So many symptoms...

[SLT86]

Where do I start...I have abdominal PAIN, alternating diahrea and constipation, TONS of gas, abdominal distention (especially lower and upper right), I literally CAN NOT burp, gas gets trapped in my intestines also, mucus in my stool, vomiting.... I also have burning during urination and urgency....I have been coughing a lot and wheezing, and I am coughing up a lot of very thick phlegm with brown and red streaks...I get tingling and numbness, only in my left leg, especially when I am having a bowel movement..I am really fatigued, get night sweats and have really itchy skin....I have been to so many doctors and I feel like they are just brushing me off becuase I am 22 years old, but there is something very wrong.....I have also lost a lot of weight, from 120 to 97 in 3 months...The GI specialist I just went to ordered blood work and now I have to wait over a month to go back, I feel frustrated and I am in so much pain...I also have 7 swollen lymph nodes in my neck, 2 in my abdomen, 1 in my groin and 2 in my calf....my question is, could lymphoma cause this? What else could cause the swollen lymph nodes in multiple areas of the body?

[Dnmh]

I'm not in any way suggesting you disregard it. Following through is what I would do in your situation as well. It would be irresponsible to "ignore" it and that is not what I was suggesting. I was only pointing out that there are other conditions that fit your test results and symptoms to give you a glimmer of hope. A complete work-up by a hematologist or oncologist is most definately warranted, and I do hope you follow through with it.

I'm sorry, I copied the wrong one, but the differences are pretty much the same - severe elevations point to leukemia, not decreased levels.
"Neutrophils can increase in response to bacterial infection or inflammatory disease. Severe elevations in neutrophils may be caused by various bone marrow disorders, such as chronic myelogenous leukemia. Decreased neutrophil levels may be the result of severe infection or other conditions, such as responses to various medications, particularly chemotherapy. "

Leukemia is very treatable today. I know, my mother has it and has for many years. She's 63 years old, and still works a full time job. Sometimes the docs come across a very aggresive acute form, like they did with my cousin and the best they could do was treat his symptoms until he passed away. His was very quick, less then a year from diagnosis to his death.

Testing negative for lupus doesn't neccessarily mean one doesn't have it. In a lot of people, the patterns seen in the various autoimmune disorders don't show up for several years. That is my situation. And I just went through a scare with lymphoma myself, because all my symptoms fit. Even my doctor thought it was a possibility, until the CT scans showed my lymph nodes were normal size. I also am at a risk for thyroid cancer, which has to be monitored by ultrasound every 6 months, so I understand the worries and concerns. I was in no way trying to minimize what you are facing, just like I said, showing there are other possibilities, not as serious.

[SLT86]

Hi,
I have also been doing some research since I got home and it seems like there is more than a "slight chance" of leukemia when I have almost every symptom and now very high Eosinophils and low Neutrophils (notlymphocytes)....I hope and pray that I don't have anything that serious, but to just totally disregard it I think would be a mistake, especially when my doctor seems to thinks that might be a possibility. My doctor did test for lupus and I was negative.....
Thanks

[Dnmh]

Here is some info I found on Lab Tests Online for you.

"Eosinophils can increase in response to allergic disorders, inflammation of the skin, and parasitic infections. They can also increase in response to some infections or to various bone marrow disorders. Decreased levels of eosinophils can occur as a result of infection."

"Lymphocytes can increase in cases of viral infection, leukemia, cancer of the bone marrow, or radiation therapy. Decreased lymphocyte levels can indicate diseases that affect the immune system, such as lupus, and the later stages of HIV infection."

Yes, leukemia is a slight possibility with the elevated eosinophils, but you would also have an elevated white count, a decreased red count and your lymphocytes would be elevated, not decreased. You have a positive ANA - high or low ANA doesn't mean a whole lot - it's positive. That decreased lymphocyte, along with your symptoms are more likely an autoimmune process. Autoimmune disorders can cause the bone pain and swollen lymph nodes as well. And, if it's AI, it could take a while to find which one. I'm going on 7 years undiagnosed!

Not to dismiss what your doctor has told you, but to give you something else to consider. Did they test you for Lupus? Re-reading your posts, a lot of your symptoms sound like it...
Here is the link to the MedHelp Lupus Info pages. http://www.medhelp.org/medical-information/show_section/6328
See if any of this seems familiar to what you're going through.

Please do keep me posted on how things develop!

[SLT86]

Thanks for all the support! I had my appointment today...it went well in some ways I guess, but not in others.....if you want you can read my journal entry about it.

[Dnmh]

Dont give up! Something is obviously wrong! When is your appointment? Is it with the gastro doctor? I strongly suggest you keep the appointment. For them to say it's not urgent, they generally mean it's not life threatening. Let that give you a little peace of mind.
When you go (please do) ask for a copy of your lab tests, and any other test results they have for you. Also let the doctor know that you don't have insurance and can he recommend a General Physician in the area for you?
Please keep us update. I'm concerned for you!

[SLT86]

Well I had a msg on my cell phone this morning from my doctor's nurse saying "There are abnormalities in your blood work, but nothing urgent. Your doctor wants to talk to you about it at your appointment so keep your appointment"....so they wont tell me....because its not "urgent", urgent to who? Its pretty urgent to me!! And we paid over 2,000 out of pocket for that blood work, so I don't think its fair for them to not tell me.... So I tried calling this other specialist I saw 3 years ago to try to see her but they said since it has been 3 years my records have been purged and I would need to have a doctor to doctor referal....problem is, I dont have a GP here where I am living with my boyfriend...and I don't have insurance so I can't afford to go to a doctor to be refered to another doctor...I give up....

[SLT86]

Hi, sorry I haven't written, I have had a really rough couple of days, that is still continuing right now....I did call the doctors office again on Friday, they didn't call me back AGAIN....I have been leaving messages for a week.....Tomorrow I am going to call and have them just fax me the results so I can go to a doctor that gives a **** about their patients.....Thanks for the support.....

PS I live in NV and don't have any insurance....my boyfriend and I have been working like on getting insurance for me but no one will cover me because of pre-existing conditions....come on Obama, help me out! lol

[roserd]

We haven't heard  from you.  I hope you are all right.  I would suggest that you try for an internal med dr.  or call back to the gastro dr., and ask to talk to the nurse of any of the drs offices and tell her/him that you are not feeling well and need an earlier appt. That gets their attention also.

But do it.  Those levels for your potassium, glucose and enzymes are important.  My husband landed in the hospital because his pot. level was low.  (no pun intended).  

Let us hear from you.

[Dnmh]

I agree. Find another doctor, and another, and another if you have to until someone pays attention to you.
My sister and I were just talking about that. She use to work for a highly respected, head brain surgeon. He's the one that told her - "we work for you!" There are many out there that still care about the patient. It sometimes takes a little time to find them.

[roserd]

To me if I didn't get the response I needed I would begin by searching out another doctor.  Go in, sign a release form for your records to be sent to the new doctor. someone that you feel comfortable with and will take the time to explain, the potassium, glucose, and enzyme levels.  Those are important. Get on the internet about those levels and what they mean.

I don't know where you live or what your ins. will cover but I sure would change if I hurt that much and lost that much weight.  

I had to do my own searching for the right hem/onc - not that is where you belong - but it has paid off.

[SLT86]

The test for the urinary tract infection was negative so there is obviously another cause for the urinary symptoms, I don't feel the need for another urine test when there are so many other symptoms that are 10 times worse that the urination problems.....My doctors haven't given me any antibiotics because they haven't found an infection......I have called and talked the receptionist and left messages for my doctor 4 times in the last week trying to get the results of my recent blood work and haven't gotten a call back, this is insanely frustrating.....

P.S. I also have dark reddish blotchy skin on my abdomen, the skin is not raised and does not itch at all. When I went to the ER the doctor said it just looked like I had the heating pad on it because it was so red, but it stays like that 24/7 even when I haven't had heat on it for a long time...

[Dnmh]

It depends on how bad your infection is as to where in the body they swell. I still think there is more infection-wise going on. I would definatley get a repeat urine test. I could be wrong, but in all my research, I haven't seen the stomach and urinary problems you are having associated with lymphoma. I just had a cousin in the hospital with diverticulitis. That's the first thing I thought when I read your post. Do you still have those lab results? If so can you post them? That may give me a better picture of what might be going on.

[SLT86]

Thanks for the response....I was thinking of pneumonia too, I had it once when I was about 12, it was kind of like this but I didn't have brown in the phlegm.....I went to the ER about a month ago after being so constipated and having to use a fleet enema and it didn't work.... and they checked for a urinary tract infection but it was negative.....the incompetent doctor at the ER told me the blood work was fine and constipation wasn't a big issue anyway (he also did a pelvic exam and all he did was looked at my cervix and said it "looked ok" and took a swab, didn't feel my ovaries or anything...) but when I got home I noticed there were up and down arrows and exclamation points everywhere, showing that my white blood counts were off in the differential (total wbc ok), potassium was low, glucose low, liver enzymes high, etc......Would pneumonia cause enlarged lymph nodes all over your body? I have read that if it is in an infection the enlarged lymph nodes are usually only in one part of your body....I called for the test results again today, this being the 4th time I have tried calling and left messages, no response.......

[Dnmh]

At first glance, it sounds like you have a bad case of pneumonia - that would be the cause of the thick streaked phlegm... I've had it at 5 times in my adult life.
The burning and sense of urgency are most likely a secondary infection of your urinary tract, which if it's up into both your kidneys could be causing some of your pain.

Either of those infections can be the cause of your other symptoms, including the lynph node enlargement.. Have any of the doctors given you any medications? Antibiotics? What tests have they run?
As for your blood tests, they should have the results in under a week. Call them, and call again if you have to to see what they indicate.

You might even have some intestinal blockage, which could explain why you have everything else. If the intestines aren't moving properly, bacteria can build up and make you very sick. The vomiting could be the cause of your weight loss.

I'm not a doctor, but I don't see these as being from lymphoma. It really sounds like some kind of infectious process going on.

Call for those test results. Be a pest if you have to. Something is obviously wrong. If your symptoms get worse, I would recommend going to the emergency room.

Please keep us posted! I'll be thinking of you!