If you have anxiety over Lymph Nodes PLEASE READ!

[Mindprison]

Hello everyone!

First off I should apologize if this has been done before or if i'm crossing the line with this, but there are so many threads popping up about lymph nodes and it seems to be an extremely common trigger for health anxiety.

I was one of these people and while my general anxiety levels are still extremely high, the lymph node panic has calmed down after looking at the facts.

Since a lot of people seem to be struggling with this, I thought it might be a good idea to compile some useful information about what lymph nodes actually do and why the worst scenario is almost certainly not the most likely. Please bear in mind that like most here i'm not a doctor and any changes to your body should be checked by a medical professional, this is simply to try and prevent people from falling down the rabbit hole regarding this very common complaint.

So...what are lymph nodes?

Without going into too much detail, lymph nodes (sometimes called glands) are the body's defense system against disease and infection. When you get sick, injured or otherwise have a nasty in your body, the lymph nodes are there to get rid of it. They trap the nasty stuff and dispose of it with white blood cells. When this happens, the lymph nodes swell up.

Swollen lymph nodes are your body's way of telling you "Hey, I caught a nasty thing going around here but don't worry, i'm dealing with it." or if you wish to see it in a humorous way, it's the equivalent of a bouncer at a night club. "Sorry mate, can't let you in with trainers."

So...what is actually causing them to swell?

So now we've established why they swell, what kinds of things can cause it? Obviously the thing every HA sufferer jumps to is "Oh no, what is this? Something is wrong here!"

But...the likelyhood of it being anything sinister is rather slim when you consider how sensitive these lymph nodes can be. You may not even be feeling unwell, perhaps a dry scratchy throat is all it takes for that little nodule on your neck to pop out and say hello.

Infection, injury to muscle/skin/bone, colds, flu, anxiety, tooth and gum problems...I think you see where i'm going with this.

"But Mindprison!" I hear you cry "How do I know if my glands are swollen because of something serious? Should I google and tick off my symptoms?"

NO! I know the temptation might be there but please do not google ANY medical condition because you'll terrify yourself. Google cannot diagnose you, WE members at NMP cannot diagnose you and you cannot diagnose yourself, none of us are doctors! If you have concerns, see your doctor and place your trust in them. I cannot stress this enough, you must put your faith in your doctor, they went to med school for a long time and they know what is normal and what isn't.

The doctor isn't concerned, but I am!

Some of you may be at this stage. You've seen your doctor but you've already worried yourself to the point of despair, certain that you're about to receive some bad news.

"There's nothing to be concerned about, give them time and they'll reduce in size."

Probably not what you wanted to hear, right? You were probably hoping the doctor would gasp and immediately confirm your suspicions. Instead he recommends you get some rest and not touch them.

I can probably guess the thoughts in your head now. "You hear about misdiagnosis all the time, this must be one of them!" or "Nothing to be concerned about? But I looked it up and..."

This leads to the rabbit hole. You poke and prod at the nodes which only irritates them more and can lead to them becoming permanently swollen (shotty). This in turn causing you SEVERE anxiety to the point you begin to feel every little ache, change and niggle in your body. This only fuels your catastrophic thoughts that you must have something seriously wrong with you. You start googling frantically for hours every day, seeing new afflictions that you've tricked yourself into believing you have. You become frustrated because the doctor isn't taking you seriously and now...no matter how much reassurance you get, you're stuck because you can't believe a word the doctor tells you, no matter how many tests you go for you simply cannot believe that you don't have something wrong with you.

But...you DO have something wrong with you. You have health anxiety. And that comes with its own host of physical and mental symptoms. So you see...you DO have something wrong with you, but you're so focused on the thing that you DON'T have that you aren't getting help with what you DO have.

Reassurance does not work, I can promise you that. Until you cure the underlying problem which is your Health Anxiety, you will NEVER be satisfied with the reassurance of doctors, family, friends or even forum members. Sure, you might feel better for a few days...but then you feel a bump and...*gasp* "I knew it...something is wrong!" and so the cycle begins anew.

It's not all doom and gloom

I shall bring this very lengthy post to a close by clarifying a few things. To anyone who is going through this problem or indeed, any health anxiety problem, I have these words for you.

I understand. You might think I don't, but I truly do understand. Lymph nodes kick started my health anxiety after having no problem with it for 8 years. I'm in the biggest rut i've ever been in all because of my health anxiety...but i'm getting help. And that's the important part, you NEED to get help because waiting too long only allows the seed to be sown in your mind and before you know it, you've wasted years worrying about nothing.

I in no way intend for anything written here to cause upset, harm or feel like they're being judged or made to look like their problems aren't being taken seriously. I only want you to learn from my experiences and my mistakes so that you don't have to go through the mental torment that I have over the last 8 months.

Just remember that somewhere out there, there is always someone who understands and cares. I know with all my heart that this community we have here truly cares and is rooting for every single one of you.

Apologies for the long post but I sincerely hope that someone can find some comfort in my words and I hope anyone in the dark finds the light soon! :)

Oh! And please feel free to add to the thread or let me know if any of my information is inaccurate or inappropriate, I tried really hard to put my thoughts down but I really don't want to find out that something I said wasn't right or could be a problem :(

All the best

[Gary A]

Genuinely one of the most thought out and accurate posts that I've ever read on here, very well said indeed.

[snowghost57]

Awesome post! I agree and responded to another post. Anxiety can be beat and why waste one more minute of our lives worrying? Get help for the anxiety, stay off Dr. Google and no we have no advise other then deep breathing and see your physician for anxiety treatment!

[Fishmanpa]

:yesyes: Well said! Couldn't have said it better myself.

Positive thoughts

[GlassPinata]

Thank you. I am spiraling again right now after discovering a small hard lump on my little boy's collarbone.
We saw a doctor, and the doctor said it's not even a lymph node, it's a calcium deposit on his bone or something, and I shouldn't worry about it... but to come back if it gets bigger.
It's that last part that causes my anxiety. If he's so sure it's nothing, why would I have to monitor it and see if it gets bigger? If there's a possibility that it's something serious, even a remote possibility, shouldn't we look into that now, while it's still small?
The doctor did seem very confident that it was nothing serious at all, and I felt much relieved immediately after seeing him... but later, the doubts and anxieties crept back, and now I'm feeling so sad and scared again.
I wish I were a normal person and could simply believe the doctor.
This hurts a lot. It hurts, to be this way.

[axolotl]

Glasspinata- "Come back if it gets worse" is Doctor for "goodbye".

Great post this, thanks for posting.

[Mindprison]

Thank you for the kind responses everyone, I hope this helps someone out there! :)

GlassPinata I wouldn't look into it too deeply, my doctor ALWAYS tells me "Come back and see me if there's any change" or "Come see me again in a month to let me know how you get on" if he prescribes me new meds or anything, he doesn't expect there to be any change but it's more of a courtesy than a concern. It'll be fine, trust him! :)

[Fishmanpa]

Some additional facts.

We have 500-700 nodes in our bodies. Poke and prod enough and you're bound to find a few. They can vary in size from less than a BB to 2cm and that's "normal".

Poking and prodding can and does cause swelling. Too much can make them permanently swollen (shotty).

Most people have no clue what they're feeling nor can accurately gauge the size. Even trained medical professionals cannot 100% accurately do so without the help of ultrasounds or CT scans.

Anxiety will skew reality. There are those that say things like "I've had swollen nodes for months (or years)". That's simply not reality.

Positive thoughts

[GlassPinata]

Thank you for the kind responses everyone, I hope this helps someone out there! :)

GlassPinata I wouldn't look into it too deeply, my doctor ALWAYS tells me "Come back and see me if there's any change" or "Come see me again in a month to let me know how you get on" if he prescribes me new meds or anything, he doesn't expect there to be any change but it's more of a courtesy than a concern. It'll be fine, trust him! :)

Mindprison- I DID look into it, right after I made that post. i checked it again and saw that it had gotten larger, so i took him to the emergency room, where they ran all sorts of tests.
I'm glad i did, because it turns out it was actually a bit of overgrown cartilage, and my son will need a minor surgery in the near future to shave it down, so it doesn't continue to grow.
But at least now i know, and at least it's not serious or life-threatening. I hope ALL of you find answers to your health concerns (and I hope we all find answers to our biggest problem: anxiety disorder).

Best wishes, and thanks for the great thread.

[Mindprison]

Thanks for the addition Fishmanpa! Absolutely agree! :)

GlassPinata, I commented on your new thread and i'm glad you've managed to find out the cause! It's a good indicator that our worst fears are pretty much never the reality but i'm glad you have some relief now! :)

[Fishmanpa]

This should be a sticky!... same with the ALS (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=196071) thread...

Positive thoughts

[Mindprison]

If this thread can help someone then sticky would be good! Same for the ALS thread, quite a lot down that rabbit hole too!

[Thelegend27]

Lymph nodes seems to be the center of attention at the moment, because the internet makes them seem so sinister. I'm also a lymph node worries, so I know first hand how these people feel. It comes to a point where you start separating facts from fiction and you start focusing on the what ifs and that alone can take over your whole life, I don't think a hour passes where I don't think of my nodes and cancer. I lost my insurance after leaving my job and that's another thing I worry about, I think of if the doctors did ever diagnose me with something serious how could I ever afford to treat it. Palpable lymph nodes rarely indicate cancer, that's why doctors don't freak out when you show up with a few palpable nodes, now if you showed up with a golf ball sized lump on your neck im sure you would notice the concern from the doctors. It's hard to rationalize when anxiety had such a tight grip on your life, for example I can feel my nodes very easily in my neck to me they feel scary but when the doctor feels my neck it takes them a feel seconds to locate the nodes, but if you had cancerous nodes and they have been there for the past 6 months it'd be obvious that those nodes are something other than normal they would likely be protruding from your neck as if you had a plum under the skin or even a golf ball. But again the anxiety speaks for our brain and anxiety will never be rational so until people can overcome their anxiety they will never overcome the lymph node obsession or any other fear for that matter. Health anxiety is a nightmare and I just wish there was one simple to solution to stop it in it's tracks. I went to the DMV to get my license renewed and there was a guy in mind beside me who had a big lump above his collarbone he was in his early twenties but I didn't want to say anything but a conversation started up with the woman behind him in line and I heard him say he was diagnosed with cancer he said he started feeling really bad like having the flu and he said it never went away and he seen a doctor who examined his lump and other symptoms and later received his diagnoses, so my point is, cancer isn't very quite or easy going, over time sometimes a few weeksbto a couple of months you will know something is wrong, just like him you will feel sick and your lumps would continue to grow and get big, his lump looked like he half of a golf ball lodged in his neck.

[GlassPinata]

Lymph nodes seems to be the center of attention at the moment, because the internet makes them seem so sinister. I'm also a lymph node worries, so I know first hand how these people feel. It comes to a point where you start separating facts from fiction and you start focusing on the what ifs and that alone can take over your whole life, I don't think a hour passes where I don't think of my nodes and cancer. I lost my insurance after leaving my job and that's another thing I worry about, I think of if the doctors did ever diagnose me with something serious how could I ever afford to treat it. Palpable lymph nodes rarely indicate cancer, that's why doctors don't freak out when you show up with a few palpable nodes, now if you showed up with a golf ball sized lump on your neck im sure you would notice the concern from the doctors. It's hard to rationalize when anxiety had such a tight grip on your life, for example I can feel my nodes very easily in my neck to me they feel scary but when the doctor feels my neck it takes them a feel seconds to locate the nodes, but if you had cancerous nodes and they have been there for the past 6 months it'd be obvious that those nodes are something other than normal they would likely be protruding from your neck as if you had a plum under the skin or even a golf ball. But again the anxiety speaks for our brain and anxiety will never be rational so until people can overcome their anxiety they will never overcome the lymph node obsession or any other fear for that matter. Health anxiety is a nightmare and I just wish there was one simple to solution to stop it in it's tracks. I went to the DMV to get my license renewed and there was a guy in mind beside me who had a big lump above his collarbone he was in his early twenties but I didn't want to say anything but a conversation started up with the woman behind him in line and I heard him say he was diagnosed with cancer he said he started feeling really bad like having the flu and he said it never went away and he seen a doctor who examined his lump and other symptoms and later received his diagnoses, so my point is, cancer isn't very quite or easy going, over time sometimes a few weeksbto a couple of months you will know something is wrong, just like him you will feel sick and your lumps would continue to grow and get big, his lump looked like he half of a golf ball lodged in his neck.

Believe me, Dr Google has assured me, 100%, MANY times, that I have cancer.
It is just not so.
Trust real doctors, not the internet!

[Mindprison]

Bumping this up for a while since the lymph node fear topics are still flowing in!

[DpickensUSNavy]

This Is a Great Post! This should Be a sticky! More People need to see this.

[Iamafish2017]

Thanks so much. I really needed to read this at this precise moment. I found a swollen node behind my ear about five months ago, got it looked at, and the doctor very kindly (after hearing I had anxiety) offered me a blood test for white blood count etc. to make sure ... It came back absolutely normal. And now I've convinced myself that it might have been a misdiagnosis. And found two more of what I believe are swollen lymph nodes recently.

I'll get them checked out but I need to stop feeling so helpless to my anxiety gremlins. This post helped me. Thank you.

[becca98]

This thread has really helped me! I suffer with the fear of lymph nodes, I had a lymph node in the side of my neck the size of a pin head probably and my head convinced me it was bigger, like 2cm lol, I do have some under my jaw now and everyone else says they feel normal due to the fact I'm fighting infections, but my head tells me Its the size of a golf ball! Blah, im really starting to see how evil health anxiety is, but I was wondering why we worry so much about glands? I mean I've always been told lymphoma is easily treatable, I might be wrong, but it says that on most the websites. So why we worry so much is beyond even myself? I also wonder why we have to keep checking, if you have a sore throat I don't keep looking at it in the mirror so why do I feel the need to feel my glands 80 times a day!!!:unsure:

Amazing post and will help so many people! Needs to be a sticky!
And fishmanpa you need a medal for replying too all the lymph node posts :bighug1:

[Mindprison]

BUMP

I'm seeing a fair number of lymph node threads on the HA forum again. Hopefully this is useful to someone.

[Hayley2018]

Hello, please can someone help me.
I started with an enlarged node behind my ear (I say enlarged it is 0.5cm) it has slightly shrunk from when I first found it 6 weeks ago.
I had blood tests done 3 weeks ago they were All clear. My cell count lymphocytes everything fine levels. However my health anxiety has taken over I have found 4 more nodes on my neck and lumps on my head I am finding them everywhere even thought I found some in my elbows. The one son my neck feel very mobile they slip around and are like small beans under my skin none of which you can see only can feel them when touching my neck. I have been to 4 doctors at my local surgery who have all said I do not have cancer and have given me anti depressants and beta blockers to help the anxiety.
Should I be worried about the nodes I've also found or is it normal to feel them the drs have all felt around and not mentioned more even tho the one I can feel on my right side of my neck moves around loads and it's about 2cm I don't know if it's a node I think it is but it's been that size for around 4 weeks so even before my blood tests.

[jojo2316]

Brilliant post ! Thank you thank you!

[Fishmanpa]

Hello, please can someone help me.
I started with an enlarged node behind my ear (I say enlarged it is 0.5cm) it has slightly shrunk from when I first found it 6 weeks ago.
I had blood tests done 3 weeks ago they were All clear. My cell count lymphocytes everything fine levels. However my health anxiety has taken over I have found 4 more nodes on my neck and lumps on my head I am finding them everywhere even thought I found some in my elbows. The one son my neck feel very mobile they slip around and are like small beans under my skin none of which you can see only can feel them when touching my neck. I have been to 4 doctors at my local surgery who have all said I do not have cancer and have given me anti depressants and beta blockers to help the anxiety.
Should I be worried about the nodes I've also found or is it normal to feel them the drs have all felt around and not mentioned more even tho the one I can feel on my right side of my neck moves around loads and it's about 2cm I don't know if it's a node I think it is but it's been that size for around 4 weeks so even before my blood tests.

Haley,

I responded to your thread about this. I'm a Stage IVa Head and Neck cancer survivor. You've had 4 doctors tell you it's nothing to worry about. One even said he was 100% sure it wasn't cancer! I wish I had ONE that told me that.

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. It doesn't come and go nor does it stop once it starts.

If you have to go digging around to find nodes, they're not of concern. If you can't believe 4 doctors, scientific medical tests and an actual cancer survivor, I don't know what anyone else could say to help :shrug:

Are you getting any real life help for you anxiety?

Positive thoughts

[blaziken25]

Thank you. I have terrible anxiety over my one lymph node that is swelling right now... I made my own thread about it before I saw this.

[EmmyDay]

Thank you for this post!
I've seen two doctors about a lymph node under my arm, and exactly like you said, I've began to became aware of just about every issue with my body. I've got a pain on the inside of my elbow on the same arm. I also have a pain in the same area on the opposite arm, but this side is worse so naturally, I'm trying to connect dots in my head! Any reassurance given to me makes me feel better for maybe an hour, and then I go to touch it again and instantly start panicking again. I'm constantly going between "I think it's shrunk!" to "It's huge!"
This post has been one of the few things online that has reassured me and given me answers to some of my questions, I really do need to stay away from Google as I never get what I want answered but end up finding scary things from elsewhere. I definitely do have health anxiety, my method seems to be waiting around in constant fear until the problem goes away, but I don't think that's working so well anymore.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[lmcc87]

Thanks for this post, I currently have swollen lymph nodes in my throat and sore throat the past two weeks. I've notiched when I'm panicking I feel I can't swallow and the muscles in my neck tighten. Also a new anxiety worry is that I'm going to have a seizure even though I'm not epileptic or had one before. I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow to go on some sort of medication as my anxiety is debillitating the past few months. I have had a stressful few months, probably the most anxious I've ever been.

[Mrschurchill]

I love this thread!

[Neuroticdude]

This forum post really eased my mind!

Hi all, for past 7 years I’ve been having off and on lymph node anxiety due to sinister Internet posts regarding lymph nodes. About 7 years ago I went to the doctor with a squishy nose on the right side of my neck (right on the jugular vein, I believe). The doctor felt it and had absolutely no worries at all! Went on my way and my anxiety has been gone ever since. I’ve had blood work done every year since and always comes back normal and healthy.

This past December I felt a tiny lump in my groin region. The anxiety came back! 7 damned years later! Went back to the same family doctor. Felt it, told me it was in fact a node and didn’t have any worries whatsoever. After 3 long months (with the help of a course of antibiotics), the node disappeared. A few weeks later popped back up. Worried again a few more days. Then it went away and has been gone ever since. I feel like now I know where it’s exactly located - I’ll now always feel it a little bit! The anxiety faded...

A month or so later, I was feeling my neck region again and went back to that old squishy node on my neck that’s been raised ever since I felt it 7 long years ago. While feeling around I noticed right above it was a hardish “BB sized” tiny lump. My worrying began again! I kept feeling it and it became super sore. But never swelled enough to see it without bending my neck over. My worrying again went into overdrive. Today I felt it again and it definitely feels like it went down. This always tends to happen in the Spring time when allergy season starts. But I always read nodes don’t swell because of allergies (or so the cruel internet tells me?). It’s still a bit tender as I try to resist from touching it for a few days. I feel like as long as it shrinks - it’s a good sign! As for the squishy nose that’s always been on my neck the past 7 years...it’s still bringing me that horrible anxiety! Why is it still there?! I’ll never know! Ugh! :lac: I feel as though I have very sensitive nodes that react to anything! Is this normal? Any reassurances? :)

[ThroatGoat]

I can currently feel nodes everywhere, why? Probably because I keep looking and checking for them.

I can feel about 10 or more in my neck, and about 6 in my groin area. All of them are small, movable, not pulsating, and painless, at least until I start touching them.

I've been suffering with "nodephobia" for weeks now, along with the other symptoms posted in my thread, and I'm convinced something is wrong with me despite 5 doctors trying to convince me otherwise. :blush:

I Think I'm going mad. :roflmao:

[Arceste]

I made an account to thank mindprison for posting this. Just a few days ago I went to the doctor as I thought I had a hernia (no hernia, all in my head), but when he was checking he found one of my lymph nodes swollen, he didn't say much other than "this is common in some people". At the time I didn't think much of it as I was relieved for the lack of hernia. Next day I thought I'd feel the lymph node, immediately compared with the other side (which was small) and jumped to the conclusion of lymphoma (a change from my usual fear of melanoma). I'm still just trying to push the negative thoughts away and convince myself that it's only bigger (about half the size of my index fingertip) because I poked it. Also trusting that if my doctor thought it a problem, he'd take it further. This post has certainly helped me in trying not to worry too much.

[Flyingpenguin]

Hello there,
I was going in for my flying medicals. I want to become a pilot.
My relative lympocyte count came a little high. It is usually around 45%. Neutrophil count came normal. Eosinophil count was normal. Wbc count was normal. Doctor says that it is due to my chronic upper respiratory infection that I am having. He also adds that it is normal.
Being anxious, I searched the reasons for lymphocytosis. One of them was lymphoma. I naturally got scared. I remembered that I have a swollen node behind my ear for last 3-4 years on the left side.. That got me even more scared. It is a little hard and slightly movable. I tried to find more and as expected, I found more nodes naturally. I showed my nodes to 3 doctors. They were confident that it was not lymphoma. They said that the size was about 1cm and it was normal.
I am still not satisfied. What to do?
I don't have any B symtoms of lymphoma. No sweats, no rashes, no fever etc...
My Chest X-Ray is clear. My spleen ain't enlarged (flying medicals).
I really don't want to die. I really wish to become a pilot.
I suffer from health anxiety and always end up googling.
Regards,
Prabal
P.S- My post was quite long but I really need your help. I have gone through all the threads on this forum regarding lymph nodes.

[jalapeno1234]

I've had a lymph node on the right side of my neck since I remember finding it in 2010 and its about the size of a thumb fingernail..it is rather mobile but also quite hard. Many, many , many doctors have said its nothing to worry about and one doc said I have an identical one on my left side but I can't seem to feel it... it never changes in size which I suppose is good but I've had some very concerning symptoms over the past few years like feeling FREEZING and catching viruses so often in winter and feeling this pressure on my chest... but over the past 6 months I've felt so much better.... but this week I felt those symptoms again and I'm about to go to university and its petrifying...

I had a chest scan in 2015 as my doctor was concerned that id lost a stone but turns out it was emetophobia (haha, I'm clearly a nervous wreck and an anxious TREAT) and he sent me to have a chest X-ray..would this have shown anything?

[scaredpt]

I have an issue with painful groin lymph nodes, very worried that it is something really bad. what could it be?

[SetYourMindFree]

I've had a lymph node on the right side of my neck since I remember finding it in 2010. I've had some very concerning symptoms over the past few years

I know this is an old post but I wanted to respond and stop you right here.

In no way shape or form, will it be anything bad if this is taking YEARS to develop so says you. Not even the slowest of growing diseases, take years to finally manifest into something worth discussing with your doctor.