u/Fragrant_Pumpkin_932

Hey everybody, just wanted to get this off my chest and share my story with you guys. 28M.

Never really considered myself a hypochondriac (though I've been fighting with generalized anxiety and major depressive disorder for years), but I'm currently wrestling with a gnarly bout of health anxiety since this past Saturday, mainly hyperfixating on moles around my body, leading to me making the world's dumbest decision and consulting renowned doctors Google and Reddit and spiraling and catastrophizing as a result. It's really been taking a toll on me the past couple of days, leading to me not sleeping much and just feeling awful in general as a result, further exacerbating my anxiety.

Haven't seen a doctor in a few years and never had a formal full body screen check from a derm in my entire life, but finally got my insurance sorted out and got a new PCP after not having one since I got booted off my parents' insurance, and am set to see her next month to get the ball rolling on this as well as some other things. The moles are driving me crazy though, so I jumped the gun and booked a derm full body check for tomorrow (5/15) and plan on paying for it out of pocket, since my insurance would only cover it otherwise if I had a prior referral from my PCP, which I don't, because 1. New doctor for me, so I don't think they'd write a referral for a patient they've never seen before yet, and 2. I frankly can't wait a whole month since my anxiety is in full effect.

I figured my peace of mind and proactiveness is well worth whatever cost it may be, right? May not be the wisest decision financially, but my thinking is getting ahead any way is well worth it. Still freaking out, but I'm not letting the fear paralyze me and am willing to take initiative and tear away the veil. Been ignoring my health in general for a while and it's time to do something about it, money be damned. I'm not getting any younger. :P

(Crossposting from r/AskDocs to cast a wider net)

28 M, 5'8", 190 lbs. History of hypertension, potentially diabetic (pending formal diagnosis, but it runs on both sides of the family and I plan on getting that addressed with my doctor next month, among these and other concerns). Admittedly not very diligent about keeping up with sun protection unless I go to the beach, which isn't too often, but I live in California and am fairly active and outside on the weekends.

First noticed this little thing in my ear about a year or two ago at this point. Smooth and slightly raised to texture, it's bled once or twice to my knowledge, but hasn't in a while since and I kind of forgot about it until this past Saturday, and my health anxiety has been in full force since. Can't say for certain if it's grown much since I again, like a dummy, barely paid attention to it, but it doesn't look much different from what I remembered size, shape, and color wise. I used to wear headphones of various sizes fairly often, some being on-ear but I mainly switched to over-ear now for comfort, in case it could be some form of contact dermatitis.

As for the fingernail, I only noticed it a few days ago when doing an anxiety-fueled self check at home, but I am very clumsy and do tend to jam my fingers into things, so I'm no stranger to splinter hemorrhages. No pain near or around either my ear nor thumb.

Couldn't wait for a referral from my PCP (new doctor, recently got own HMO insurance and have been dealing with school + work issues for the past few years, but finally got them sorted out) so I scheduled an appointment with a dermatologist this Friday to get this and other spots on my body checked out since I've never had a formal full body check, and I'm willing to pay out of pocket for some peace of mind. Waiting 3 days until the derm and a month for my doctor will drive me even crazier, so I was just looking for potential answers in the meantime. Thanks, y'all.

First ever full body screening tomorrow, and first time seeing a doctor in a few years next month. Nervous, but taking the first step, trying to be optimistically hopeful and looking for a clearer path forward.

Are these cause for concern? Looking for some guidance.