Extremely paranoid. Swollen neck lymph node ++
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I am a 24 year old male. I am in good shape, although my diet isn't the greatest. I also drink a lot of beers and I have smoked weed practically every day for the past 3 years (I've never smoked a cigarette). I haven't smoked in the last 3 weeks but I continue to drink.
I have been dealing with a swollen lymph node for the past 3+ months. It's located on the left side of my neck, about half way between my shoulder and jaw. It changes in size constantly. Sometimes it isn't notiable, other times it will be swollen for multiple days. Sometimes it will go from large to small in a single day (as it did today).
I am currently on a trip (still many months to go) and do not have access to a doctor. Before I left home I did make an appointment to see one though. Of course it was one of the rare days where my lymph node wasn't swollen and he simply brushed it off and said I was healthy. I was there for a couple other reasons, so I forgot to mention some details that may or may not be useful. Here are those details:
I first noticed my swollen lymph node when I was at my cousin's cottage. Who knows how long it had been there, however I tend to notice oddities in my body very quickly (I am naturally paranoid). The night before I first noticed it, I got hammered by what I thought were black flies, slightly below and behind my left ear. There were many small bumps (that looked like black fly bites), but there was an extremely large swollen bump that was under my skin.
About 2 months ago I noticed that a small area on the outside of my left ear (the first outer ring from the top) was sore to the touch. There was no bump, no redness, nothing.
Fast forward to 2 and a half weeks ago, just as I was leaving for my trip. I felt a cold coming on and it was a bad one. I was held up in a hotel room for 2 days. Fever, night sweats, sore throat, sore neck, sore jaw, clogged sinuses, cough, and I could hardly eat anything. I would get full extremely fast and feel some pain at the top of my stomach. Speaking of which, I had dealt with getting full/ top stomach pain about 2 months ago as well. It lasted about 4 or so days.
Anyways, I dealt with the cold and the pain spot in my ear went away (for the first time ever). I started eating normally as well. I thought maybe I was in the clear. After I felt better, I decided not to feel my swollen lymph node neck area because I wanted to relax and not think about it.
2 - 3 days ago, I started to feel a bit of pressure in my neck. Sure enough my lymph node was very swollen. I also got some itchyness in the same area occasionally (it was never itchy before). I also have an occasional cough and I feel a bit of pressure in my chest (closer to my heart) if I bend a certain way or cough hard enough.
This morning, my neck felt a bit sore and I felt the large lymph node. After massaging it for a bit, it decreased in size immediately. However it was still noticable through out the day. A couple hours ago I felt the front of my neck and noticed that something hard and pointy is sticking out. I don't know if it's my adams apple or what. I have two hard areas at the front of my neck. The pointy hard spot is just below my chin. Again, I would have felt this before if it was normally like this. It is practically sticking out of my skin. As I write this, I went to feel my main neck lymph node and it is back to a small size.
What is going on with me!? I can't even enjoy my trip because I am nervous about all of this.
1 like, 3 replies
ambee29651 mrjingles
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someone88 mrjingles
Posted
Hi! Did you ever find an answer to this? This literally describes what I'm going through right now! Only difference is that I'm a smoker. Feeling pretty stressed!!
annie23365 mrjingles
Posted