Hi everyone, my name is Holly and I'm 16. I've been having a lot of problems with my lymph nodes lately and I have awful health anxiety which is making me feel rotten!

I've had sore lymph nodes in my neck for a few weeks now, sometimes achy and tender to the touch but not swollen. My sinuses and throat have also been a bit achy and I've had blocked nose and headaches on and off which could be a cause, but about two weeks ago I found a lump behind my left ear which worried me. Pretty sure it's a lymph node, and it's very soft and quite movable, and hurts if I press on it for too long. I don't know how long it's been there, but I've also had some random stabbing pains in both ears but no sign of infection. What's bugging me is that I had an awful ear infection as a child so the node could well be still swollen from that, and I do remember having lumps behind my ears as a small child- but having health anxiety, I've latched on to the negatives and convinced myself I have all sorts of cancers.

I had a sore node in my left armpit a few weeks ago which went down after a few days, but it's flared up twice again since then. A few days ago, I also found a painful one in my groin, which is still there but not as painful, although I do have two boils on my upper leg and I believe these could be the culprits, as I have a faint memory of this happening before.

They all seem to be on the left side of my body, which is odd because since Christmas I've been having muscle cramps and spasms on my left side as well as nerve pain- my parents think it's fibromyalgia as I have most of the symptoms, including concentration issues, IBS and mental health problems, and if it is fibromyalgia it could affect my lymph nodes- which would be a huge relief, but as I'm so young it is also unlikely.

I can't bring myself to go to the doctor because of how bad my anxiety is, but it's killing me to stay at home and I can't stay away from Google!! I'm so unbelievably stressed and this is affecting my life so much, I just wish I had a magic spell to make it all go away! It's so odd :(

If anyone has had any similar experiences or can offer any words of wisdom, it would be greatly appreciated if you could share!

Thank you,

Holly