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!

@Skyliner001 I can completely relate to transferrable anxiety, I am exactly the same! It can switch to something else and then the other thing I was worrying no longer feels like anything to worry about at all!

@Lolly12 Sorry to hear you're having a hard time again. I've been there so many times with my breasts. Can you feel anything in a similar place on your other breast? I also agree that poking with finger tips makes us feel every little ridge and bump. The last time I went to the breast clinic what I was actually feeling was just breast tissue that because I was using my finger tips, felt like a lump but it wasn't.

@dillydallydollydaydream7 Yes, less than two weeks to go fingers crossed! willing to give all old wives tales a try!
Its really interesting what you've mentioned about thinking about a certain area of the body and then feeling sensations. We actually did an exercise on this in my CBT session this morning! Its always breasts or lymph nodes with me, I can be sat working and think I can feel a heavy sensation either in my breast or my lymph nodes under my arm and think I need to check them but in reality its because I'm focussing on them that I think I can feel a sensation! We tested it out with me focussing on my toe and then my thumb!
Agree that there are some nasty keyboard warriors on mumsnet, someone once had a right go at someone asking about formula feeding as she didn't want to breast feed so I jumped in to defend her and then got a barrage of abuse myself! thankfully everyone on our thread is lovely!

@tmh88 which lymph nodes were you poking? I find that the more you palpate them, they seem to get bigger. I have been guilty of digging about so much under my arms that I've made them extremely sore!

@Lolly12, sorry you're stressed about the lump, since being on here I've managed to move away from breasts (especially after the using the pads of fingers to check and not the fingertips themselves. )Hopefully yours is just one of those knobbly cauliflower florets

@Skyliner001- absolutely! I was so convinced mine was gynae in Nov I paid to see a private gynaecologist and when she did the scan and said "ovaries normal, no cysts, uterus normal, vagina normal" I literally moved straight onto intestines and bones. The mind is a weird and terrible thing.

@Lib3rtine they’re in my neck I have about 4! Sometimes they feel about 1/2 a cm then the next day about 1cm! It probably is from poking but sometimes I go days ikbegween and they feel large and then smaller by the afternoon

Hey @Lolly12 sorry to hear your struggling, I broke last night and started prodding too. Could feel thickening in my left breast which started stressing me again! Now a bit of pain prob due to prodding! I was watching a series on Amazon prime don’t even know why I started prodding?!

I think I’m ovulating (10 days after period) so will tell myself to stop checking as ovulation can cause breast changes (I think! )

The fact that yours moves a bit is a very very good sign the chances are it’s always been there. I know it’s so easy for someone else to say x

@Lolly12 I have quite a few breast cysts/lumpy bits! They’re all normal, get it checked out but it’s an extremely low number of lumps that are sinister x

@TheSilentStars that could have been me! Also paid for a private gynae appt to be told it’s all fine so literally the day after had a beer thing to latch onto!! Just like that!

A beer thing sounds good!! But I fear it was a typo.

Same here after my cyst, pure euphoria, and then 'hang on they said I had nosular breasts and they weren't worried, maybe they missed something!!'

@Lolly12 Ah I’m sorry to hear your anxiety is heightened by finding a possible lump - have you tried feeling it while you’ve been in different positions? (Standing, sitting, lying down etc)it could be related to where you are in your cycle, or if you’ve been prodding/poking a lot it could be swollen tissue from it being aggravated maybe?

@tmh88 Ahhh I understand this! The one that used to bother me was on the side of my neck behind my left ear and I found the more I touched it the more swollen it seemed to feel. Now I haven’t touched it in that way for a while, when I do touch it, it doesn’t feel large or anything, it just feels like it always has done

@Lib3rtine How exciting! I don’t have any old wives tales but even though I was a planned c/s first time round I bought an exercise ball and bounced on it for a little bit but in the back of my mind I was praying my waters didn’t break! Try the hot curry old wives tale though, ideal excuse for a take away!

I’ve had this too! My last examination said I had dense breasts for someone of my age, I didn’t quite understand so Googled and then panicked!

So my mind has swapped again. Went to the toilet and when I wiped there was a some pinkish blood on the paper. Now the irrational side of me is in uproar as my smear isn’t due until July, but the rational side of me knows the following:-
⁃ DD2 born via planned c/s end of October
⁃ Was offered birth control in hospital and opted for the depo mainly cause I don’t want any pills as the side effects are that they can cause breast changes/lumps which I really don’t need more worries about!
⁃ First thing midwife said was that it can cause bleeding that sometimes takes a while to settle down, this can be between periods, but some people get longer/shorter/lighter/heavier/more painful/less painful periods, some their periods stop completely
⁃ On trusted medical websites regarding contraception it does say it can take anywhere from a few months up to a year for bleeding to stop/subside
⁃ Had the usual postpartum bleeding after section for around 10 weeks, followed by slightly heavier bleeding which I thought could possibly be my first postpartum period. That came and went very quickly with limited pain compared to usual. Wasn’t entirely sure as to whether it was a period so never looked to see when my next one would be due
⁃ This could be more breakthrough bleeding

I’m due to get my next depo injection a week Monday but I’m really starting to think of not getting it, the bleeding when it’s not a period is just another worry! I don’t know what to do about it

Haha @Skyliner001, unfortunately it was a typo! Beer thing is just what I need now, it’s been a long week!

Evening loves 😊 hope you are all doing okay, I just wanted to let you know that I have applied for mental health support, citing my OCD, and health anxiety.

I have a telephone appointment to assess me on the 21st of January, and I'll keep this thread updated about whether that helps! Fingers crossed.

Sending everyone lots of love for the weekend, remember you are not alone, we are all struggling with this health anxiety, and it's so nice to have this supportive thread X

@Skyliner001 that is amazing! Well done you for asking for support, that's always the hardest thing to do. I hope it helps and look forward to hearing all about it

I thought I'd said in my pp but it isn't there, thank you so much for all of your lovely comments after my rant about my thread. The moderators have kindly deleted my thread - I'm so please this thread is full of lovely people

We are all in this mental maze together 😊

And thank you! X

@dillydallydollydaydream7 oh good maybe it’s just me thinking they’ve grown between touching them oh if I could have a normal mind! glad they removed your thread and hope you feel better about it now!

@Skyliner001 fantastic news!! Keep us posted on how it goes! I’m rooting for all of us!

@Skyliner001, well done you!
@dillydallydollydaydream7, good to hear HQ stepped in. MN has become horrible in parts of late.

This is the thread for me a think!

In the last six months I have had:
MND - twitchy thumb
Parkinsons - twitchy thumb
MS - twitchy thumb and tingling
Breast cancer - chest and shoulder pain with chubby armpit (honestly it’s just a bit more rounded than the other one)
Throat cancer - I need to clear my throat more than I think I should.

I go round and round. Logically I know I’m probably not dying of any of these. Then I worry that by talking myself out of my symptoms I am actually going to miss or ignore symptoms and die!!

@dillydallydollydaydream7 Easy for me to say because I’ve been worrying about the same thing all week but having just had a baby and started on a new form of birth control I would honestly put it down to hormonal reasons. Especially if you aren’t sure if you’ve had a proper period since birth. Are you breastfeeding, that can also cause hormonal issues.

@Lib3rtine definitely get bouncing on a birthing ball just don’t get too comfy on it. I used mine every day from about 37 weeks, DS was born at 39 weeks, got to hospital after bouncing on ball all day not sure if it was just braxton hicks or real labour and was fully dilated! I’m also convinced raspberry leaf capsules helped. Although I’m not sure I would recommend such a quick birth...left me with a prolapse and a shit load of stitches so I’m probably not the best person to take advice from 🙈🤣

@Skyliner001 well done for taking that step! Really hope it helps you x

@tmh88 it really will be from poking them, I’ve read that keep touching them can make them sensitive.

@dillydallydollydaydream7 @MrsWhites I’ve been doing the birthing ball and had lots more braxton hicks last night so I’m hoping things are going in the right direction! Ooh your labour sounds traumatic, bless you!

@Skyliner001 well done on seeking help! It’s the best thing I did, I’ve had 4 CBT sessions so far and it is helping me

@Nononononoyes welcome! I can completely relate to what you’ve said, I have had worries about all of those illnesses!

@Lib3rtine yes I suppose it probably is! bet you can’t wait now! Not long till you have a beautiful newborn in your arms! I unfortunately can’t give any old wives tales as DS came at 41 weeks and 5 days

Morning everyone hope you’re all doing ok!

Hi All, not sure if anyone is up for this, but I've been thinking that I'm going to try and have a none prod day, and a none google day. I know I prodded and googled yesterday. I know I will do it tomorrow so I'm going to try and free myself today. Every time I get the urge will tell myself I can do it tomorrow (a bit like my tax return!)

If anyone else fancies going in and trying, I'd love a buddy / buddies 😊

@Skyliner001 I’ll do it with you!👍🏻 I did want to do a no prod January but lasted about 3 days

@Skyliner001 I’ll join in...I’ve been feeling mine far too much this week and weekends are always the worst for me (too much time on my hands) so it would be good to have an incentive to stay away from checking and googling x

[quote tmh88]@Skyliner001 I’ll do it with you!👍🏻 I did want to do a no prod January but lasted about 3 days [/quote]
@tmh88 Fab!! Will check in later, I'm starting now 😊 Good luck and to anyone else that wants to join 💚

@MrsWhites You can do it! I have a good feeling about us all today. 💚

@Skyliner001 showering and getting dressed is the hardest part for me so I might go and do that now whilst I’m feeling inspired 🙈

Does anyone else find it hard to do basic things like get dressed, you know when you put your bra on and you have to cup your boob with your hand to settle it into the bra cup...I jump straight to oh was that something I felt then!