HeatherB
05-18-2004, 09:23 PM
A couple of weeks ago my husband came to me and said he had 3 lumps in his groin lymph nodes and the entire area surrounding it is swollen. So he went to the doc and he put him on an antibiotic, which hasn't helped. All blood work came back and everything was negative or normal except his white cell count was abnormally high. Which the doc the said is usually seen with cancer....freak out! So, he went to a surgeon to have it checked out and he put him on another antibiotic. He doesn't think it's cancer but rather an infection. So, another two weeks of meds and we'll see some there. He and I are very worried that they are not aggressively acting on this in case it is cancer. I'm not sure if anyone out there has been through something like this, but I could certainly use some advice. This "illness" has me stressed out that I now have a lump in my throat and are having panic attacks. I feel like I haven't slept in two weeks. Any advice? :confused:
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Marimac
05-19-2004, 04:09 AM
A couple of weeks ago my husband came to me and said he had 3 lumps in his groin lymph nodes and the entire area surrounding it is swollen. So he went to the doc and he put him on an antibiotic, which hasn't helped. All blood work came back and everything was negative or normal except his white cell count was abnormally high. Which the doc the said is usually seen with cancer....freak out! So, he went to a surgeon to have it checked out and he put him on another antibiotic. He doesn't think it's cancer but rather an infection. So, another two weeks of meds and we'll see some there. He and I are very worried that they are not aggressively acting on this in case it is cancer. I'm not sure if anyone out there has been through something like this, but I could certainly use some advice. This "illness" has me stressed out that I now have a lump in my throat and are having panic attacks. I feel like I haven't slept in two weeks. Any advice? :confused:
Is your husband having any other ill effects? Fever, nightsweats, pain? Has he been scratched by a cat recently? Does he work in construction and had an injury as simple as getting a splinter in his body from wood products. Has he been around children who have been ill. Being a school teacher cooped up in a room full of children can wreak havoc on an adult immune system sometimes.
These are all reasons that he might have infection that is just resistant to anti-biotics. Doctors have told patients time and again to not take anti-biotics until they are actually needed because the diseases that are contagious eventually get resistant. For example, if you or some one else you are around have taken a lot of anti-biotics in your life time, there may be whole generations of products that will not be effective against infections. When I was a teenager and a little beyond, Acne was treated with anti-biotics and there is a whole bunch of people running around whose immune system will not respond to tetracylcine and afew similar ones because of it. Acne is a horrible disease to those who have it, but for those few puberty pimples that land on the nose or cheek for a few days, anti-biotics were over kill but people demanded them for their precious little daughters and their fancy parties etc. Now, we are paying for it in surprising ways.
I do hope that this is a minor infection kicking up a lot of commotion about nothing.
Is your husband having any other ill effects? Fever, nightsweats, pain? Has he been scratched by a cat recently? Does he work in construction and had an injury as simple as getting a splinter in his body from wood products. Has he been around children who have been ill. Being a school teacher cooped up in a room full of children can wreak havoc on an adult immune system sometimes.
These are all reasons that he might have infection that is just resistant to anti-biotics. Doctors have told patients time and again to not take anti-biotics until they are actually needed because the diseases that are contagious eventually get resistant. For example, if you or some one else you are around have taken a lot of anti-biotics in your life time, there may be whole generations of products that will not be effective against infections. When I was a teenager and a little beyond, Acne was treated with anti-biotics and there is a whole bunch of people running around whose immune system will not respond to tetracylcine and afew similar ones because of it. Acne is a horrible disease to those who have it, but for those few puberty pimples that land on the nose or cheek for a few days, anti-biotics were over kill but people demanded them for their precious little daughters and their fancy parties etc. Now, we are paying for it in surprising ways.
I do hope that this is a minor infection kicking up a lot of commotion about nothing.
ysco
05-19-2004, 08:49 AM
Hi HeatherB,
An abnormal high white cell count may indicate an infection at the same level it may indicate something more serious.
Does he have systematic symptoms (e.g. fever, night sweats, itching)? Did his nodes continue to enlarge recently? What is the size of his nodes?
Lymph nodes at the groin area are usually commonly larger than other areas and lymphoma is relatively uncommon.
I guess the surgeon had a good reason to give him more antibiotics because it's not supposed to be his job.
If this one does not work, I definitely suggest you insist on having a node biopsied.
Good luck.
An abnormal high white cell count may indicate an infection at the same level it may indicate something more serious.
Does he have systematic symptoms (e.g. fever, night sweats, itching)? Did his nodes continue to enlarge recently? What is the size of his nodes?
Lymph nodes at the groin area are usually commonly larger than other areas and lymphoma is relatively uncommon.
I guess the surgeon had a good reason to give him more antibiotics because it's not supposed to be his job.
If this one does not work, I definitely suggest you insist on having a node biopsied.
Good luck.
HeatherB
05-19-2004, 09:40 PM
Thank you all very much! I may be freaking out over nothing since there are no other symptoms. My first thought was HIV, but that was ruled out already...so, we'll just play the waiting game for now and pray for the best! Again, thank you all for your advice!