Hard Swollen Lymph Node in Clavicular Area

[SillyScarab]

Hi,

On the 30th of December I noticed a hard 'lump' in the groove of my collarbone. It was hard, immobile and I didn't really pay any attention to it. On the 3rd of January I got a cold, mainly sneezing my head off and headaches and around the 10th I became well again. However I noticed that the 'lump' got bigger and then around the 14th I noticed that next to it something rubbery and mobile appeared. On the 17th I went to the doctor cause I started getting pain from the rubbery lymph nodes and also pain in my chest. The doctor did an ultrasound scan on which the three lymph nodes appeared as black blotches and the hard one was 3mm larger then it should be. He checked the other lymph nodes and found five of them to be tender to the touch and then diagnosed me with lymphadenitis without checking my blood.

On Monday I got my blood results and I had normal leukocytes, low iron and 120 hemoglobin which made him worried. Only my sedimentation was slightly elevated, showing that there was a process going on. He gave me antibiotics and since I was on vacation told me that I should probably ask for a biopsy and a chest scan when I returned since I had chest pain and the doc didn't know why my lymph nodes were enlarged.

I have finished with the antibiotics and the chest pain is gone, but I still have some discomfort in the rubbery nodes. My own doctor told me that he could put me through all the scans I want, but first I have to wait it out since he believes it's an infection and it should subside in 6 weeks. They did another blood test, and this time everything was normal.

I trust my doctor, however I have been experiencing night sweats (nothing too much, just wake up with damp hair), have been having headaches since the 17th non stop and now I'm going crazy because my entire body is itching, keeping me awake especially my face, head, arms and legs.

Is this just lymphadenitis or might it be something else? Also that hard lymph node has been there for a month now and it's not getting smaller. Any help?

Thanks for your time and patience to read this.

[Marg16]

Hi My husband had tonsular cancer 8 yrs ago which had spread to the base of his tongue and lymph nodes in the left side of his neck. He underwent extensive chemo and radiation over a six month period followed by a left neck disection He currently has a group of skin cancers on his clavical and left shoulder above his clavical he has enlarged lymph nodes. Not sure what type the skin cancers are yet doc is doing a biopsy tomorrow. he is having ultrasound a FNA on the nodes next week, anythingto do with lumps as you can imagine now makes me stress. Do you think we should be concerned?

[SillyScarab]

Hi again. It's been a long journey but I vowed to come back and share my progress with people who like myself a couple months ago were anxiously looking for answers to what might be wrong with them.

In short: The lymph node in my neck did not go away. In march I had severe pain in my breasts and they found a cyst there. Did ultrasound and also looked at my lymph glands on the left side and two were swollen. They told me it was probably nothing.

Months passed and I was ok. Then June came and I had exams and was under a lot of stress. My dad had bought back then.

an ear thermometer and we measured our temperatures just for fun. I then noticed that mine was elevated around 37.7. It wasn't a fever and I ignored it but my dad advised me to keep on checking it daily. I did and for three weeks it oscillated between 37.7 and 38 C.

Then as the exams finished I started working again but was sooo tired all the time. It got worse and worse and had headaches and would be completely out of breath when I climbed the stairs at home. Also the lymph node started hurting for it was growing bigger. I went to the GP and he immediately scheduled for an echo at the hospital. There they saw that it was larger then it should be and they did a fine needle biopsy.  

Then bloodtests and chest x-ray and CT scan. They found abnormal lymphocytes and the xray and CT scan revealed I had a bunch of swollen lymph nodes in my chest on the left side. They first suspected tuberculosis, so they did a mantoux (ppd) test which came out negative. Got also tested for hepatitis, HIV and toxoplasmosis, all negative.  Then they told me I should prepare myself for either lymphoma or sarcoidosis. The needle biopsy results came in incomplete and I went for a lymph node removal. Had the operation and then today came the result: Hodgkins.

Bah.... Not the news I hoped for, and honestly I hadn't really suspected it. In February I thought I was just paranoid, but then I was too busy with my study and work and life to think about being that sick. Well I can tell you the good news, getting Hodgkins cured my borderline personality disorder.

Well, now I'm still in IIb stage, but Monday I'm going for a bone marrow biopsy and I'm going to meet with the hematologist there. I'll keep you posted about any further happenings.

Word of advise to those who find themselves in a similar boat: perhaps its sometimes better to suspect the worst and eliminate that possibility first, then hope for the best and let it catch up to you.

Good luck to everyone

[Dennis MD]

Hi.
Have you had a biopsy done?
The symptoms you are experiencing are nonspecific and could be caused by many conditions.
It would be best to go back to your doctor for further evaluation and management.
Good luck.

[loolita]

I'm a 24 year old female and i have had swollen lymph nodes in my neck for about 2 years now. They dont hurt. I have done many ultrasounds and cat scans. The doctor has noticed that the lump on my left side has grown. I have a pain on the left side of my chest by my rib cage for about a week now and i have low iron. I am wondering if all these symptoms are tied together.

[Dennis MD]

Hi.
It would be best to wait for your chest xray result.  If the result is unremarkable, there may be a need to investigate further the cause of your coughing.  A chest Ct scan may be needed to check whether there are also lymph nodes inside your chest.  
You may also want to consult a pulmonologist for further evaluation.
Please do give updates.
Stay positive.

[SillyScarab]

I'm back again. Everything was fine, the pain in my lymph nodes went away and everything, but because I have a persistent dry cough for nearly two weeks now I started experiencing lung pain. I went to the doctor and told him my symptoms: headaches every day since the 17th of January, severe itching (driving me crazy), pain in my armpit and very sharp lung pain on the right side. He listened to my lungs and heard a whistling sound and then sent me to do a chest x-ray. He gave me codeine to open them up, (which turns me into a drooling zombie) and xyzal against the itching which should stop the itching in three days time if it's because of an allergy. Well today is day two and I'm still clawing at my skin and have resulted to pinching it just to get some relief.

My doc is still surprised at what's wrong with me. He believed it was first an infection but now believes that it's not because I have no fever and have not had a fever since all of this started and neither does my bloodwork indicate any infection.

I'm getting the result of the chest x-ray on Thursday. The lymph nodes above my collarbone are still swollen and it seems that they are bigger in the morning and smaller on the evening. Is this weird? Oh, and I'm also starting to have a pulsing pain behind my eyeballs.

Can anyone help me and guess what might be wrong, for at this point not even my own doctor knows.

Thanks

[Dennis MD]

Hi.
Enlarged lymph nodes can be caused by a variety of disease conditions.  Infection near the site of the enlarged lymph nodes is the most common cause.  Lymphomas can also cause the lymph node to enlarge.
Most of the time, even with treatment of infection, the enlarged lymph nodes do not regress in size.
Progressive symptoms need to be evaluated.  Perhaps you should go back to your doctor for reevaluation.
Good luck.