GateKeepeR
07-12-2003, 10:08 PM
I have had swollen lymph nodes for about a month and a half now on the left side of my neck, I went to the doctor, have been going every week or so to get them checked out, well its come down to within 3 weeks, if they arent gone, then I have to have surgery to get one of them removed to check it out and see whats wrong, does anyone know anything about this, if it does come down to him dissecting it, what happens if he finds something, does that mean that it could possibly be very bad (like cancer), etc. or what, please help, btw im 13 years old, so im gettin kinda worried ;D
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klayr
07-14-2003, 02:37 AM
Hey, try not to panic. Has anyone suggested mono? Do you have any other symptoms, like slight fever, excessive tiredness, headaches? Didn't they try to give you antibiotics or anything? You should definitely have them checked out. What does your mother say about all of this?
GateKeepeR
07-15-2003, 07:29 PM
Yes, Ive taken tons of antibiotics, they have suggested mono, have had about 3 blood tests done in the course of 1 1/2 months, the only thing I think it can be is a sinus infection, which I have right now, and im taking antibiotics and nasal spray for, I am hoping that after i get done with these antibiotics, etc and the sinus infection goes away maybe the lymph nodes will go, the lymph nodes swell when there is INFECTIONS, and i have a sinus INFECTION ;D.. but any ideas what it could possibly be if they dotn go away and I ahve to get one removed for testing and what I might have to do to make the doc's leave me alone?
GateKeepeR
07-30-2003, 12:58 AM
bump =(
projapoti
07-30-2003, 12:15 PM
Mono is one of the things that it could be, though usually that's diagnosed with a blood screen. What they are doing to you is something called an excisional biopsy. They're going to take the lymph node out, and the pathologist will look under the microscope to see what is actually wrong with the tissue. Some encouragine news, head and neck cancers are pretty rare in people under 40 years of age. I forgot how long you said that the bump has been there, but two very possible things are:
it's big due to an ongoing infection (you did say you have a sinus infection which can linger for weeks actually!)
you have something called a branchial cleft cyst...it's a small pocket left over from when you were developing as an embryo. Sometimes, if one has a branchial cleft cyst, it could be indicative of a birth defect--but these things are usually find within the first few years of life (i.e. the kid is deaf, or he keeps getting bad neck space infections). A small branchial cleft cyst can go unnoticed for years until one day, it happens to fill with fluid and cause trouble.
Now here's my disclaimer: I haven't seen you or been able to feel the lump in your neck, so what I say about the branchial cleft cyst may be totally wrong, but as far as possibilties go for a one sided lump in the neck, a b. cleft cyst is up there.
Side note question: have you been experiencing any of the following?
unexplained weight loss?
fever/chills/sweats?
sweating at nighttime?
neck pain?
ear pain?
trouble swallowing?
hoarseness of the voice?
it's big due to an ongoing infection (you did say you have a sinus infection which can linger for weeks actually!)
you have something called a branchial cleft cyst...it's a small pocket left over from when you were developing as an embryo. Sometimes, if one has a branchial cleft cyst, it could be indicative of a birth defect--but these things are usually find within the first few years of life (i.e. the kid is deaf, or he keeps getting bad neck space infections). A small branchial cleft cyst can go unnoticed for years until one day, it happens to fill with fluid and cause trouble.
Now here's my disclaimer: I haven't seen you or been able to feel the lump in your neck, so what I say about the branchial cleft cyst may be totally wrong, but as far as possibilties go for a one sided lump in the neck, a b. cleft cyst is up there.
Side note question: have you been experiencing any of the following?
unexplained weight loss?
fever/chills/sweats?
sweating at nighttime?
neck pain?
ear pain?
trouble swallowing?
hoarseness of the voice?
GateKeepeR
07-31-2003, 01:21 AM
Not a single one of those symptoms, and I have had the lymph node swellings since around late May, the doctor says its not mono, after I have had tons of blood tests for that and alot of other rare things that it could be, and there is in all 1 big swollen one, 2 medium sized, and 2 little bitty ones, and what if it is that cyst thing, what is it going to take to cure this thing, and what will happen if I leave it alone, I am begging my parents to not let me go to the doctor, ive been so many times, im just totally pissed, everytime I think of doctors now I just hate anything about them since ive been SO many times this summer.
[This message has been edited by GateKeepeR (edited 07-31-2003).]
[This message has been edited by GateKeepeR (edited 07-31-2003).]
GateKeepeR
08-05-2003, 12:21 PM
Well I went to the doctor this morning, He says I should have surgery and get one of them removed for testing, He also said that he is 90% sure that it is a Benign Lymphatic ??? and the other 10% is possibly cancer, Just having over 1% of it being cancer makes me :[... so I have to go to a specialist or whatever in 4 - 6 weeks so Ill keep you updated =/
GateKeepeR
09-13-2003, 01:29 AM
Well I went to the specialist yesterday morning, I got in there, he checked out the nodes, checked for other areas of swollen lymph nodes, and came to the conclusion that they were once swollen at one time from just a viral infection of sort but have gone down now, but he said since I have no body fat at all almost I can feel even the tiniest amount of swelling, so I did not get any disection, and nor do I have to go to the doctor anymore for any checkups or anything for these nodes anymore. So if someone ever reads this thread a few years from now, this is why I am posting this.. Goodbye.
Susannah
09-29-2003, 12:14 PM
I just wanted to add to this thread, since I've had something similar happen to me recently. When I went to a specialist, he said that he doesn't start to worry unless the node gets to 2 cm or more. I have 4 swollen lymph nodes, 3 in my neck and one in my groin that didn't go down after I had mono. They're all pretty small, the one in the groin is biggest, maybe 1 cm on a bad day. I've been told the ones in your groin get bigger anyway. The ones in my neck aren't bigger than 5mm.
Just wanted to post this in case other people ever need the advice. Also, be aware that getting a lymph node removed can have serious consequences. It can cause lymphadema, which is swelling due to build-up of lymph. Plus, your lymph node is part of your immune system. Taking one out will make you less able to fight off future infections. I'm not sure why some doctors are so quick to just take the lymph node out. Especially since there is a procedure they can do called fine needle biopsy first. It's not as accurate, but it has far less consequences.
Susannah
Just wanted to post this in case other people ever need the advice. Also, be aware that getting a lymph node removed can have serious consequences. It can cause lymphadema, which is swelling due to build-up of lymph. Plus, your lymph node is part of your immune system. Taking one out will make you less able to fight off future infections. I'm not sure why some doctors are so quick to just take the lymph node out. Especially since there is a procedure they can do called fine needle biopsy first. It's not as accurate, but it has far less consequences.
Susannah
chalk
10-01-2003, 11:54 PM
I just wanted to say that having a few swollen lymph nodes is common...often people will have a swollen one and they don't even realize it. It's usually nothing to worry about it....in grade five I had a swollen node in my neck for at least a couple of months and then it went away. Recently I had one (that I could only notice if I tensed my neck and shoulder muscles) at the base of my throat....it's gone now.
Citris22
10-11-2003, 10:05 PM
i kinda of know what you are going through. last december i got this lump on the side of my neck and at first my doctor thought i had the mumps....that came out negative, second she thought i had mono.....that came out negative, then she thought i just had a swollen lymph node.....that came back negative too because when she gave me the antibiotics to make it smaller, it only got bigger. finally, i was sent to a ear, nose and throat specialist who drained it and told me it was a cyst....well, after he drained it, it went away. but just last month i went to have a check-up with him and it came back, so in 6 weeks he's doing surgery to have it removed...but recently it has started to hurt and my neck is sore and i don't know why.....i'm having an ultra sound on it in 2 weeks so i'm hopping i'll find out for sure why it's so big....i mean when you look at my neck from the front, you see this bulge where it is.....it's pretty bad