Ultrasound tomorrow, so worried

[ballerina]

I've been having ongoing issues with my tonsils/lymph nodes in neck since October 2017. Tomorrow I'm finally going to an ultrasound of my lymph nodes. I got white tonsils in October and since then the white patches went away but the tonsils and nodes never subsided. It's worse on my left side and I have a weird lump type thing on my left tonsil. I also have a rock hard immovable lymph node behind my left ear. The others are soft and moveable.

When I showed the doctor a couple of months ago, she looked and said "hmmmmmm do you smoke or drink?". Of course this sent me into a spin because I'm thinking she's asking about tonsil cancer. I admit I've partied a little too hard since I was 16 (23 now) to cope with my anxiety and other issues, and now I'm terrified it's come back to bite me. I also socially smoked a bit but not too crazy an amount.

She weighed me and said "well it's a good sign against cancer, that you've maintained your weight the whole time". I asked what she thought it could be instead and she just kept saying "let's just wait for the results", like could she not think of anything benign that might explain it and that's why she's saying "let's just see how the scan goes"????

Even if it comes back clear I feel super low because I can't enjoy going to the gym as my throat is all blocked off with my tonsils and I can't breathe well enough to do cardio or anything. It it was a simple virus shouldn't it have cleared by now? And I've already had a round of antibiotics that haven't done anything. I'm just worried I'm going to be this miserable ill girl for the rest of my life, it's already been getting on 7 months and I haven't got the slightest bit better. I don't know where to go from there.

I have a full feeling under my abdomen (which I just imagine in my head as cancer spread all over my body, and tingling in my legs and arms, that I imagine as tumours blocking nerves causing this feeling all over my body.) My veins also stick out a lot, when they never used to.

I'm a nervous wreck and just want to be well again!!

[ThroatGoat]

7 months? Jeez I thought I was bad.

I've had hard immovable lymph nodes behind both my ears for years. By years I mean like 15 or more.

[ballerina]

7 months? Jeez I thought I was bad.

I've had hard immovable lymph nodes behind both my ears for years. By years I mean like 15 or more.

Yeah it's making me so depressed :(

I'm also freaking out about HIV at the same time, I had some unprotected sex on a one night stand (very stupid I know) and all these came on like 2 weeks later. I had a full std screening including HIV 2 months after and it was all clear, but I know you need to get one at 3 months for it to be conclusive. I haven't been back because I'm scared.

But reassuring that you've have immovable nodes behind your ears, maybe it's a place that they are more likely to be hard and fixed.

---------- Post added at 23:57 ---------- Previous post was at 23:52 ----------

Why didn't your GP refer you to an ENT consultant?
I had my tonsils out at 22, which is unusual as it's normally something you have done as a kid. So a similar age to you, the reason i had them out was exactly what your describing. I would have tonsilitis every month throughout the Winter and they stayed enlarged and never ever wen't down for at least 2 years.

You really need an ENT referral.

---------- Post added at 23:48 ---------- Previous post was at 23:46 ----------

Sorry my lymph nodes were swoĺlen the whole time because of my tonsils.

I have no idea! I'm really irritated by it, I want to see an expert in tonsils and not just my GP shrugging their shoulders, once this scan result comes back (praying it's benign) that's what I'm going to ask for.

When you had yours out did your nodes go down and you got ill less?

I got tonsilitis back in 2014, then it cleared up pretty much. This is the worst I've had it since then. My tonsils are full of crypts too, I wonder if it's a deep infection that isn't able to clear itself up?

[BikerMatt]

Yeah it's making me so depressed :(

I'm also freaking out about HIV at the same time, I had some unprotected sex on a one night stand (very stupid I know) and all these came on like 2 weeks later. I had a full std screening including HIV 2 months after and it was all clear, but I know you need to get one at 3 months for it to be conclusive. I haven't been back because I'm scared.

But reassuring that you've have immovable nodes behind your ears, maybe it's a place that they are more likely to be hard and fixed.

---------- Post added at 23:57 ---------- Previous post was at 23:52 ----------



I have no idea! I'm really irritated by it, I want to see an expert in tonsils and not just my GP shrugging their shoulders, once this scan result comes back (praying it's benign) that's what I'm going to ask for.

When you had yours out did your nodes go down and you got ill less?

I got tonsilitis back in 2014, then it cleared up pretty much. This is the worst I've had it since then. My tonsils are full of crypts too, I wonder if it's a deep infection that isn't able to clear itself up?

GP's are very good at shrugging their shoulders, without question they are not doing referrals like they did and i think they are being told to cut down on them.

Yes my glands/nodes all settled down. When you have bad tonsils it's much, much more than just a sore throat. You've had this since October and through the Winter which is exactly when my tonsils acted up.

You really need to see an ENT consultant and forget your GP. I would suggesr i high dose vitamin c daily dose too.

[ballerina]

GP's are very good at shrugging their shoulders, without question they are not doing referrals like they did and i think they are being told to cut down on them.

Yes my glandes/nodes all settled down. When you have bad tonsils it's much, much more than just a sore throat. You've had this since October and through the Winter which is exactly when my tonsils acted up.

You really need to see an ENT consultant and forget your GP. I would suggesr i high dose vitamin c daily dose too.

Thanks for the advice <3 last resort I'd pay private if they won't refer me but I don't see how they couldn't if the scan is clear (which I'm praying it is). I also have some BB size nodes in my groin but I am quite thin so maybe that's irrelevant and they're just palpable from past utis etc.

I also get some shivers, but no fever. The GP basically says if there's no strep (after they did a swab) then they're not infected. That just sounds like rubbish to me, surely there's different types of infections. Healthy tonsils don't almost touch and make it hard to breathe when you try to do any exercise. Also is it not possible for the infection on the surface to clear but for there to still be gunk inside?

I do wish I didn't have a hard node though, all the others are soft and movable but this one hard one freaks me tf out.

[BikerMatt]

Why didn't your GP refer you to an ENT consultant?
I had my tonsils out at 22, which is unusual as it's normally something you have done as a kid. So a similar age to you, the reason i had them out was exactly what your describing. I would have tonsilitis every month throughout the Winter and they stayed enlarged and never ever wen't down for at least 2 years.

You really need an ENT referral.

---------- Post added at 23:48 ---------- Previous post was at 23:46 ----------

Sorry my lymph nodes were swoĺlen the whole time because of my tonsils.

[BikerMatt]

I'm no Doc but i think your GP is talking rubbish!! I had strep in Aug 2016 and i've had no tonsils for 23 years and when i had tonsil troubles i never had strep.

[ballerina]

I'm no Doc but i think your GP is talking rubbish!! I had strep in Aug 2016 and i've had no tonsils for 23 years and when i had tonsil troubles i never had strep.

I mean I did have white patches originally so surely that is indicative of having some sort of infection in the first place even if they're denying there being one now. :/

I have a photo of my white tonsils in October, and then the other photo is of the same one now. Not very clear as it's quite difficult to get a photo of the back of your mouth. They don't look all that swollen in the photo but I think it's just the sideways angle.

I also remember having a very foul taste in my mouth that I couldn't get rid of no matter how many mints I had. I still have a little bit of a bad taste now and I am super paranoid about having stinky breath!

[jray23]

The chances of swollen tonsils being cancerous are EXTREMELY rare (even long term swollen), although it's worth checking just in case. Try not to worry about it and definitely see an ENT like Matt recommends.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[ballerina]

The chances of swollen tonsils being cancerous are EXTREMELY rare (even long term swollen), although it's worth checking just in case. Try not to worry about it and definitely see an ENT like Matt recommends.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Thank you It's mostly the hard lymph node that is stressing me out, thinking it's either lymphoma or tonsil cancer. I know it's unlikely but we wouldn't all be here if we were rational