Lymph node getting smaller but harder?

[Mav]

I'm annoying, sorry!

I find it difficult to stop fiddling with it so I started telling myself I'll put some heat on it and won't fiddle with it during the day (like reasoning with myself if that makes sense)

Anyway, I put heat on it every now and then, and if feel like it's going down although I still feel the difference when I run my hand across both sides of my neck.

But my concern is, where it was squidgy and soft before, it's harder but smaller. Like two baby peas joined together (one is much smaller than a pea..). I just think it's just a funny shaped node and not actually two nodes stuck together.

Is this a good sign?

[bin tenn]

Why are you so concerned with being able to feel a lymph node anyhow? And are you positive it is a lymph node at all? I used to compulsively feel for lymph nodes every day. Turned out some of those nodes were in fact not nodes at all, but were other normal structures instead. The ones that are nodes, well, they're normal, too. So I stopped messing with them.

[Mav]

Why are you so concerned with being able to feel a lymph node anyhow? And are you positive it is a lymph node at all? I used to compulsively feel for lymph nodes every day. Turned out some of those nodes were in fact not nodes at all, but were other normal structures instead. The ones that are nodes, well, they're normal, too. So I stopped messing with them.

How did you figure out that they were normal structures and not nodes? I'm just obsessed with nodes.

My doctor said it was swollen cervical node but now a days, it feels like muscle because of the way it jumps when I press on it from time to time. It does seem smaller than when I first found and aggreviated it.


I have an ENT appointment for at the end of this month, my doctor said it was benign feeling and it wasn't an urgernt referal but I guess my doctors are just take extra precautions with things like this because I had a tiny lump in my armpit in the summer and got reffered for that too and that was absolutely fine.

The only thing that scares me is even though the node is not particularly large, around 1cm's (maybe 1.5) it does stick out when I crank my head to the other side (but much less than when I first found it).

[robin321]

I had a node that I had to go to a cancer specialist for. In my case it was because I poked and pushed so hard that the fatty helium destroyed and it looked suspect on a scan. Please note that I did this myself. When I left it alone the helium came back.

All this to say - don't poke and prod!
Also - the specialist told me himself that cancer only gets bigger. NEVER smaller.

[Fishmanpa]

All this to say - don't poke and prod!
Also - the specialist told me himself that cancer only gets bigger. NEVER smaller.

Yep... exactly!

Positive thoughts

[Thelegend27]

According to doctor lymph nodes can be palpable some are very palpable in the neck especially in slim people she even she has palpable nodes that she pokes at from time to time.

Im 25 years old and around 6 months ago i located a node on the left lower part of my neck so i went looking more and i found a total of 4 small nodes 2 side by side on the left side lower part of my neck and 2 side by side on the right side lower part of my neck which feels nearly symmetrical to the left nodes. I had a cbc and ultrasound which showed the nodes to be 1-1.1 cm but i always poke at them so they are probably bigger than they originally were she said ecerything looked normal and there was no signs of anything abnormal and she declined a biopsy when i mentioned it and said the nodes are too small and that a specialist wouldnt likely do one due to the size of the nodes. My are some what soft they aren't rock hard and they arent stuck in place and they are painless they are very easily felt especially the left ones.

So I still worry about them but according to the doctor there's not much else i can do unless they start growing or become painful at that point they would consider looking in deeper.

I also had a chest xray the month before i found the node for a different reason and it didn't show anything abnormal.

What im getting at is alot of times nodes are normal reactive nodes and sometimes nodes never return to their original sizes after a infection or illness has cleared. I think palpable lymph nodes in the neck has a 0.4% of being cancer if the patient is under 40 years of age and its 4% chance if the patient is older than 40.

If the node hasn't changed shape and size in months it's most likely normal, but if it gets bigger and bigger especially quickly then it needs to be seen by a doctor.

For a peace in mind at least go for a cbc and ultrasound as i did, those tests aren't used to diagnose you but they can show the doctor if the nodes look abnormal or if there is something suspicious in your blood count. Good luck.

One more thing stay off Google and try not to poke the node so much i do this also and I'm trying to stop.

[Mav]

According to doctor lymph nodes can be palpable some are very palpable in the neck especially in slim people she even she has palpable nodes that she pokes at from time to time.

Im 25 years old and around 6 months ago i located a node on the left lower part of my neck so i went looking more and i found a total of 4 small nodes 2 side by side on the left side lower part of my neck and 2 side by side on the right side lower part of my neck which feels nearly symmetrical to the left nodes. I had a cbc and ultrasound which showed the nodes to be 1-1.1 cm but i always poke at them so they are probably bigger than they originally were she said ecerything looked normal and there was no signs of anything abnormal and she declined a biopsy when i mentioned it and said the nodes are too small and that a specialist wouldnt likely do one due to the size of the nodes. My are some what soft they aren't rock hard and they arent stuck in place and they are painless they are very easily felt especially the left ones.

So I still worry about them but according to the doctor there's not much else i can do unless they start growing or become painful at that point they would consider looking in deeper.

I also had a chest xray the month before i found the node for a different reason and it didn't show anything abnormal.

What im getting at is alot of times nodes are normal reactive nodes and sometimes nodes never return to their original sizes after a infection or illness has cleared. I think palpable lymph nodes in the neck has a 0.4% of being cancer if the patient is under 40 years of age and its 4% chance if the patient is older than 40.

If the node hasn't changed shape and size in months it's most likely normal, but if it gets bigger and bigger especially quickly then it needs to be seen by a doctor.

For a peace in mind at least go for a cbc and ultrasound as i did, those tests aren't used to diagnose you but they can show the doctor if the nodes look abnormal or if there is something suspicious in your blood count. Good luck.

One more thing stay off Google and try not to poke the node so much i do this also and I'm trying to stop.

Both CBC and Chest X-ray all clear. She just wanted to send me to the ENT anyway :/

The shape does feel different however it's not bigger so I think it could be getting smaller or something :/ :weep:

---------- Post added at 17:46 ---------- Previous post was at 17:44 ----------


I had a node that I had to go to a cancer specialist for. In my case it was because I poked and pushed so hard that the fatty helium destroyed and it looked suspect on a scan. Please note that I did this myself. When I left it alone the helium came back.

All this to say - don't poke and prod!
Also - the specialist told me himself that cancer only gets bigger. NEVER smaller.

I didn't know it was possible to destroy the fatty helium :/ I must have destroyed mine with the endless poking :( I won't touch it anymore now until the end of this month.

How long did it take to come back?

Also, where abouts was the node located and what did it feel like?

[Thelegend27]

Yeah i don't know anything about destroying the helium, i rub my nodes alot and mine still have helium present. My nodes seem to shrink a little at times but seem to return back to the original size later. Its a good thing to have this fatty helium present back usually in cancerous nodes the helium is destroyed or something of that nature. But like i previously mentioned most swollen lymph nodes are benign, if however you have swollen nodes in multiple locations this can be a sign of lymphoma. For examplebi have 2 palpable nodes side by side on the left side of my neck but i also have 2 palpable side by side nodes on the right side of my neck nearly symmetrical to the left nodes so this is also a good sign. But if you have swollen nodes on the back of your neck, side of your neck, under jaw, and groin, this would be considered multiple locations because these locations aren't symmetrical to one another so this would he a red flag not necessarily something to freak out over but it is something that needs to be brought to your doctors attention.

I'm not a doctor and i have no prior experience with lymph nodes so any questions you have should also be mentioned to your doctor.

We cannot provide any real reassurance because we are in no place to offer a diagnoses, but talking with others who have experienced similar things can help distinguish between worrisome symtoms and harmless symptoms.

As for me i don't known what else to do now that ive been denied a biopsy, i guess i have to let it go at least until something changes if it ever does.

I also read somewhere that if a node hasn't changed in 1 years time then the chances of it being cancer is close to none. I'm 6 months in and hopefully nothing changes I'm good so far.