raised groin glands (7 lumps) in my 8 yr old boy.. worried sick!!

[lynnie2015]

hiya i dont know where to start really... after bathin my son back in march i noticed 2 lumps on the left side of his groin... my first thought was he had a hernia so i went off to the docs with him.. doc informed me that they was lymph nodes and he could feel 3 not two like i could see.. was told to take him back in 4 weeks if they hadnt gone down.. in the meantime my son continued to get more nodes come up but this time on his right side... (bearin in mind my son has not been ill for ages no cough,cold nothin!!) so i took him back to docs who checked him again and refered him to pediatrics... and for bloods. once we seen consult he didnt even check my son before blamin it on a virus!! his bloods he said was normal when infact he is borderline anemic and had low white blood count?? was told not to go back unless my son loses weight??? since then my sons nodes hasnt gone down and i can feel more comin up in his neck (very small at mo) he does however have intermittent night sweats that can make his bed and pillow really wet and he often gets bit short of breath.. ( he had xray was told it was normal... but there was a gland showin on his collor bone bit but he said that was normal tooo? is it normal to see lymh nodes on xrays??) he has also had few episodes of runny bum... doctors keep tellin me its nothin,,, but his nodes have been up since march (may have been there longer as i only noticed them in march) and still there now... one of them feels bout 2/3 cm long but i not sure if it a cluster close together or just one long one... gettin worried because he had no sign or symptoms of infection at all prior to this nodes appearin and i cant see a reason for why they have come up?? docs infuriate me as i have fibromyalgia, so they get sick of me goin and i feel like they think i wish my son ill!!... which i dont, i just wanna know why these nodes are there and why is more appearin??? i have no reasonin for why?? if he had been really poorly with a cold etc i would accept it was from a bug but why have loads come up in his groin... normally i would expect them to be up in his neck if it was a virus?? should i be worried??? cant get my head round it as i have no answers to why part from docs sayin virus... which they tend to blame it on when they havent a clue... he has just had bloods again and seein doc tomoz for results but doc only done a repeat a month later so apparently... i can draw a line under it .. to amuse me really!! think its digustin really as if it is a virus what virus is it then??? worried cause of lymphoma and know it can be hard to diagnose as it doesnt always show in blood dependin on type... am i bein silly and take docs word or shall i ask for second opinion??? if the glands had shown to be goin down i wouldnt worry but because more is there now and some bigger from march and i can feel tiny ones in his neck startin i cant let it lye!! specially as he wasnt ill with bug before hand!! all doesnt make sense.. surely glands dont just pop up.. there has to be reason for it?? please help and has anyone else had this with their child and what was the outcome!!

[bestguess23]

Not had it with a child but with myself. To reassure you it wasn't lymphoma. Have you been referred to a haematologist? Maybe try to get a referral if not. They should be able to rule out lymphoma. They shouldn't leave him if he has raised nodes and night sweats. I know it is scant reassurance but cancers multiply quickly and when my mother had lymphoma her lymph nodes became huge within weeks- I mean tennis ball size.

[bestguess23]

Sorry I wasn't very clear with that last sentence, I meant I would think if it were cancer it would have become much more obvious by now given the time frame.

[bestguess23]

Sorry, I keep thinking of other things. It is possible to do a needle biopsy of a lymph node. I had that initially before having a lymph node removed for testing.

[lynnie2015]

also if it is a virus why havent they started to go down?? n how long do i leave it before i go back again... every where on the net i read that they shoud return to normal after a few weeks of infection .. well my sons have been up for 4/ nearly 5 months that i know of and one has got a ikkle bigger (not sure how long they was there prior to me seein them on that day) with more that came up past 2 months?? dont get me wrong they are all various sizes biggest bein bout 2/3 cm i think.. rest smaller... sorry to wittle on but i am really worried incase they miss early stages of cancer, i know that probably seems a little drastic to think but when i google swollen lymph nodes and night sweats that al that keeps comin up. if this was your son or daughter what would you think and do??

thanks again for takin the time to read and await your replies, sorry again if i seem a bit neurotic lol but i am not i am just worried for my son x

[lynnie2015]

thanks for your reply as i have read up on lymphoma but i know there is high grade and low grade some grow quick amd others your on the watch and wait.. n can have lymph nodes come up and no other symtoms for yrs thats what worries me x i want him checked properly but dont want him to have unecessary tests if i can help it.. like a biopsy but part of me does so i know for sure lol. hes only 8 bless him x just think he got a lot of nodes up for a virus that i cant recall him havin?? was actually sayin this has been the best yr yet as normally he picks upo everything but since sept las yr stat of new school yr hes done well which is ironic lol

[YNK]

Doesn't the fact that they are swollen just indicate they are working well and dealing with infection the way they should?
Of course I would want to know they knew what kind of infection it might be and 'virus' is a bit non specific (typically)

[smokeybandit]

Not having something quite as severe with my ds at the moment (2 lumps, not on groin) but nothing else wrong symptom wise, doc said bring him back if there are night sweats or weight loss...so due to the night sweats, if this blood you're waiting on comes back ok I would insist on some more investigation or try a different doctor as it's gone for this amount of time. I hope you get some answers and a good visit with the doctor. I've also found the nhs helpline quite useful at times to reinforce things if you're not sure on what the doctor has said.

[lynnie2015]

i understand that it probably shows they are workin well but its the length of time they have been up and why is more comin up when he is showin no sign of illness is what concerns me x i dont know any of my friend or family that have got lots of kids btween them ever havin this prob with thier kids. just really wanna know what the cause is.. peace of mind really

[lynnie2015]

thanks smokey, i went to docs today with him... but went on wrong day lmao.. appointment is tomorrow grrrr was right on the calender but i thought it was today!! fibrofogged!! been so all over the place lately with everything as my sisters ikkle boy as just been diagnosed with duchennes muscle dystrophy and my nan had a really nasty fall and shattered her from top to bottom and broke her arm in two places!! so a lot on my plate at the mo n not sleepin. so all this with my son probably feels a lot worse than it is cos of everything else that is goin on. will keep ya updated. n yes i was thinkin bout changin my doctors to be honest as i dont have a lot of faith in them as they told me for 2 yrs i had virus and post natal depression when infact i had fibromyalgia!! lol so the virus word doesnt sit to well with me!! n since anything i have wrong with me they blame on fibro now when infact other things have been wrong!

[smokeybandit]

Oh no, I suppose at least you weren't a day late instead. You've obviously already got a lot going on so it can't be easy. No I've never liked the whole virus thing either, seems to be the go to cause for many things when gp's don't have something obvious to go on. It may well be a virus but finding the cause is the important part! I hope the appointment goes well tomorrow and don't be afraid to change docs if you don't get anywhere. They get paid either way and you're the one that has to look after your ds and know him better than anyone. Trust your instincts.

[lynnie2015]

thanks for your reply mrsde. thats whats worryin me because he has raised nodes and night sweats he does get breathless at times but his iron is boardline as few yrs ago he was severely anemic, so i think his breathlessness has a lot to do with that rather than anything else plus his chest xray was clear. i just wanna be sure its not nothin serious as these nodes aint budgin and i can feel more comin up in his neck now. most plces i read that they got one or nodes but my son has got 7 in groin and i can feel about 3 in his neck now. but the first place they came up was groin... no illness no sctratches/spots or bumps anywhere on his legs just weird... maybe i am worryin for nothin but to me it just seems a little odd why they have come up and havent gone down at all. still docs tomoz see what his blood is doinn now and where we go from here... might ask docs to do viral study see if anything shows up with that seems they keep sayin it viral lol.

[zipzap]

Sometimes asking them what are the consequences of waiting for 4 weeks/whatever they've told you to do can be useful.

Turn it around and say that you've looked on google and although you can see that the symptoms partially fit with the doctor's diagnosis of a virus, they also fit much better with lymphoma/

[zipzap]

MrsDV I must admit I hate the compensation culture that's grown up but just occasionally it can be very useful - and this sounds like the perfect time that it doesn't hurt to use it to your advantage when you're worried about a potentially sick child. It's not like this is the first time you've been in to see the doctor - it's been months now - and you have very legitimate worries. particularly in this case when there are some big scary 'symptoms fit' options out there - you're not obsessing about the difference between two minor outcomes!

Good luck OP - really hope that the doctor actually listens to you and does something positive rather than just send you away for another month!

[lynnie2015]

well update for ya.... after last week and fallin out with the doc he said he took time to review my sons notes and looked at all the symptoms as a whole etc and look at his lastest blood results (which came back pretty much ok but his wbc is still low and the same as last months) he said he phoned heamotology to get a second opimion of lexs symptoms and blood results etc and as a result of this as his symptoms could mean a number of thing... meanin his night sweats etc he now feels it would be good to go for a second opinion, so instead of goin to bath peds where i went last time he is now sendin me to bristol childrens hosp... sounds mad but i feel relieved that they finally gonna look into it more, even if it comes back that lex has a bug of some sort that was missed and needs treatin with antibiotics i will be happy just to know a reason for why his nodes are up so i can place it in my head. just prayin its not lymphoma to be honest but if it is then we will deal with it, but as a parent i need to be 100% sure that my boy is ok. hes my life. As so far we have no reason for why these nodes 7+ up/night sweats and breatlessness is happenin as he has showed no other sign of illness or weightloss not that i have noticed really as he has always been my skin and bone ( MY NICK NAME FOR HIM) as he has always been skinny and never really gained weight. still least now he is goin to the right place to be checked properly and hopefully put my mind a rest once and for all x

thanks so much for your time and and responses

will keep you all updated

[lynnie2015]

thanks mrsde, hope all is ok too but least if anything is there ie virus or worst case it can get sorted like ya said. just need peace of mind really, all i ask for, my boy is my life

[bestguess23]

Glad you're seeing a haematologist, they will be a huge help. Good luck and I hope he feels better soon.

[smokeybandit]

Hi Lynnie, glad the doc took the time to do that for you. It's not mad to feel that way, whatever the outcome you just need to know what it is so you can get your ds whatever he needs to put an end to the night sweats and lumps. It's a shame it's taken this much time but hopefully you're a step closer now.

[lynnie2015]

Thanks everyone for listenin and advice you all been great. Will keep you updated.

Just hope we get the answer why they up etc weather it the big C or just virus. Can put my mind at rest then and deal with what ever the cause is n move on from the worry of it lol

Thanks again you have all been great

[lynnie2015]

Hiya just an update... got call from childrens hosp this mornin... got appointment for wed afternoon at the ciu. Hopefully get to the bottom of it all now.

[smokeybandit]

Brilliant news that they called nice and quick. Fingers crossed for you and ds.