Worried about endocrinologist appointment

Mental health
1

Ive finally received a letter for an appointment woth an endocrinolgist for this thursday which is so soon. The fact that it is so soon scares me so much sad i thought id he pleased to have this letter; but no.

I feel as though im getting closer and closer to that death sentence diagnosis and my fear of adrenal cancer has overloaded.

all weekend ive been fine, i even sat and watched the stephen hawking film despite the fact of my lasr fear which was ALS

. But this morning i found some pictures from last years holiday and one of the pictures shows the hump thing at the back of my neck which put me into a state of panic as im not sure how long its been there so my symptoms have progressed pretty quickly which pushes me towards adrenal cancer.

I can just imagine the endo on thursday telling me that hes thinks it is possible i do have it as im young and have symptoms of adrenal problems.

I have no clue what i should do sad

2

I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through and understand how you feel. I do think you need to go to the appointment or fear of the unknown will be 100 times Worse that any diagnosis.

Take a friend of family with you to help you feel calm and maybe see your doctor about some calming down pills to take in the meantime and talk to someone.

I hope you manage to feel more.relaxed and all is well.for you

3

I had a similar issue about 20 years ago when I had a lump on my forehead and doctors couldn't tell me it wasn't dangerous because they didn't know what it was, even after several tests. I was very worried about it, and my imagination got me expecting the worst.

I would say that your anxiety is completely understandable and justifiable. It's horrible when you think something's not normal, and our negativity bias makes us think the worst. So don't beat yourself up about feeling anxious because it's a normal reaction, part of being human.

You can even think of your anxiety as having had a useful purpose, to get you to take action, which you have done: you've got an appointment with an expert. You've done really well to do that, so can feel proud of that.

But of course it doesn't stop there, and you can't help thinking about what's going to happen next, predicting the future, which no-one can do. We can't control the future because it hasn't happened yet, and when we feel out of control we feel stressed and anxious.

How about this: tell yourself that the best you can do now is get ready for your appointment, get there on time, and then you can leave it to the expert, someone who is fully trained, who has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and who will take good care of you. If you find yourself worrying about what will happen after that, just repeat to yourself: "I'll handle it."

It really is natural and normal to have some anxiety, but just focus on what you can control now (getting ready for your appointment, planning journeys etc), and assure yourself that whatever happens in the future, you'll handle it. Also, by practicing some relaxation and breathing exercises, which elicit the relaxation response, you'll be countering the stress response and reducing the stress chemicals and hormones (like adrenaline), which can only be good for you.

The law of averages is on your side too. The human body is amazingly resilient, and advances in medicine and technology make all kinds of treatments and cures possible. Just trust that it will all work out for the best and you'll be ok.

Wishing you all the best, take care.

4

Hi Emily you will be fine im certain, the lump on the back of your neck, is this not a vertebrae? 

You've had lots of tests for all sorts of conditions and all have been clear, so I'm confident these tests will be negative.

Have you had your appointment for CBT sorted yet, the last time we corresponded you were waiting.

Neil 

5

I do have a bone that sticks out but i also have fat there creating a hump. i have been looking at other people and ive noticed a few of those that are overweight (not being rude) but bigger than what they should be also have it, inluding my dad.

CBT was sorted and im on my 5th or 6th session already. it is helping in the short term but sometimes she goes on leave so i do not see her for two weeks, so i then forget about everything and panic again.