Health Anxiety, oral cancer stages or everythings fine?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hello everyone, I'm Michael I've had OCD and Health Anxiety since I was 19. Now 27 years old, I cycle through various chronic illnesses, each one I feel like is the real deal, the one that is real and going to cost me my life. It's always some sort of cancer. There are some periods of time where I've cleared or dissproved all issues, allowing me to feel decent for a while but its usually only a matter of time before something comes up and brings me back into crisis mode. My main fear that has lasted the longest is oral cancer, just for the record I have severe OCD and clench my teeth all night while I sleep, I have had a white line along the side of my tongue and a matching line along the side of my cheeks. This is what originally kicked off the fears, my doctor said it happens to people with stress disorders, like the calluses you get on your fingers. Keratin lines from biting tongue and cheek while sleeping, although I dont think its present anymore. The second issue is that I get these little white bumps, very very small, my doctor said they are mucous sacks. They only appear in the area of my bottom inner gums where my tongue could rub against. They are not painful at all and are always gone the next day, Its always only a single bump. I will usually go 5-8 months before one may appear again sometimes less, depends on weather or not oral cancer is what I'm focused on. My thinking is that my tongue is rubbing against gums during certain stressfull times and the friction some how causes this, I also have bite marks on lips and always have tense jaw during the day. Again this first happend about five years ago. I've been to the dentist but had no bump at the time, just as I have none at the moment. My mental health doctor once said that cancer does not come and go, it stays and grows/gets worse. This all may seem rediculous to someone that does not have anxiety but I can not rationalize. Can someone help me here, like would'nt oral cancer progress through stages? Getting worse, painfull, growing, sores, spreading to lymp nodes? I have had no changes in five years. I do not smoke, or chew tobacco and I don't drink. I'm something of a health freak. Anxiety has made me that way. I drink Green tea daily, avoid proccessed food. snack on dark chocolate and get plenty of antioxidents, so on and so on. I know this doesn't gurantee anything but It makes me feel better. Can anyone tell me if i'm just crazy here. wouldn't there be some serious obvious issues if I really had oral cancer, shouldn't there be growing sores and changing elements, spreading? Close to death? Years keep rollin by and Nothing at all has changed. I also read that statistically the average age of diagnosis is like 65 years old.... and its mostly correlated with smoking/drinking/tobacco. Unfortunatly I came across some google article that said something about a 31 year old guy that had a growth or something..... That certainly didn't help. Thanks to anyone who can help
0 likes, 6 replies
Anxious_Nick Michael2112
Posted
Hiya Michael. I don't happen to know a lot about oral cancer, but when I can say is that a visit to your doctor should settle the matter for your "rational" brain....although your "anxiety" brain can sometimes take over. That's how I am every day. So here's what you do. Get checked out, tell your doctor all your fears. He'll almost definitely tell you that you're fine. And then you may find yourself less worried! Also, therapy and medicine can help with anxiety. I'm starting therapy soon and haven't started any long-term medicine yet....but plenty of people here can tell you their stories of success and failure. Please trust me, though -- you'll be fine!
Please take care, Michael...
Nicholas
mark45877 Michael2112
Posted
Hi Micheal I have been through this. I also at one stage feared I had oral cancer I hadent been to the dentist in a few years. I noticed one of my teeth had become loose the gum was bleeding and it looked white along the gum line. It freaked me out I did a Google search and of course I saw oral cancer! I went to the dentist had work done and I was fine. I have also given myself various major illnesses over the years. I truly wish Google had never been invented. My GP says it has ruined a lot of people's life's my latest fixation is kidney disease because of ongoing bp issues. My GP has assured me this is my anxiety doing this to me! However as stupid as it sounds I don't believe him. I'm sure you are fine.
Michael2112 mark45877
Posted
Thank you for responding, I have a question though, you said your gums were white around the tooth? Were you talking about a white patch? I saw that for oral cancer you gotta look out for white or red patches and sores that never heal but just white colored gums? Wouldnt that be more of a nutritional difficiency or receding gumline? There's plenty of pink/white or lighter colors in the mouth or my mouth so that would be pretty bad for me. I guess what I'm trying to figure out on these forums or other forums is weather or not oral cancer would be something obvious and major like after five years you would be aware that you are sick. Like if you noticed something five yeara ago, would'nt cancer progress through stages, spreading, growing and pain. I saw there was like a five year survival rate, although I don't know how to interperate what that means, something to do with percentages. Either way I am still physically healthy, only mental issues have ruined my life
mark45877 Michael2112
Posted
Hi Micheal I think after all this time it would of progressed and you would know about it. I think when they say five year survival rate you would be extremely ill during that time. When I first became anxious I fixated on various things with my health. I couldn't believe that anxiety could produce such painful symptoms I was convinced that I had a terminal illness. The loose tooth just came on and when I looked at the gum area it was white it scared the hell out of me. Then I noticed a lump in the side of my abdomen. I started to wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. All this started several years of panic. My GP who is a lovely man sent me for many tests and scans which I revealed no problems. I still get random chest pain/back pain and heart palpitations and Ibs type symptoms.
I know I have to accept its anxiety doing this to me. It has definitely ruined my life in that I have given up a lot of things I used to do. I wish Google had not been invented as it has ruined a lot of lives.
I think you are well like me and anxiety is doing this to us.
Michael2112 mark45877
Posted
Thanks mark. I agree about Google. If the temptation was not there then we would all just go to the doctor and they would tell us weather or not were ok. It's just hard to move forward in life when you feel like you're walking through a mine field, just an article away from what I would consider an anxiety crisis. Can't be happy because the disease you think you have is always on your mind. This whole thing got kicked off just by me simply looking up the benefits of baking soda in toothpaste, came across some web link talking about oral something, investigated and basically steped on a mine. All oral cancer fears came back, taking the place of my previous worry that was on its way out, so to speak. I've been trying to get on a med like an SSRI but unfortunately when in these crisis modes it's hard to get on it, like what's the point when your "dying". I feel bad for everyone on these forums, humans really aren't meant to know anything, for millions of years we just had simple lives, sure alot of people died young of simple diseases that we have meds for today but atleast the life they did have most likely had very little worries other than looking for food. I would trade for what my life has become. Thank you mark
mark45877 Michael2112
Posted
I hear you mate I was a person that really didn't worry about anything. That changed about 6 years ago I went to the Drs not feeling well I had the flu.
The young Dr freaked out about my bp it was 180/90 it made me panic and said he was going to sent me to the hospital I admit I always get very nervous at the Drs and it makes my GP go sky high.
I then started to research about high bp and the causes I started to take my bp about 20 times a day which of course made me panic more this I guess led me to the ER with my first panic attack. I remember that day as the worse day of my life. I sat all day at the ER like a frightened child while various Drs talked about me and looked over my results.
I've never really been the same since. I'm on bp meds now. When I'm relaxing my bp is always normal or just above but when I'm anxious I can still get scary readings. It's my main focus these days my Dr assures me its anxiety doing this to me. All my tests have had normal results but the back of my mind still doubts this. Its truly awful and friends can't understand how bad it is.
I'm known as a pretty intelligent happy go lucky type of guy I keep it hidden pretty well. I've been out with friends and they can't tell when I'm anxious I try and let it pass which it always does. I keep off google now although it's tempting some times when new symptoms come up. I had a complete medical only 1 month ago which included an Ecg all good. But why the hell can I feel so awful. It's definitely comforting to come to this forum and read about people all over the world having similar issues. Take care mate.