I am extremely scared I have Lymphoma
Posted , 2 users are following.
I am a 21 year old male. In July I developed a low grade fever and a pretty bad headache. I have a brain shunt, so I had some X-rays and CT Scans (X ray of my chest and CT of my brain) which came back clear. More testing revealed a positive EBV / Mono test. It's been four months, and I still have a fever. One of my tonsils is swollen, I feel itchy all over, which from what I read, are signs of lymphoma, I can't find much info saying those correlate with Mono. I saw a hematologist, I had a blood test done called a "leukemia / lymphoma flow" which came back clear, but again, from peoples stories on here, most of them had fine blood work. I have no swollen lymph nodes in my neck, and none in my armpit that I can see or feel. I have to go back to my hematologist to possibly get another CT, but that isn't for 2 weeks. I'm hoping it's hypochondria, but of course I've read that Lymphoma can cause a false positive for Mono... All which is stressing me out and leaving me extremely worried. If this is useful info, I've had my blood work done 4 times since I was first diagnosed with Mono, and my lymphocytes have gone down a lot (still elevated) but no where near where they were when I first found out I had mono. Hopefully that's a good sign that it's just mono. I don't have night sweats, I don't have much shortness of breath, I can't feel any swollen nodes in my neck or armpits, but I do have a fever, I am itchy all over, one of my tonsils is a bit enlarged, and I am fatigued.
0 likes, 1 reply
loxie clayton72368
Posted
Hi Clayton. Firstly let me say I'm not a medical professional so I cant diagnose you or give you medical advice but I do remember having glandular fever as a child and most if not all of the symptoms you are experiencing were part of it. I still have my tonsils and they still get infected yearly which reminds me of back then. The mono virus lies dormant in the body and often reactivates in times of stress. If it is mono then your increased anxiety regarding your diagnosis isnt helping you to get through it. There is no cure for the EBV virus, just like herpes, chickenpox and even the common cold, it tends to run its course and the best bet is to rest a lot, drink lots of fluids and try to sooth the throat if sore. The fatigue will last longer than the other symptoms unfortunately so its really really important to rest and stay calm to recuperate. Although mono is infectious, its not advisable to take antibiotics, they dont react well with mono. Trust your doctors and if they cant find any evidence of lymphatic cancer, try to accept their advice and rest and relax to get through the viral symptoms.