anything besides lymphoma?

[dijitalbuddha]

I was wondering if anyone had ever heard of a systemic fungal infection or indeed any illness that happens to have the exact symptoms of advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (searing back pain for one year, proliferation of infections in months prior to pain and indeed since, itching worse than chickenpox, shingles or infections, swollen lymph nodes, loss of 90 lbs, joint pain, debilitating fatigue) and yet could remain undetected by bloodwork and mris of thoracic and lumbar spine and of the brain (still waiting for cervical), as well as visits to doctors of many different disciplines including dermatologists, hematologists, psychologists, and endocrinologists. So far I have only learned that I have scalp eczema. I also have had a stomach ulcer, mono (several times showing up as active in the blood), and rheumatoid arthritis, all of which I understand to be risk factors in addition to my age and sex, 28 yr old male. Lately I cannot even get my primary to see me, last time he did he commented the lymph node in my throat, measuring 5 cm, is "normal size." Hail Mary here, anyone have any possible thoughts or experiences that could possibly shed light on what this is? bloodwork has shown i am anemic and have elevated liver enzymes but I guess no one is concerned as to why. i dunno, i keep just trying to live my life and hope this will go away as i'm told it's psychological but I truly fail to see that, and those who are qualified to give such mental evaluations laugh when I tell them this (well, after a repore is struck of course)... and it just keeps progressing in the exact manner that lymphoma would, as I have recently read a few stories that sound almost the same as mine. any advice or support would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much!

-ryan

[UNCTAR3]

Your story has inspired me. I am too going through many difficulties over the course of the past 6 months. To begin, I had lyme disease when I was young, along with Mono when I was in college. My lymph nodes in neck and groin are hurting and I feel pain in my chest/collar bone region. I have taken blood (CBC) work-all normal. I had 2 HIV tests-non-reactive. I feel nauseas, dizzy and persistent pain in my throat. I have been to doctors who have told me that I was fine. I also have diarrhea for years. I will not stop finding a solution! You have empowered me to continue!

[dijitalbuddha]

thanks to all for care and concern. after years now and so many drs it's a joke, it turns out i have chronic lyme, 2 coinfections, and toxic mold manifesting now in ALS type symptoms. but i have a bright dr who is working hard, and has made close friends with the ILADS (international lyme and associated diseases society) keynote speaker this year, one of the top specialists in the country, so im very lucky to be treated by this circle even though my dr will have to do it. would take 100 comments to update all the symptoms.... just fascinating how intense the pain has been and how 9/10 drs say cancer first then find through expensive bloodwork. lyme was my gut instinct before i listened to too many drs and websites, can only hear cancer so much before you are convinced that is it. for now, pray this explains the totality of symptoms. thank u all for wonderful support, and stay strong and healthy. thank you for your prayers, you are in mine as well. i choose to ignore the dr that said i am a ticking clock for cancer bc of bacteria and immune suppression the last 20 years (bit 20 yrs ago at least...), and even if that changes, has been such a nightmare i am not afraid. has inspired a desire to be healthy i have never known before, so there is a silver lining to the torture (has been 28 months standing now from pain, to start). anyways thanks again, you all gave me strength spent almost the whole year in the dark as to what it was. stay strong. there are answers. if your intuition is saying you are sick, i say you know you better than anyone. i was told i was fine by many drs too, clearly anything but the case. follow your heart, stay strong, stay positive (just echoing smarter people), and reach out if you need to. even though i never met anyone here, it helped to know more people cared and were thinking of me. i pray for anyone reading this that you either have no illness or be cured of it. blessings to all of you, thank you

[Ellie29]

Hi Buddy,

You definitely need to see another doctor; however, I understand the difficulty of choosing one with the correct expertise. It seems obvious to me you have some type of immune deficiency and I wonder if seeing an immunologist or allergist would be a good place to start. You would be amazed that this could be something as simple as an allergy. I wish you the best. Keep us posted on your progress. You are in my prayers. Ellie

[Mochadelicious]

Hello and welcome to the forum.  It sounds like you've been through a lot of doctors without any real answers.  I know how frustrating that can be as it took 3 years to get diagnosed with NHL myself.  My only symptoms were reoccurring lumps (I had no B symptoms) and my blood work was normal.  After I was finally diagnosed, I asked why it didn't show up in my blood work and the doctor explained that it doesn't always do that.  He said it depends on the extent of the disease and if I had B symptoms (weight loss, fevers, night sweats), the likely hood of it showing up in my blood work would be greater.  So, when you say that you have swollen nodes and all these B symptoms and still nothing alarming shows up in your blood work, I have to wonder if you really have something that mimics lymphoma.  Sorry, I don't know what else it could be.

My only advice is to see another doctor.  A 5 cm lymph node doesn't seem like nothing to me, and if you've had it and all your other symptoms longer than a few weeks then you need to get to the bottom of it.  Perhaps an ENT or a general surgeon could take a look.  It wouldn't hurt to suggest biopsy of the node and see what they say.  Good luck and please keep us posted.

[Mochadelicious]

Hello and welcome to the forum.  It sounds like you've been through a lot of doctors without any real answers.  I know how frustrating that can be as it took 3 years to get diagnosed with NHL myself.  My only symptoms were reoccurring lumps (I had no B symptoms) and my blood work was normal.  After I was finally diagnosed, I asked why it didn't show up in my blood work and the doctor explained that it doesn't always do that.  He said it depends on the extent of the disease and if I had B symptoms (weight loss, fevers, night sweats), the likely hood of it showing up in my blood work would be greater.  So, when you say that you have swollen nodes and all these B symptoms and still nothing alarming shows up in your blood work, I have to wonder if you have something that mimics