Cause of swollen lymph nodes throughout body?

[overit4now]

Just over a month ago I had many tender swollen lymph nodes inside my labia which then spread to my groin. There was no obvious cause the doctor thought maybe some type of cellulitis and prescribed antibiotics. The initial nodes have subsided but there is still some slight swelling and discomfort in my groin which send a deep achy pain down the inside of my thigh. A pelvic ultra sound confirmed enlarged lymph nodes and noted sizes and benign appearance. A CBC with diff was normal WBC was on the low side of normal range.  A few days later I caught a cold or flu. A few days after that, I had a very painful swollen node in my arm pit. I assumed from the illness. I have been over the flu for 10 days or so. For the past 3 weeks I have continued to have swelling in different nodes in both arm pits. Nodes subside after few days and a new one seems to swell. A new came on last night with visible redness and swelling on the surface. It hurts my whole arm and hurts to wear a bra.  I also have an enlarged periauricular node just in front of my left ear this does not feel super tender like the others but had radiating pressure type pain into my temple area. All swollen nodes feel moveable. I am waiting to see the doctor next week. What is going on? What would cause the swelling of nodes throughout these different areas of the body? Is it possible to have lymphoma with normal CBC results? What should I ask the doctor?

[overit4now]

Thank you for your reply. I have friend with Hodgkin's so she kind of freaked me out a bit. My lymphocytes were 24.3%(range 14-43) and neutrophils 66.8%(range 37- 73).  RDW was at the high end at 14 (range 11-14). I don't know if that means anything. I think it is immune or autoimmune related I have had a positive ANA 1:640 speckled, but none of the follow up testing confirmed anything. Rhuemy office said, " at this time It doesn't appear that you have RA or Lupus so we will not take you on as a patient".  I also had a recent bout of Episcleritis. Doctors don't seem to know what is the cause. I had extensive allergy testing last year and nothing came up except dust mites ( isn't everyone allergic to these). I have implemented  all the remediation tactics for these.

The doctor found more nodes in my neck and behind the ear. All the others areas of pain I mentioned to him follow lymphatic channels even into legs. Mammogram was normal. He just sent me for a chest X-ray and a long list of blood tests. He said it is most likely not cancer but might biopsy the largest node but wants to wait for other test results. So hopefully we will figure something out.

[Ken_PA]

Hi, it seems far more likely to be "generalized lymphadenopathy" from your immune system reacting to something (such as infection), rather than from lymphoma or other cancers.

Reactive nodes hurt when they enlarge from the proliferation of the immune cells inside. The stretching against the node's covering (capsule) causes pain. Cancerous nodes usually don't hurt.

The location where everything started might be a clue.

Your WBC could have been normal because it was taken in between flareups. How were your neutrophils versus lymphocytes?

P.S. Yes, it is possible (and likely) to have normal bloodcounts with lymphoma, especially at the beginning. But I wouldn't worry about lymphoma, especially as the nodes subside on their own. Cancer doesn't do that.

Rather think of infection. If not infection then some rarer immune response, like autoimmunity or a mysterious autoinflammatory condition. The way that the nodes take turns swelling is unusual. Maybe you have had a very reactive immune system for a long time (allergies), which is something to always keep in mind whenever a person has unusual immune reactions.