Swollen Lymph Nodes

  : : I am getting desperate for some help. No one seems to be able to find out what
  : : is wrong with me. I will go back a little bit in time in case any of this has
  : : in bearing on this.  For two years I complained about being so tired I could
  : : hardly function. Approximately around Feb 98 I thought I was having a heart
  : : attack. It was extremely severe. Had lots of tests and sent to specialist.
  : : Had Stress test and EKG. Didn't think I had but found a heart murmur and also
  : : found my iron level was extremely low. Started taking iron and it is now
  : : normal. They think because iron so low for so long this possibly caused murmur.
  : : It had never been found before and I am 51 yrs old and otherwise have been in fairly
  : : good health. Had TMJ surgery 10 yrs ago. Have been having lots of dental
  : : work lately. Root canals,and bridges etc. Approx 3 months ago started having
  : : swollen lymph nodes along back of ear and down neck, some burning of scalp.
  : : Some shortness of breath and tired, cannot sleep wake up with gums and tongue
  : : throbbing. The swollen glands really bother me and I am miserable. Almost
  : : feel like cannot function. Also am getting scared. Have been on Keflex twice
  : : Biaxin twice and now Cipro. Have been sent for xray of sinus cavities and
  : : waiting on report but am having no pain in that area. Have gone back to
  : : dentist and had more xrays, cleaning etc and they are finding nothing.
  : : Could this be Lupus or any other suggestions, I am at my wits end. Have been
  : : on antibotics for approx 6 weeks.
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  : Dear Connie,
  : I thank you for the question. IF you have not sought medical (not dental) attention for the swollen glands I suggest that you visit your Internist soon.
  : Swollen glands are very non specific and can result from benign conditions  like mononucleosis, to more serious conditions like lymphoma. In your case, it sounds like they are confined to the neck region which  would favor a local problem ( you mentioned you had many dental procedures). Pain also favors inflammatory  or infectious conditon. But  you need a good thorough examination and some lab tests (e.g. complete blood count, sed rate, metabolic panel) to make sure everything is ok. Fatigue and swollen glands were the symptoms that brought two friends to their doctors, where lymphomas were diagnosed. I hope the above information helps.
  : Good luck.
  Thank You Doctor for responding. I have been seeing a medical doctor. He is
  the one that put me on all the different antibotics and had the sinus xray which
  came back negative. He has now added a antiinflammatory. He does not seem
  concerned about the swollen lymph nodes at all. Says they will get better in
  time. However it has now been 3 months and they are not getting better. And
  also I do not get over a few hours sleep because I am awakened with my gums
  and tongue throbbing and pulsating with pain. It always seems to get worse
  when I lie down. If I had any kind of bone cancer would there be any symptoms
  like that. Would it show up in regular dental xrays? What else could cause
  this. I had already questioned him about lymphnoma and he poohed poohed me.
  He did some blood work and said it was alright. Not sure what kind of blood
  work. Help.

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Dear Connie,
Well, your condition seems subacute/chronic, but I hope it ha been about the same or improving rather than worsening. I am not an internist, so I would refrain from making further comments about this. As I mentioned earlier, many conditions can cause swollen lymph nodes, and in your case inflamed (lymphadenitis). Aside from routine blood test such as complete blood count, sedimentation rate, your doctor may want to add other tests.
I think your doctor is going under the assumption that this is a chronic local problem and should clear up on  antibiotics. Yes, bone cancer are likely to show up on Xray. But then again I am not a bone radiologist by training.
I hope the above information helps. Lymph node biopsy is probably the next step. Good luck.