lymph gland worry

[mumof2000]

Hi, can anyone els help me ?
I suffer with bad health anx and have another worry , before xmas i had blocked ears , bad cold etc went to docs as felt gland on side of neck up , although i think has ben there for longer , he said ears were blocked so later that week suringed them , we spoke about the gland and he said it felt fine and quite often once we have had an infection they can come up and sometimes not fully go down , he reasured me by saying it felt how it should and have i no other ones appearing , the ones they worry about it when they get bigger quickly and pop up els where to .
i am a worryier and have felt my neck ache a bit latley , near gland , which is still there but no bigger it sometimes feels smaller first thing in morning i think , should i worry or go back ? i have been comparing to other side and does feel a little different but no 2 sides are exactly the same are they ? i keep poking and checking so this isnt helping i think to .
Im just so worried may be something els like C .

please help if can
thank you for listening

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Does your doctor know about your health anxiety? If he does, I'm sure he won't mind reassuring you again.

If he had the slightest suspicion that you had any thing seriously wrong, he would have done tests to rule it out. Glands do pop up when you've had a cold or similar. Its a normal way for the body to react.

Try not to poke and prod, you will make yourself feel sore,and swollen, leading to more prodding etc. vicious circle.

Are you getting any help with your health anxiety, it must be a horrible thing to deal with, take care and try to have a relaxing evening, nice bath, warm cocoa and so on

Glands can stay up for agggggges. My DS had a massive golf ball sized gland in his neck when he was 5,Hes now nearly 11 and after all these years its still not back to normal size

Thank you both , yes the doc knows about my HA , and he was resuring when i last saw him before xmas , i did google a bit and that has made me worse .. i will try not to poke and see if it gets any better . he did say that glands do stay up for ages sometimes years and dont return to normal size , and he said it doesnt feel like a abnormal one would... so i must take that into account , im just worried its something more , but the more im checking the more anx im getting i know .

x

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Hello,

Glands that are enlarged or going up and down a bit due to normal infections, colds etc just mean your immune system is functioning well.

They feel different to when they are enlarged because of cancer. Please trust me on this, your doctor will know when a gland is doing something funny because it will feel different...they feel people's glands hundreds of times a week, it's not new tot hem and they will know.

People get referred VERY quickly if a gland feels suspicious. It doesn't even have to have been 'up' for very long. It just feels different to a doctor.

Hope this helps a bit. Btw my glands are always slightly throbby and enlarged, it's just normal at this time of year as your immune system is working so much harder in the cold weather.
You could try taking a supplement of vitamin D, which is meant to help defend us against this stuff.

thank you flight..for that he did say they felt ok before xmas .

Don't worry mumof2000

it would be growing fast, if it were cancer. Really, you would know about it.

I don't know if it will be of any help, but I went almost two months ago to the doctor because had a lump on my breast below my armpit- but not in my armpit iyswim.
Got referred for a scan, went, had scan and mammography and they said it was enlarged lymph node, most probably due to shaving.
It's weird, as I didn't know they could be so low.
Anyway, it was smooth etc- I think your doctor is able to feel it and decide whether it's the right shape ie round.
It's still up, same size and I get odd twinges there- but when I was prodding it before the scan all the time, it became sore.
It's normal for them to take a long time to go down.
I think you might need help with HA- I noticed your posts before and it's just a waste of life to worry constantly.
You are not a doctor, so you cannot really make an informed opinion about your lymph node. Professional said it's ok --then it is.
If it grows or if you get others, then by all means you are entitled to worry and get it checked out.

thanks , to you both .
Doc has given me AD for anx but im to worried to take them ...
i will keep an eye on the gland and my neck ...

being cooped up because of the snow hasnt helped much i do try to keep busy as this helps ,

I also remember you saying you were not sure about taking ADs and that your DH wasn't really keen on them?
It's either ADs or therapy- HA is not going to go away.
Sorry, don't want to be blunt, it's just that it's painful to read your posts and see how your life is eaten up by irrational worry and yet you refuse to do anything about it.

HA is not going to go away on its own, meant to say.

i would suggest a talking therapy would work best

CBT is recommended for all kinds of anxiety and might really help

i am having it at the moment

Giving you ADs is just a brush off, you'll be stuck on them forever as it doesn't solve the problem. They are Ok for short term use to get past a crisis, but this isn't a crisis it'songoing and needs sorting out.

Please go back to GP and ask about getting referred for assessment at your local mental health service. They can probably help you far more than the GP can.

I have a gland that is more or less permanently swollen. It was spotted by a Doctor talking to me when I was in hospital having dd - she's now 16! I was sent for an x-ray, and they basically said it's something that I could have removed, but is doing nothing, and won't cause any problem. It is definitely always more pronounced though.

Ask for it to be checked out thoroughly for your peace of mind.

Thank you Flightattendent and ajandjjmum for help , i have taken advice on board .

CBT is superb! It changes your thought process. Have you also heard of the website 'no more panic'? There is an excellent 'sticky' on there called 'dr google will see you now', I dont think I need to explain the thread !!

I suffer from anxiety and panic, it is very distressing. Wishing you well xx

Thank you for that ilovechristmas x