Swollen Lymph nodes

[jacoby27]

Hello,
I don't know where to start... I guess I should start at the beginning when I realized there was a problem. Back in Feb. I started working nights. My environment is enclosed, we share computers etc. I eventually caught an upper respiratory infection, ear and throat, took antibiotics, it cleared, then a month later I repeated this. So I never quite recovered. I think with this new schedule I sleep about 4 hours a day. One night, my department went out for drinks and I attended. I laughed so hard I felt my throat muscles across the frontal area pop. There was no initial pain until about 4 days later. My whole facial area swollen, under my throat and behind my ears. When I went to Emergency, they took blood tests and said I was fine but that I may have ruptured a vocal chord as my voice is huskier, my neck hurts really bad and I have one lymph node that never quite goes down behind my right ear. The front of my neck hurts really bad.It is hard for me to tell if I have torn a ligament in the throat, or if it actually is a swollen node. Would swollen lymph nodes cause your entire neck to hurt so bad you can barely tilt forward or twist your neck?

[Caryopteris]

See the ENT specialist who would be assigned to you from the night you were seen in the ER.  

[jacoby27]

Thank you. I have 2 days left. I have been icing, heating, and taking Naprosen. Some of the swelling has gone down, and some of the pain as well. But not completely. Until then, I try to rest more. Even if I cannot sleep, I lay stabilized in bed.

[em88137]

this can be the case but you could also have an underlying issue.  if it doesnt get better you may need to be checked for autoimmune disorders

[jacoby27]

Thank you both. I went to the ENT, had the micro inserted into the nose and down the throat. She said everything was in perfect order, larynx was good, vocal chords lined really good etc, basically she saw nothing to cause alarm for any cancer. Blood work was also good. What I thought was a lymph node was the connection area for the soft tissue strap muscle. It has been disrupted pretty bad. No lymph nodes were swollen so I am glad to hear that. The pain has not subsided; it has slowed a bit.I am only on anti inflammatory meds. I was also told it will take several months to heal. I can now tell the pain goes in conjunction with how I am positioned, twisting, tilting etc.. I wasn't given  neck brace and I wonder if I need one? I was so happy to have cancer and lymph node clearance that I walked out and didn't ask.