Medical question- Inflamed gland??

[oobiecoo]

Ever since I can remember, I''ve had an inflamed gland in the left side of my neck... right under my ear. It gets larger when I''m sick, along with the right side.... but recently its been larger and I haven''t been sick. The right side isnt poking out at all but the left side seems huge. Do you think it could be anything serious? I think I''ll go to the doctor to check it out, but I feel weird because I had a couple of other random symptoms I was going to discuss with him but I''d feel really dumb if they were all sompletely unrelated and not serious.

 

[miraclesrule]

My advice...get it checked out. I had what I thought was a swollen gland or small cyst behind and in the crease of the my left ear. It ended up really swollen and painful one day at work when I was downing the last of a can of juice.

I first saw a dentist because I thought maybe it was an abcess or something. He referred me to an ENT and it turned out to be a tumor in my parotid gland. I was scheduled to get a biopsy a few weeks later and lost my job one week before the appt date and my benefits were cut off before I could get it biopsied. I ended up having to pay cash just to assure myself that it was a benign growth, which is was, but it was growing fast all of a sudden and threatening to compromise a major nerve in my facial muscles. ( soooo not cool )

As soon as I got a new job and was elegible for benefits, I scheduled the surgery to have it excised. It was a nightmare, but I''m so glad I took it seriously.

Don''t worry if you feel foolish. You are the best judge when something is not right with your body. Good luck, I hope it''s nothing.

 

[joflier]

When your sick and the gland inflames, its often a collection of white blood cells due to fighting an infection.....it could be that your lymph node is swollen due to a minor infection, that you may not even have any symptoms of. That is fairly common. Although if it does persist for a long time, then it should be evaluated.

 

[miraclesrule]

Or you have cat scratch fever like my daughter had.

I wish we could just get common colds like most people.

oobie: Let us know how everything turns out if you get it checked out. If for no other purpose than resassurance, I believe you should.

 

[Miranda]

I''d get it checked out just to be sure. I have super sensitive glands and when the wind blows the wrong way they are inflamed. Here''s a TMI tidbit...When I have PMS my glands swell and the tendons on the left side of my foot and left knee hurt. Go figure!

 

[moremoremore]

You must get it checked out asap.....swelling in a lymph node is not anything to play around with....more likely than not, it's nothing...but again, shouldn't go unchecked...I bet you have some sort of infection brewing tht you just don't know about...or your body is fighing the onset of a cold, etc....
I had a golf ball sized lump under/my by collar bone that I igored until my coworker was like...are you crazy! So the doctor sent me for a biopsy (after telling me that if it's cancer we can treat it...a/k/a I sh*t myself).....it was biopsied..which didn't hurt AT ALL...and it was nothing...I did have it removed surgically e/t you couldn't see it.....but it sure felt good to know what it was...(they think it was actually the result of a car accident 2 years prior where the seat belt got me...)

 

[Dandi]

I''ve had giganto glands on the right side of my neck since forever, it seems. Like yours they flare up when I''m sick or tired, and are otherwise not troublesome. My GP told me it''s not uncommon to see this in young people who are active and don''t get as much sleep as they should! An ENT surgeon told me that the gland could be removed if it was terribly bothersome, but they don''t worry me much at all and I would rather avoid surgery. However if it is playing on your mind PLEASE go and have it seen to, it''s better to put your mind at ease, and don''t hesitiate to mention the other symptoms, you shouldn''t feel silly for doing so either! Your health is so important.

 

[icekid]

Sounds pretty benign- most people have lymph nodes that swell up when they are fighting an infection. And you may not even know when your body is fighting something, b/c it''s doing such a darn good job

And it can take a while for the node to go back to regular size (or it may not at all). You should absolutely get it checked out if you''re concerned. If your doc thinks it may be problematic, a biopsy isn''t a big deal.

 

[oobiecoo]

I tried to schedule an appointment with my doc but couldn''t get an appt. this week. It actually seems like the swelling has gone down quite a bit and it isn''t bothering me as much now so I''ll probably just talk to him about it when I go in a couple of weeks to discuss birth control. Hmm... I think I''ll start a thread on that also. Thanks for the replies everyone... It was comforting to see that others have had similar issues!

 

[Efe]

This happened to my sister once and it ended up being an allergy to her new earrings! You just never know.

 

[Diamond Confused]

My left gland always feels bigger than my right one. I talked to my doctor about it and said it''s pretty normal. If you are going in to see hte doctor might as well get your money''s worth and schedule a physical. I am certain they will tell you it''s normal.