swh1993
03-07-17, 15:33
Disclaimer: I'm very aware that my anxiety is the number one thing that requires treatment, and I am making steps to treat that, and I'm feeling very positive about it. I'm really sorry for the huge essay in advance, I'm awful at being concise!
I found a hard lymph node in my neck 7/8 months ago, and then another smaller hard one above it while fiddling around. My GP said they were Lymph nodes, most likely reactive. I've had a blood test, had my neck under an ultrasound, looked at by a proper ENT specialist (who sent me for a higher quality ultrasound because he wasn't happy with the first) and was eventually told there was absolutely nothing abnormal found. Nobody at any point was even remotely concerned (although the lady who did the first ultrasound said it looked a bit "chunky" whatever the hell that means)
I just wondered if anyone here with more experience of this sort of thing could help me out? Some of the threads about lymph nodes have been incredibly reassuring, but I have a few lingering worries:
1) People online have mentioned "shotty lymph nodes", but no doctor I spoke to mentioned them. The ENT brushed that off as a possibility but didn't go into detail. Is it possible they hardened up due to an old infection and never went away? They are not swollen, but why the heck would a lymph node become hard like this? Does infection make them hard?
All Google tells me is that if they're hard it's cancer, which isn't helpful. All my doctor and the ENT told me was "there is nothing to be concerned about", even when I tried to ask these questions.
2) Since discovering them I've noticed the 2 hard lymph nodes become tender when I'm not well, although they never grow or shrink and have felt exactly the same hardness and size since I found them. Does this automatically mean they're benign?
3) Apart from when I'm sick as mentioned above, they are completely painless. They don't grow or shrink or become painful even if I poke and prod them constantly as I did for the months after I found them? Could I have caused them to stay this way?
I'M SO CONFUSED :huh:
I know I need to stop worrying and touching and generally move on with my life but if anyone has any insight it would go a long way to helping me kick this to the curb and move on, as well as getting help for my anxiety.
Thank you so much in advance, I tried to resist posting about this since November last year but I thought I'd be proactive and try get some answers from people who have dealt with the same. :)
I found a hard lymph node in my neck 7/8 months ago, and then another smaller hard one above it while fiddling around. My GP said they were Lymph nodes, most likely reactive. I've had a blood test, had my neck under an ultrasound, looked at by a proper ENT specialist (who sent me for a higher quality ultrasound because he wasn't happy with the first) and was eventually told there was absolutely nothing abnormal found. Nobody at any point was even remotely concerned (although the lady who did the first ultrasound said it looked a bit "chunky" whatever the hell that means)
I just wondered if anyone here with more experience of this sort of thing could help me out? Some of the threads about lymph nodes have been incredibly reassuring, but I have a few lingering worries:
1) People online have mentioned "shotty lymph nodes", but no doctor I spoke to mentioned them. The ENT brushed that off as a possibility but didn't go into detail. Is it possible they hardened up due to an old infection and never went away? They are not swollen, but why the heck would a lymph node become hard like this? Does infection make them hard?
All Google tells me is that if they're hard it's cancer, which isn't helpful. All my doctor and the ENT told me was "there is nothing to be concerned about", even when I tried to ask these questions.
2) Since discovering them I've noticed the 2 hard lymph nodes become tender when I'm not well, although they never grow or shrink and have felt exactly the same hardness and size since I found them. Does this automatically mean they're benign?
3) Apart from when I'm sick as mentioned above, they are completely painless. They don't grow or shrink or become painful even if I poke and prod them constantly as I did for the months after I found them? Could I have caused them to stay this way?
I'M SO CONFUSED :huh:
I know I need to stop worrying and touching and generally move on with my life but if anyone has any insight it would go a long way to helping me kick this to the curb and move on, as well as getting help for my anxiety.
Thank you so much in advance, I tried to resist posting about this since November last year but I thought I'd be proactive and try get some answers from people who have dealt with the same. :)