Cannot stop worrying about lymph nodes.

[thomas1998]

18/m, I can feel two lymph nodes on the side of my neck, they don't protrude out of the skin on their own but I can definitely feel them, to me they feel maybe pea-sized but maybe more, I got a doctor to feel it a few weeks ago and she said it was "just a normal gland" and to come back if it gets bigger. Since then I poked and prodded and found another one on the lower right side of my neck, very wiggly and about the same size. I also have another wiggly moveable thing in front of my left ear lobe. My doctor doesn't know about the latest 2, she just felt for the first one. I'm not particularly thin.

What does swollen mean? Larger than a pea? Larger than a marble? Golf ball? Just if it noticeably protrudes out of the skin visibly? I've had other symptoms as well for the last 2 months, intermittent stomach/bowel and fatigue issues (awaiting coeliac results). I had my thyroid tested, normal. I don't know what to do.

[Fishmanpa]

Swol·len
ˈswōlən/Submit

past participle of swell.
synonyms: distended, expanded, enlarged, bulging, inflated, dilated, bloated, puffed up, puffy, tumescent, tumid; inflamed, varicose

You don't have swollen nodes if you have to poke around to feel them. If you continue to poke and prod, they can and will swell and can become shotty.

Positive thoughts

[thomas1998]

Swol·len

You don't have swollen nodes if you have to poke around to feel them. If you continue to poke and prod, they can and will swell and can become shotty.

Positive thoughts

But.. like, then how else would you know if they're swollen? :( Is it literally just if you can see them bulging out of your skin with your eyes then they're swollen? Even though my doctor said the first one was a normal gland I can't get it out of my head that something is spreading because I've found 2 new ones. Thank you though.

[axolotl]

A doctor knows a swollen gland when they feel one - it's pretty much medical school 101! Leave them alone, try not to poke, and try to forget them.

[Imrightbehindu]

Thomas, I'm in the same boat as you. Right around the same age too (19).

I have a "shotty" lymph node below my chin. It is around the size of a pea. or right around 1mm. It is rubbery and moves a bit when I touch it. I too am not particularly thin, probably about average. From what I know, many doctors feel with several fingers, and look for ones that bump up, not ones they need to press down to feel.

Now, I can tell you three things right off, first is that lymphoma at ages below something like 60 years old is rare; like a fraction of a percentage of chronically swollen nodes.

Second, you said 1-2 mm. 1-2 mm can be considered pretty normal, but I'm no doctor.

Third, I can say that this node I have has been there for 4+ years, and it's still fine as of now so is likely like that.

And seriously remember, the Doc is a professional, they have felt hundreds and thousands of nodes; if it was something to worry about they would have told you.

You will be fine, man. I have had so many bad effects from worrying about it, I've been having trouble concentrating, I've been feeling my neck area constantly, I've been fatigued, and you mentioned you have too. Fatigue is a symptom that may be coming from your constant worry that you are going to get ill.

I know it's hard to do, I really do, but just try not to touch them, they will become more swollen, almost guaranteed. And try to distract yourself from it, relax. See your doctor if you feel the need, but relax between. Even if it were something (very highly doubt it is) you stressing about it is going to make it worse, try attempting to ignore it (unless something particularly bad is happening) aside from seeing your doctor if they become concerned or you see a development. You may very well find that after you lower stress levels you may become less fatigued.

Sorry for the wall of text. If you want to talk more, I'm here.

And don't google. Stay away from it. The only medical advice that is truly useful is from your Doc.

[thomas1998]

Sorry for the wall of text. If you want to talk more, I'm here.

And don't google. Stay away from it. The only medical advice that is truly useful is from your Doc.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. The effects of worrying and googling have been the worst, last night I gave in and googled lymphoma symptoms, I had a bit of an anxiety attack in bed and had a bit of a cold sweat - my brain then says that I'm having "night sweats", a symptom of lymphoma. Even though deep down I know "night sweats" means waking up and being seriously drenched, and that it was just anxiety, it still keeps bouncing around my head and coming back.

It's likely the only actual real health issue I have is anxiety but I just find it so hard not to google and worry. But I'll try, thank you.

[laura95]

I cannot empathize more. I've been in the vicious cycle of poking, prodding and googling for the past 3 weeks. The anxiety has been hell. I've been irritable, lost my appetite, been unable to focus (not helpful for a third year uni student). I've been convinced that I have lymphoma.

The first lymph node I found was on the right side of my neck. Best description is that it's almost like a baked bean, both in size and shape. Neither soft not hard, sort of how a grape feels (best way I can describe it). It's movable and hasn't grown in the 3 weeks since I found it, if anything it gets slightly bigger the more I poke it. This lead me to actively search for more nodes (stupid I know) and hey presto I find one in my right armpit. It's very deep, I have to feel quite far in. Maybe slightly bigger than the one in my neck, but not much bigger than 1cm I'm sure. Harder than the one in my neck, but definitely movable.

I went to the doctors yesterday and he immediately knew I was anxious from the moment I sat down. He told me that health anxiety can manifest from something else, such as stress. Anyway queue my mini breakdown where everything poured out, and we discussed the fact that I'm probably suffering from mild depression and anxiety, which I'm going back for in a few weeks if I don't improve (but that's another story). But regardless of that, these nodes are still there. He examined my neck and right armpit, and said everything feels perfectly normal. Of course, it hasn't improved my mood, which I think is a major symptom of HA (not trusting the doctors opinion).

Bottom line is, we're both young (I'm 21) so the odds are massively in our favour that we are NOT suffering from lymphoma. I'm not even suffering from any other symptoms, which people often discuss on here; weight loss, night sweats, fatigue etc. I do think that it's more normal than Dr Google leads us to believe to have nodes around 1cm in size that are completely normal. Really though, 1cm, that's tiny isn't it? But when you feel it under a layer of skin, it can feel much bigger, and our minds run away with us thinking the worst. And with 600+ nodes in our body, they're not all going to be 0.1mm or whatever, surely?! From my extensive Googling, I'd honestly say that 1cm isn't considered swollen...I've heard stories of people's lypph nodes visibly sticking out of their neck, measuring 2, 3, even 5cm+...and even then they don't always have cancer.

Try to relax, not touch the nodes for a while and monitor them as little as you can - they're supposedly highly sensitive to touch, which if true will only make the problem worse. And the doctor isn't going to chase you out of the room if you book another appointment, if it makes you feel better then go for it :)

[Imrightbehindu]

If it is reassuring, I just went to the doctors about the swollen node in addition to one I just found yesterday. She did not seem concerned with them at all. Even though my health anxiety is telling me "but what if she is wrong?" I'm promising myself that I will no longer worry about it and I choose to trust her medical opinion over my googling. I plan on dropping the subject entirely unless something major happens.

Not to say that I'm not willing to still discuss it, I'm just saying that I'm going to drop it from myself as far as looking it up and feeling around and worrying (hopefully)

[thomas1998]

Pretty much the same happened to me, she said it was a normal gland and to come back if it gets bigger, I've been obsessing ever since, poking around finding new ones and checking if its grown. My neck is actually score from how much I've poked it.. I need to stop.

[Imrightbehindu]

Just leave it alone for now, if the doctor isn't worried then you shouldn't be either. If it gets bigger you will notice without constant prodding (it might even shrink a little like mine did from not touching it for a few days). Only thing I now worry about is a soreness/swollenness on the back of my leg where my knee is, I can't feel the node specifically, but I know thats probaby what Im feeling. I do have a bit of a mysterious illness right now though, so it may be from that (post nasal drip, mild sore throat, plenty of fatigue, and swollon lymphs (only one I can actually feel is id the one above the jaw though)). I just promised myself to not worry about it unless it causes a significant problem or gets bigger/continues for another week or two.

Hopefully, I can keep myself focused on college work if I can stop panicking about my health, because this last week I couldn't get anything done, I spent 4+ hours a day googling symptoms.