Hi there,

So sorry for what you've been through with the sexual assault.  Are you getting suitable support to help you?

Both your lumps have appeared with clear indications of something being wrong with the organs in that location so please do try not to worry.  All new lumps should be checked out by your GP, that is the sensible rule, but it doesn't mean you need to worry.

At one point in my life I had 8 swollen lymph nodes all around my neck, my cousin had 11 such lumps.  We were tested for everything and no cause was ever found.  Most lymph nodes go down in a matter of weeks but not all lymph nodes go back down after their cause has gone and more than 20 years on two of mine are still swollen.  In fact I also have a swollen lymph node behind my ear that has been swollen since I was 4 and had mumps (38 years ago!)

Swollen lymph nodes are very common and the most common places for them are the neck and groin.  They are almost always a sign that your body is doing its job properly and fighting illness, so they should usually be seen as a good thing.

We get a lot of people on here with health anxiety and lymphoma seems to be the condition that everyone worries they have.  Thing is, when I was your age we didn't have Google so we wouldn't have been able to worry about lymphoma as we wouldn't have heard of it (okay I had, but I was planning on studying medicine).  Lymphoma isn't any more common than it ever has been yet increasingly lots of young people are worrying they have it.

Please do get your new lump checked out, it is important to always do that with new lumps.  But, it sounds like it would be very beneficial to get more help with your mental health.  I would definitely recommend speaking to your GP about getting therapy, maybe something like CBT for the health anxiety.  Alternatively you could look to see if their is a MIND office in your area, a mental health Recovery College or similar, charitable mental health services can be really useful and they are there for you.

I'm not sure if we're allowed to recommend books on here so I hope I'm not breaking any rules, but I suffered from panic attacks for over 10 years and ended up agoraphobic because of them.  I got myself over them by reading the book Understanding Panic Attacks and Overcoming Fear by Roger Baker, and by doing the CBT in it on myself.  It's hard work to do CBT on yourself, it can be good to get someone to help you with it, but often times just understanding why panic has started is enough to help people get over it and the book helps explain all that.

Best wishes,

LJx

Hi TwinTwo,

I'm not really getting much support through it, I've tried a few therapists but I often find that they don't help even after a few weeks / months - so I'm relying on citalopram at the moment to get me through this last semester at uni.

I thought I'd write back to let you know that I went to get the lump checked as I came down with tonsilitis a few days ago as well! The doctor said it's not anything to worry about, but it's unlikely that it will ever fully go down now? I'm not sure why. I had the reminients of an ear infection which he said had cleared itself up, but I needed antibiotics for the tonsilitis. 

Thank you so much for the book recommendation, I'll definitely check it out!

CLA x

Sorry therapy hasn't worked for you.  Maybe, like me, you're someone who needs to do therapy on yourself.  Remember you can always try different anti-depressants too, but you'll know that.

Glad the doctor's not worried, it having decreased in size is definitely good as you'll know.  Sometimes the blasted lumps just don't fully go down, not much we can do about it.

Hope the tonsilitis clears soon.

Look after yourself.

LJx