Lumps under both armpits.

I have noticed that for over four years, I have had a slightly painful lump under my right armpit. At first, it was only the size of a pea, but now it is so large that my armpit doesn't even sink in anymore. It hurts only if I've slept on my right side all night. What's more, Now I have another one growing under my left armpit. They are soft lumps but the pain feels like a dull ache. What could they be? I went to my doctor about them, but she just gave me some type of antibiotic that didn't do anything at all to help.

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear cmg78, The lumps could be caused by a variety of conditions, and further evaluation would be needed to pinpoint the cause.  A first idea would be that an infection would be causing lymph node swelling (lymph nodes are bean shaped structures that make up the lymphatic system, these are where infection-fighting cells of our body are stored), thus the use of the antibiotics.  If this is not helping, notify your doctor so that further investigation into the cause of your symptoms can proceed.