Don't know where to start!

Hey everyone, I'm Sarah 36. 

I've been dealing with alot of sickness and nausea but my main concern is I have a swollen Lymph Node in my collarbone that has been their for around 6 weeks now and when I lift my arm I feel as though their is a lump in mu underarm too. 

I have been trying to get an appointment for my gp for weeks and all I keep getting is well we are short staffed not much we can do and it's really stressing me out. Cancer is so severe in both sides of my family 

  • Hi Sarah,

    A very warm welcome to our forum.

    I am so sorry to hear that you are having this problem. Have you told the receptionist that you need an urgent appointment and why you need it? They usually find an appointment quickly, once they know the reason for it.

    Try phoning again tomorrow and please let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Hi Jolamine 

    Thank you for the reply, so I have just spoken to my receptionist and explained the whole situation and I was told there was no appointments yet again and that I could phone out of hours after practice hours. I'm getting no where I feel I'm on a loosing battle with my Doctors 

  • Hi Sarah,

    This is scandalous. As the receptionist has advised you to phone out of hours, why not do that. If they say that this is just for emergencies, explain your situation again. Include your family history and the length of time you have been trying to make an appointment with your GP. I hope that you're more successful this time.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • I recieved a text earlier in the day from my gp saying that someone from the surgery will phone me after closing ours on Wednesday. But speaking to someone on the Phone won't to do anything I need to be seen in person to be examined. 

    I may phone out of hours and explain to them what is happening and like you said tell them my family history of it all and just hope that they will help me out. 

    My Gp surgery has lost alot of Doctors over the past few months so I think they are struggling but I thought something like this would be put forward for a call back atleast 

  • Hi Sarah,

    I would expect that if a doctor speaks to you, they will make an appointment to see you. However, I would have thought that they would have phoned you tonight and not made you wait until Wednesday. Don't wait any longer, phone out of hours and see what they advise. Sometimes we have to be persistent and explore all avenues.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

  • Hi Jolamine, so I saw my Doctor that I hadn't seen for 3 years and she was fantastic with me. 

    She felt my swollen lymph node and felt all around  the rest of neck and on the other side and my stomach too. She found another another swollen node that I didn't know about. So I have the hospital t his Wednesday coming at 11:45am. I'm so scared for this appointment I have to go alone

  • Hi Sarah,

    I am so glad to hear that you finally got to see your GP and that she was so good with you. You have managed to get an appointment at the hospital very quickly, which is good - less time to worry! Lymph nodes can swell with the slightest infection and can sometimes take a long time to settle down again.

    Here's hoping that this will be the case for you and all is benign. However, you have done the right thing by getting this checked out, even if only for your own peace of mind. You will find that the staff at these clinics really do their best to put you at ease and I'm sure that you'll be fine on your own.  The appointment that you most need someone with you for, tends to be if you have to return for any results.

    I shall be thinking of you on Wednesday morning and hope that it all goes well.

    Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx