Painful lumps

    
      Re: Painful lumps
    


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Posted by HFHSM.D.-kb on February 13, 1998 at 09:54:12:

In Reply to: Painful lumps posted by Jack on February 03, 1998 at 19:50:44:

: First a little background. I am a 49 year old male with cardiomyopathy and chronic hepatitis-c. I am taking
  accupril, coumadin and demadex for the heart problem. I am injecting 3 million units of Interferon 3 times a
  week for the hep-c. I have been doing this for six months and my liver enzymes are normal and there is no
  live virus in my system. I also have experienced no side effects from the interferon that I can detect.
  : I started developing pains in the left and right side of my lower abdomen that felt like muscle aches from
  excercising. The pains slowly moved up and spread to encompass my entire abdomen and my chest. This
  process took about a month. I noticed that all throughout this painful area there were small bumps which
  seemed to be the focal points for the pain. Now my lymph nodes in both armpits are swollen and very painful.
  They pain from all of the tiny knots changes constantly. Sometimes it is barely noticeable and sometimes it feel
  like someone driving their knuckles into my muscles. My GI doc says the lumps I am feeling are adipose
  tissue and they can't be painful. But when the pain is worse the lumps are swollen and more pronounced.
  Could this be a reaction from taking the diuretics????
  : I have had the upper GI, ultrasound,flexible sig, and blood tests and all comes up normal. WHAT gives?
  This hurts and it keeps spreading. Jack
_____________________________
To Jack,
Although patients with Chronic Hepatitis C may have multiple systemic complaints related to their illness, the symptoms you describe would be quite unusual .  Lymphadenopathy or swollen lymph nodes does not appear to be a side effect of any of the medications you are currently taking.  Likewise, I think it would be unlikely to be related to your hepatitis C as this is not a frequent finding in patients who are infected with the virus.  Painful lymph nodes , if this indeed is what you have, would more frequently be the result of an infectious process.  Likewise, new abdominal pain during a course of Interferon therapy is most likely not related to your therapy.  Therefore, this symptom should be evaluated by your physician.
I would recommend you return to your doctor and ask if your symptoms could be related to an infection or to a new problem you may have developed separate from your hepatitis and interferon therapy.
This response is being provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation.  Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health.
If you would like to be seen at our institution please call 1-800-653-6568, our Referring Physicians' Office and make an appointment to see Dr Brown of the Division of Gastroenterology, one of our experts in the treatment of Hepatitis C infection.
HFHSM.D.-kb
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