Dermatologist/Skin disease question

[Pikarya]

So for almost 3 years now I've neglected to go to a dermatologist due to financial, and insurance reasons (my insurance wouldn't cover it).

I went in yesterday and the doctor looked at the most severe moles which were located on my back (a few years ago I had a severe sunburn due to ignorance).

He pushed a syringe into each one to take samples, and then they cauterized the mole with some heat thing to burn them off. Then sent me on my way with a antimicrobial to apply to the wounds 3 times daily.

My question is, since I'm clueless with this process. He said next Tuesday they would have my "results" on the specimen samples. What do the results entail to? Do they just check for skin cancers/melanoma? I'm pretty uneducated when it comes to skin related issues since I've never had any problems really before.

Also I'm not overly worried that it could be something bad since I've heard before that skin cancer is the most treatable.

Thanks

[Intense]

Why didn't/don't you ask the doctor those questions?

[Pikarya]

Why didn't/don't you ask the doctor those questions?

I didn't ask since at the time I was somewhat sedated. Also I can't ask today since my doctor isn't coming back till Tuesday and his private office is closed, only voicemail.

[Nirokun!]

It's most likely a biopsy screening for melanoma. Benign (yay!) or malignant (fuck) should come up, you want benign/noncancerous. The whole "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" applies, so it's probably routine to send all samples to the lab to see if you need medical intervention beyond teaching about UV protection and the signs and symptoms of melanoma.

[kuronosan]

It's a melanoma screen. Either they'll determine it's cancerous or it's harmless. Just wait.

[Niiro]

They actually had to sedate you for that?

Must have been one hell of a mole...

[Pikarya]

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm slight worried since these symptoms have been the worst.

Loss of weight.
Difficulty breathing or swallowing.
Little or no apetite.

I didn't even know melanoma can spread to the lungs.

[Helm]

Well, those could be several things. You should really talk to your doctor about those issues. ` - . )

[BaneTheBrawler]

MOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMOLEMO LEMOLEMOLEMOLE

[kuronosan]

Thanks for the heads up.

I'm slight worried since these symptoms have been the worst.

Loss of weight.
Difficulty breathing or swallowing.
Little or no apetite.

I didn't even know melanoma can spread to the lungs.

Any cancer can if it breaks below the endodermal layers.

Did he draw any blood chemistry or ask about your thyroid?

[Pikarya]

The Dermatologist did not, unless the specimen fluid had blood in it and I didn't know.

Last week I went to the ER for panic attacks and the loss of appetite issue. It was the first time it has ever happened, along with shortness of breath. They took my blood there and did only a panel test on my thyroid, which showed no issues. From my little understanding, the thyroid controls my metabolism to an extent. Which I thought was causing my appetite issues.

(to clarify, before this event I had an extremely high metabolism always and maintained healthy weight. The weight loss occurring now and the complete loss of a working metabolism just not me/normal.)

They prescribed me 2x Valium immediately and 2x Zyrtec OTC diagnosing the issue as Chronic Allergy Asthma (CAA?). But immediately the next day I felt even with the medicine the symptoms were worsening, to now.

[kuronosan]

To be honest I might have dismissed it as anxiety disorder as well. Doctors usually will do a CBC/BMP to see how things are going if they bother doing a thyroid panel. If it's not thyroid related and everything else is normal it may actually be allergy-related anxiety.

Your thyroid is basically the king of your active metabolic processes. It tells your cells how hard to work (or not). When it stops functioning you get symptoms similar to that developing.

I can't sit here and ask you every question in the book of diagnosing but unless you have some other pieces to your story (chronic, non-productive cough; etc) there probably isn't much anyone here will be able to tell you other than to see your doctor ASAP.

That's mostly my advice anytime you have been prescribed medication and it doesn't seem effective - see your doctor and let them know.

Just as a side note, your biopsy results are probably done already. If this was a private practitioner they probably sent it to a pathologist or reference laboratory to get their take, which can delay the release of the results by a few days. For now, just stay calm and relax. It's easier said than done, but you are doing yourself no good by worrying about it.

[Pikarya]

No, I understand completely. BG is definitely not an outlet for taking my diagnosis further in terms of accuracy for sure. I just wanted to get a heads up in the direction in which this was all going since I've never had an issue like this arise before. (you've helped a bunch).

I had a friend toss me a cannabis oil tincture his grandpa made before he passed a few months ago. I've been applying sublingually under my tongue, along with applying it to the actual affected skin sites. I'm practically going to self medicate myself this weekend until I turn green like the hulk.

Spoiler: show

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/me...-melanoma.html

Anyways thanks again, I'll follow up Tuesday in case you're more interested in the details of the samples they took. It's pretty much just a waiting game like you said.

[kuronosan]

It's medical. Of course I'm interested.

[Pikarya]

2/3 samples came back, the other two checked out fine and seem to be healing over the cauterized area they burned. The only issue is the third mole (closest to my spinal cord) which seems to have become very pigmented since the burn process took place. The actual mole is re-growing under the scab pushing the scab off the skin before the area has actually healed. (I would've of never thought something so small like this could be so fucking painful.)

Doctor didn't really say much other than he was going to refer me to some other doctors which full do a much more detailed analysis (I have no clue what he meant by this as his accent is like trying to understand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking English). Also he said to come back in 2 weeks to see how the growth is coming along and if need be, surgery to a much deeper removal of the affected site.

tl;dr not much more in terms of news besides being in pain. I'm currently looking at other Dermatologists in my area/under my insurance that actually speaks my language lol.

[kuronosan]

I'd ask to see my chart and then take it to another dermatologist. Sounds fishy to me that a dermatologist can't decipher his own results and had to give them to someone else.

I would do it quickly, too - only if you can help it of course.

[Pikarya]

Yeah. Luckily I have some of the best insurance in my state so I'm definitely going to take full advantage of it. Called a few places earlier but they closed early so I'm going to schedule with a more reputable doctor instead of the one that was automatically provided to me from by my insurance provider.

[jinkazama]

I was diagnosed with Stage I melanoma when I was only 14yrs old. I can tell you that the worrying alone about the potential of cancer can cause your body to flip the fuck out. I recently had some more biopsies myself done and lab tests and I too thought it had came back and spread to my lungs because I was having chest pains and loss of appetite myself. Was just the stress from worrying.

Glad everything came back ok, the majority of mine did too with the exception of a couple that were "Pre-cancerous". They cut the precancerous ones out and I'm all clear again now. Except some nasty scars that are completely healed but are still a dark purple in color even after 5 months

[Coren]

I'd definitely take that shit to somebody else to check it.

My father and grandfather both had melanoma, and I visit the dermatologist every 6 months as a precaution. I've had about a dozen different moles removed over the last 20 years, none of which have been cancerous. I've got at least 2 moles that were removed that have pigmented the scar tissue. However the fact that it's regrown in days/weeks doesn't sound particularly good to me...

[jinkazama]

Yea I regularly go to two myself. Each time it seems like one or the other doctor misses something that the other catches. It's a little unsettling how often that happens, dont mean to worry you even more but I would definitely go get a second opinion. Be sure to have them receive a copy of the original pathology too, not just the written description but the actual slide of the specimen itself. I recently had my original melanoma re-examined just for shits and giggles, I believe the labs hold them for 10-15yrs before destroying them completely so the fact that you just had yours done shouldnt be too much of an issue