Swollen lymph fearing worst

[So]

Just been to the doctors because of a swollen gland. I was hoping for reassurance that I’ve been overthinking, but she said according to my symptoms she’s requested I have a blood test.

Now I’m in bed and not planning on moving until Wednesday :( I’m convinced it’s cancer and I feel so poorly. I don’t know why else she would send me for tests unless she thought it is something serious.

Any advice on coping with this would be extremely appreciated. My birthday is Sunday and it’s already ruined everything i hate health anxiety so much.

[Ellient]

If you've had symptoms they have to give you a blood test for your own health to work out why you're experiencing symptoms.

If you had a swollen lymph node on its own they probably wouldn't of even done blood tests. If they thought it was cancer they would have you down for a scan in 2 weeks not just wait for blood tests.

Blood tests won't tell you if you have cancer they will show indications towards it, so really you have nothing to worry about

:hugs:

[So]

Thank you so much for the reply - I never thought about that, if they were really worried they wouldn’t just book me in for a blood test!
She said it was because i have swollen tonsils all the time and bad tonsil stones, I was thinking that plus my lump meant leukaemia or something (typical me).
You’ve made me feel much better. Now I just need to stay off google haha!:hugs:

[Stu n84]

Hi,try not to worry,you probably feel so ill because you've convinced yourself that you've got cancer,I have a lymphnode that pops up from time,the first time I noticed it I went to the doctors to get it checked out,the doc wasn't at all concerned,was just a sign that I was a bit run down.

---------- Post added at 15:54 ---------- Previous post was at 15:49 ----------

From time to time even ha

[Brunamateus]

Hey :) I've dealt with this swollen gland fear before but I've learned that so many things cause swollen glands, one of them being infections, even minor ones, she referred you to blood test just to see if there is any apparent cause for your swollen gland, not because she thinks you have cancer otherwise as pp previously said, she would get you a scan asap, don't stress yourself out

[So]

Hey, thank you so much for your replies. It really means a lot.

I’ve had every thought from cancer, to HIV! Been hard not to google but I’m determined not to!

Just trying to distract myself now.

[Fishmanpa]

Yeah... it's called "CYA" medicine (cover your arse). My reading of it is she doesn't think anything serious is going on but let's just have a look to verify it.

Positive thoughts

[Velociraptor]

Yes, like others have said, the doctor would have sent you for a scan if they were worried. I think the blood test is just to rule out anything else that may be making you feel so bad.

I wouldn't recommend just staying in bed. For things like this, distraction is key. Get up, and go out and do whatever you can to take your mind off of things, even if it's just going for a nice long walk to clear your head.

You got this :)

[So]

Ahhh thank you my god I love this forum so much!

All your replies make me feel like I can be in control of my thoughts and stop me spiralling. Haha the CYA medicine .. that makes sense!

And thank you for the advice, I’ve taken a shower and been thinking of all these messages. Feeling happier already! Still getting the odd “but results will come back and you will have something bad” but managing to distract myself when I do.

Positive thoughts!:hugs:

[thestruggle]

I had a swollen node under my armpit and my doctor was not concerned at all.. I got sent for blood tests just to rule out infection etc. :D It took another 3 weeks to wait and see if the node went down before I got sent off for further investigation.. Mine was under the armpit and I had no symptoms at all. The blood test is just a formality and if there was any concern, you wouldn't be hanging around waiting for a simple test :)

Please don't keep yourself stuck in bed... get out and breathe in some fresh air, do something that makes you feel genuinely happy, even if it's just for a few minutes! I drove myself mad for nearly 2 months over mine and it turned out to be nothing..

If your node is swollen and you're having other symptoms, chances are you're just a bit run down. It can take a while for the node to realise all is good and shrink back down again, so don't even bother with the stupid "medical" sites on Google and the time frames they give you because that will just stress you out more.. The results will come back all normal and you'll see the doctor was just doing the CYA thing as said above..