Throat/Tongue symptoms caused by anxiety?

[julieta79]

I am not kidding. I have had all sorts of other anxiety driven things, so I know.
There are millions of stories of patients misdiagnosed with throat cancer, including Michael Douglas...by lots of doctors. You are one click away of becoming HA about this issue even if you were not before.



I think the HA advise should not be followed blindly.



Like I can show you the oral cancer forum...you see the same posts, exactly SAME like this one.
And all oral cancer patients tell you...seek doctor after doctor until you get diagnosed.


So a person with HA posts here, gets the "you are fine, its just HA, trust your dr", and then there "call 10 ENTs because only oral cancer specialist gets this thing correct". Horribly confusing.



The truth is in the middle. You need a diagnosis and a solution. It is not cancer. But it hurts, and you need to be 100% sure why.


PS. You think the OP will get scoped again by the same ENT and will happily move on? Really? You can only work on your anxiety AFTER the panic mode is over.

[Fishmanpa]

Like I can show you the oral cancer forum...you see the same posts, exactly SAME like this one. And all oral cancer patients tell you...seek doctor after doctor until you get diagnosed.

I'm an oral cancer survivor. I was on the oral cancer forums during my battle with the beast. The reason I'm here is because of HA posters doing exactly what many others have done. I came here because I followed a couple of serial posters to this site and found they were posting on the cancer forums and on several anxiety forums. I wanted to give them a piece of my mind as it's disrespectful to those suffering. I ended up staying to help. I know what the symptoms are. I know dozens of survivors and how it presented to them all and I have my own personal experience.

You will find one or two that went to several doctors before they found it but for 99% of us, it was obvious. You did a pure HA thing by latching onto those rare cases to justify your fear. When it comes to treatment, I do agree about getting a 2nd or even 3rd opinion as you're putting your life in their hands, but not so when it comes to getting diagnosed. I knew something was amiss. My GP monitored it and when he realized something was up it was fast track city! The ENT that diagnosed me said flat out "This is cancer. I'm not sure what kind yet but I've seen enough to know it is." I had a FNAB and was diagnosed a week later.

These doctors and the specialists you saw told you as well. The doctors have told the OP too! I would have been jumping for joy had ONE doctor tell me I was fine! None did. So when I see things like this?... Arrgggg!

Count your blessings and be thankful. I was really sick. I had no choice but to undergo treatment. Many here are really ill too but the difference is you have a choice to get treatment. You can chase a diagnosis that will never come or treat the illness you do have. What will you do?

Positive thoughts

[julieta79]

Fishmanpa
You are a wonderful member and has helped me personally a lot. But you were the ONLY one from the REAL forum who told me to trust my drs. I have so many messages from members, all urging me to skip my doctors and present myself in comprehensive care center asap. I tried to escape the grip, but once the members put an end target...comprehensive center specialist..I could not move on by self assuring myself that I am just anxious.

So I agree that anxiety caused me to even go to the oral cancer forum, once you do get there, there is no easy way out.
Same with OP. If you cant trust your ENT, because you read google, you are coming to this forum for reassurance, but you wont stop here..you will browse and browse endlessly.
So while I might have not broken my HA cycle, I am worry free today because I faced my biggest fear, went to a very scary test, lived through sitting next to many newly diagnosed cancer patients in the lobby, and overcame my problem. Today I feel good.
I did spend 4 months trying to follow the conventional "dont search for reassurance" advise and the moment I feel the pain, I would immediately relapse.
All I am offering is how I personally found peace. While suffering from oral cancer is horrendous, being in panic, suffocating and shaking is not a walk in the park either.
Could I work on my anxiety before I am sure that I am disease free? It did not work for me.
I am NOT advising the OP to go to oral cancer clinic. I am just saying what my dr told me...one quick CT scan and you could have been worry free. No need to agonize for months...in my opinion.

[jray23]

I think what Fishmanpa and others are getting at is that chasing down specialists is only going to bring resolution to the CURRENT concern. In reality it makes our HA worse, not in the short term, but in the long term because you are now trained to need that specific reassurance. Sooner or later there will be a new symptom striking a fear of some other cancer or other serious health issue, and the cycle repeats itself.

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[Scass]

I think the main thing for me is this extreme health anxiety that makes all of my symptoms over the top. I have a follow up tomorrow with the same ENT. I've always been filled with anxiety and worry whenever I have something that could potentially be cancer. My past two scares (cyst and mucocele) have been nothing.



Any tips on how to stop the worry even when symptoms persist?

---------- Post added at 17:37 ---------- Previous post was at 16:40 ----------







What are throat symptoms caused by anxiety. Also, It bothers me most throughout the day and seems to be not so bad at night.

There are lots of articles on this forum, or on google.


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[Blue23Blent]

Could health anxiety cause all these symptoms? Is it possible for the irritation to be caused by swallowing too much and opening my mouth to check it out constantly for like the past month?

I've never had symptoms like this but it also didn't seem like they started until I had the mucocele and started inspecting my mouth more often. Then google: everything that comes back with throat issues has cancer attached to it. It's a struggle because I constantly go through these cycles where I'm like it's just anxiety and then right after "But what if"

[CancerSurvivors]

Have you looked up the throat symptoms for anxiety?

[Blue23Blent]

I just had my ENT appointment this Morning. He spoke with me about my allergy test and what's going on with my throat. I explained to him how I'm anxious about what's going on and asked him "Are you sure you don't need to do a scope or anything."

He did a scope to make me feel better. He said everything looked normal, if anything this confirms the acid reflux. Now I'm thinking in my head "well, he didn't do a full endoscopy so it could still be something serious" :/

GET OUT OF MY OWN HEAD!

---------- Post added at 12:18 ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 ----------

I just had my ENT appointment this Morning. He spoke with me about my allergy test and what's going on with my throat. I explained to him how I'm anxious about what's going on and asked him "Are you sure you don't need to do a scope or anything."

He did a scope to make me feel better. He said everything looked normal, if anything this confirms the acid reflux. Now I'm thinking in my head "well, he didn't do a full endoscopy so it could still be something serious" :/

GET OUT OF MY OWN HEAD!

This is a case where nothing has come back to be cancerous yet I'm having HA still. :/

[AMomentofClarity]

This is a case where nothing has come back to be cancerous yet I'm having HA still. :/

So what are you doing to treat your anxiety?

[julieta79]

I told you so You will NOT believe the same ENT. I just been exactly where you are. If your doubt came back after your first visit, then it will come back DOUBLE now.



Ok...so people here suggest that you stay away from the internet, and take care somehow of your anxiety. Trust your dr, don't seek reassurance, and break your HA cycle.
That might be true in the long term, but for short term, you got to move past this panic BEFORE you can do all the things above.



In my humble experience, you will not be able to deal with your anxiety at this current state of mind. The reason is you will find countless of articles of people with oral cancer who were legit missed by ENTs for months. Even the damn oral cancer medical manual says time from presenting to dr to diagnosis on average is 9 months.


Please don't be scared about these findings, if you sneak in and google and find them. I read them all, they are out there, and there is virtually nothing else...there is no alternative for people with acid reflux and throat pain.


You got to decide what is the ultimate thing that can bring you relief. For me, that was meeting an expert. For you, it might be 20 trips to the same ENT. You just have to understand where is your fear will be curbed.
Then...do exactly that. Calm your nerves. And then form there, when cancer is fully ruled out for YOU (and it WILL BE ruled out), then write down all the things that you just experienced and try to understand what was legit pain, and what was HA.



that is what I do anyway. Will see how long the calm lasts.
YOU ARE FINE