Hi All,

I hope you dont mind me posting...I have added a new post to the Questions and Answers today and am frantic for some feedback if anyone would be so kind to help...basically been told have cyst on epiglottis and have been having neck and ear pain...am absolutely petrified and beside myself and dont really have anyone to talk to so any responses would be a godsend.

Thank you

Mish
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Hi Mish

1) Please go to an ENT ASAP so they can determine the best course of treatment as soon as they can.
2) Get as much rest as possible--sleep really is a great healing tool.
3) Keep us all informed--I've found that this group is really helpful.

Julia

Hi Julia,

Thank you so much for your reply.

I went to ENT yesterday and that was how I know I have a cyst on my epiglottis...basically the consultant just said, probably nothing to worry about and best to have it out and they'd write to me with an appointment for the op - no timescales given or what this might mean in terms of potential further health implications. I had mentioned my neck pain and he felt for lymph glands up under my chin but only when I asked him to. I also told him that I had a lump (only very small) on the side of my tongue that was being looked at by the dental consultant but he wasnt interested and just said the pain I was getting wasnt likely to be connected to the cyst...I know I should have more faith in the medical profession but my head is going to explode with needing to know what's going on and waiting for appointments is just going to send me over the edge!

I did the most dangerous thing of all and that was to look up epiglottis cysts on the internet and so I know I've made things worse for myself. I am a single parent (17 yr old daughter) with only my step dad as immediate family and he's not too good on the emotional support front and I dont want to burden my daughter with this. But Im an avid overthinker/pessimist and so I'm already thinking the worst!

I am trying to sleep and at least that stops me overthinking for a bit!

I will let you know how it goes...and I agree the group/forum is great - Im not sure what I'd do if I couldnt offload in some way. But in a way I feel guilty because I'm not in the situation others on here are in - which at the moment are alot worse than mine and they seem to be so strong and positive. Im hoping it will rub off on me!!

Thanks once again for replying. Best wishes to you all.

Mish
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It could be something as simple as acid reflux which still would need to be dealt with. I had a tumor under my tongue that I'd convinced myself was just a cold sore or somesuch, and the subsquent ear pain (felt like a letter opener had been shoved in my ear) was proof that I'd developed a cold in my ear. In this case, the pain was actually "referred pain" from the tumor (everything's so close together in the head that some messages get confused).
Did the doctors find anything wrong with your ears?

Are you close with any of the families of your daughter's friends? They might be a source of help and support.

Like you, I'm an avid overthinker and pessimist, but remember: when you expect the worst, you'll be pleasantly disappointed. The internet CAN be a fantastic tool, but not when you're already scared out of your shorts; it seems like the first offerings are always the worst case scenario. In my case, cooler heads were willing and able to do the research that I couldn't. Good thing, too--if I'd read the prognosis for stage 2 tongue cancer, or procedural notes on how my operation had been done in the past, I'd have probably told the doctor to bugger off, and then where would I be? Luckily, my surgery was not nearly as drastic as I'd feared and--three years later--I'm still cancer free.

I think Douglas Adams put it best: DON'T PANIC!

Take care.

Julia

Hi Julia,

Thank you so much for letting me bend your ear! Considering you have had to go through so much I feel like a fraud! From an appointment today my Dental consultant has dismissed anything suspicious about the lump on my tongue and has diagnosed me with TMJ disorder which was causing the pain in my ear and throat.

I still have to have the cyst on my epiglottis removed and because I didnt press the consultant for more info at the time I am going to write to him to ask for clarification but the Dental surgeon also said they couldnt see anything else in my throat apart from the cyst so he felt there was nothing to worry about.

You said, "when you expect the worst, you'll be pleasantly disappointed" and I have been.

I'm so glad to hear that you are cancer free three years on and may it stay that way. Without your calmness, support, kind and understanding words in your messages I would have been unable to think more clearly and rationally.

Thank god for people like you in the world.

Mish
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