Aussie11
22-10-10, 00:15
I have recently been posting about my various list of symptoms including constant dull back ache, swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, and hand and foot numbness. Was sent off for loads of blood tests, nerve conduction test and MRI of brain and whole spine. Had to wait 3 weeks to get back in to see the consultant which was a stressful wait and the symptoms seemed to multiply during that time.
The good news is that I saw the consultant tonight and all test results have come back fine. There is apparently some very slight/early degeneration in some of my discs in cervical spine and lower spine but nothing too major and the phsyio should help that. The bloods were all normal, other than that my cholesterol is higher than it should be.
I asked him if swollen lymph nodes would show on the MRI and he was a bit unsure as he said unless they were right near the area of interest they may not be picked up. I got him to feel the ones I think are hard and swollen on the back of my neck, as he reviewed the MRI images on screen and he showed me he could see a little round white mark on there. He thought they were just calcified tendons, but said he'd get the radiologist to double check. He said if I was worried about lymph nodes (as I also said I think they're swollen in my groin area too) then I should see GP just to be on safe side.
So I went straight to the private GP this evening and she did examination of my neck and groin area and said they didn't feel like lymph nodes. Also got her to do breast examination while I was there as had also complained of breast changes recently. She said they were fine, just normal fatty tissue. She was really reassuring and didn't make me feel like I was mad - said it was good to be aware of things but that sometimes there just aren't reasons for why we get certain aches, pains, lumps and bumps. She said that if it still bothers me later on we could do some other tests, but considering all the scans and tests I've had over the last 6 months she thinks it's all just leaning towards some issues with my neck and back affecting other areas, as well as stress/anxiety on top of that, oh in addition to the IBS too.
I still need to wait for the radiologist to confirm with my consultant that they didn't think the neck node thing was anything to worry about - he said he'd send me a letter when he heard back from them.
So other than that looks like I'm all ok, and it's a huge relief. I can now relax for a while and have decided I'm not going to prod and poke and look for things wrong with me until I get back from my Christmas holiday back home to Australia. Let's hope I can stick at it!
The good news is that I saw the consultant tonight and all test results have come back fine. There is apparently some very slight/early degeneration in some of my discs in cervical spine and lower spine but nothing too major and the phsyio should help that. The bloods were all normal, other than that my cholesterol is higher than it should be.
I asked him if swollen lymph nodes would show on the MRI and he was a bit unsure as he said unless they were right near the area of interest they may not be picked up. I got him to feel the ones I think are hard and swollen on the back of my neck, as he reviewed the MRI images on screen and he showed me he could see a little round white mark on there. He thought they were just calcified tendons, but said he'd get the radiologist to double check. He said if I was worried about lymph nodes (as I also said I think they're swollen in my groin area too) then I should see GP just to be on safe side.
So I went straight to the private GP this evening and she did examination of my neck and groin area and said they didn't feel like lymph nodes. Also got her to do breast examination while I was there as had also complained of breast changes recently. She said they were fine, just normal fatty tissue. She was really reassuring and didn't make me feel like I was mad - said it was good to be aware of things but that sometimes there just aren't reasons for why we get certain aches, pains, lumps and bumps. She said that if it still bothers me later on we could do some other tests, but considering all the scans and tests I've had over the last 6 months she thinks it's all just leaning towards some issues with my neck and back affecting other areas, as well as stress/anxiety on top of that, oh in addition to the IBS too.
I still need to wait for the radiologist to confirm with my consultant that they didn't think the neck node thing was anything to worry about - he said he'd send me a letter when he heard back from them.
So other than that looks like I'm all ok, and it's a huge relief. I can now relax for a while and have decided I'm not going to prod and poke and look for things wrong with me until I get back from my Christmas holiday back home to Australia. Let's hope I can stick at it!