View Full Version : Paratoid Lymph Node Swollen and painful
golddustgirl1000
28-09-19, 16:01
Hey everyone.
So here’s the story- last year I had a bout of tmj. I started feeling around and noticed a swollen lymph node right in front of my ear, near the jaw bone..
I went to my ent who said oh that’s just tmj.... I decided I’d wait it out.
I decided to get a second opinion and went to another ent who in fact confirmed it was a paratoid lymph node but said because it wasn’t painful or getting bigger, and because I was producing saliva that it was fine. few more months and went to another dr who said it was a lymph
Node and that she thought it was okay but to wait and if I wanted to get a ct later on for peace of mind to do it...
Anyway, ( trying not to trigger anxiety) and just let it go, I’ve waited 7 months... it still has not gone down but not gotten bigger till Now. I woke up yesterday morning with pain, went to feel it and it feels bigger ( still moveable and squishy) but a bit bigger and towards the end of the day got really painful...I also noticed that just directly underneath it ( in my jaw) that area feels bruised and painful too.. I can now feel the node when moving my hand over my face as before I had to feel around...
Trying not to panic- but terrified this could be cancer.. I know I shouldn’t but I started reading about it and got freaked out...I’m only 29
I decided to schedule ct for Thursday but won’t see dr till the following Thursday.... I can’t be panicking two weeks... uhhhhh help!
Try not to freak yourself out. Easier said then done. I went through something similar only it wasn't a lymphnode. I one day found a lump in front of my ear, not very big but hard. I went to the ENT who said he thought it was a tumor in my paratoid gland but we would check on it in 3 months time. That of course wasn't good enough for me so I went to another ENT who ordered a CT scan. The results were 9mm contrast enhancing tumor. The ENT told me she could do a biopsy but in order for that to happen the entire gland would need to be removed. I don't remember now what the reason behind it was but after she explained everything about the odds of it being benign verses cancerous and telling me that tumors in this gland are slow growing I decided to wait 6 months and do another CT scan to see if it grew or changed. I was surprised how I handled the whole situation because I have health anxiety but oddly enough after my initial freak out and a good cry, I was okay. I didn't dwell on it, I didn't worry about it or research till my fingers fell off, I was good.
So about 2 weeks before I was due for my next CT scan while I was eating the left side of my face and swelled up. The swelling was really bad. I went to the ER and they said it wasn't an allergic reaction because nothing else swelled but they gave me some Benadryl and steroids anyways and sent me home. By the next day the swelling was gone and I happened to get an inch in front of my ear and when I scratched it, I realized that little lump was gone.
I never went and had the 2nd CT scan and when I went back to the ENT about 7 months later I asked her to see if she could feel it anymore and she couldn't and that was that.
Years later while eating my face swelled again and this time it left behind a lot of soreness and so a CT scan was ordered and there was nothing there. Come to find out that little lump was not a tumor, it was a saliva stone and when my face would swell up like that while eating it was because the stone was blocking the flow of saliva.
I'm just sharing with you because things aren't always bad and we shouldn't worry until we have a reason to. I know that's easier said then done when one had health anxiety or anxiety period but are bodies are complex and they do all kinds of weird stuff. Yes bad stuff can and does happen but most of the times the things we worry about are unfounded. So, yes deff get yourself checked out but don't make yourself sick that you have lymphoma which is by the way rather rare when compared to other types of cancer and what you describe does not really go with how lymphoma presents. Another piece of advice, don't poke at area because if it is a lymphnode you will cause it to react and it can become shotty.
golddustgirl1000
28-09-19, 18:16
Thank you so much... yes I’m not so much worried about lymphoma- I’m worried about the paratoid tumor...
The dr didn’t think it was a stone or anything sinister cause I was producing saliva.... she also said it’s probably been there for years and I never noticed....so I didn’t get the ct..7 months ago.... but after I brushed past it yesterday and noticed it felt bigger I decided to order the ct with contrast.
But now I woke up this morning and it’s super painful! And the pain is extending down to my jaw...like where the sunbmandular gland is.... I mean... that’s what I was told too- tumors are rare and if they are they are slow.... slow like 7 months.... uh trying not to worry but it’s super painful an now there are two swollen areas..
I will say though... I poked and prodded it a lot yesterday - would that cause it to be this much pain?
Stop touching and poking it, if you don't it will hurt even more. It is painful, not hard, moveable...no reason to worry about cancer.
Yes continous poking at the area could deff cause pain.
Even though you are producing saliva does not mean that it can't be a stone. I had one and produced saliva, when they thought it was a tumor I was still producing saliva. You won't produce saliva if it becomes to big and blocks the duct.
I really wouldn't worry much about a tumor there. The cancerous ones are rather rare. My mom had a tumor in the other saliva gland I can't recall the name at the moment but she has had it for going on almost two decades now and it's barley grown. I know it's scary but honestly from what you describe it doesn't sound like a tumor but even in the extremely unlikely event that it turns out to be one the odds of it being benign are FAR more likely then it being of the cancerous type.
Try to avoid touching the area as this will only make the area more angry and cause you more swelling and pain. Have you tried putting a warm compress on it? This may give you some relief as well as some ibuprofen if there are no contradictions.
golddustgirl1000
29-09-19, 15:42
Uh thank you guys... I’m trying to not touch it.. just worried cause it went from never changing in size to blowing up to twice the size over the period of 8 hours- and then becoming very painful...
I went to the urgent care yesterday cause I am photographing a wedding next weekend ( I’m a full-time photographer) and could
Not afford it to possibly be an infection...
They did absolutely nothing for me and gave me no relief...all she kept saying was “make sure you get the ct” over and over :/
Trying to distract myself but I get moments, especially when I feel the pain...
Well, since it grew so quickly and its painful, it seems like it is some kind of infection.
golddustgirl1000
30-09-19, 16:24
Uh yes- over the weekend I now have one swollen painful one in my jaw- and overnight another swollen in the middle of my neck on the side... seems like it’s spreading which I would assume means infection.
I have a ct scheduled for Thursday, but this morning decided to call my ent as I am a wedding photographer and have a massive wedding on Saturday- I can’t afford for this to get worse...
They said I need to get in like ASAP cause I probably need an antibiotic. :/
Let us know how you make out
golddustgirl1000
30-09-19, 18:40
I have an appt for 3 today.. trying not to be nervous... I mean... if it was a tumor- it couldn’t spread that fast right? The logical side of me tells me it’s an infection.. especially cause it’s painfully... I guess I just need reassurance that it wouldn’t spread to lymph nodes overnight
It deff sounds like some sort of infection which is easily treated with antibiotics so try not to worry :)
golddustgirl1000
30-09-19, 20:54
Thanks 😬
How did your appointment go?
golddustgirl1000
01-10-19, 05:38
Okay- she gave me an antibiotic... said it’s probably some sort of lymphatic infection? . she still wants me to do ct scan tho... I’m scheduled for it Thursday. I told her I tend to run more worried and worry worst case scenario... and she told me she didn’t think it would be bad and not to worry.... so I guess all I can do is trust for now... I see her again next Thursday 😬
golddustgirl1000 my son did have a tumor, it was in his submandibular salivary gland. After 4 years of postponing, drs, and not wanting to deal with it, he had it removed.
It felt really hard and never hurt, it was just... there..
and growing very slowly.
Many times I wished it would swell and hurt, then I'd be reassured it was a reactive gland and not a tumor.
I'm glad you're getting the CT scan, he had CT w/contrast too.
All my best to you, please keep us updated.
golddustgirl1000
01-10-19, 17:23
Nancy, thanks- yes my lymph node that I’ve been feeling has been there since December of last year- I went to three drs that both confirmed it was paratoid lymph node- but it was soft and moveable so they said they didn’t worry.
I decided I would wait till fall when all my annuals are due to get it checked out... for once in my life I decided to not let my HA take over and worry it was something they said it wasn’t...
Anyway- started antibiotic yearsday. The lymph node is still tender but has gone down in size...
Now the antibiotic is making me feel like crap... but is what it is I guess...
Did he recover well from his?
He did recover well, has a 3 inch scar on his neck but it's slowly fading. It's only 6 1/2 months.
There are no answers as to why it happened, my sister in law wonders if it has to do with cell phone use.
The big difference between yours based on your info is that yours changes size and becomes painful, that screams reactive to me. My son's was just there, never got smaller, never I flamed, never bothered him at all other than it was visible. His "friends" nicknamed it.. that made me really angry, but he's an adult I couldn't force him to go, he was putting it off and that made me angry with him.
golddustgirl1000
02-10-19, 06:14
Oh dear, straight vitamin e... I’ve gotten 2 burns to almost disappear in weeks- and one of them was 2 years old!
I try to be more natural, so we eat really healthy, no microwave, work out, and I rarely talk on my phone... at night we keep them far away from us, actually looking to buy something that knocks out WiFi at night...
So did he have a slightly enlarged lymph node then?
Is reactive bad??
mine hasn’t changed since I found it 7 months ago...
I literally was making an appt to get it checked once in for all and out of nowhere it blew up... along with a massive cystic pimple on my eyebrow, lymph nodes under my jaw, and some In the tendon running down the side of my neck.... I think this was just coincidence that it happened the same day... cause I’ve literally been checking for months and no change.
Good thing he went- yeah this was the first time I neglected something this long... sometimes I get sick of going to the dr... I have a chronic condition that takes a lot of care, it’s not life threatening but I have to stay on top of it...I’m only 29... sometimes I just want to be normal :/
"Reactive lymphnodes" is not a bad thing. All it means us is a lymphnode/lymphnodes is/are reacting to something going on in your body and it's most likely to be nothing serious.
You have one more day until your CT scan and I'm willing to bet your gonna get an all clear 🤗 it's hard waiting on appointments days for scans and then waiting on results. Its nerve wracking for people who don't suffer with anxiety and even more so for those of us who do. If possible try and find something to distract yourself.
golddustgirl1000
02-10-19, 07:45
Thanks careful.... I’m actually doing okay mentally... this board is helping... I have a lot of work and clients... so it helps keep my mind off things, and I’m trying to trust God.
Do you think at 6+ months it's too late vitamin e?
Reactive means bug/virus/infection is annoying it.
Yours is especially indicative of the above because of your symptoms.
My son is 29 also. I first noticed it when he was 25.
golddustgirl1000
02-10-19, 15:46
Thanks everyone-
Not at all- I burned my arm on an electric skillet two years ago. ( I cook a lot)
A few weeks ago I burned my wrist on the oven rack- I had and old bottle of vitamin e laying around so I thought what the heck...
Started putting it on both. My wrist is almost completely healed... my arm one ( from 3 years is fading).... surgical scar idk 🤷🏼*♀️ But it can’t hurt right? I just pop a hole in the pill with a needle and squeeze it on twice a day.
I did it for my husband who burned his arm last week (also In the oven).... man we sound wreckless... anyway his is nearly gone now too.
golddustgirl1000
04-10-19, 02:15
Had my ct today... now we wait 😖 I’m so nervous... I noticed another swollen lymph node just under my jaw ( kind of where you would go to take your pulse.... uh I feel like I’m falling apart.
I was doing okay today and then I lost it... I cried every time I was alone and before CT- I’m doing the best I can but can’t help feeling hopeless and full of doom.
OMG 🤬 I lost my whole post, I was trying to edit a misspelled word and it deleted. 😡
golddustgirl1000
04-10-19, 04:41
Been there before 🥴
Let's try this again... lol
Been there mam..."the wait", and I absolutely HATE it. I feel like in this day and age we shouldn't have to wait, to me it is literally torture.
That said, there's no way out now but to go straight ahead.
You've got to have answers so you can have peace of mind.
I did learn along the way that there are bizarre things that happen to lymph nodes and salivary glands and the vast majority are not serious. Even my son's in the end was not serious (I thank God daily).
Did you know they can get blocked or infected and then scar, then remain enlarged for ever?
I'll be thinking good thoughts for you, 1 that you get results quickly and 2 that the results give you the peace of mind to let you put this behind you.
:-)
That keeps happening to me as well, everytime I try to edit one of my comments it deletes it by itself.
golddustgirl1000
08-10-19, 05:32
Thanks guys :/ I need it
When will you get the results?
golddustgirl1000
08-10-19, 18:42
Thursday!
golddustgirl1000
10-10-19, 01:12
Uhhh tomorrow.... I’m getting nervous
Uhhh tomorrow.... I’m getting nervous
It's going to be ok. I really think not knowing is the worst.
golddustgirl1000
10-10-19, 05:15
Yes... well on top of this I’m nervous about my thyroid too- I have 6 nodules we have been monitoring for years I had an fna and they were benign . This past time, time got the best of me... ive gone almost 2 years now without an ultrasound 😬- I think it was just a mix of being newly married, moving, changing jobs... and kind of feeling like for once I didn’t want to feel like I’m sick and Isolated in dealing with it at such a young age. I guess I just wanted to feel normal.
AnywAy- my mom just had her entire thyroid removed and they found a trace of cancer ( Which is rare), but hers is completely treatable- I basically know too much
I know the likelihood of something growing in 2 years is rare, but it still makes me nervous, especially cause the last time I got a ct was when they even began to notice something on the thyroid :/
golddustgirl1000
11-10-19, 02:03
Hey everyone.
So good news. There are no masses in the salivary glands- multiple lymph nodes are enlarged but they think it’s cause of an abscess above my eyebrow.
Dr said she can tell lymph nodes have gone down significantly..
When I asked her why the initial has been this way for a long time she said it could
Be any kind of inflammation which my body does tend to carry, but that she isn’t going to worry about it cause it isn’t bigger than a cm...she wants me back in 2 months for follow up.
Not really gonna worry about it I guess, part of me still wants to know why it tends to run larger- but if it falls all within clinical borders I guess I’m okay.
Thanks for all your encouragement and support everyone!
Congratulations on your good scan results 🤗
golddustgirl1000
14-10-19, 20:47
Thanks- uh but if it’s not one thing it’s the other. Now since this has happened I’ve noticed my body ( while body) just feels more fatigued than normal. I wake up and could go back to bed. I just finished antibiotics Friday and am a week away from period.... could this all be remnants of anxiety?
Some other cancer? You just got your results. Don't think about diseases and start managing your HA
Yes it can... worry and anxiety tend to take a lot put of you and antibiotics can sometimes feel you leaving crappy too or that is sometimes the case for me. Your getting over an infection and so it's no surprise your not feeling 100 percent just yet.
could this all be remnants of anxiety?
Absolutely. Even if you had nothing else going on, the stress you've been under would positively exhaust you.
I actually worry about that, what have I done to my body with the extreme worry and near constant anxiety? Especially after my son's surgery on his neck last March. It was 4 years of extreme worry, honestly, I haven't recovered from that.
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