Scared I could have this PLEASE HELP!

[SMTOOOOO]

Hi,

I'm a 24-year-old male, (6 foot 2/163 lbs) I'm healthy I workout from 2-3 hours 5 x a week. For the most part I'm extremely health conscience with the foods I eat and pick and am "partial vegetarian" as my friends would call it (I eat fish and Chicken). I'm not perfect. Sometimes at night to do go on wild binges that typically occur if I can't sleep at around midnight. Generally, I will have 3-4 bowls of cereal with 2 cups of 2% milk. Not good seeing as how I'm lactose intolerant. This can also be factored my inhibitions are non existent around this time because I do smoke Marijuana at night to relieve my anxiety, but like I said, these "binges" only happen 1-2/week so weight wise not concern and it's healthy cereal Whole Grain stuff (just a lot of calories that's for sure!). I am a light smoker, as well, and take supplements for weight loss (the caffeine based ones, Protein Shakes, low amounts of Creation, Multi Vitimans, Vitiman b-12 have been for 2 years now). I think the fat burning pills I've been taking for a year and a half are caffeine based. Finally, I suffer from chronic anxiety (have since I was 4) as well as brutal insomnia. Insomnia is something I have suffered from as a child, too.

Anyway, I thought I'd give some medical history. I also had 2 seizures last year in relation to something called hydrocephalus (sp?). The Neurologist said I was fine and there was no need for medication or concern saying a return of seizures if highly unlikely this was confirmed by the Neurosurgeon that we saw and looked at my MRI and a EEG test done 1.5 months after Seizures and Cat Scan. I was taking Lorazopam, Xanax and Halcion at that time and it's believed the abrupt discontinuation of the Xanax and drinking diet redbull like water and lack of sleep and abuse of fat burners is what caused all this. As the Neurologist put it "a perfect storm". Oh, and the 6 hour workouts. **Happy to note I no longer take Xanax or drink Red Bull since then.

In August I caught a cold. I was pretty sick for a few days but nothing out of the normal from when I catch a cold. Stayed in bed and the cold itself went away within a week. Of course the allergies persisted because I have seasonal allergies. However, around (Aug 19th?) I began to notice a very tender pain on the right side of my neck and upper shoulder. This could be because I carry a lot of weight on this shoulder. However, the pain got worse and then I noticed in the first week of September a swollen gland. I showed my parents and they seemed to think nothing of it (but they never do, not even when I got Steven Johnson syndrome (it wasn't until I couldn't breath that my parents to me back to the hospital and this was diaginosed and took me off all the anti-epileptic meds), in addition the glands around the sides of my neck where slightly swollen as well. I had also not been feeling like myself. I had been feeling dizzy and getting headaches on one side of my head from time to time but nothing real bad. My parents wrote it off as allergies and I continue to workout, take my supplements and prescription meds, as well as smoking marijuana before bed.

Then I got depressed. Very depressed with life in general (Late Aug/Sept). This might of been the worst I've had it. I read some self help books and managed to apply much of what is in there in my life and was able to get out of that dark hole.

Throughout September things got worse. My glads swelled up more, dizzy on and off, minor headaches. Finally in October I couldn't take it anymore the glands where not going down but getting worse and my breathing was starting to concern me. I went to a walk-in Dr. who wrote it up as Nasal allergies but I wasn't satisfied with that because he said glands 'just swell sometimes because it's early October and that's allergy season.' (I live in Toronto, Canada)

That week I saw my family Dr. He inspected the swollen gland on the neck that is located just around the left side at hair line. He said it was under a certain CM that they use as a basis to see how to ***** how bad things are. He inspected my neck, arm pit area and said he believed I was fine but wanted to do blood work anyway. The following week things just got worse and worse. There where times where I was having trouble to breath and I was talking to my brother who suffers from asthma and he said kinda sounds like some kind of asthma attack. The glands under my jaw swelled up and fast and that was what seemed to contribute to my breathing problems. Then just above my Adams apple (last week) I noticed a cyst or something. It's the size of a pea maybe its very movable and feel kinda rubby. It's been there since (this one not painful). The glands have not gone down, in fact the ones under my jaw seem to be getting worse. The one at the back of my neck is still there and tender. I'm having major Anxiety attacks about this and my Birthday just passed and i did nothing because I was so scared I aggravate this. This cyst is not going down and seems to be progressing? am I crazy? Sometimes at night especial 7pm (?) I get cluster like head pain and experience breathing problems so I breath in and out real heavy on count of 7 and exhale and it seems to help. I have not changed anything from my daily life.

Please..Can anyone shed some light on this for me? I haven't had dramatic weight loss or loss of energy. This is scaring me so much I can't sleep at night even and I have some big auditions coming up.

Please anyone help me!

Medications currently on: Lorazopam 2mg X 2 Daily (believe me, I need it with this going on), Nitrazopam 10MG 1x bed time and over-the-counter "fat buring pills", Multi-Vitimas, B-12 supplement, Protien Shake w/2 g of Creatine. Workout 5 times/Week 2-3 hours, Work 9-5.

I'm desperate for any kind of answer I've spent hours on end on the net look for something and it seems like Lymphoma, Lyme Disease, HIV, Throat Cancer, Thyroid, all come up or Allergies but heck isn't allergy season over? Oh and recovering from a bacterial infection!!?? that was in August lol Geez...It's interfering with my work because all I do is research this stuff.

[SMTOOOOO]

Hello Ken,

Thanks so much for your reply. The reaction to those meds seemed to be strictly with anti-elliptic meds. In terms of the milk well if I have it, let's just say I need a washroom close by thats the biggest factor with that. I haven't had a deathly reaction to it or anything.

The Dizziness does seem to come about when I stand that is true and I don't think I'm dehydrated I drink around 10 glasses of water a day.

There is not redness in my throat not that I can see.



My dr. took my BP and said it was perfect but you know, now that you mention it, yes my heart does skip beats from time to time or at the very least a irregular heart beat comes from time to time.  

When I got that cold I just sort of ride it out and it went away but all these symptoms persisted.

Wow, that is something I overlooked yes my left ear has somewhat been bothering me and it's the ear the side of the neck the hurting gland is on.

Well, I'm seeing my family Dr. tomorrow thanks so much for your response it means a lot. I was so worried but a lot of the responses have been putting me at ease and I know my anxiety inst helping matters I'm sure.

Thanks Ken!

[Ken_PA]

Well, let's see, you've had the drug-immune reaction (SJS) and airborne allergies that are more than usual. Lactose intolerant? That might be a food allergy. If so, it's likely to the casein. Do you get a swift reaction to the milk?

Autumn allergies might be mold or ragweed.

Is the dizziness mostly upon standing (i.e., orthostatic)? Tachycardia upon standing? Are you in a state of dehydration?

What is your BP? Do you ever feel your pulse to check for skipped beats, at rest, upon standing, and on exertion?

The 'cyst' could be an inflamed salivary gland.

Redness of the throat?

Lymphoma? Not likely. I'd guess your glands are reactive, not malignant. But with your apparently hyper immune system, you won't exhibit the usual, more low key, results. So your glands are more likely to get enlarged than in the average person, when reacting to infection or allergy.

Did you get any antibiotics for the bad cold in August?

Anyway, my guess is that episode in August started it all. You had a bad virus cold (maybe an ordinary rhino or enterovirus), and the virus is wreaking havoc, including in your vascular system. Mucous in the lungs could be causing breathing problems.

Btw, did your bad cold affect your left ear?


I'd also cut out all the caffeine and other stimulants like pseudoephedrine, because it increases anxiety. Prolonged emotional stress can weaken your immune system's ability to fight viruses.