Mole worry

[Mummyto2123]

Before I go to my gp and worry myself silly I need someone to help me calm down. I suffer really bad health anxiety and have been doing so well until the mole on my shoulder became slightly itchy. I stupidly googled and have convinced myself it's skin cancer. I've had it for as long as i can remember but I'm not focused so much on it. Does anyone have anything similar? Does it look worrying or normal?

Some boots chemists have a mole checking service for about £40 I think

Stop prodding it, of course it’s going to sting if you’re irritating it. Stop googling. It’s only been four days, if you get to day ten and haven’t heard contact the hospital or GP to check up on the referral. But honestly, the best thing you can do now is distract yourself and stop giving in to the urge to ruminate on it.

I can't stop feeling like this constant black cloud hanging over me. Trying my best to stop focusing on it so much. Then I'll sit and move it about until it stings again. Still no word from the dermatology either which is making me think I'm going to be waiting ages

Maybe the GP has done a referral but as non urgent as she didn't think it was anything to worry about. Do you have the NHS app on your phone, because you can look on there at referrals I think, which may give you an indication on what the GP has done.

Can you afford to go private? I had a similar growth and a similar panic, it was a seborrheic keratosis. I ended up going private it was 650 for removal and pathology.

No I don't have the app on my phone. Last night was really bad I think it's the worse my anxiety has been and I haven't went into work today because I'm so drained.

I phoned this morning and got an appointment for Monday at a private hospital

Update.
I attended the private dermatologist today. She had a look at the mole with her dermascope said it's an irritated Intradermal Nevi because it's on my shoulder and being irritated with clothing etc. Said I can get it taken off and she thinks because of where it is it will continue to hurt so would be a good idea to remove it but it will cost over £1000. I'm also still worried that she could be wrong about what it is. I hate anxiety. My husband was so angry with me earlier because I'm already questioning it. It's hard though when the pain comes in waves not helping with me scratching it earlier

Like u said before you need treatment for your anxiety-when you get your NHS appt to be seen they usually do a one stop clinic where they look at it and they can remove it the same time.You have been told what it is and I’m sure they are correct.Pleasd get help ftom go for the anxiety otherwise this issue will never go away.

You need to seek urgent help for your anxiety. You’ve been told what it is.

Over £1,000 seems very steep. My local skin clinic charges £200 plus histology fees. You might want to shop around if you’re going private.

That said, as it’s not malignant, you could save money and just get put on the NHS waiting list.

Why are you still anxious? You’ve been examined by a qualified dermatologist who’s told you it’s not a melanoma. If your health anxiety is that bad, perhaps you should look into getting some therapy.

That’s good news. Are you on any medication for your anxiety?

You need to stop.

I realise that sounds supremely unhelpful but you've been told what it is. By a professional I assume and not some dickhead who wandered in off the street

What happens with a referral by your GP? You'll not believe what you're being told and the cycle continues. Nobody here should be giving you reassurance about the mole either - it simply feeds the whole thing

You need urgent help for the real issue here - your health anxiety. So focus on that because you can't carry on like this

I really feel for you, I’ve struggled with similar worries. I found this book really helpful - 10 times calmer by Dr Kirren Schnack, I got the audio book which I found really helpful, both for immediate calming tips and longer term coping strategies.

Mine are irritated by my bra. Get alternative quotes for removal.

Get help for your anxiety it's not fair on the family.

I've managed to find someone who will do it for £85 so I think I will go with her. I'm on 100mg sertraline but think I'll ask to get it put up as I can't go on like this especially as the previous poster said it isn't fair on my family

Maybe switch from sertraline. Doesn't seem to be doing any good.

You need a medication review. And there may be other therapies that can help. Removal of the mole will take care of the irritation. But your anxiety is likely to latch on to something new before too long. Removing the mole won’t deal with the anxiety.

The dermatologist is the expert. She is the one with vast experitise in this area. She will KNOW what a dodgy mole look like and yours isn’t it. Please try to take heart in what they said.

Is the person doing it for £85 a proper dermatologist at a proper clinic? That seems cheap. Don't rush into getting it chopped off when the real issue you need to tackle here is your anxiety

I had a good day yesterday trying to keep my mind and self busy. It's the pain that panics me but as you say the dermatologist is the expert and knows what it looks like if its bad

Why is this still irritating me?! It's making me feel so down all the time everytime anything touches it I get pain. How can this be nothing to worry about

Stick a plaster over it until it's removed.

The problem is your out of control anxiety. The fixation point is this bump. It could be anything. Once you have it dealt with and you know, as I can 💯 guarantee that it is not a cancer; it’ll be something else.

Kindly, you need to sort your anxiety out.

Because your mental health isn’t great.