I guess I’ll add a caveat to this; a doctor’s appointment is made, I’m just kind of curious/concerned about this.
About 6 months ago, I started getting a hardish lump just below the middle of my back, right over the spine. Started off itchy as it grew, but nothing now. I know it’s not attached to the bone 'cause it moves with the skin.
While at the emergency room for another matter, I mentioned it to the doctor who commented that “it was just a cyst, nothing to worry about,” so I didn’t.
However, just this morning, it started to hurt, just a little, but I prefer no pain whatsoever, and I find this a tad worrisome. Anyway, I’m kind of curious, should I show up at the doctor with my will signed and ready to go, my bag packed for a hospital visit or my insurance card for oodles of meds or what?
A Google search on “subcutaneous” or “subdermal” cyst comes up with a hell of a lot of very disturbing pictures of various skin conditions (FWIW, the subdermal cysts are the only non-gross ones), or incredibly detailed medical journal articles of which I can’t make heads or tails. WebMD has only three articles on subcutaneous ones, and they’re all rather vague or uniformative.
Some background: 28 year old smoker, relatively fit (could be better, could be much worse), tattoo over my spine as well, but not in the same area. Apparently, my uncle has had a few as well, but that’s the only detail I’ve got. Medico Dopers? Dopers with interesting hobbies? What the hell causes this and what are the ramifications? Any ideas? Many thanks in advance for whatever info you could give me.