Hello AnxietyGirl; sorry you are getting all this worry because of your anxieties.  From your post I don't know if/when your breasts were last examined as if this had been done quite recently it may have been the reason for the doctor not doing it again.  But I admit I am guessing here.  You say you didn't actually have a lump  but just wanted them checked.  I - like other posters here - have no medical training but feel that it is your anxiety with which you need help as otherwise you will be going backwards and forwards to the GP just because of it; that way lies being worn to a frazzle with unnecessary worry.  You say your doctors know about your anxiety - can they not suggest some help?    Maybe others have different suggestions.  Annie

Hi Annie, 

Thank you for your reply. I've never had my breasts examined by a doctor, she won't do it because she believes my fears are anxiety related.  I really did not like the doctor she is not my usual one but was the only one available at the time i won't be making that same mistake with seeing her again, that is why i am making another appointment to see my usual doctor. 

I do not know if i have a lump or not because tbh i dont know what i need to feel for i mean i can feel small lumpy things in my breast on both sides but i don't know if that is normal or not and i want to be sure.  

I did have CBT for my anxiety but tbh it worked for a short time but it doesn't really help.  My doctor suggested exercise and referred me on perscription but i chickened out, exercise is really not my thing and when i have anxiety i do not have the motivation to even leave my bed let alone exercise. I don't want to go down the route of taking medication but honestly i feel it might come down to that.

I just want the doctor to check me for peace of mind, i was told by the other doctor to check myself and if i feel a hard lump then they will check me, but i don't know why she couldn't of just done it there and then when i asked, why put me through further anxiety.  

Oh well, i will be calling my doctor tomorrow and see what happens from there.

Hi AnxietyGirl,

Really sorry that you are in the anxiety club, it's a really awful condition.  I'm sure you're getting treatment for it but I know of a really good book that I worked my way through back when my panic attacks led me to become agoraphobic.  Let me know if you want the name and author, it's very inexpensive.  It's written by a clinician who was (sadly now deceased) one of the leading experts in anxiety and panic attacks, but it's written for the sufferers so is a very easy read.

Also sorry you're having your anxiety added to by this pain.  I have had a pain like you describe and my GP was very quick to diagnose a muscle strain too (which it was).  Often GPs can diagnose something very easily because every patient reports it in a very specific way, so it's not that they're rushing or being flippant, just that they know when they hear the words "....." from a patient that it matches how other patients have described a specific injury or strain.  Much as all our bodies are slightly different, the core things like our muscle structure are the same and behave and suffer in the same way.  The probability is high that a strain is indeed what you have but, as a woman, I totally understand how easy it is to get concerned about any pain around the breast area.

I want to stress that unless your GP is incompetent to the point of needing struck off (which is unlikely) then she would have checked your breast if any of the symptoms you described remotely indicated an issue with the breast itself.  Remember she is risking her licence if she is negligent so I would like to think she has made an educated diagnosis based on the symptoms presented to her and that it is most likely the right diagnosis.

There is advice on this site (and others) over how to check your breasts, definitely study up on that.  It's not a simple case of finding a lump sadly, like you my breasts are actually quite lumpy with glandular tissue, it's actually about noticing changes in your own breast and between your two breasts occuring over time.  You will find lumps from time to time, we all do, sadly there are an abundance of non-life threatening conditions that can give us lumps.

If you haven't been checking regularly up until now then what you could do just now is do a breast exam yourself and see how similar your breasts are.  But take some time getting to know your breasts, what they look like, what they feel like, their colour, any discolouration areas on them.  Check your breasts again every month and if you do this you will get to know what is normal for you and you will notice when there are changes.  The changes are the important thing.

Breasts can be lumpy, 'fun' cause it makes our job all the more difficult :|

Sadly your brain could be playing tricks on you and the aches and pains you are now getting could be psychosomatic due to your anxiety.  Alternatively having had pain on one side you've maybe overcompensated with your posture to now cause pain on the other side too.  There are so many possible non-threatening reasons for the pains you are suffering.

Obviously you are concerned so do go and see your usual GP, but while you're there it would be worthwhile asking them to show you how to do a breast exam and to have a good chat with them about what to look out for etc. and also how normal it is to have lumpiness etc.

Good luck with it all.

LJx

Hi anxietygirl 

Health worries are awful aren't they? I don't want to speak out of turn but I noticed that in the last 6 months you've posted various threads about possible skin cancer under your toenail, moles, and now worries that you have breast cancer. I'm a bit worried for you hun as you seem to be experiencing long term preoccupion with thinking you have cancer of one type or another. I saw on your other threads that youve also recognised this. I know you've had CBT but I do wonder if you need counselling to try to uncover what triggered these thoughts in the first place. I'm a bit concerned that at some point in the future hun you could develop a health issue that people do not rake seriously because of this anxiety and preoccupation.....but most of all I'm worried that life is passing you by and you are living it in fear. I do think it's good that you have an appointment with the gp that you seem to like and can talk to. I hope you are able to get the reassurance you need for some peace of mind. But I also hope you are able to be open about your anxieties hun as these do seem to be hindering your life and making it miserable for you. Sometimes we need help with more than the physical side of our wellbeing and you've already shown strength by recognising you are not coping. Wishing you all the best hun x

Hello Cornish! 

I totally agree with what you have said and I feel I do need more help. I know what started all my anxiety off and it stems from my dad becoming seriously ill last year and is still ill, then I got the cancer scare with my toenail and my uncle unexpectedly died this all happend in a short space of time. From all of this my health anxiety came about. 

Im more worried than ever right now because I’m in a lot of pain with my breasts and I’m scared no one will help me and I will get ignored. I’m hoping my gp listens tomorrow becasue the pain is too much to deal with and painkillers aren’t helping. 

Im sorry to hear about your dad and your uncle. I hope that your dads health issue is stable at least and will improve over time.

I hope your gp can help you with your breast pain and support you to access the right help for you so that you can move forward in a positive way in your life. X

He was getting better but is now going back downhill unfortunately, I don’t live near my parents so it’s even more hard and my mum has to cope a lot on her home and she has no idea about my health anxiety because I don’t want to add any more stress on to her. 

I have a doctors appointment today at 3.50 with my usual doctor which I’m very happy about because she knows me and my situation. I hope to have my breasts checked today and see what she thinks about the pain. It comes and goes every now and then. 

Hi. 

I know this post was from 2018 but i’m going through exactly the same, i have depression, GAD, HA and possibly Autism. I also have a soon to be 1 year old, this all started when i was pregnant. 

My grandad died of an unexpected heart attack in January and since then i’ve convinced myself i’m havinf a heart attack, i have heart disease, breast cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer, throat cancer, the list goes on. Its every ache and pain, every sharp unexpected pain, burning pain etc. I’ve had my boobs checked in winter last year and they said its fine, but my left boob just feels uneven but i dont know whether its been like that all my life, or if its come on recently but i’ve paid a lot of attention to my boobs recently so literally EVERYTHING i see i think oh this looks wrong or is this normal etc. Its takes over my mind and just overwhelms me to the point i’m crying my eyes out thinking i’m gonna leave my baby and my husband and family. I’m having CBT again but i just feel like hes focussing more on the autism than the anxiety and HA. I just don’t know what to do. 

hello I’m so sorry you feel this way , I feel exactly the same had my breast checked about 5 weeks ago at breast clinic as I have loads of lumps and now have felt another one even thou in the past they have explaned to me what they are and that I get them , I now panic that well was this one there before an they checked an it was fine or is it new and it’s something. I want you to know your not alone with how you feel I have 2 young children and have the same fears my health anxiety started when I had my first child and I know you feel alone your not there’s loads of us with have this xx