MotherOfMaya 18 Posted April 27, 2021 Hi everyone.... I am going through a particularly trying time in my life and I cannot help but think that my anxiety surrounding everything is being subconsciously diverted into health anxiety...but I digress... I had to begrudgingly make an appointment for a physical so that I could have my refills for my Effexor that I take for anxiety. The appointment was today. Last night I noticed that I had a tender bump next to my spine below my hairline and I shrugged it off as a swollen lymph node, probably because I scratched myself behind my ear or something.... This morning I woke up and while showering I noticed that my shoulder/neck area was slightly puffier on one side than the other...the same side that I have the swollen lymph node. I went to the doctor and showed her the lymph node and she said she wants to get an ultrasound of it. She assured me she is not worried but she likes to get ultrasounds on lymph nodes that aren't under the jaw unless there is a very obvious reason for it being swollen. She then felt where I thought it was puffy and she did not feel anything. I am soooo terrified I have lymphoma or something! Why would she order a test if she is not concerned. This seems contradictory to me. I feel like I cannot catch a break from this health anxiety and it's driving me absolutely crazy. I was here a few weeks ago thinking I had ALS, then I was worried about ovarian cancer...and now this.... I have been poking at myself all day and logging in repeatedly to check my Patient Portal account to see if my blood work has been posted. Someone please talk me off this ledge! Any advice or comforting thoughts would be so appreciated! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MARC 431 Posted April 28, 2021 I had a swollen lymph node on my Parotid gland a number of years ago. My physician did an ultrasound of my neck to be on the safe side and it turned out to be nothing and it went away on its own. My friend had lymphoma and he had other symptoms besides the large lump on his neck. He felt generally not well, and was extremely tired. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doug97 19 Posted September 22, 2021 How are you doing now MotherOfMaya? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MotherOfMaya 18 Posted September 30, 2021 Sorry for the late reply Doug! I am doing just okay at the moment. I am worried about my daughter. I have had some majorly stressful life experiences this year and everything seems to be piling up on me. Thanks for asking! How are you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doug97 19 Posted September 30, 2021 I'm doing much better, thank you for asking. My skin pain and twitching has almost completely disappeared. All that's left is the twitching in my calves, which are going wild today for some reason. The rational side of my brain knows it's classic Benign Fasciculation Syndrome, but it's hard to ignore it when I can feel it all moving around under my jeans. So my anxiety goes up and down. Still, on the bright side, I found out that I'm due for a promotion at work. Plus my wife and I have just bought a beautiful new house! Too many things are going well, obviously there's some disaster brewing on the horizon lol. Do you want to talk about your stressful life experiences? It might help ... ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MotherOfMaya 18 Posted September 30, 2021 Well that all sounds great! I wish I could be one of those people who lived in the moment and did not look for doom and gloom around every corner. It's so exhausting having an anxiety disorder, isn't it? I am currently calling around for new therapists. Congrats on the new home! About 13 months ago I found out that my husband of 9 years, 12 together with dating, had a 1 year old. I found out because I found a letter from Child Support and then was able to find a court case in our court system with his name on it. He has a very unique name so I knew it was him. Then I confided in a friend, whose husband works with my husband, and she was able to find out that it's pretty well known at their job that this has happened....great! I was stunned and shocked and so sad at first but we had small kids so I tried to get him to talk to me but he stonewalled me and gaslit the entire time. I then found the positive DNA test results and he still denied it. During this time, my aunt, who was my landlord, decided she wanted to rent the home we lived in to her daughter, my cousin and best friend so I had to move. I am now with my two children and my parents. It's super stressful and I am depressed. I know that these hard times trigger my anxiety but I cannot, CANNOT stop myself from freaking out. I have my daughter going to the doctor at 4. They are definitely going to be looking at me funny. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites