Swollen lymph nodes for almost two years

I've never posted anything hear before but I'm desperate for some advice 

In October 2017 I noticed a lump on the side of my neck with no other symptoms. I had had night sweats on and off for years but never thought anything of it until they started to happen a few times a week. I went to the gp who told me to come back in two weeks if the lump hadn't gone down. This happened for another four months until I finally said that I was either to be referred somewhere for an answer or I was going to make an official complaint.

I had an ENT appointment in September 2018 and by this point I had swollen lymph nodes in my armpit that were unbearably painful. The consultant sent me for an ultrasound biopsy and a CT scan to query lymphoma. The ultrasound didn't show anything so a biopsy wasn't performed and my CT did show enlarged lymph nodes but "not big enough to be worrying" 

I was already really frustrated because I wasn't getting any answers and my health was getting worse and worse. For context I'm at university in Scotland away from home (Ireland), working part time and volunteering so I really didn't need the stress. Not to mention how worried my parents were, and were not a rich family who could afford to fly back and forth all the time.

I had a haematology appointment in December where I was basically told that they didn't know what was wrong with me and they were ready to discharge me. Not only were all my original symptoms getting worse (I now had painful lymph nodes under both arms and in my neck) but I also started to show new symptoms. I had constant kidney infections that couldn't be treated, i was exhausted all the time, my appetite had gone, I was getting headaches everyday and I either had a fever or chills, no in between. I pretty much broke down and demanded to see another consultant which I did in January.

This consultant told me that my scan looked clear and pointed out things they would be looking for. He then booked me an appointment for April which was basically a "wait and see" kind of thing.

Fast forward over two months and my health has gone from bad to worse. On top of everything else, I become breathless quite easily and it feels like there is a lot of pressure on my chest. I know that this could be down to anxiety but I can't help but relate it to everything else. 

Everytime I go to a GP I'm told I'm being overdramatic (I have bipolar disorder which doctors already judge right away). I'm really panicking to the point where I might have to quit my job and uni because my health is so bad and I'm in a constant state of panic.

No one in my family, close and extended, has had cancer so we don't know how to deal with it. I do know that I feel like a complete hypochondriac all the time and I cry pretty much every day over it. Would there be a possible way to seek a second opinion without having to go private which I really couldnt afford? I'm running out of options and if it is cancer I at least want to be given the chance to fight it.

Thank you for reading, any other experiences or advice would be really appreciated so I don't feel so alone in this 

Parents
  • Hi, I'm super scared I about 6-7 lymph nodes in my neck some of them are small and some of them are long I'm really terrified and suffer from health anxiety, I've had these for about 6-7years please can anyone help me

  • Hello, I have just seen this from reading through posts to try and help to comfort myself. From feb 2020 I started to have a swollen feeling in my glands in my neck and a general unwell feeling which was on and off. I found a tiny lump deep in the back of my neck and went to the doctors in which she quickly felt and said this is just a gland. In March I started getting upper back pain which occurs when I tilt my head forward and backward mainly in the upper right part but sometimes left too which also is felt in bed sometimes. This pain was on and off and I still have it now. I went to an osteopath as thought it may be due to posture issues but it didn't seem to help. I then found a few moveable lumps deep in my armpits too so I contacted my GP and Went in for an app. The GP didn't really listen to my issues and just sent me for a blood test which came back saying I had a B12 deficiency. I still had these lumps so went back for another full blood count and it came back clear. I found another small moveable lump in my neck above my coller bone on the left side and can't stop worrying so they reffered me for a chest X-ray which I have had but not had the results back yet. I am so stressed and don't know what this is? If anyone has had any similar experiences please let me know 

  • This is totally fine, Lymph nodes are usually harmless and benign as long as you can move them and they're not growing or getting harder you should be fine, this could be due to an infection or a cold you may have suffered, I had the same problems when I was 24 and now I am 68, hope you certainly feel better.

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  • This is totally fine, Lymph nodes are usually harmless and benign as long as you can move them and they're not growing or getting harder you should be fine, this could be due to an infection or a cold you may have suffered, I had the same problems when I was 24 and now I am 68, hope you certainly feel better.

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