy object and hurt themselves.

Issues with bats are incredibly rare in the UK.

Like the GP said, just an unfortunate infection. These things happen, thankfully not too often though with shaving any area of the body. Infections bring pain with them and the pain may feel further away due to how the nerves are spread around so you get referred pain. The antibiotics took it all away which is the best proof it was just an infection as that wouldn't work for cancer.

I suggest talking to your GP about therapy to work through these issues and reduce your reactions. Also, work on reducing stress in your life overall as it really does make anxiety disorder worse even if not directly connected to the events themselves e.g. my OCD spikes in times of general or non specific (to my OCD) stress. So, relaxation exercises, visualisation, Mindfulness, etc can all help.