Big rant and hoping for some reassurance over christmas :(

[ReissG]

Okay since becoming obsessed with Lymph nodes, I keep discovering them!
In my neck I have 6 on the left side, 4 of them are around 3/4mm and one is oval shaped and about 1cm/1.2cm and the last is 1cm, about small marble sized. All are soft and moveable, none can be seen, just felt.

I have 3 in my groin I can feel, biggest one about 8mm and it's like a sausage.

Last one is in my armpit, well further down. It's worrying me because it hurts, it's made the area very tender and the gland itself is tender, it's got a little less painful since I first found it, It's small and very VERY moveable, it literally moves all over the place lol

Me and my boyfriend currently have a snotty nose, so we have a little virus which might be why the armpit gland is sore.

But does this sound okay?

I just read a horrid story on google which I won't repeat here but it has scared me.

WHY CAN'T I STOP GOOGLING? It's like an obsession :(

[candy_floss]

Lymph nodes are a big worry of mine and have been the focus of my health anxiety since February, when they started swelling in my neck. They are still swollen but my doctors are happy to leave them since they are not growing.
The general rule is small, soft and moveable nodes are fine and you will have a hard time getting any doctor to take them seriously. I was refused a biopsy by the ENT specialist due to the fact that my nodes, whilst swollen, were still under 1cm (in fact my doctor told me sometimes 2cm + growing is required to cause concern!). Now all I am told to do is keep an eye on them and make sure none are growing. I try to check them once a week, which is good coz at one point it was at least 4 or 5 times a day.
My doctor told me 'pea size is fine. Come back when they are like grapes!'. Thankfully none have grown to anywhere near that big.

I too had an armpit node swell when I had a cold. This one was very tender to touch (unlike my neck nodes which are painless) so I knew it was down to my cold. I expect your sore armpit gland is just due to the virus and sore is a good sign so don't panic!

Good luck and have a nice Christmas. :)

[almamatters]

Lymph nodes are a nightmare to me. I have had 3 behind my ear swollen for 6 months now, I have shown them the GP loads of times. They are painful but never seem to change in size. GP has said it is not necessary for me to have them scanned as they are not sinister. this does not stop me worrying .
As you know googling just feeds the fear, I have to force myself not to google these days I blame it on my severe health anxiety.
Take care and have a nice Christmas, try and feel reassured that your GP has checked them and is unconcerned (say's me LOL) :flowers:

---------- Post added at 17:58 ---------- Previous post was at 17:56 ----------

Sorry got confused with posts thought you had been to GP with your nodes and think it was candy floss. Sorry total brain fog today .

[ReissG]

My GP felt my nodes 2 weeks ago and said it was all fine :P
I had an infection 2 weeks ago and two glands in my neck got so big, now they are small again, does that mean I don't have cancer? Or can you still get swollen glands from infection when you have lymphoma?

[candy_floss]

Lymph nodes are a nightmare to me. I have had 3 behind my ear swollen for 6 months now, I have shown them the GP loads of times. They are painful but never seem to change in size. GP has said it is not necessary for me to have them scanned as they are not sinister. this does not stop me worrying .
As you know googling just feeds the fear, I have to force myself not to google these days I blame it on my severe health anxiety.
Take care and have a nice Christmas, try and feel reassured that your GP has checked them and is unconcerned (say's me LOL) :flowers:

I too have them behind my ear, including a big, painless one behind my ear. Came up on night on my mastoid bone and has never gone away. Doctor says it will probably never go down now. Nodes can be stubborn buggers, which just fuels anxiety coz you are desperate to wake up one day and for them to have just disappeared!

Yes it was me who'd had them checked (several times in fact!).
My advice to the OP is to get them checked by a GP after Christmas but try not to obsess over them between now and then, as the size and shape of the nodes described sounds perfectly normal.

[ReissG]

I'm guessing every infection you get when you have lymphoma would keep the glands up.

[candy_floss]

My GP felt my nodes 2 weeks ago and said it was all fine :P
I had an infection 2 weeks ago and two glands in my neck got so big, now they are small again, does that mean I don't have cancer? Or can you still get swollen glands from infection when you have lymphoma?

No one can tell you if you have cancer or not.
All I can say is that the nodes you are describing seem perfectly normal to me and I should know, I have researched Lymphoma a lot due to my obsession with it.
If still worried after Christmas, go get a second opinion from the doctors. Good luck! :bighug1:

[ReissG]

It's just a horrible horrible nightmare :(

You know all my life I've known of only 2 glands, one in jaw and one on neck, I thought they were the only ones we all had.
Then I read about lymphoma on the internet and BAM!
I find loads. 4 months ago I never even knew what lymph nodes were and now I am obsessed :'(

[almamatters]

Good advice from Candy Floss, get them checked again for your own peace of mind. They are a worry, I know too well, but the doctors know what they are looking for and know when something is sinister. :flowers:

[ReissG]

My doctor told me you only worry when you have a swollen gland and are losing weight etc I've actually put weight on recently :P
I've had what I thought was a huge gland in my neck since childhood, thought it was about 3cm, turns out it's about 1cm. So when I feel these glands, I call them "swollen" or "lumps" when actually they aren't, some just feel bigger then others because they are under so much muscle/skin/veins!