Scared of new symptom. :(

[kimmiepie]

I'd been doing really well with the HA, except for the ectopics. Everything else I had let go and I felt really well.

Well, I am almost 7 months pregnant and I have a fear of blood clots/strokes/heart attacks while pregnant. About a week or so ago I was sitting at the computer and I got a "pain" in the left side of my neck. It was less of a pain and more of a swelling type feeling...which came pretty quickly.

My first thought was blood clot, but then I decided it must be a lymph node because I had been feeling like I was getting sick (tired, achy, just that general feeling, but nothing else) and my body must be fighting it off. But as I feel around the area, it is not sore to the touch when I push on it, except for occasionally it will be tender over the carotid artery....which totally freaks me out. The swelling is still there (I can't see it only feel it) and it is deep feeling. It's not a muscle.

So I waivered between thinking it was a blood clot and a lymph node, trying to focus on lymph node although it doesn't really hurt and I can't feel it. The swelling feeling has gone down some, but then something started happening that really freaked me out! I can feel my pulse in that area of my neck now. Not when touching it, but just all the time, as I'm sitting, standing etc. This really scares me because I am afraid of anyeurism or blood clot.

I am trying to ignore it because no doctors are taking my insurance right now. Then the thought crossed my mind that it was cancer because of how I've been feeling lately and maybe it is a tumor.

I just don't even know what to think, but I'm more concerned about the pulsing thing now than anything. :( I know it is unlikely as I am young, eat a pretty healthy diet, and am on Cod Liver Oil to help keep my blood from clotting too much(I don't have a clotting disorder, just a fear..my platlets actually looked pretty good). The anyeurism thing is the scariest though. I can't help thinking that there is a ticking time bomb in there and it is going to burst. :weep:

My throat does not hurt, I do have some drainage though. I've just never had this particular feeling before.

I hate this, I really do.

[LeeBee]

Hi Kimmiepie - if you had a blood clot that you could feel with your fingers in your carotid artery, it would be blocking the blood flow to your head, and you would be getting all sorts of severe symptoms associated with that right off the bat - not days later - in fact you probably would have keeled over by now. Dizziness, lightheadedness, visual problems at the very least; worse if the artery was blocked at a point before it branches into two underneath your larynx. The force of blood in the carotid is really high - I'm not sure that a large clot would be able to sit there long enough for you to feel it. So I don't think it can possibly be that. The pulsing sensation sounds completely normal. You can feel your pulse almost anywhere if you think about it, especially in a big artery like the carotid.

I've been poking and prodding my neck all day too, convinced that the right side of my neck is lumpier than my left. I do have a 'shotty' lymph node under my right ear. Otherwise I think that the right side of my neck is just a bit more muscular than my left. I've carried a handbag on my right shoulder for the best part of 20 years so maybe that's why. Your neck is full of lumps and bumps - small muscles, tendons, lymph nodes all over the place.

I'd say that prodding at the area around your carotid will probably make it a bit tender (my neck is tender from all my poking and rubbing today), so probably best to leave it alone. If it doesn't hurt when you're not poking it, it's probably a bump that belongs there and is nothing to worry about. As you're pregnant you're probably getting extra medical checks at the moment? Maybe mention it to your doctor next time you see him/her and make sure you get your blood pressure checked. But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. :)

[LeeBee]

Hey kimmie - just re-read your post where you say "no doctors are taking my insurance right now". So I guess ignore my comment about having more medical checks while you're pregnant... are you OK with your pre-natal care?

[kimmiepie]

Thanks for the reply!!

Well I went to the dr and just paid out of pocket because I needed to get a referral to an endocrinologist anyway...

So it IS a swollen lymph node, it just doesn't hurt and I can't feel it. He said I can feel the pulse because my blood/heart is pumping stronger while pregnant and the lymph node is pressing right up against the carotid artery. He said it's nothing to worry about and totally normal. Phew!

Now if I can just get to feeling better. I keep feeling under the weather like I'm getting sick, and obviously my body is trying to fight off something. I just wish I'd either go ahead and get sick already or it would go away. :D I've got three kids already and I need my energy!

Thanks again for the reply.

Edited to add: About the prenatal care..I'm seeing a midwife and I'm very happy with my care. It's just that she isn't allowed by the state to prescribe meds or anything like that...so you're supposed to see your dr for your general care. If she had been to my home for a visit during this time I would have had her look at it, but my next appt wasn't until Oct 27.