Had a little bit of a scare…

Had a little bit of a scare…

by FitAmbitiousBlonde

just in time for Halloween🎃 and as with most things in life, it reinforced a valuable lesson, maybe more than one lesson actually.  So I went in for my annual physical last Friday.  Truth be told, I had missed it last year so it had been two years since I had been in to just get a full check-up.  I know, shame on me.  With this new found dedication to my health and well-being though and the changes I have made to my diet I knew getting in for blood work and a once over was really important to do before the year was out.  Mostly I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t super deficient in any vitamin or nutrient category but other than that I really had no concerns or complaints going into the appointment.

Made it almost all the way through the exam and standard questioning when the doctor ran her hands over my neck.  She seemed to be caught off guard/surprised by something she felt on the right side just below my ear and went back to the area and pushed on it a few times.  She asked me a few questions about if it was painful or if I had been recently sick to which I replied no to both and then she moved on and finished her exam.  I definitely got the feeling she had found something she didn’t quite like and when she came back in the room with my lab work orders she also included an order for me to go get an ultrasound of my lymph nodes and thyroid.  I immediately panicked a bit and asked her if I should be concerned about this lump in my neck to which of course she replied “no, just being precautious” as I figured she would.

Well still I panicked. because lets face it, I am a panicker!  Also I feel like anytime a doctor seems concerned about a new found lump somewhere a lump shouldn’t be that might be cause for a a bit of concern for any normal human being.  So I scheduled my ultrasound for first thing Monday morning and then of course I went home and googled all the terrible things this mystery lump could mean.  That was pretty much my weekend.  I did my best not to dwell on all the horrific information I had gleamed from the internet, but the weekend went by in just a blur of me vacillating between shear panic and complete numbness.

Monday morning rolled around and I went in and got the ultrasound done.  It seemed like the tech took a million pictures of my neck and definitely zeroed in on the lump that she and I both could clearly feel.  So needless to say I was just as worked up leaving that appointment as I was the previous Friday.  The tech of course couldn’t tell me anything other than the doctor should have the results in the next day or so.  So again nothing to do but wait.  The waiting was brutal.  I went to work, got no work done, and then went home and got in bed almost immediately, exhausted just from the stress of it all.

Fast forward to about five minutes ago when my phone rang and the doctors number popped up.   I jumped up from behind my desk and ran outside to take the call, my heart beating a millions miles a minute.  All I really heard were the words “normal” and “everything came back fine”.  I think I thanked the lady on the other end of the line like a million times and she laughed as I hung the phone up.  Long story short, they think I had a bit of an infection that my have made my lymph node swell a bit but other than slightly high cholesterol (which runs in my family) everything else was normal.  I don’t think I have ever been so excited to have high cholesterol in my life!  Ok so high cholesterol is  not good and I will have to work on getting that down a bit but seeing as I had all but convinced myself I probably had tumors all over my body and a few months to live, to say I am relived right now would be a complete understatement!

Moral of the story, first of all don’t ever look up symptoms on the internet!  Terrible idea!  But the real lesson here is getting an annual physical is so important you guys!  THANKFULLY, my little scare turned out to be nothing major, but in the event that it had been something, I would have caught it by going in and hopefully been able to get ahead of it.  I also know now I have to re-examine my diet and add some foods to help lower my cholesterol and maybe cut back on some foods, like shrimp that are high in cholesterol, (which admittedly I eat far too often).

Take your health seriously guys!  Getting a wellness check every year can help detect problems early, establish baselines so you can make the best choices for your body, and help steer you in the right direction so you can live the healthiest life possible.  Even though I had a little drama surrounding my annual wellness check I am so glad I went in and now have a clear picture of my health and what I need to do to continue to make improvements.  I also have a really renewed sense of gratefulness that I am healthy and that is something I will not now or ever take for granted!  ❤

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! 

xoxoxo,

Beth

 

 

36 thoughts on “Had a little bit of a scare…”

  2. Glad that the exam turned out well…. take care of your health while you are young, for when you get old it will be pay back time if you do not…. 🙂

    By the same token, one needs to live life also… 🙂

    “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming; “Wow! What a ride!” Hunter S. Thompson

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  6. It’s no fun waiting on results, sorry you went through that stress! I’m really glad to hear it wasn’t anything major!! Love reading your writing!

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  7. Glad you’re okay, I remember finding my own lump in my neck 6 years ago. WebMD is a pretty bad place to look up symptoms too. Turns out that I wasn’t as lucky as you, lymphoma, surgery and 6 months of chemo – and I’m 5-years clear of any tumors.
    Yeah, semi-annual and annual check-ups are the norm and make me feel good these days. Can’t say it enough, so glad your lump turned out as nothing but “normal”.

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  8. I completely agree with getting regular check-ups (although in the future, maybe avoid doing it around Halloween?)
    When I left my job to be a fitness writer, we figured our healthy lifestyle would be enough. Two years later my husband decided to bite the bullet and sign up for health insurance, mainly because my knees were bothering me to no end. He went in for a wellness exam and we found out he had chronic kidney disease. Within two years, his kidney function had dropped to 12%.
    Life Lesson: GET YOUR WELLNESS EXAM! EVEN IF YOU ARE HEALTHY AND FEEL FINE.

    Glad you are okay, and I know the relief from having a potential scare.

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  13. I agree about not using the internet for medical diagnostic reasons! I have several post regarding this too. I caved and looked at one illness and quickly determined I didn’t have that. I’m glad you received good news! I enjoyed reading your post.

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  14. thank heavens you are okay.

    i just had my first Medicare ordered annual health exam. the best part about it is that there is no charge – since Medicare insists upon it each year.

    my doctor is always slightly disappointed in me each year. i see it on her face. you see – at 70 she expects my blood work to show health problems, and mine come back perfectly each year.

    like you, though i do have that slightly elevated cholesterol – despite my 2 hours each day of exercise and a primarily vegetarian diet. like most doctors – of course that means i should be on statins!!! yeah right – yeah WRONG!!! 🙂

    keep up the good work.

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  15. Glad your exam came back with positive news! Getting those check-ups are really important even though you c (and I) can panic while waiting for a verdict! Thanks too for reading my blog!

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  18. If Dr. Google can send us running to the doctor’s office, it’s all good. Some people need that jolt to get themselves checked. 🙂 Be well.

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  19. Agreed. Self diagnosing with the internet’s help is a one way trip to paranoia. I did this once before I saw the doctor and the doctor diagnosed it in the first minute. Doctor visits are important more than ever during Covid, in particular. Stay well. Allan

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