Lymph node??

[Lou 1]

About 6 years ago i noticed a small lump in the bottom left side of my neck and the middle of the right side.
I visited my GP who said these were Lymph nodes and nothing to worry about and so, i forgot all about them.

Then suddenly out of the blue, just recently i remembered about these lymph nodes and have become really obsessed and worried about them.

I have visited my GP surgery and have seen 4 different doctors all of which have said they are lymph nodes and are nothing to worry about.
I told the 4th doctor that it was really worrying me and asked if i could have further tests.
She said she would not reffer me to the hospital as the nodes are of a "normal" size but she said she would send me for blood tests (this was her way of trying to put my mind at ease)
I had my blood tests yesterday and my results were back in today and all came back normal.

I asked my GP what next and she said there was no need to do anything next but said to go back and see her in 6 weeks and she will check the nodes for any changes (there have been no changes since i noticed them 6 years ago)

This is really driving me mad, i constantly feel these nodes (they are small and fairly hard and move around when i press them) not only do i want to feel my own but i've become obsessed with checking my partners neck too and although i can feel his nodes they are not as prominent as mine.

He tells me not to worry and that if my GP thought it was anything to worry about i'd be sent for further test (especially since i've been seen by 4 different gps)
I'm also really freaked out by the fact that she said to go back in 6 weeks, if its nothing why does she want me to go back in 6 weeks (am i silly for thinking like this?)

I now cant stop looking at what else this could be and everyhting i find is really serious and now i think im trying to convince myself
that i have other symptoms too although i dont.

Does anyone else have these nodes that they can feel??

Claire

[cunny1980]

HI yes I have a quite big one on my neck and i too have had blood tests that came back all clear. You shouldnt keep feeling them as Ive been told this can make them worse and stop them from going down. I think your doctor has told you to go back in 6 weeks just to put your mind at rest. I wouldnt worry about it as you said yourself youve been checked over a few times and the doctors arent that concerned. Hope this has reassured you abit xxx

[Lou 1]

Hey thank u very much for your reply - its just so strange how i never worried about them and now all of a sudden i cant stop worrying!. x

[cunny1980]

I know i still have the odd panic about mine but if it was any thing serious the blood tests would have picked up on it x

[Lou 1]

Hey thanks for your reply, i thought the same things about the blood tests but still find it hard not to worry :/

[Lou 1]

Can anyone else offer any advice please?xx

[marley]

Hi there

Do yourself a favour and search this forum for posts on lymph nodes! You will quickly realise that they are a favourite among those of us with health anxiety. Why is this? Is it because they are an easily identifiable SIGN of something which is not psychosomatic? With health anxiety we are obsessed with signs and symptoms. What is hard for us to grasp though, is that some of these signs lead nowhere...

You've had the node for 6 years and it's stayed the same. You've had many doctors tell you that it's fine and normal. They're telling you this because it's true - lymph nodes are sulky and can become 'shotty' after the most benign and unnoticed infections. Yours has been there for such a long time that it falls under this category - shotty. That means that it's a perfectly normally functioning lymph node which has failed to return to the size that it was once at.

Yours is there to let you know that your immune system works to fight off infections. Take it as a sign that your body works to keep you healthy.

I'm going through a fixation with my own nodes at the moment too - although finding it hard to swallow my own (and the doctor's) medicine.

Worry when your doctor worries - until then, live and breathe and play.

[looking4answers]

HOLY COWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW now im worried. I have felt those for years ..I was told they were normal when I was 11 now im 55.. IM worried..Let me know what you find out. .Michael

[Lou 1]

Thanks Marley :)

[bells78]

I can also feel lymph nodes in my neck, about 4 all small pea sized. They have caused me so much worry and stress since i first felt them abut 5 months ago. I have seen 4 different GP's who all tell me they are fine and that it's common to beable to feel these. None of the GP's i've seen have asked for blood tests. The GP told me that if they were anything to worry about they wouldnt have stayed so small and would have grown quite fast.

I'm sure yours are nothing to worry about.

[looking4answers]

Really sorry about my first post.. I got kind of rattled for a minute. I have often wondered if these were anything but when my daughter was 15 .. Hers got very large.. I mean the size of a golf ball.. she had Hodgekins its a cancer.. They really got big..Over my life like I said I have often wondered and remembered what was told to me when I was 11.. they were normal.. But looking back now when my daughter got cancer..You can tell when they are abnormal..you can't help but notice something is wrong..So I think its safe to say they are ok..if they are pea sized but if you have any worries please see your doctor.. Sorry about the first post I was kind of anxious at that moment but like I said I thought back to my daughter and if there was anything wrong im sure you would know.. Best of luck to you . Michael