Nervous wreck about appt. tomorrow

[Cthycarlson]

I managed to beg and plead my way into an appt with my dermatologist tomorrow after being told I couldn't be seen until November. My appt is in about 12 hours and I am an absolute bundle of nerves. I'm so worried about this flat mole on my back (5 mm, slightly irregular border, whitish area with 2 tiny light brown dots on it).  I called my previous dermatologist, who saw me the end of May and he assured me that then  did not have anything suspicious anywhere. I even sent him pictures of this mole, he says it looks normal but of course can't give a  "definitive" answer without seeing it in person (not a possibility, he's thousands of miles away).   He was my derm for 3 years, I saw him at least every 6 months for a whole body check and sometimes more often if I were worried about something.  Now I am going back to my old derm, haven't seen him since 2006.

The more I look at my back, the more weird things I see. I normally don't look at my back but I slipped the other day and have big scrapes so I was checking those out when I noticed the moles on my back.

Could my old derm overlooked something? Or dismissed something? Is this an atypical mole? Could something have developed in just a few months?

I don't know, my husband says I'm overreacting  and being irrational and I'm having some kind of anxiety attack and that is the real problem.

[Pum]

I got a few skin tags during pregnancy. One 'died' and went black then fell off but I got it checked as it changed colour. I still have some skin tags in my groin. I also had a few new moles turn up on the area of my c-section scar and one was odd looking (black and grey) that eventually went away.
When I got pregnant the second time I almost immediately got some red blood blister spots on my face. Annoying.
So in summary, pregnancy can cause odd skin changes.
The skin tag is a skin tag. The blood blister is nothing and could even be an injury. Don't look at anything for the next two months and enjoy your baby.
By the way, post partum depression can show up as excessive anxiety about your health or the health of the baby so keep an eye out for that. If find yourself not quite thinking rationally (and deep down you will know that) at 2 months after the birth (everyone goes a bit nuts with lack of sleep so give it a few weeks) then see "someone".
Take care and good luck with the birth. How exciting for you. I'm totally jealous.

[Cthycarlson]

Thank you for your answers. I wanted to ask you another question, if possible. I wanted to know if there are other skin growths one can get during pregnancy. I recently got a "brazilian" wax to prepare for the delivery and was checking it out when I noticed something that looks like a skin tag and something that looks like a blood blister. The first is about the size of a grain of rice and the other a pinhead. I just had an exam last week and the ob said nothing and I've looked both of them up and the medical websites do say you can get skin tags and something called cherry angiomas during pregnancy, all over your body including "down there."

[Pum]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. That can definitely change moles. Some of mine darkened and some almost disappeared. But if you're worried, sure have it off.

Thanks for the update.

[Cthycarlson]

I just wanted to update after my appt and thank you for your kind words. I really do feel like a big glass of wine but am 8 months pregnant, so maybe just a sip!

He looked over everything and said he saw nothing suspicious (including with the one that I was worried about).

He did say I have a few "dysplastic" (sp?) moles because of my Irish heritage and probably had a few burns as a child.  These are the moles I thought odd looking. He says he doesn't remove them preventively unless they are very atypical because it's not necessary.


He said I'll remove the one you're worried about if it will keep you up at night (it would). So he did, but of course he has to get a biopsy done, that's standard, so I'm going to stress out about that for the next week. Sigh...it never ends!

But I do feel better, he is 99.99% sure everything is ok.  He also said pregnancy can darken and stretch out moles.

[Pum]

Take it easy. You have had this mole looked at many times it sounds like and no-one has said it was a problem. Many moles meet the criteria (irregular and more than one colour) and are totally benign.
I'm not sure what anyone here can say that will help when your dermatologist who actually saw a photo didn't reassure you. All I can say is take care of yourself until your appointment and have a big glass of wine after your visit.
Good luck.