Mole - GP appointment Friday

[anxiousmess81]

Have name changed for this.

Just looking for some advice or reassurance as I'm going out of my mind. I suffer with bad anxiety in general so this really isn't helping.

I've had a mole on my torso since early childhood. About an inch or two down from my breasts in the middle. Always hated it as it was always quite large, darkish brown and stuck out. Over the years, it would itch slightly after I'd had a bath, or a day here and there, not often, then would stop. When I was pregnant in 2018 it got bigger, not a huge amount but noticeable. I put it down to the skin being stretched. It was fine, nothing worrying.

Then one day a good few months ago, I noticed a little bit of extra growth on the side of it. Thought it was weird but didn't think too much about it. A few months ago, it started getting a bit itchy more regularly. And for the past month or more it's been bothering me a lot. I find it itches and feels sensitive/tickly when I'm wearing loose clothes and the clothes brush it. Rarely itches when there are no clothing touching it (but this has increased lately). I find wearing tighter vest tops better when there is something constantly touching the skin. It can also feel slightly painful on the odd occasion if i am bending down or something.

I have been in a hole of anxiety for months about it. Sometimes it feels I will collapse from the anxiety. I always think the worst and my worst fear is leaving my daughter as I don't have any other family. I finally plucked up the courage today to call the doctor. I was shaking like a leaf. They asked me to send a picture to their email address so the doctor could look at it and call me back. I did this. He then called and i explained everything I have just done here. He said he was looking at the photo, that it looked a regular shape, i can't remember his exact words as my mind was going nuts but from what I can tell, he didn't seem concerned. He said that moles can get itchy for no reason. I do trust the doctor as I've been seeing him for years, but I'm still really worried. He's basically said it looks normal to him but gave me an appointment for Friday so he can see it properly in daylight. I am absolutely terrified. I know pregnancy can affect it and I've also been breastfeeding for thw last 2.5 years so not sure if these hormones would cause changes too?

Try not to worry, OP. Moles do change during pregnancy - they get larger and darken. That's normal. And although itching can sometimes be a danger sign, in most cases an itchy mole is just an itchy mole. Does your bra rub on it? That might be the cause of the irritation.

From its location, it doesn't sound like it will have had a lot of sun exposure (unless you sunbathe in a bikini or use sunbeds).

Even if it is melanoma (unlikely), they actually respond well to treatment if you get them quickly. As your GP thinks it looks normal, that suggests it's not at an advanced stage even if it's malignant (which it probably isn't). Good luck tomorrow though, I hope he's able to reassure you.

I think the Gp called you because he can sense your high level of anxiety and he wanted to ease your mind.
I’m sure it will be fine tomorrow.

Thank you theconstantinoplegardner. No, my bra doesn't rub on it, it's one of the reasons I stopped wearing a bra as it was in that area but not quite. I thought it might make a difference. It didn't. It's most itchy/sensitive when clothes brush it. It itches when nothing is touching it but not as often. I try to wear tight vest tops as i find it better, when I wear something loose like a nightie, the fabric really itches it when it caves in at the middle between breasts. Sorry TMI.

It hasn't had a lot of sub exposure at all. I've always been self conscious so I've probably worn a bikini a handful of times in my life. Even then i have always put factor 50 on the mole, or a round plaster. I have used a sun booth a few times, can't remember if i used something then. It was about 15 years ago, max 2/3 times.

I've been reading about melanoma and it seems more likely if you have a history of it, are very fair and moley or have haf s lot of sun exposure. None apply to me really. I've also read that melanoma is very rare, and only 20% of those rare cases start with ab existing mole. How true this is I don't know.

I can post a photo. Not sure how to. I would like to but uneasy if she says it looks cancerous?

Sorry for all the typos

I wouldn't post pictures here. You can't be diagnosed over the internet. Try to get some sleep and you're doing the best thing tomorrow.

They said 8 weeks. 😊

Good luck today @anxiousmess81

I wanted to come on and hopefully give you a little bit of reassurance that even if the news isn't as good as you'd hope for, it is hopefully fixable.

I had a mole that went weird, I kept an eye on it for about 6 months before saying something to the GP. They referred me to a dermatologist to have it checked more thoroughly. It got taken off that day, and unfortunately came back as Melanoma. I required slightly more skin to come off around the mole site but that was it. After a year of going back to have the rest of my moles checked I was discharged. I've had no problems since

So please don't feel that if you are told it's cancerous that it's going to end in disaster. Good luck today xx

Thank you. In what way did it go weird?

I just hope I haven't left it too long if it is bad. I've read that drastic changes take place in a short time if it is anything, that's not really the case with me I don't think. I've not been looking at it because I've been too scared to. But I'm hoping if it was bad that it would be obvious

It changed colour and shape and went a bit itchy. It was on my shin - a common skin cancer place on women apparently- and I had burnt that shin a few years previously

By the time I'd had my mole removed it had been changing for about a year - it was graded at stage 1

Thank you. That is reassuring and I'm glad they got it all removed. Barely slept last night, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Not long to wait now, i hope he can put my mind at rest a bit today and he's not going to say something bad.

When you speak to him ask about anti anxiety medication as well. Transformed my life.

I definitely will. I need something to calm me down. I've been sent to hospital before for ecg because of it.

I have just come back from the doctor. He he had a look at it while I was laying on the bed. He measured it at 6mm. He said he isn't concerned at all and it's very regular. I asked about the white bit and the fact there was a little bit of growth to the side of it and he said that's normal and the white bit is nothing. No referral. I asked if I can still have it removed as it bothers me and he said there is no need to remove it and I'd end up with a scar instead. I still want it removed. The relief when he told me it looked completely normal took over and i started crying. Stupid i know. He wants me to take a pic again with a tape measure by it and send it to him in 4 weeks. He said it looks like more of a brown nevus than a mole. Not sure if these can start in childhood?

I'm having trouble now. I was so relieved but now it's sinking in, I'm wondering if he has got it wrong and it is something to be concerned about. I asked about melanoma and he said it wasn't that. Should I trust his opinion?

You've wandering angst. Trust him. Keep an eye on it as we all keep a watching brief on all our moles but do not worry.

You are going to be okay.

GPs see loads of moles and it's very simple to refer, so take his advice. More broadly, I think you really do need to tackle your anxiety otherwise you'll just move onto the next thing. As we get older, we often need to get things checked and you can't go through this every time.

Keep an eye on it @anxiousmess81 . If you think it would help, there are apps that you can use to take pics and store them so you can look back. They'll measure the mole for you

Thank you all. I'm trying to believe him. I thought today that if he told me it was okay, I would relax and be very happy, a different person, but I'm really not. Maybe my anxiety is worse than I think. Maybe because I've been worried about this and have been convinced I'm dying since March last year it's too ingrained. He's prescribed fluoxetine. Had them before but will try them again. He wanted to give me mirtazapine, had them before too but they knocked me out for 14 hours and kept jolting me awake when I was falling asleep.

I was hoping for a standard alone anxiety medication but he didn't give me that.

I really do want it removed as it is impacting my life with the itchy and sometimes pain of it. It limits what clothing I can wear. Not sure how to go about this as I've read now that they won't remove harmless ones on nhs, probably why he wouldn't refer me.

I suffer from anxiety too OP and I've cut down on caffeine (and the news!) as much as I can and included more walks. And be gentle with yourself as these are stressful times. Glad the doctor is happy with the mole.