View Full Version : HELP Spiralling over Axillary (Armpit) Lymph node
I feel like an idiot for having to post about this, bec i have reassured many others on several forums on lymph nodes, but here I am, completely spiralling over one!
a few weeks back (say 2) i was in the shower and noticed a tiny, small pea sized, firm lump deep within my right armpit. Not tender. I kinda thought it would go and forgot about it, untill i went for a wax yesterday and noticed it is still there! that sent me googling (I know, bad momma!)...
so on a pretty sophisticated medical website (which i will not name here!!) i saw this risk calculater for GPs on lymph nodes and it practically said that firm, non tender lymph nodes in adults are BAD news almost all the time. well, here i am, already visualizing how i wont see my baby grow up (14 weeks pregnant).
In my head i either have hidden breastcancer that spread to the nodes (there is no lump or breast symptom by itself) OR
the abdominal pain on the left side i have been having for months is indeed some cancer that spread by now to my right lymphnode ( is that even possible? left to right), even though my abdominal ultrasound was clear... i keep thinking this is only like 80% accurate so.... what if??
Any input guys? save me please.. Has anyone EVER had a firm, non tender lymph node in the armpit that turned out to be nothing but stayed for a long time anyway??
I feel like an idiot for having to post about this, bec i have reassured many others on several forums on lymph nodes,
that sent me googling (I know, bad momma!)...
so on a pretty sophisticated medical website (which i will not name here!!) i saw this risk calculater for GPs
Now, WHY would you do that to yourself?
My guess "I know bad momma" is that you knew better then to Google. 🤬
...and we should now take the time to unravel your head when we are not.. "a pretty sophisticated medical website" ?
So where does that leave us?
By that i meant it wasnt on like healthline, medical news today or yahoo, but an actual GP guide (which i got access to through a friend). Because of the validity of the webpage it scared me so so so, but at the same time I cant imagine 9 in every 10 firm nodes above age 40 being malignant? that seems like quite the claim.. i dont know anymore.. dont know what to believe, just know im losing it and cant stop crying and this state cant be good for the baby right... :weep: i cant stop and NEED the reassurence but somehow it seems to hold more and more truth since apparently no one yet so far has experience otherwise..
Wellllll.....one of the problems is that you have no idea what "firm" or "nontender" means in a clinical sense. So don't get hung up on that.
To answer your question, YES, I have had "a firm, non tender lymph node in the armpit that turned out to be nothing but stayed for a long time anyway." Like you, mine turned up when I was about 3 months pregnant (that child is about to turn 6 in Dec), and in fact I still have the node. Mine popped up a few months after I DID find a breast lump and my doctor suggested a surgical biopsy for that, which showed it to be benign. Even though it was benign, you can imagine what a freak I was, since of course I imagined they had just read the biopsy wrong.
Because I was pregnant, my OB GYN referred me to the breast clinic. They started giving me ultrasounds every 3 months, and I did that until my baby was like 1 or 1.5. There was never any clinical suspicion, but I did end up getting a core needle biopsy at about the 1.5 year mark (they wanted to wait until my baby was breastfeeding less and actually my doctor wanted the biopsy, the radiologist didn't want to do it at all) and it came back benign.
In all my googling, I found a whole lot of women complaining about axillary lymph nodes popping up during pregnancy. A "funny" thing is, my child that is now almost 6 has become best friends with another child. Her mother and I took them to the park the other day, and I noticed this little scar in her armpit (she was wearing a tank top and she raised her arm). It turns out SHE had a surgery when a lymph node popped up during pregnancy! OMG!!
So........I don't think you should just drop this entirely, because shit does hit the fan sometimes. But, chances are very good that this is a hormonal issue, and the lymph node may just be palpable permanently. I expect to have mine for the rest of my life and it is so big and puffy, you can see it from outer space. Otherwise, I don't really pay attention to it anymore. I occasionally get shooting pains in it, which I believe might be related to my cycle.
NotDeadYet
04-10-19, 15:53
I feel like an idiot for having to post about this, bec i have reassured many others on several forums on lymph nodes, but here I am, completely spiralling over one!
a few weeks back (say 2) i was in the shower and noticed a tiny, small pea sized, firm lump deep within my right armpit. Not tender. I kinda thought it would go and forgot about it, untill i went for a wax yesterday and noticed it is still there! that sent me googling (I know, bad momma!)...
so on a pretty sophisticated medical website (which i will not name here!!) i saw this risk calculater for GPs on lymph nodes and it practically said that firm, non tender lymph nodes in adults are BAD news almost all the time. well, here i am, already visualizing how i wont see my baby grow up (14 weeks pregnant).
In my head i either have hidden breastcancer that spread to the nodes (there is no lump or breast symptom by itself) OR
the abdominal pain on the left side i have been having for months is indeed some cancer that spread by now to my right lymphnode ( is that even possible? left to right), even though my abdominal ultrasound was clear... i keep thinking this is only like 80% accurate so.... what if??
Any input guys? save me please.. Has anyone EVER had a firm, non tender lymph node in the armpit that turned out to be nothing but stayed for a long time anyway??
Anxietyel,
Oh lymph node worries! I have spent most of my health anxiety filled life worrying about lymph nodes. I've mostly gotten my HA under control but once again found myself doing a full body lymph node check last night just to make sure. :lac: Let's take a quick second to help you ground yourself using your own words.
First and foremost, take a huge deep breath and slow down your fight or flight response.
Second, you said described this "lump" as "a tiny, small pea sized, firm lump." Malignant lymph node 101 states that any lymph node less than 1 CM is not to be worried about when there are no other symptoms present. A doctor would probably feel it and brush it off because it isn't clinically significant.
Third, "a pretty sophisticated medical website" has absolutely no truth, fact, or validity to your individual situation. Even if the most renowned lymph node medical doctor wrote the website, it would still have no validity for you as your situation could be completely different than what the website states. Only a medical professional who sees you and examines you in person can diagnose you.
Fourth, "firm, non tender lymph nodes in adults are BAD news almost all the time". The key word here is ALMOST and I would even change that to sometimes. Shoddy lymph nodes are incredibly common. These are firm, small, non-tender lymph nodes that have no clinical significance. I discovered one of these lymph nodes on myself two years ago and lost my mind. The doctors brushed me off and guess what, they were right. It was nothing but a shoddy lymph node.
And finally, "my abdominal ultrasound was clear". There is no connection between your abdominal pain and this "lump" because there is nothing wrong with your abdomen.
I understand how scary lymph node anxiety can be. Please trust in your medical professionals. If you are very anxious about, get it checked, get the all clear and then move forward without giving it a second thought. In my non-medical opinion, if it hasn't grown in the two weeks since you discovered it then I would focus on getting the nursery ready for your baby and living a long happy life with your child.
Best Wishes.
@NervUs Oh my god, you have no clue what this post means to me! my initial reaction actually was that it must be pregnancy related, but i asked some women in my due-month-group and they were like: OMG GO TO A HOSPITAL.. u know.. that doesnt help lol.
I am so sorry u went through that in pregnancy. pretty much ruins the experience right? and yeah i totally get the 'thinking you're the exception and they must have missed it' thing. I am always the exception in my mind lol.
And seriously? yours was also pretty firm? i mean mine is rather small so i guess things tend to feel firmer because its more compact, but it really doesnt feel 'spongy' or whatever they use to describe 'benign' nodes, so that also got me towars the edge..
I am so sorry that you still have pain in it sometimes and that its rather big! how big and how deep is it? and your breast lump did it go?
it's funny, my node is on the right side, while my left has always been the 'difficult' one.
@NotDeadYet Thanks so much for your time and effort! it really helps a lot. I do know that the smaller size is a good thing, but that was taking into that stupid formula and didnt make the outcome better :wacko:.. its really the firm-ness that did me in. and I do know about shoddy nodes but thought they were always inguinal and not in armpit? where was yours?
you are right, i should trust the ultrasound that my abdomen is fine. Its just hard with unexplained persistent pain, in my anxious mind it says 'well, then you must the that exception where the ultrasound missed the tumor' . Its so hard this health anxiety.. especially with unexplained symptoms!
Thnx again! Slowly moving away from that edge now :)
@NervUs Oh my god, you have no clue what this post means to me! my initial reaction actually was that it must be pregnancy related, but i asked some women in my due-month-group and they were like: OMG GO TO A HOSPITAL.. u know.. that doesnt help lol.
I am so sorry u went through that in pregnancy. pretty much ruins the experience right? and yeah i totally get the 'thinking you're the exception and they must have missed it' thing. I am always the exception in my mind lol.
And seriously? yours was also pretty firm? i mean mine is rather small so i guess things tend to feel firmer because its more compact, but it really doesnt feel 'spongy' or whatever they use to describe 'benign' nodes, so that also got me towars the edge..
I am so sorry that you still have pain in it sometimes and that its rather big! how big and how deep is it? and your breast lump did it go?
it's funny, my node is on the right side, while my left has always been the 'difficult' one.
Don't let this ruin your pregnancy!!!! Honestly, it didn't ruin mine because, as I said, I was monitored extremely often at the breast clinic. After a few times of the radiologist saying it looked fine, I calmed down considerably.
Yes, mine was/is firm. I can't move it around. There are actually a few of them in there somewhat mottled (btw every thing on the web says mottled nodes are CANCER, but that is LIES, as mine are not, lol). The mass is only like 1.5 cm, but to me it feels and looks bigger. Another piece of evidence that hypochondriacs can't be trusted to assess what it is they are or are not feeling!!! We really do just have to take it as it comes and not get ahead of ourselves.
My breast lump is gone now because it was surgically removed. Now, I just do the regular breast checks that everyone goes through. For awhile after discovering the nodes, they had me flagged for diagnostic mammos, but after some time, they released me from that and I just get the regular screening ones everyone gets. I am over 40 but, if you are younger, you should just follow your doctor's advice on it. There is not a lot of value getting mammos below the age of 40. Even at 40, they might not tell you much.
The breast cancer scare (the initial lump) is what started my road to hypochondria. I guess that was about 8 years ago now. I hadn't yet learned to control it when I was pregnant with my youngest (the one I've been talking about to you), and I ran from issue to issue with her. First it was this lump. But then, once I lost my fear of the lump, I turned my brain to birth defects, then chromosomal abnormalities. OMG. Looking back, I can't believe how much time I wasted on unfounded fear. I wouldn't even buy clothes for her or anything until REALLY late in the game. My friends were looking at me like I was such a goddamned freak, lol. And, I was! And I continued to be after she was born, lol! I am finally in a really good place.
Is this your first child??
@NeVus. Thanks again. Yes this is my first pregnancy. Hormones all over the place lol 🙈.l and everything is new... While actually i was doing quite good with my health anxiety before.. i know what you mean with jumping from one thing to another, although in my case so far they all have to do with my health and the fear ot not watching the baby grow up :-(
Screening with mammos begins at 50 here, so no regular check ups whatsoever. Its really a symptom based system. I made an appointment with my gp for monday, just in case, but you really have helped me calm down a bit so i appreciate it a lot! I am hoping the doctors visit will calm me down more to the point of being able to enjoy my pregnancy again 😊
What do you mean by mottled by the way? Good to hear yours is firm too.. i can move mine around a little bit (too deep for a lot of movement tho), but definitely more hard then ‘spongy’ ..
whats spongy anyway? How can you even feel something deep within the skin if it were spongy? To me skin fat and muscle is all harder then a sponge so that would totally be impossible to feel right? You are correct that we are not qualified to interpret these terms as firm and soft and such, i guess. Hence the confusion 🙈
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