Lymph Nodes

[looby194]

Hi, I'm curious about what my lymph nodes are doing- over the last few weeks I've had them swelling in different areas: armpits, neck and bum. They are tender but not that sore in the scheme of things. The worst is that I have been really tired and oversleeping, antibiotics have done nothing to clear it up. My white blood cells are lower than average but not too far out of normal range, the first doctor I saw wasn't worried about it. My chest looks a bit swollen and my abdomen feels off- hard to explain as it doesn't hurt. The second doctor I saw said to come back after the antibiotics were done, assuming that the dwellings haven't gone away. I'd say they are worse! Any ideas?

[looby194]

Thanks for getting back to me- I can happily report that I have found out what's wrong with me and it is actually quite funny given that I was beginning to get worried. I got publicly waxed for charity (a cancer one) and it turns out  bacteria got into some hair follicles with rather unpleasant results. Although the lymph nodes in my neck were swollen, the others were something called folliculitis- the last doctor I saw was none too impressed with his colleagues as words like 'biopsy' had freaked me out. This may well be the last time I do a good deed! Thanks again, hopefully everybody else who's worried gets a similar outcome.

[Mochadelicious]

Hello and welcome to the forum.  Sometimes lymph nodes can wax and wane, and hopefully yours are doing that in response to an infection.  Are you having any other symptoms like night sweats, fevers or weight loss?  

Go through the antibiotics and if your lymph nodes don't go down, ask your doctor if you should have another blood test to see if your WBC's have improved.  You could also ask about a biopsy, but your doctor may be reluctant to do that without other lymphoma like symptoms.