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Spitting blood. Urgent Referral. Advice on worrying?

GrannyWeatherwax
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I'm 25 and have had various ongoing symtoms which were being monitored with blood tests (the only abnormal thing seemed to be my Prolactin hormone levels). 

Although the symptom that has been going on for the longest has been a recurring sore throat, I kept putting it down to either hayfever or my thyroid (I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis but it is being treated). Other symptoms that have been going on for a while include night sweats and weight loss - however I initially attributed both of these to stopping anti-psychotic medication (having taken it for the past 6 years). 

But I went back to the doctors (having recently seen them as I was feeling generally poorly) when I started spitting up blood/bloody spit sometimes with clots in it. I was urgently referred for a chest xray but all came back clear. I also saw a dentist who said that my mouth was healthy and it was unlikely to be my gums that were bleeding. Saw a doctor again yesterday for an examination and to talk about it again, and he expressed concern and has done an urgent referral to the ENT/Head and Neck dept at the hospital. If I don't hear anything by my 26th Birthday (next week) he has told me to let him know so that he can chase it. 

I know that I shouldn't be worrying, and need to get on with life until the appointment but I keep thinking about it. It doesn't help that I am spitting blood usually once or twice and day (in addition to tasting blood at other times), and now when I spit sometimes I can see that my mouth looks bloody. Each time is a reminder that it could be something serious. I feel afraid, but it's not a very helpful feeling right now as there is nothing I can do.

I am supposed to be writing my masters dissertation as it is due soon, but I'm finding it very hard to concentrate. Does anyone have any tips for how to deal with the worry/get on with things in the meantime?

Many thanks

*Edit: have been spitting blood now most days for exactly one month.*

  • Hello GrannyWeatherwax and welcome to the forum.

    I'm very sorry to read what you're dealing with at the moment. It sounds very tough and it's completely understandable why you would be distracted by this.

    Many of our members know how tough it can be to manage the worry when waiting for tests and results so you're not alone and hopefully some of them will be along soon to share their suggestions and advice.

    Whilst you wait, I hope the tips given in this article on how to cope with waiting for news will help. You may find the resources and advice given on the NHS Every Mind Matters website useful as well.

    I hope this proves to be a good starting point and you're able to get your dissertation done.

    Fingers crossed everything will be o.k GrannyWeatherwax.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

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    I didn't have all your symptoms.  But when i was a teen I suffered from a lot of sore throats. I was literally 1 sore throat away from getting my tonsils removed. The referral went in, but between my referral and going to the hospital, my sore throats just stopped. Iirc, i was told they need them to be inflamed when they're being removed.  This could be utter nonsense (I was 15 at the time, now 47), but it's how i remember the conversation.  But, yeah, I could just be remembering it incorrectly. But I never did get my tonsils out because like i said, I just outgrew them.

    The point to the story, i was initially given an urgent referral because 1 day when i was sitting playing a board game, my mouth just filled up with blood.  A whole mouthful, like you see when you over fill your mouth with water, then spit it out. I freaked out. No more blood came out once i spat it out during that first bout.

    But between that happening and my appointment, i too was coughing up blood and some clots. No one could see anything. At the hospital, i got a camera down my throat. My tonsils were very badly scarred from repeated infections, and it was those infections that had eventually caused my tonsils to bleed. Once the infections stopped, they never bled again.  Looking in my mouth normally, you couldn't see those scars. So if you're suffering from infection after infection, it could be damaging your tonsils and causing them to bleed. From personal experience, they can cause a lot of bleeding.

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