GP has frightened me :( lymphoma fears

[snowflake293]

Hi guys

Today I saw my GP as I have had a chest infection and its made my asthma bad. I was given some steroids but still felt bad so went back today and he said the air is bad and has given me more.

I mentioned to him I have been having night sweats and also I had shingles a few months ago. He said I am young to be having shingles but it can be brought on by stress.

He said my last full blood count blood test was back in October (I thought I had one done a few months ago and it was fine, so of course I am worried now)

He has suggested I have another full blood count done when I am over my chest infection. He didn't seem massively concerned, but he did weigh me (my weights the same) and examined my glands which he said were swollen but not massively so. He said usually with lymphoma glands are more swollen.

I am so scared guys :( got home and all I wanna do now is cry! I am so fed up, at such a low ebb with all this now. I can't believe I am having another freak out.

My boyfriends out at work and I just want him to come home and give me a hug. I know I sound pathetic, but I am just so sick of this now.

I am really scared of having these blood tests done. I said to the dr that blood tests trigger my anxiety and is it really necessary and he said it was up to me. Surely if he was very concerned he would have insisted on it?

[Dan Wales]

Hi your not pathetic. I feel the same when I have to go to the doctors. Don't be scared off the blood tests you will be fine. Good luck with the tests.

[snowflake293]

Thanks. I am just so fed up now. I feel like my life is just one health anxiety freak out after another :( deep down, I think I know I don't have cancer - it would be so unlikely! If I had something like lymphoma surely I would know about it by now?!

I can't help but think "what if" though :( and that's the thing! its the uncertainly and lack of control.

To be fair, once my chest infections gone and my asthma is better if I feel fine I am not gonna go for the blood tests. If the night sweats carry on or get worse I will though. I am on steroids and sertraline and both these medications can cause night sweats.

Just want to stop worrying and have a normal life, but can't rid my mind of these horrible thoughts that I am dying :(

[MyNameIsTerry]

Snowflake, try to rationalise this.

Remember that glands swell because there is a localised infection. You've just had a cold that needed steriod treatment due to having asthma.

Swollen glands occur with colds, many people have it.

And you are right, if you doctor suspected something serious he wouldn't simply say "it's up to you", he would be insistent and if you refused he would explain to you the ramifications of your decision. Otherwise, he might find himself under investigation later with a legal case hanging over the practice. They don't take chances on things like that.

Swollen glands are very common complaints for GP's so I think you should trust him on this.

He's probably playing safe with the blood tests but it is questionable whether it is needed or whether its about reassurance which just fuels all this, but only he knows you medical history and none of us have the benefit of his training & experience to advise on that part. So, feel free to ask him what is the point of it, what will it do and if you don't have it, will it mean anything, etc.

If you are finding yourself in a spiral of typical Cognitive Distortions, and its obvious that to me that you catastrophizing as well as filtering for instance, then can you distract yourself with an activity to see if it calms you down for a while and allows you to have space to think a bit more clearly? Can you do a relaxation exercise involving your breathing that you can concentrate on fully?

[snowflake293]

Thanks Terry. He looked very young so not wanting to judge but I would guess he was reasonably newly qualified. He was very thorough! I think he was just playing it safe.

I guess it worried me cause of what he said about shingles, about me being rather young to have it. However, he also said it can be bought on by stress and the two doctors I saw when I had shingles didn't suggest blood tests.

When I feel my glands myself they feel no different to how they would feel when I have a cough/cold.

I think I am just feeling really low over it all. Asthma takes it out of you and can make you quite emotional too :( I even told the doctor I think my anxiety is making my asthma worse!

On a funnier note, this morning I started coughing loads and was in a real mess having a cry - then I realised the hamster had escaped (seriously...) so all hell broke loose. Turned out the little sod had gotten into a storage box and chewed its way through one of my treasured childhood teddies! Anyway, my point is while all this drama with the hamster was going on - my coughing stopped.

Sometimes I think the worry makes the symptoms worse, especially with asthma.

The night sweats thing does worry me. I am never totally drenched though and only a few times have I had to change my pyjamas cause of it. Normally I just feel clammy and my chest feels wet. I have had this happen occasionally for years and it only started to happen more often when I had shingles. When I got better from shingles it stopped then when I got my chest infection it started again! I think its to do with stress.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It could be, anxiety has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. It definately makes my asthma worse because I am more aware of my breathing and feel more need to control it which just makes it worse anyway as we are not meant to do that and the body gets by fine on it own. I also tend to clench around my diagphram a lot, mostly right sided hence not allowing it to do its job and I have to unclench and breathe.

It can be hard to seperate out asthma from anxiety. The only thing I can think of is that asthma will continue and make you go to the point of an attack plus asthma will go off quickly by taking a reliever which tells you its not a panic attack. Beyond that, I believe it is more anxiety.

A young GP is a bonus to me, I find they are more thorough if anything. They are less prone to the educated guesses that experience can bring and work closer to the standard you find when you go into hospital which makes sense because they will have spent years on rotation thre recently under far more skilled & tough consultants who expect them to be spot on.

A guy your BF needs to buy more teddies then and let the hamster out when things are getting bad. Its a good test though and its equally good that you have really noticed it.

So, maybe anxiety is causing some somatic issues there. I know when I'm more anxious I will do some things more like clear my throat or swallow so perhaps its like that except because of how you struggle with HA, it knows to push your buttons by accentuating your asthma symptoms by mimicing?

Do your glands hurt when you press on them?

[snowflake293]

I worry more over young GPs cause I worry they are either less experienced and will miss something major OR they will be TOO thorough and worry me for no reason.

Just speaking to one of my mates with HA and she said she had night sweats purely from the anxiety! She was scared she had lymphoma but shes fine.

My boyfriend also said when his anxiety was bad he would have nightsweats.

I am just so scared though. I knew two people with lymphoma, one survived and one didn't and I am just so frightened of it happening.

The thing is, I have seen countless doctors over the last few weeks, had a camera up my nose, allsorts. I just sort of wish I had had the full blood count done sooner so I'd know cause the worry is eating away at me, but I also sort of don't want it done cause I don't want to anxiety of waiting for the results!

Surely if something was up I would have other symptoms.

Yes anxiety definitely has an impact on asthma. I find at the moment my reliever isn't helping at all, if anything it makes my anxiety worse as its makes me jittery and shaky.

---------- Post added at 12:47 ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 ----------

I am so worried now. Been reading stuff online (I wish I hadn't) about lymphoma and I am convinced I have it. My chest feels so bad, I am hoping to God it is asthma and nothing else. I just don't know what to do.

I feel like going to A&E and asking if I can have an ultrasound of my lymphnodes and a biopsy. I know I am being totally irrational but I am worrying now :(

[MyNameIsTerry]

Does it hurt when you press on it?

[snowflake293]

I can't feel one gland that stands out. All of them are a bit swollen. They were really swollen until I went on the steroids and were painful too. None of them hurt now at all.

I am just so worried about my chest/coughing. I really wish I could just have a test right now that would say whether or not I have anything to worry about.

The dr himself said though if I do have a blood test it needs to be once my chest infection has cleared up. I go on holiday 2 weeks today for a week which is just making everything a million times worse :(

Don't know what to do!

---------- Post added at 13:02 ---------- Previous post was at 13:00 ----------

I had a camera down my nose last week. surely if there was something going on they would have picked it up then?

Also I had a back xray the week before, would that have shown my lungs up too? The xrayed me from both sides.

Really freaking out.

[Gary A]

Having a read at your symptoms and the only symptom I can see that is possibly a symptom of lymphoma is night sweats. This can be caused by a multitude of things, lymphoma is not a very likely explanation. My fiancé is only 29 and she had shingles recently brought on by work stress. Stress is a key factor in shingles in young people, and you yourself admit to being in states of very high anxiety for long periods of time. This can also adversely affect your immune system and leave you open to more ailments such as colds and chest infections

FYI, if your glands were swollen and painful and have subsequently receded after treatment then you categorically DO NOT have lymphoma. Cancer doesn't get better, it gets worse and worse. Typically lymphoma would present with a single enlarged node or gland that was painlesd to touch and very very prominent. It really sounds to me like your doctor is just doing a routine check of your bloods, not searching for signs of lymphoma at all. If he were concerned about that he'd insist on tests, and would also have checked your abdomen for signs of spleen enlargement, a common symptom of lymphoma.

[Toby2000]

Hey :)

Listen, there really is no need to be worried! Your GP is only making sure everything's alright, which is only precautionary to make sure that nothing's up. If he thought that you had something wrong with you that was on the drastic side of lymphoma, then he would've told you his suspicions. He would've said "I think there may be something wrong" at least. Does he know that you're a hypochondriac, or suffer from Health Anxiety? If so, he may just want to order you a blood test for your peace of mind. Also, you most likely have swollen lymph nodes due to your recent chest infection. Just try not to worry and everything'll be fine.

Good luck
Toby :hugs:

[MyNameIsTerry]

The most common symptom is a lump or swelling that isn't painful. Some people say they have some pain but in your case you have had a chest infection treated by steroids that has caused the pain to go away.

Try to rationalise it. Could that sound like lymphoma?

[snowflake293]

Thanks Gary, that has reassured me quite a lot. Younger people do get shingles but the dr really frightened me today and even suggested a HIV test! I said no to it as (in my opinion) there is very, very little chance I could have it. It just isn't a worry to me at all and I am NOT even gonna go to Dr Google over this one. He did not insist on the HIV test and seemed happy enough when I said I thought there was very little point in it. Of course now though my anxiety is kicking in...

My glands have always been a bit swollen on and off so I am hyper aware of them. I think its cause I have acid reflux and also I clench my jaw a lot so probably what I think I am feeling is muscles lol.

There isn't one gland that sticks out. There is a tiny, tiny painless 'lump' I can feel but it has been there since Christmas, been examined twice and told its nothing of any concern and it has not grown at all. The said its a vein I can feel.

The night sweats scare me :( Had it happen 3 times this week but not major, drenching sweat. Just wake up and my chests wet. It never totally soaks my pjs or bedsheets. I understand drenching sweats at night are of more concern.

I'm worried cause one girl I know had chest probs like mine and it went on for aaaaaages and ages before they know it was lymphoma. She is recovered now God bless but she had a year and a half of being very very sick. I am worried my breathing problems are due to lymphoma now and not asthma/chest infection.

Dr didn't feel my spleen but he DID weigh me and that concerned me a bit. My weight is the same though.

My health is usually pretty good, I don't smoke, I eat a healthy diet and drink very moderately these days. I strong, fast swimmer and go 3 times a week. I usually have bags of energy. I am slightly overweight according to the height/weight chart but still (in my opinion!) fit and healthy. I can eat for England. Surely if I had lymphoma I would know about it?

---------- Post added at 16:07 ---------- Previous post was at 16:04 ----------

Thanks Hissy and Terry also.

I am feeling less panicky now. Had a bit of a sleep and woke up feeling more positive.

My chest feels horrible though, like breathing paint fumes or very cold air. I live near a busy road and on the news today it said the pollutions bad.

I just want the steroids to work and to feel better. I hate feeling ill like this and how it makes me HA go into overdrive.

Its my birthday in a few days and my bfs got all this lovely stuff planned bless him and I don't wanna let him down!

Gonna put my lymphoma worries to bed now. My birthday present to myself this year is to promise myself to stop going to see Dr Google.

[Gary A]

Lymphoma would cause you to lose weight drastically without trying to. You'd be tired, weak and pretty ill. You sound reletavely fit and healthy.