More swollen nodes!

im waiting to go to my doctor tomorrow and I had neck pain, slept and woke up with a couple more swollen nodes on the left of my neck this time. I’m scared :( has anyone had a similar experience where you get neck pain and then swollen nodes? Could it be mono? I had a sore throat like 2 months ago when the first nodes (right side of neck) came but it wasn’t bad. Do malignant lymph nodes swell that quickly? 

  • Hey Wtoo

    I'm experiencing something similar at the moment, had a blood test yesterday and it came back clear, but apparently that's not conclusive on its own. I'm still trying to take it as a positive sign though.

    I'll tell you what I'm telling myself, swollen lymph nodes are really common and very rarely connected to cancer. The sore throat you had might well be the reason your nodes are swollen now, it can take a while/forever for them to go down again. What kind of neck pain is it - like throat soreness, or an ache where the raised nodes are?

     

  • Just got my blood test done :) doctor said it could be allergies. She said sometimes allergies cause these. Just got tested for dust allergies, blood count and EBV. Really hoping it’s just a mild case of mono. What’s on the left of my neck was apparently just a muscle knot so thankfully I only have 3 on the right of my neck. It’s gonna be tough if the blood tests come back and it’s not ebv. Might consider an ultrasound then but with all the covid going on outside I don’t think they can right now. What my doctor said did put some of my anxiety at rest and for now I’m just gonna hope. Good luck to you :D what does your lymph node feel like? My doctor said it’s a good sign that it’s mobile and that it’s not hard.

  • Oh good, hopefully your bloods will come back clear too :happy:

    Yes there are a number of reasons for nodes to swell, I'm thinking of trying an antihistamine if I can ever get in to Boots (huge queues all the time at the mo), as allergies have been mentioned a lot for swollen lymph nodes. The GP I spoke to today said there are hundreds of little infections flying around all the time, and being stressed and run down means I'm susceptible so I might have nodes popping up all over the place trying to combat them.

    Mine are mostly small and mobile, hard to tell if they're hard as it's like - hard compared to what?! They feel hard compared to, say, some squashy stomach or breast fat, but they're not like bits of stone or rock! I guess that's the difference, otherwise how would you feel them at all, they have to be slightly hard to be felt.

    I've decided that I'm going to give it the weekend and then on Monday if I'm still this anxious or if I've got more/getting bigger I'll ask for an ultrasound. If the NHS won't give me one I'll have to stump up the money and go private as I can't live with this anxiety for much longer, it's really affecting my work and family life :sad:

  • My sister just got prescribed some antihistamines for her allergies so I’m thinking of giving that a try too. I have some symptoms of dust allergies like itchy bumps which I think are dust mite bites, a stuffy nose that lasts all year and a feeling of wanting to cough. The only thing I don’t have is sneezing. Knowing that Hodgkins is pretty rare is quite reassuring. My health anxiety is bad but I’m just thinking about keeping positive. It’s kinda reassuring to see how so many of the people who post about swollen nodes eventually just never come back to this forum (assuming they don’t need it anymore cause it isn’t cancer). I was told that normal nodes aren’t usually matted together and rolls under your fingers. Mines are on the bigger side with the biggest one at around 1-2cm but the rest are relatively small like a bean size. My doctor didn’t seem that alarmed or concerned about mine and she didn’t even mention cancer so that’s good I guess. I’m just scared of my results for mono and allergies come back negative. I know if they do my anxiety is gonna shoot through the roof. If anxiety is getting that bad for you maybe you can try meditating? I just downloaded head space the other day at 4am on a whim. It’s really helped me sleep (which has been quite hard since I’m constantly thinking about my nodes) and helped with my anxiety. Anyways, good luck  :)

  • Hey guys! 
     

    I have had swollen lymph nodes in multiple areas since at least december - there's a girl on YouTube called cerelle thinks who made my anxiety a little easier regarding lymph nodes have a watch!!

     

    although it did until she said collarbone ones are not normal and I have a collarbone lump lol!! Doctors still aren't worried though but might help with anxiety in the mean time xxx

  • Hello again.

    Sorry but at 14 years old you shouldn't even be thinking about malignant lymph nodes.I suggested before that you spoke to a parent. This is a cancer forum and not the right place for you to be writing.

    Kind regards.

    Lynne