Worried about swollen lymph nodes in neck

[Heather1234]

So worried about what I think are swollen lymph nodes in neck. It kinda feels long and varies in size. Sometimes it feels huge! (Over 2 cm) I believe they've been there for a long time, but I just recently became fixed on them. I took an aleve & checked today and they seem to be smaller, but now I'm worried it's just because I took the Aleve.
I'm 37, and have suffered wit HA since my father passed. I also have to wait until I can save up to go into the clinic. I wish this anxiety would just go away :(

[nomorepanic]

No idea what Aleve is but if it made them go smaller then it can't be anything sinister.


We literally have hundreds of posts about lymph nodes so have a search for them please.


What are you doing about the anxiety?

[Heather1234]

Unfortunately I'm not doing anything about anxiety :/ I keep thinking that once I get through this current battle I will kick it. However something new seems to pop up.

[Limeslime]

I’ve been through the same thing recently. I found a very movable node in my lower neck near to collar bone which I became fixated on. It too seemed to change in size...even at different times of the day!
Anyway, thanks to our wonderful NHS I was able to see a doctor without the worry of expense...so after a week I decided to do just that.
The advice she gave me was this;
It is a lymph node but it isn’t swollen. It just so happens that I can feel it. They only worry about lymph nodes that are fixed and unmovable, painful or larger than 1cm (though I’ve read online that they can be up to 2cm in their normal size)
Anyway, I hope that helps. I can still feel my lymph node and it still concerns me a bit, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger so maybe it will just always be there! I’m sure yours are probably the same!
Also, your nodes may simply be enlarged due to a virus or inflammation of your head or neck! They can double in size in a couple of days, but take up to four weeks to go back down in size! So if you’ve been ill recently or even just had a nasty zit, this could account for your swollen nodes!

[Heather1234]

Thank you both for your replies. I seriously need to get a handle on this HA. I just had about 48 hrs of total panic. Im missing out on precious memories with my family. :(
I'm feeling them now and they seem much smaller but they seem to do go up & down. Can anxiety make my perception of their size vary that much? Eitherway, I do believe my issue to focus on needs to be the anxiety.
Thank you again!