How long can you have lymphoma and not know it?
I'm starting to wonder if the asymmetric areas of my abdomen/the slight horizontal bulge I recently discovered in the hypogastric region might be from lymphoma, as that would explain how I can still have normal bowel movements but still have a mass present (I would assume a swollen lymph node or more that pushes things out).
I have had so many symptoms over the years that I have long wondered if I had some kind of indolent form of lymphoma or leukemia. On and off night sweats. On and off petechiae (just a few of them at a time; individual ones in different locations...not a rash). I have had plenty of "shotty" lymph nodes all over my body over the years.
I remember around 10-12 years ago, I would get extremely itchy every time I took a shower. That eventually went away.
I also get spontaneous hypertrophic scars (elevated, pink) on my shoulders/upper back/chest, and have been getting them since around 2003 or so. I have never been able to find anything online about this, but I have seen mentions that lymphoma and leukemia can cause skin tumors. In the summer of 2015, I also developed a ton of flat white bumps on my back and upper shoulders that never went away. I don't know if they're fibrofolliculomas or some kind of cutaneous lymphoma or leukemia.
Whenever I lie down flat on my back in bed, I feel like it's somewhat of a struggle to breathe fully. It seems more noticeable when I have anxiety, though, of course. I have also thought this might be from a hiatal hernia, since I had twice woken up with acid in my mouth last year (incidents about 6 months apart). And for several weeks, I had a feeling of something pressing on my neck, which I thought was GERD-related...it eventually went away and hasn't really returned...as least not in a way where it lasted. During the several weeks where I had it, it would go away after I slept, and then return as soon as I got up.
In 2018, I remember feeling way more bloated than I should have after I ate a meal, prompting me to suspect it was ascites...which was also what started me palpating my abdomen and eventually finding asymmetry.
In 2018, I also noticed spontaneous brown spots appearing on my face literally overnight, as well as spontaneous indented scars. I also have a ton of sebaceous hyperplasia on my face. I wondered if this stuff was all paraneoplastic signs (Leser-Trelat sign). I have also wondered if I have Birt-Hogg Dube syndrome. I just can't explain all this bizarre skin stuff. When I went to a dermatology physician assistant to look at a changed mole in 2017 (I think it was just traumitized from acne having involved it, but I'm not sure), he noticed one of the "cysts" I had, but only agreed with me that it's a scar, and said nothing about all the other crap on my skin, including the white bumps everywhere.
I have on and off periods where I see a sparkling floater/shooting star drifting across my line of vision at random intervals of once or twice per day (went for an eye exam and nothing found except normal aging). In either 2018 or last year, I had a 3 week period of hyperacusis in one of my ears.
When I bend over, I feel an unnatural amount of pressure in my head/sound gets muffled...seems like blood doesn't fully pump to my head. I feel like I could pass out/die if I stay in that position.
I have a visible pulse in my abdomen.
Every once in a while I wake up with dizziness.
I have gone through periods over the last 14 years or so where I'll feel like I'm sinking (like in an elevator) while I'm standing...this seems to happen mostly when I'm on an upper floor somewhere, but I have also had it in the shower.
I also have a slight cough/mucus in my throat that seems to go away if I breathe through my nose (I don't think it's Covid-19). I don't have it when I wake up.
My body is just a complete mess. I have had a million bizarre symptoms most of my adult life.
Re: How long can you have lymphoma and not know it?
ConstantWorrying
Wow! You have been through the ringer. I'm so sorry that you have experienced all of this. It definitely appears that you suffer from health anxiety. This is evident by your posting on an HA forum and by your long list of symptoms/sensations that you have noted. Have you or are you currently in therapy?
Best Wishes
Re: How long can you have lymphoma and not know it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NotDeadYet
ConstantWorrying
Wow! You have been through the ringer. I'm so sorry that you have experienced all of this. It definitely appears that you suffer from health anxiety. This is evident by your posting on an HA forum and by your long list of symptoms/sensations that you have noted. Have you or are you currently in therapy?
Best Wishes
That's not even nearly all of it, either.
The problem is, all of these symptoms are real. Most of them I can actually show people and they're visually noticeable and bizarre. I have no idea how I even lived this long.