Why did the doctor ask me this....?

[Darren1]

Several weeks ago when I went to the doctor about my neck pain (which he says is swollen glands), one question he asked me which always stuck in my mind was "Any pins and needles?"

Why did he ask this question? He asked this BEFORE finding my swollen glands.

[emlica]

Well, the doc would have been a good person to ask! Could be any number of reasons - the one that springs to mind is that if you'd trapped a nerve or have inflamed muscles in your neck you might well get pins and needles in your hands and arms. Also sitting badly at a desk, for instance, for long periods, can cause both neck pain and pins and needles. So he probably asked that to rule those things out first. Perhaps that's a more common cause of neck pain that your doctor has seen so he started with that.

He'll have been able to feel if your glands were swollen, so if he says that's what's causing the neck pain, it probably is!

[Darren1]

im not convinced this neck pain is due to the glands! im going to discuss with GP next time.

[emlica]

Right, but by the sound of your posts you won't be convinced by anything the doctor tells you! Why don't you think it's caused by glands? My glands go up at the slightest thing (I have neck pain when I have a tiny mouth ulcer or sore gum, or just a mild cold) and if they're really up it does cause proper neck pain. The doctor will have felt your neck and will have been able to tell if your glands were raised or not. I also suspect that as you're so anxious you've probably been prodding and poking at them, which won't help, plus anxiety can cause you to tense up, which probably won't help your neck either.

Why did you ask about the pins and needles - DO you have pins and needles, or are you just looking for something else to google and worry yourself about?

[Annie0904]

My dad had pins and needles in his arms caused by neck pain. He had physio on his neck and the pins and needles stopped. If you haven't got pins and needles though there is no need to wonder why he asked. Trust your doctor..he felt your glands and diagnosed swollen glands so nothing to worry about.

[Darren1]

I guess I don't see how a couple of swollen glands can cause so much pain around the whole of my neck. I am curious about the pins and needles cos at the time my answer was no but looking back over the last few weeks i have had it occasionally in my hands.

[Annie0904]

Swollen glands can cause a lot of pain. I had them earlier this year and it was very painful.

[AuntieMoosie]

Darren let me try and put your mind at rest here a bit :)

emlica has hit the hammer on the nail with this I think :)

I'm not a doctor, but I would imagine that he may have suspected that you may have had a trapped nerve in your neck, as that would more than likely give you pins and needles :)

Anything wrong with your neck can cause refereed pain and all sorts and I should imagine that was what your doctor was checking, nothing sinister in it at all okay :)

When we present ourselves to a doctor, they are going to want to examine us and ask us questions, that's how they diagnose, it's a very normal thing for a doctor to do and it doesn't mean that they think something awful is happening :)

Swollen glands, as Annie has said, can be very uncomfortable and painful depending on how swollen they are, perhaps discuss it more with your consultant who is presently seeing you.

A little tip for you Darren :)

When you go and see your doctor, or consultant, why not take a little notebook and pen and write down all the things that you want to ask, it's what I do all the time, cos I'm getting on a bit and forget most things now!!! lol. That way, you will have all your answers right from the horses mouth, so to speak :)

PS.......NO GOOGLING!!!! LOL :winks:

[joelhall]

I know exactly why he asked it, but it's something you don't need to worry about.

[Jeninthesky]

I think that in worst case scenario neck pain and pins and needles can indicate something wrong with your brainstem

---------- Post added at 15:01 ---------- Previous post was at 15:00 ----------

But, like Joelhall said, that is NOTHING you need to worry about!