Swollen gland or Carotid problem...yech...

[lofwyr]

So, last night I was kind of happy, my recent bout of anxiety was pretty much gone after about a month, and I was out to eat with my wife and some friends. Well, I noticed a small amount of pain in my neck, on the right side, just below where my ear and jaw meet. I poked it and it felt (and looks like) a deep pimple, and I had no worries from that. No big deal.

But then I noticed the gland underneath it is a bit swollen, and I went screeching off the anxiety cliff. My mind--the logical part of it I do not really listen too--knows full well it is probably swollen due to the proximity of the acne. But swollen glands have always freaked me out, not just mine, but my son's too. It has been one of my main triggers for years, and it seems I am still susceptible to it, and now I feel worse than before, and I was just about done with my most recent anxiety episode.

I am also concerned that instead of a swollen gland (though cancer has always been one of my biggest anxieties) it is something wrong with the blood vessel, that it is swollen or something.

I guess my question is have any of you had a swollen gland from nearby acne? I just need to know my real fear has ridiculous origins...

I am on a downward spiral, and just when things were looking better...thanks for letting me vent.

[lofwyr]

Another question, dovetailing off of my issue (thanks for hearing me vent).

Why is it we cannot accept changes in our bodies that most people never even notice without running off the cliff of obsession. This is not my first time with swollen glands, and it did not kill me last time. Why am I *so* sure that this time I have dreaded cancer, *this* time will be different? More a rhetorical question, I suppose. If we knew the answer, none of us would be living with hypochondria.

On a side note, still scared as can be, but have a doctor appointment that was originally for a simple cholesterol test (which I am not nervous about in the least, go figure) so I can ask him about it. This Doctor is new to me since my last bout with HA 9 years ago, so he is not used up yet, and not aware of my issues along these lines.

[libby70]

I suffer from cold sores and I always get a swollen lump just under my chin it's just the repercussion of infection unfortunately it's your body's way of getting rid of crap x