I have just seen a nurse practitioner because I have 5 lumps in my right armpit & 3 in my left.
All swollen, red & painfull which have got slowly worse over the last week.
I have been sent away being told it is a dermal infection not my lymph nodes.
I have compared what I can physically see with pictures of swollen lymph nodes online & it looks exactly the same as the pictures.
I have also moved in the last three months so I dont have my new oncology clinic yet to seek advice from.
I have been being tested for short of 3 years & have had no problems but all of a sudden I’m getting lots of infections & now this & I just want a little advice to point me in the right direction. Thank you in advance😊
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Hi @Wilky I am so glad that you have found us, welcome.
Perhaps see your GP, if you have one yet, and if you are not satisfied you might ask for a referral
to an appropriate specialism.
I always remind medical people of all my conditions, treatments and medications.
As for infections personally I have found they can be for so many reasons.
Really look after yourself and please do let us know how you get on.
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Hi, I did get to see a Doctor who fully agreed that it is my lymph nodes & is completing some blood tests to initially check my lymph count for lymphoma as well as check to see where my Monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS) levels are at.
So good news someone has taken it onboard & see where the roll of the dice takes me with the results.
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Hey there @Wilky, welcome to the forum. I’m sorry to read of those lumps you’ve been experiencing. I can unfortunately empathise with you as I experienced something similar last year.
Although I went on to be diagnosed with Polycythaemia vera (PV), the armpit lumps I had checked out by my doctor weren’t necessarily related. I am not suggesting you have Polycythaemia vera (PV)! I also went on to develop a horrible kidney infection last year, after which I had my blood tested and a gene mutation was found that indicated MPNs such as Polycythaemia vera (PV), which led me to get tested for that and lo and behold I have a blood cancer. What I now think is that my immune system was already weakened by the undiagnosed Polycythaemia vera (PV) which allowed infections to develop more easily.
While I am not a doctor, I agree with @Erica to ask to be referred on to relevant specialists, perhaps a haematologist who deals with lymph-related health as well as blood illnesses.
Sorry you’re experiencing the pain, I remember it well! Something that helped my painful lymph nodes was regularly applying warm compresses using a clean flannel soaked in hot water. I added a few drops of lavender oil to the hot water. Taking painkillers helped take the edge off the achy, bruised sensation. Keep the areas clean too—my doctor suggested the infection might have been from not showering fast enough after long hikes! Grim.
I wonder if I may ask, you say you don’t have a new oncology clinic yet, so were you under the care of one before? Would any previous illness maybe chivvy your doctors along in checking out your lumps now, I wonder? If you were part of a cancer clinic before then you could ask to be seen faster, I imagine.
If you’d like some advice from Blood Cancer UK’s lovely specialist nurses, give them a ring for free on 0808 2080 888 (Option 1) to speak in confidence.
Let us know how it goes.
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Ah just seen this newer post, @Wilky.
That’s great that you’ve been seen by a doctor who agrees it’s your lymph nodes playing up. Sorry to read about the Monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS). I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the lumps turn out to be something mostly harmless and the blood tests show nothing has progressed with the Monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance (MGUS).
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