Appointment coming up

[timk23]

Hi everybody

Sorry to be long ... but I wanted to be as thorough as I could.

I have my follow up appointment for lymph node inflammation coming up on Friday and want to be prepared enough to know what I might be dealing with.  I'm 22 years old, and I made the initial appointment regarding several lymph nodes in my kneck that I feel have been swollen for months, namely the large one underneath my left jaw, which is the only one swollen larger than 1 cm., or so it seems.  I haven't had any recent night sweats, fevers or chills, but I did last June when I feel like all this could have started.  I had what I thought was mono and was living in a different city, and couldn't get a doctors appt. anywhere.  I thought it was fine, because the fever, chills and sore throats all eventually went away.  The lymph nodes haven't, but they haven't changed in size at all since they've swollen initially.

I made the first appointment to have the nodes checked out, and my doctor gave me an antibiotic and advised me to not touch them for two weeks and then make a follow up appointment.  The antibiotic hasn't appeared to do anything, and the largest lymph node I can still see under my kneck.  It's freely movable and the skin over it doesn't appear to be red or irritated.  It is firm and is not tender.  There are other nodes on both sides of my neck that I can feel are small but firm, and there's at least one that's swollen that I can see in the abcess below my trachea when I flex my neck.  I've tested negative twice for HIV and other STDs, have not had many partners and do not use drugs.

The baffling part is that I have a number of vague symptoms that no one's been able to diagnose.  I get these little, pulsing pains all over my body that I've thought were lymph nodes because I feel them in those areas (neck, thighs, groin, elbows, knees), but I really feel them all over my body, and get them every day.  I also have been experiencing muscle twitches for several months, too.  My eyelids are slightly swollen, and my eyes are always red and soggy gray, and I can hear my stomach rumbling after I eat, especially in my lower abdomen, though there is really no pain that accompanies it.

Phew.  Sorry, but that's it, and I want to know how I can ask for these symptoms to be diagnosed so I can put my mind at ease for the first time in a long time.  Thank you so much for reading.

[suzzie61]

Hi:  I hope they find out what is wrong very soon so they can treat you accordingly.  You said this has been going on since June.  It has been 7 months now, and your doctor should have run some tests on you.  You need complete blood work, and that will help them decide what is wrong.
     If you are seeing a GP,and you do not get the answers you want, then its time to go see another doctor.  He might even recommend a specialist to check things out.
    Post again after you see the doctor, and let us know what steps are being taken to find your diagnosis.
     Good Luck

[Dnmh]

Welcome to the community.
Chances are, the lymph nodes were enlarged from a bug you caught (fever, chills, sore throat). They take time to go bacak to 'normal', but keep in mind they may not, they may stay a little larger. IF you touch them and play with them, they won't go down. You need to leave them alone. The one under your left jaw is most likely your submandibular glans, and that is larger than the lymph nodes naturally.

Your other symptoms could be caused by a thyroid imbalance. You could ask your doctor to run tests for that, specifically TSH, Free T3, Free T4 as well as an antibody test. Puffy eyes and muscle twitches & pain, even your digestion could point to thyroid conditions. Just running for TSH may not show any problems, it needs to be all 4.

Best of luck! I hope you find some answers!