Neck pain

[Cassie507]

I am a 39-year-old female, and I have been having terrible left anterior neck pain for about 1 month. The pain seems to be close to my carotid artery and runs along the trachea. My left jaw and ear also hurt. I have been to an internal medicine and ENT doctor, and I have had an MRI and CT scan of my neck, and I was told that everything appears normal. The ENT doctor said my lymph nodes are swollen, but the MRI was normal. My thyroid is not swollen and TSH and free T4 levels are fine. The last few days my neck has been hurting even more. I couldn't even work today it hurt so much. I have trouble swallowing, and when I lay on my back, it feels like my throat is closing up. My internal medicine doctor did a soft tissue neck x-ray and said it was fine. She gave me a prescription for Vicodin and Provigil and made an appointment with an endocrinologist in 2 months. I am just so confused because all my lab work and x-rays are totally normal, so why does she think an endocrinologist can help? If she thinks nothing is wrong, why does she think I need to drive 2 hours away to see a different doctor? When I asked her these questions, she just said there is nothing more she can do for me. I am just so tired and have no idea what could be wrong.

[Cassie507]

Thank you all for your comments. I finally insisted that my doctor do a throat culture yesterday because my neck pain was so bad. My throat didn't look very red, but it was the only thing I could think of. The culture came back positive for strep, so I hope that once I get started on antibiotics, I will start feeling better:-) I am just angry that I spent all that money on an MRI, CT scan, and x-ray!

Thanks!

[huneybee41]

The MRI's showed nothing wrong with your neck, ask the doc what could be the problem that you know that there is one.