Aa
Do I seek a second opinion?
8 months ago I had 3 lymph nodes in my neck pop up that haven’t gone away. I finally mustered up the courage to see a doc, and my blood work came back as pretty anemic. I did have an ultrasound and ct scan and the biggest lymph node is .8mm. I have also had multiple symptoms; decreased appetite, severe fatigue, headaches/dizziness, bruising everywhere including my gums, sores in my mouth land I have lost weight without doing anything different or even trying almost 16 pounds over 4 months. I saw one doctor who spent a total of 15 minutes with me and didn’t ask about any of my symptoms. He prescribed iron for me (I’ve been taking it) and told me I couldn’t get a biopsy because the lymph nodes weren’t big enough. Told me to see GI so they could “deal with me” and that maybe I’m just being dramatic. So my question is, do I seek a second opinion or is this all just anemia? I don’t want it to be something more and I didn’t get it treated. I’m nervous that another doctor will just tell me that I’m being ridiculous and won’t help.
Seek a second opinion by all means. What a ridiculous doctor. Be sure the second doctor understands you have been taking the iron, so if you don't come up as having anemia he or she can tell why.
2 Comments
In your shoes, I'd want to be checked for a platelet disorder. You'd need a CBC (complete blood count) to measure the levels of platelets in your blood, and maybe a bone marrow test. If the first doc knew about the bruising in your gums and didn't order either of those tests, he was being very indifferent. Don't let the second one blow you off.
I had a cbc done. My platelets were ok but my hemoglobin was low. I was also told it couldn’t be cancer because I didn’t have the exact symptoms as someone else who had been diagnosed with cancer. When I got my review of symptoms back, I had to reach back out to have him correct it as he hasn’t asked me about any of my symptoms and put negative for all symptoms.
HATB, if you post the scan reports, I can tell you if there's anything worrying there. (If the nodes popped up suddenly, and then plateaued in size, that supports being not-cancer.)
But let's go ahead and presume that the scans show not-cancer ("reactive"). Then with digestive/mucosa involvement (loss of appetite, mouth sores, etc) we'd look for some infection that also creates enlarged nodes. E.g., are you of an age to have mono (Epstein-Barr virus)? Then maybe strep or Lyme. Etc.
If not infection, then next maybe some immune system problem, e.g. lupus. Do you have any family history of immune conditions? Ever have an ANA test for starters? Any odd personal immune medical history? Females of child bearing age are more likely.
We'd still have to explain the bruising, with normal platelet count. We'd therefor look at lowered coagulation proteins, which are made in the liver. Any liver tenderness? ALT and AST tests? Or maybe the GI problem creates a nutrient absorption problem, you need vitamin K to make coagulation proteins.
What you have is not simple. ERs or walkin clinics aren't good for such things.
No, you are not being ridiculous. This shouldn't be ignored.
But be aware that it's a TikTok trend for people to show up with imaginary diseases. That's not you, but docs are generally exposed to that trend these days. Still that doc seems strange, as Annie said.
The scans were the way to rule out node cancer; not your symptoms, not merely node size either. *But* your symptoms *are* important to find out what's really wrong with you. Absolutely, just as you say.
But let's go ahead and presume that the scans show not-cancer ("reactive"). Then with digestive/mucosa involvement (loss of appetite, mouth sores, etc) we'd look for some infection that also creates enlarged nodes. E.g., are you of an age to have mono (Epstein-Barr virus)? Then maybe strep or Lyme. Etc.
If not infection, then next maybe some immune system problem, e.g. lupus. Do you have any family history of immune conditions? Ever have an ANA test for starters? Any odd personal immune medical history? Females of child bearing age are more likely.
We'd still have to explain the bruising, with normal platelet count. We'd therefor look at lowered coagulation proteins, which are made in the liver. Any liver tenderness? ALT and AST tests? Or maybe the GI problem creates a nutrient absorption problem, you need vitamin K to make coagulation proteins.
What you have is not simple. ERs or walkin clinics aren't good for such things.
No, you are not being ridiculous. This shouldn't be ignored.
But be aware that it's a TikTok trend for people to show up with imaginary diseases. That's not you, but docs are generally exposed to that trend these days. Still that doc seems strange, as Annie said.
The scans were the way to rule out node cancer; not your symptoms, not merely node size either. *But* your symptoms *are* important to find out what's really wrong with you. Absolutely, just as you say.
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