going on 3 months - no answer

[DKB77]

I am swollen around lymph nodes in armpits and base of neck, both sides. Not abnormally shaped, but rather large, doesn't really disappear. Low grade fever 99.0- 99.7 with lowest in the morning. No energy,  occasional heavy feeling in chest and occasional abdomen pain, but never real bad. Doctors first thought mono, and then did a biopsy of neck lymph node looking for lymphoma, but came back negative. Have been on anti-virus and antibiotics and nothing seem reduce any of the symptoms. Had a full blood work up at the beginning and was negative for Lyme. At a complete loss. Has any had similar symptoms?

[goldie7]

Hello DKB77,

I'd like to ask you several questions in order to help find a possible cause.

1. Are the lymph nodes associated with any pain?

2. Any recent injuries to your skin?(eg. animal bites, stings, scratches, etc.)

3. Symptoms such as runny nose, and congestion?

4. Any sore throat?

5. Any symptoms such as mouth, tooth, or gum pain?

6. Symptoms such as cough and/or shortness of breath?

7. Symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and general discomfort?

8. Any symptoms such as genital lesions(spots), or vaginal discharge?

9. Any joint pain and/or swelling?

10. Have you noticed within these 3 months, you bleed and/or bruise easily?

11. Any dry and/or irritated eyes?

12. Past and/or current medical history?(Please list all conditions you have had or still have)

13. Alcohol history?

14. Tobacco use?

15. Travel history?

16. Any possible exposures, if known?(eg. around cats, farm animals, wild animals, etc.)

17. What, if any, medications?

18. How big are the lymph nodes?

19. Are any of the lymph nodes painful to the touch?

20. When pressing or pushing the nodes, are they moveable or very firm and fixed?(Please note if the nodes are even the slightest bit moveable)

21. Any current rash or lesions near or on the swollen lymph nodes?

22. Any visible throat abnormalities or lesions?

23. Any enlargement or nodes in the front of neck?

24. Any breast lumps?

25. Any liver enlargement or enlargement of the upper left part of abdomen?

[TheLightSeeker]

An incisitional or excisitional (more likely) biopsy is done for lymphomas in general, followed by an examination of the sample under microscope, to verify the nature of the lymphoma.
If positive for Hodgkin's, then further tests would be required to determine the exact sub-type and the stage.

I forgot to comment in my original reply on the negative Lyme's results, that most Labs are notorious for returning  far too many false negatives.
If you did not get a complete Borrelia and Co-infections Panel done through IGeneX Labs  Palo Alto, California -the golden standard in detecting tick-born illness- you have not ruled out 100% Lyme's disease.
Also the interpretation of the Lab results and consequent treatment -if positive- should be left to a competent LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) to my opinion.
I'm not mentioning all this because I suspect you have Lyme's, but rather to alert you that Lyme's may have not been ruled out, in your case.
It takes usually up to 5 years of testing, before chronic Lyme's disease is diagnosed and many sufferers get misdiagnosed, as Lyme's is known as the great imitator, and  can mimic any serious condition!

Best wishes.
Niko

[jemma116]

Have you been checked out for non Hodgkins lymphoma?  Just a thought.

I do not know whether the biopsy would have checked for or picked that up.  Ask your doctor to find out whether you have been checked for non Hodgkins.

Hope all goes well.

[TheLightSeeker]

Possible low grade pathogenic mycoplasma infection.

Antivirals would not work after a suspected virus has replicated.

Short course antibiotics will not do a thing to mycoplasma, they're
only bacteriostatic-not bactericidal- but only long term treatment using broad spectrum abx or cycling of a variety of abx  would work, if the immune system is able to detect them and eliminate them.

The real challenge is to detect them.
if they're in an inactive phase while been tested, hiding in the tissues,  labs will be negative.
Even when active it's not easy to detect them, however PCR testing has been the one mostly used with success.

For details just do a search under Dr. Garth Nicolson, part time expert
on MedHelp and the world's top authority in this field.

Hope this helps.
Niko