Could you guys please help me make some sense of my symptoms??

[Ja_Esme]

Hello, guys!
I understand you are not here to diagnose me, but I would really appreciate you helping me figure out should I start panicking or not, based on your experience.
I'm a 27 year old female. Have not been to the doctor's in ages, I'm the type of person to easily brush off everything as a common cold and power through it myself.
About 3, 4 months ago, I have noticed I started to get really seriously fatigued all day, every day. Like, barely keeping my eyes open at work fatigued, even though then I had no trouble sleeping. If I could have, I would have slept 20 hours of the day. I have also noticed I was getting out of breath very easily, especially while going uphill or up the steps. I would literally feel faint how out of breath I was getting. I have also lost around 11, 12 pounds in the last 3, 4 months, without consciously dieting (I now look very frail and unhealthily skinny). I have found a lump on the left side of my neck which is around 1,5 cm and one on the back of my head, near the hearline, which is at least 2,3 times the size of the first one. The first one feels rubbery, but the bigger one feels very hard and unmoveable.

I went to the doctor when I notices the first one, a little over a month ago, when it was only bean-sized. She did some bloodwork, everything seemed fine except my hemoglobin was on the lower side of the normal range, lymphocytes were a little higher than normal, and neutrophils were a bit lower than normal. She said it seemed like an infection and refered me to an infectologyst. He assured me he can see no signs of an infection, at all.

Now, that was over a month ago. Both of the nodes seem to have swelled up a tiny bit more. I have started feeling this weird pain and slight, tender swelling down my neck on the left side, around my collarbone, and around my armpit, above my breast. No lumps in those regions that I can feel, just the slight swelling, and the skin feels warmer than normal there. I have also had a slightly raised temperature of around 99.5 for 3, 4 days now, mostly in the evenings, accompanied with chills throughout most of the day. I have had no night sweats, but have been sweating more than usual, in general, for over a month. Also, my throat feels tight, but is not painful. Just like it's difficult for me to swollow. Some itching all over the body is there, but I have attributed it to dry skin due to colder weather.

I guess my question is, should I worry? I am planning to schedule an appointment with my GP next week, and ask her if we can to an ultrasound of the nodes, because I have been getting progressively worse, I feel like.

Thank you so much in advance for reading this, would really appreciate your input!

[Ken_PA]

Yes, having an ultrasound on the biggest bump is the right thing to do. Or better yet, both. 3cm is very large for a normal lymph node, but it might not be a node. Can you describe the shape?

Did either node come up almost overnight? If so, that tends to infection. If infection, it seems viral.

There's no need to jump to conclusions at this point, but you shouldn't just let it go.

[Ja_Esme]

Thank you so much for answering. Actally, I have no idea if they appeared overnight, since I accidentally found the first one. Later on, I wanted to check if there were more, so I found the bigger one. The thing that I am sure of is that they have grown, if slightly, over time.

I am ususally not a hypochondriac, but I still feel like I need to be responsible here and get some sort of resolution.

Thank you again!

[Ja_Esme]

Sorry, I forgot to include the shape in my previous response: the smaller one feels roundish but rubbery, the bigger one is round and hard.

[Ken_PA]

Well, the signs you have so far can point either way. If you want to not get put off to the far future for your appt, tell them it is hard and round and painless, and especially emphasize the size and that it seems to be getting bigger. Maybe also say "left collarbone".

OTOH, to allay yourself, note the pro immune-reaction side:
- lungs seem to have immune activation (histamine)
- itching can be histamine
- the left side condition seems more like an odd immune reaction, that is spreading
- you probably wouldn't have B-symptoms at this early point, so those symptoms are probably non-cancer
- difficulty swallowing seems maybe more mast cell related

That last point leads to the important question: do you or relatives have history of odd immune conditions or allergies?

I'd say that what you'd want is the sono to rule out cancer. Make sure to ask the tech during the scan about seeing "fatty hilum" and "internal architecture", which get effaced by cancer. So their presence will be the best sign for you.

Then you can get on with the real diagnosis. Let me know how it goes.

[Ja_Esme]

I'll make sure to remember all that when I see my GP next week.

As far as I know, nobody in my family has suffered from any immune conditions. The thing that's gotten me to think "****, what if it's cancer?" is the family history of cancer on my father's side. My grabdfather died from lung cancer, his brother from colon cancer, and my aunt survived non-Hodgkin's (not exactly sure which subtype). So with all that C-word in my family, I've kind of grown up whith the mindset of: If I do ever get a serious illness, it'll be it. Weird, I know.

I'll try not to wreck my brain too much until I have some definitive answers. The worrying only makes matters worse.

I really appreciate you taking your time to help me out!

[Ken_PA]

I'm glad to help, and good luck with your appointment. I think you'll be happy with your sono results.