Health Anxiety - Part two

[MrsWhites]

Hi everyone, it seems we have reached 1000 posts on our original thread which is amazing, just shows how much support we have been able to give each other.

I thought we would benefit from part two!

Oh and if it reassuring anyone else I can always feel my lymph nodes, under my arms and in my neck. I have one big one on my neck I've had for years. They've never changed and if it signified anything I would definitely know it by now!

It did once completely spoil a much-longed for night away without the DC, our first ever since they were born. We went to a posh hotel that had a spa and DH bought me a massage. The lady felt one of the lumps in the back of my neck/where it joins my shoulder and freaked out about it, told me I should get it checked out ASAP. Needless to say that completely ruined the entire trip as I was panicking that I was dying and booked a GP appointment for just after we checked out of the hotel, who said it was a completely normal lymph node and nothing to worry about. Still really annoyed about that!

@tmh88 thank you, I’m fine now, got over it and had a good laugh! Funny how we’re all different, I can’t feel any at all in my neck, just groin and armpits if I dig around like a mad woman! I used to be really really skinny and could actually see the groin ones at that time! x

@Lib3rtine my husband is always saying things to me like that. I’ll ask him to check something and he says ‘how did you find that in the first place’ 😂

@anotherdoghere definitely a pile, sometimes you are left with a bit of left over skin. I’ve got a few after having my son. I almost feel an affinity with monkeys when I see their bum’s at the zoo 🙈

@Catsneezies that is exactly the reason I never have massages, I know I wouldn’t relax, I’d be lying there thinking ‘oh no what if they feel a lump or something’!

@Catsneezies that’s a really good idea about writing down what you can feel when examining your breasts, I’m going to do that. I was at the breast clinic in June and they showed me how to check and the bits I was concerned about were just normal breast tissue.

Thank you for saying about your lymph nodes, I can now relax thanks to you and my poor DH
I can’t believe you had your night away ruined like that and someone said that to you! I would have reacted just the same and been hysterical! Some people don’t realise what they’re saying do they x

@Catsneezies reassuring to know you have lymph nodes in your neck you can feel too! I would of been just the same if someone said that to me too! It’s one of the main reasons I won’t book a massage in case anyone finds anything

Evening lovelies.
I am trying to find lymph nodes to prod now to take my mind off my abdomen and intestine prodding!
Feel bloated and bleargh today. Scan coming up next Wednesday so am getting nervous about what it will show. Also madly googling hips now as the dull ache that I thought might be intestinal might be hips.
It's like a viscous circle. Especially when Google oh so helpfully says "you have visited this page many times"
@MrsWhites, sorry about your friend. One of my uni friends has terminal cancer and it is so fucking frightening.

@Lib3rtine I'm so pleased your dh humoured you though and let you do it, what a sport!  it'll be interesting to see if having your lovely little baby is a complete distraction for you, I really hope it is. My HA started after I had dd1, I don't know if it was the hormones or what

@Catsneezies oh how awful that your night away was ruined! If someone said something like that to me I'd be exactly the same. LOVE this idea of drawing down and marking

@MrsWhites that's what I'm telling myself. I wish I could remember exactly where the original fatty lump was and then I'd calm myself further

@TheSilentStars is this your gallstone scan?

@dillydallydollydaydream7 he thinks I’m crackers and was totally bewildered bless him! I hope it is a distraction, it surely can’t get any worse!!

I think I have what you’re describing with my breasts,it’s like a ridge of tissue and i have it in both but feels more prominent in the right so I sometimes start prodding and poking and doubt myself but I try and remember what they said at the breast clinic that the breasts won’t be exactly identical x

@Scaredykittycat, yes, that's right. (I hope it's that!)
I've had a sleepless night. Does anyone else go warp speed OCD about how many hours they sleep? I am obsessed with the 7-8 hour thing. If I go to bed knowing I'm not realistically going to get at least 7 and preferably 8, I don't sleep at all. At 2am I decamped to the sofa as dp's snoring was making me even more awake. And of course lying awake means more prodding and dark spiralling thoughts.
I've been bad now and phoned in sick.

silent do you use Instagram?aliceliveing had a live with a sleep expert last nightand they mentioned how worrying about sleep reduces time actually asleep.had some useful tips?

I can feel lymph nodes in neck and groin all the time
Can I ask how long others have had this,and has anyone had any treatment/how that went?
Citalopram helped me loads,but then I developed hideous migraines and had to stop.never found anything since that's really put the brake on it

I do have Instagram but don't use it much- I'll look it up thank you!

I’m sure it is gallstones, the symptoms are very clear. I had them way back when. My doctor thought it was a stomach ulcer first and then o requested a scan to be sure as treatment wasn’t working and it turned out I had stones!

I used to panic about sleep and then I went through awful stages of insomnia. Now I find I’m ok with the hours but I have to tell myself that it’s ok if I don’t sleep, j can read instead. It helps

@TheSilentStars not sure if it will help but my husband suffers from prostatitis and he gets an ache that radiates to his hips from that so it definitely could be your gall stones causing that

@Stilllivinginazoo I’ve had health anxiety on and off since being a child but I have flare ups and then it might go away for a while. Current flare up started October. I’ve been in citralopram for general anxiety but started gaining weight so stopped. Might have to explore other options once baby is here if I’m not improving. Started CBT as well

@Stilllivinginazoo mine started September time, due to lymph nodes in my neck! Everything I google seems to say it’s a bad thing but I’m starting to think it’s under reported that quite often people can just feel them! I’m starting hypnotherapy next week.

@tmh88 definitely think it’s under reported about people feeling lymph nodes!! I’ve thought the exact same thing!!

Hello! I'd like to join the thread! I've suffered from health anxiety for years - nearly 45 now 🤗 Every symptom I have I obsess is going to be cancer. (I only worry about cancer I don't worry about heart attacks or things like MS - I don't know why)
I had a baby 9 weeks ago and then a week later found lump (not breastfeeding related) and had to have that looked at - turned out to be a fat lump that happens if the breast gets damaged (bumped hard). Now I've got some abnormal bleeding going on so waiting for the GP to ring today. I've had abnormal bleeding before after a miscarriage (had a scan and was told it was hormonal). So I know that realistically it's likely to be that again but I am obsessing it might be more serious as I did last time and ruined weeks of my life worrying! When I was pregnant I got a sore tongue that lasted for a full 2 weeks and was convinced I had tongue cancer. I've had other things investigated over the years - legitimate symptoms that "could be a sign of something serious" and I obsess about catching things early. Anyhow that's me (glued to my phone until the GP rings today!!)

@onlyreadingneverposting8 I could have written your post. I’m the same. Cancer is my obsession, i always have legitimate symptoms x

Hi @Scaredykittycat horrid isn't it?! I've ruined years of my life worrying. I think mine was triggered (I think I was a born worried) but the health anxiety I think was triggered when I was very very young. My Mum was a home tutor for ill children and in those days I was often taken with her. She had a 16yr old who has bone cancer and I grew very fond of him. He died. That and my Dads moto of "expect the worst and hope for the best"

@Stilllivinginazoo I’ve always had anxiety but my health anxiety started when I had children and when my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer (which she recovered from), it’s been worse in the last couple of years since my dad was diagnosed with a cancer (again recovered) very soon after another member of my family died off a different cancer. I’ve never sought any help for it because I don’t like to talk about it to my GP.

@onlyreadingneverposting8 my anxiety is mostly cancer related too, I think that’s very common in health anxiety sufferers.

My latest worry is ridiculous - I’ve been kicking the covers off a lot in bed and I’ve convinced myself that counts as night sweats, that combined with a raised lymph node is stressing me out, even though the lymph node can be explained by a cold and sinus pain I’ve had this week!

Hi @MrsWhites as I say I think with cancer it's the "catching it early" that we hear all the time that makes it worse. Totally agree that having children made it worse for me too. Sorry to hear about your parents; glad they've both recovered.

Yes I'd be sure that the lymph node is just due to the infection xx

@onlyreadingneverposting8 I agree, because we are always told how important it is to catch it early we obsess about every tiny thing, thinking it could be an early sign.

I hope your GP doesn’t keep you waiting by the phone too long. Hopefully he will agree that your bleeding is the same as before.

Didn't want to read and run today, so many posts since yesterday!

I just wanted to say to those worrying about lymph-node's, that I can feel several in my neck, one on either side of the side of the neck, and one small ball bearing size rolling one above my shoulder blade on the right hand side, I've had that one for over 12 years.

As someone who had lymphoma, none of them feel like they're massive solid immovable lumps I had in my neck when I had lymphoma. They also grew massively quickly…

I am pretty slim, and lost quite a lot of weight recently with stress, and I think I can feel the more. But a lot of people can feel them, they just don't dig for them!

Sending positive vibes to you all anyway!