jbuddy723
12-04-17, 18:59
Lately, like all of us, I have been experiencing severe HA. It started on Saint Patrick's Day. I was going to sleep and just happened to press my chin down and across towards my shoulder. I felt a small (maybe 1 cm) bump under my jaw. I felt the other side and felt a nearly symmetrical one in the same spot on the other side of my jaw. That Sunday I had had it with wondering and (foolishly) googled swollen lymph nodes (what I had assumed they were) and causes of them. Of course, the first thing that came up was lymphoma. I cried. I felt really bad that week. Fatigued, hardly getting any sleep, headaches, perceived heart palpitations, and on and off upper respiratory problems (congestion, post nasal drip that has continued to this day, swollen tonsils). I went to the doctor that Friday, and I immediately suggested mono as a cause of this. I only mentioned mono as a way of getting her to feel for swollen nodes without having to confess that I thought I had cancer. As is protocol, she felt my lymph nodes and said they were nothing to worry about, in fact that they weren't swollen at all (they have not grown since and some have shrunk and softened since). She also took a throat swab from my tonsils and we did the monospot test. It came back negative for mono, and my red blood cell count was normal so my fatigue wasn't caused by anemia. During that first week, I lost around 6 pounds. I attributed that to my severe anxiety. The doctor's analysis gave me no relief, but most of my symptoms went away. I am no longer fatigued, still have trouble sleeping but that is entirely anxiety and unwise use of Dr. Google, but my heart palpitations have subsided and my heart rate is normal. My lymph nodes, however, are still swollen. I figure it would be wise to give details on my lymph nodes, although I am completely aware that nobody can give an accurate diagnosis over the internet. I have between four and six swollen nodes in the submandibular region (2-3 on either side): none are tender (one of my biggest questions is how I would know whether or not they are tender. Would it be an obvious pain or a dull pressure?) but none have experienced too much growth from what I can tell. They seem to fluctuate in size from 1.8 L x 1 W x 1 H and >1 L x >.5 W x >.5 H. The ones on the right are very soft and very mobile. The ones on the left are very mobile however they are harder. They are also typically smaller and may be "buckshotty" however I find that term very vague. After around two weeks of searching for more nodes, I found two bilateral posterior cervical (I think) in the exact place that I had spent weeks pressing on, one on each side. I also found one on the right side of the front of my neck, probably about two inches from my clavicle but around one inch from my adam's apple. This one is very small (less than a half centimeter in diameter), very mobile, and very squishy, however its appearance is unilateral. I think I may have found one node in the inguinal region, however I have a cut on my ankle that I believe has been infected so that could justify that particular node's swelling. In regards to cut infections causing lymph node swelling, I do have a potentially infected pimple on my face (under my nose and maybe one beneath my chin that I pick at frequently) and I will reluctantly admit that I do pick my nose quite often in private and noticed on the same day that I first noticed my jaw nodes that it was bleeding, presumably from excessive picking (my nails were also quite sharp). A few days ago, while I had been feeling around the posterior auricular area for nodes for weeks as well, I noticed one tender node presumably slightly less than 1 cm behind my right ear on the bone that is located there. I also recently noticed one of my tonsils is 2-3 times larger than the other (right is larger than left) which is apparently either very concerning or not concerning at all (0 of 80 patients with bilateral tonsil enlargement had malignancies according to some studies). The tonsil, however, feels normal and the same consistency as the other and is causing slight pain but no difficulty when swallowing or breathing. It is allergy season in Connecticut right now, and I have been experiencing significant post nasal drip, and I think I've been sleeping on my side which has been causing this unilateral tonsil swelling. Also, the nostril that would empty the snot onto the right side has felt more congested than the other one. The tonsil doesn't appear to be growing or at least not rapidly; it appears to fluctuate just as the other lymph nodes do. Some more general symptoms: again, I have lost between 6-10 pounds since the start of this ordeal off of my 163 pound frame, I have no fever, no headaches, no trouble breathing, no chest pain, and no symptoms classically associated with lymphoma (other than the swollen nodes) such as persistent itch, night sweats, etc. Since that first week, my fatigue has been gone enough that I can play basketball, lift weights as usual, and run at my typical pace as opposed to the lethargy I felt during that first week. I feel like I may be congested and have some dull sinus pressure and mild ear congestion. Finally I had diarrhea (gross I know) during my first week between St Paddy's Day and the doctor's visit, so it may have been just an infection I am getting over with lymph nodes being continuously aggravated by very frequent touching (probably over 100 times a day)
I realize this is a long post, but for me personally this has been a good process to be honest with myself about all of my symptoms. For the amazing people of this forum, I have a few questions: do my symptoms seem particularly abnormal? Is there any condition that would commonly last 27 days (19 days since doctor visit) and cause my symptoms in general besides lymphoma or other serious diseases? Has anybody else experienced similar symptoms for such an extended period of time and how long could it take before I start seeing lymph node swelling go down? Finally, I was wondering if lymph nodes that are swollen from constant feeling would be painful or just inflamed?
THANK YOU TO ANYBODY WHO TAKES THE TIME TO EVEN READ THIS:D
I realize this is a long post, but for me personally this has been a good process to be honest with myself about all of my symptoms. For the amazing people of this forum, I have a few questions: do my symptoms seem particularly abnormal? Is there any condition that would commonly last 27 days (19 days since doctor visit) and cause my symptoms in general besides lymphoma or other serious diseases? Has anybody else experienced similar symptoms for such an extended period of time and how long could it take before I start seeing lymph node swelling go down? Finally, I was wondering if lymph nodes that are swollen from constant feeling would be painful or just inflamed?
THANK YOU TO ANYBODY WHO TAKES THE TIME TO EVEN READ THIS:D