Swollen lymph nodes scared to death 💀
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I’m hannah, I’m 19 years old and it all started about 4-5 months ago. I got a really bad sore throat. Went to the doctor and they told me I had mono and (turns out I never had it ) they put me on antibiotics. I didn’t really take it seriously and I didn’t finish them. It came back worse. My throat was killing me and so swollen and that’s when I noticed a swollen gland on the right side of my neck. I’m not sure how big it is. I’d say it’s 2cm or less. I’m not too sure. It was tender at first. So I went to the doctor again and got some blood work. I was negative for mono and they took some blood work and everything was good except my crp level was a little high. It’s now been going on 2.5 months and it’s still the same size. Non tender now and it’s definiely moveable. It’s a big difference from the other side. I’m just at a loss for words. I really don’t know what’s going on. I have a CT scan in a few days and I’m really nervous I have cancer. I have really bad anxiety as well. Please please someone help me with some reassurance or something. Thank you.Â
0 likes, 7 replies
Philly89 hannah34855
Posted
I'm 28 and been struggling with swollen lymph nodes for 8 months now almost. They are all on my head/neck area. I've seen my reg Dr, ENT, dermo, and an oncologist (I wanted a variety of opinions lol) and all of them think they could be swollen due to the acne on my face or dermatitis I get on my scalp sometimes.
Unlike you, I don't have any illness symptoms whatsoever, so that is what freaked me out. Since you said you had a bad sore throat I wouldn't be concerned. It sounds like you have some sort of minor infection/illness going on and that's why your glands are swollen. Apparently they can be very sensitive to even the most minor infection, or even skin inflammation like my acne.
I'm sure your CT scan will come back normal and then you can relax. Until then just stay positive and don't let your negative what if thoughts get the better of you. All of the Drs I saw said the only real red flag for swollen lymph nodes is size - nothing else about them really matters. If yours are not golf ball sized then you're fine lol normal nodes are anywhere from 1-2 cm area, 3cm and bigger would be cause for concern.
hannah34855 Philly89
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Philly89 hannah34855
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I believe bigger than 2cm would be bigger/wider than your finger tip. That's what my doctor told me!
hannah34855 Philly89
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Philly89 hannah34855
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Hm well I guess see what the ultrasound says, it's hard to measure it yourself. My doctor said ultrasound is a good way of seeing the size of them, so they will probably just check that and if they are normal sized then they will say you're fine. I had an ultrasound recently n that's what they said with mine.
hannah34855 Philly89
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Philly89 hannah34855
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Okay good, as long as you are being proactive and checking everything out then that's all that matters. In my googling online I've seen people say they had benign lymph nodes that were 2cm area size. I think it's more 3cm and up thats the cause for concern. Don't get too worked up yet, it's still very early and you're probably fine
The oncologist I saw also told me that cancerous nodes usually do not stay the same size for a while, they usually grow pretty big pretty fast. So if they have been the same size for 2.5 months then that also is reassuring.