help with lymph and spleen ?

[rykenfold]

I'm 23, male. 14 months ago I noticed enlarged lymph node along my jaw line. Not big, probably 6 or 7mm, but it hadn't been there before. Asked my GP about it, he thought it was nothing. A few months later I saw my GP for an unrelated purpose (heart palps) and brought the node to his attention. This time he seemed concerned and sent me to an ENT. ENT thought it was nothing. He put me on antibiotics, but they didn't help. Soon after, I discovered two more nodes, one posterior cervical, one under the chin.  I went back to the ENT clinic, saw a different doc and he couldn't even find the posterior one, which is hard to find because it's tucked into a corner so to speak, but it's even bigger than the original one that he was able to palpate. He too thought it was nothing.  That was about five months ago, and since then, I've recently discovered chains of enlarged nodes around the lower abdomen and hip areas, some bigger than the initial ones. Throughout the duration of the whole experience I'd been having periodic sharp, tearing, squeezing pains under my lower left ribs that usually accompany moment; it isn't very frequent though so I never brought it up to a doc. While all this was happening, I was also having heart palpitation problems as well as stomach pain.  I think all these complaints caused my GP to write me off as an anxiety/ hypochondria case.  I can't stop worrying about the lymph issue, especially in light of the fact that my occasional rib pain stabs are right where the spleen is.  Should all of this warrant a biopsy or a scan?  The only imaging study I've had was an endoscopy for unrelated acid reflux, stomach pain, which came back positive only for mild esophageal reflux. The ENT that I originally saw, back when I only complained of two nodes, didn't want to do a biopsy because it could compromise a facial nerve.  I don't know what to do, I feel like all the docs have just written me off. Thanks for reading this post, sorry if it was longwinded.

[DebM412]

Yes, I agree with you. The spleen pain and the stomach nodes would be a concern. My adivise it to go see a different doctor who will listen to your concerns and tell him you want further testing. Are you experiencing night sweats, any fevers, any unintentional weight loss, itching or fatigue?

Debbie

[rykenfold]

Sorry, I should have also added, that many of the nodes I can feel are not rock hard, but firm nonetheless, and their shape is not round, but long.  I can feel them all down the back of my legs (hamstring area) as well. Is this normal?