What kind of doctor should I see?

April 15, 2017 8:55 AM

What kind of doc should I see for this issue? I have a lump on my back, on my shoulderblade.

It's not on the skin, but in/under the muscle. It's weirdly itchy - not itchy on the surface but underneath, where the lump is. My husband says it feels like a knotted muscle, but it never goes away and has possibly increased in size. Poking it makes it itch a lot more.

Should I start with a GP? I don't like the last GP I saw, so I'll be starting fresh with a new doc no matter what. If it were on the skin, I'd go straight to a dermatologist. Where should I start?

posted by WowLookStars to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

Best answer: I'd start with a GP, personally. A GP will be able to deal with cysts and abscesses and the like, plus it's a good excuse to hook up with a new GP that you can hopefully establish a good relationship with.
posted by drlith at 9:03 AM on April 15, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Of course I don't know what you have, but I had something with the same symptoms, and it was a cyst. You should see a doctor for it, and even a GP will be able to drain it if it is a cyst.

Don't do what we did, which is to have my wife kneel on my back and squeeze it with a pair of vise grips. It shot about a cup of white puss right on to her face, and in draining it further, about another cup of white snotty clotted liquid came out. It is one of the memorable scenes of the first few years of our marriage, but I would definitely not recommend anyone else experience that particular type of body horror. Go see a doctor. He or she will have done this dozens of times, and you will not be traumatized as we were.
posted by seasparrow at 9:21 AM on April 15, 2017 [24 favorites]

Best answer: Start with your GP, who is more qualified to recommend a specialist (if need be) than people on the internet!
posted by rtha at 9:33 AM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: It's not necessarily a Terrible Thing, by the way--in addition to being a cyst, it could be a lipoma (which, despite the -oma, is not cancer). Your doctor can tell you.
posted by praemunire at 9:52 AM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Are you in the US or elsewhere? In the US, at least, it's very difficult to see a specialist without a referral from your primary doctor.

Regardless, I agree with everyone else here. You should see your GP/primary care physician and let them triage the lump for you.
posted by tobascodagama at 10:42 AM on April 15, 2017

Best answer: Primary care doctor for sure.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 10:58 AM on April 15, 2017

Best answer: Go see a primary care doctor, and they may send you to a general surgeon who will let an intern drain your abcess or pop out your lipoma and they will be truly delighted if it's full of pus (if they're anything like my fiancé, that is, who pretty much lives for the kind of body horror moments seasparrow describes).
posted by MadamM at 11:04 AM on April 15, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Primary care. It's their job to refer you to a specialist if you need one.
posted by lazuli at 3:59 PM on April 15, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks folks! I'll make an appointment with a new primary care doc. :) Bit jealous that I won't be able to see the draining if that's what it needs. I do love that sort of thing.
posted by WowLookStars at 10:07 PM on April 15, 2017

Bit jealous that I won't be able to see the draining if that's what it needs. I do love that sort of thing.

Take someone with you who can video it for your future entertainment.
posted by essexjan at 2:04 AM on April 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

Google "Dr Pimple Popper". I'm sorry / you're welcome.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:14 PM on April 16, 2017 [3 favorites]

Nah, go right to YouTube with your "Dr. Pimple Popper" search.
posted by Dolley at 1:34 PM on April 17, 2017