Hi everyone! This is my first time posting on the lymphoma board. I have been posting on the thyroid disorders board before this. My reason for posting on this board is that along with the nodule that my doctor found by my thyroid I also have swollen lymph nodes in my neck. One of them has been there for about 6 months or longer now. I have a few others that have appeared in the last 2 months or so. I also have these symptoms - fatigue, lack of energy, difficulty breathing, sore throat, headaches, neck pain, brusing easily, shrinkage in height, laryngitis on and off for about 8 years. I have had blood work done for my thyroid which all came back normal. I have not had my white blood cells tested, should I? I have had a biopsy of my nodule, but not the lymph nodes. My doctor said I would have to wait for the results of the first biospy before they biopsied anything else. Should I be worried? Has anyone had anything similar or know what this could be? Any advice and/or info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

For what it's worth, I've had lymph glands that swell up and go down, this has gone on for years. I stop eating and fast for a day, that makes them go down. Also, I eat very well and avoid things I'm allergic to like grains, dairy, etc. Best of luck!:)

Jayne5601 - Thanks for the info! I'm not sure if food is the cause of my problems since my lymph nodes have been constantly swollen with no ups and downs. Do you think tha could still be it? Or am I looking at another problem here?

HI
I would go to the doctor to have complete bloodwoork done. Then ask him for a referral for ENT. Some people can have completely normal blood levels and still have Lymphoma or some variant of the disease. But always to be on the safe side have the ENT do the a excision biospy. Then you will know.
My bloodwork was great end of june, got 2 enlarged glands on my neck. Some in my groin, armpits. But I remember it was the small knot at the base of my skull that I think started it.
Any way bloodwork went south fast. Did biospy I have CLL a type of lympoma, and being treated with chemo, its not bad. But my bone marrow is packed with Lympocytes (sp) so until the chemo clears out the bone marrow I am having blood tested weekly. And sometimes I need some blood because until the bone marrow clears. I am having a hard time making my red cells.
Sorry for the long post.
This all does sound overwhelming, but if I would have taken the time to check out the first node. I may have kept my bone marrow from being as packed.
There are a lot of knowledgable people on this board, so keep posting.

Take care

beckyb46 - Thank you for all of the info! I'm sorry to hear about you condition. It's sounds like you're able to put a positive spin on it and that's good. I am now awaiting my results of my thyroid nodule biopsy. I'm hoping to hear tomorrow. After I find those out I am going to to talk to my doctor (hopefully she'll listen this time) about my swollen lymph nodes and see what ENT she recommends. If she can't recommend an ENT I have a friend that is a medical resident for ENT. So I think I will give him a call and see what he suggests. Everything that I have been going through has been quite nerve-racking, especially the not knowing part and when I seem to have more and more symptoms everyday...that's a little scary. I hope that I will be able to be seen by the right people soon, diagnosed correctly, and then put everything behind me the best that I can. I've heard so many horror stories about misdiagnosis. It makes me think that even if my biopsy comes back benign I may still want to have my nodule and/or thyroid removed just to be on the safe side. Thanks for sharing your story. It helps to talk to people who understand. Please keep me posted on your progress and I will do the same for you. Take care!

becky,
I was just wondering what your white cells were like? Were they high or low? Mine are low. Did you have any other symptoms besides the swollen nodes?

The highest my wbc got was 49000 and they came right away with the first dose of chemo which was rutaxin, plus I am on prednisone (yeah) I basically got very anemic (sp) my crit got down to 14 can't remember what my hemoglobin was around 7 or 8 and my rbc where around 2. But like I said I was fine until my bloodwork started getting bad quick. No night sweats , no itching just 2 big nodes on my neck and around 5 nodes around the base of my skull, armpits and groin.
Good news all my nodes are gone. At least the ones I can feel. Now if I could my bloodwork normal. I can go back to work.

Take care