so in october i had a armpit ultrasound.....due to pain in armpit and breast.......today i went to a breast specialist due to ongoing pain......my lymph node was slightly enlarged at 1.1 cm in oct today it was 1.95......
they did a needle biopsy.......obviously have to wait for results.....i am hoping its just from infection and not anything else......any ideas
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
I hope its infection/toxins too Florence1.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I would think this doctor could recommend a good lymph drainage specialist. Once a week lymph drainage therapy for a couple months would surely get these areas flowing normally.
Maybe after working with specialist you could just use a rebounder at home daily to keep them flowing?
Pam
Posted by azdaisy (Member # 25357) on :
Oh Florence1!!! do not despair!! I lovingly call the lymphnode in my neck...my bratwurst..you can visualize it if I turn my head and my arm pit actually bulges out! they scared me with words like Lymphoma...but its lyme. Thank GOD!! I spent a crazy amount of money on a machine suggested to me by my LLMD called a Lymphstar Pro and it has changed my life and my healing!! It $$ from 2500-4500 depending if you can find one used. which is really hard since I would NEVER give mine up unless I was trading up but I see no need. It shakes your lypmh and helps it decongest. I put one ampoulle at the base of my sterum and the other at my groin or my bad armpit or gently on "my Brat" and you can hear all the lymph roll over in my belly. Lymph dumps into your intestines at the Cistern de picket, sorry but I learned this all in french and don't know the english for it. Lymph = Immune system plain and simple and when a node is backed up you are not able to detox properly or heal for that matter. I am not well enough to give my self a massage with the machine and simply tuck myself into bed with almost daily and when I don't I get congested in my legs and face and feel extra bad. I would be happy to discuss or be of service in any way that I can!! I hope your results come back negative and that the persons reading your labs understand lyme...because they wont be normal anyways. xoxox
Posted by massman (Member # 18116) on :
Very good suggestions map !
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
Florence,
I went through something very similar. I have a lymph node the side of a golf ball under my right arm.
My PCP put me through the same tests and all results came back as it being nothing, so she then tells me it must be caused from me getting older. Huh?
My LLMD had said it could be Bartonella but had talked about Lymph Drainage Therapy.
I have to say that this works AMAZINGLY. I thought I was stuck with this lump since it has been huge for almost a year and nothing would take it down.
I've only been going to the therapy for a couple of weeks, twice a week, but it has gone down enough that I can not put my arm down to my side.
It still has a ways to go, but I would definitely suggest you look into this technique if they find nothing in all of your tests.
Good luck to you and keep us posted.
Cathy
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
thanks all.........I just presumed it was related to the lyme and others....which i hope it is.......what I dont understand is why is it getting bigger whilst on antibiotics not smaller??..............my other concern is the radiating pain into my right breast and the pain in my left back....wonder if my spleen is enlarged also...........perhaps i have swelling elsewhere.........would be interested to know.....anyway results may be back tomorrow.....
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
It's getting larger because the toxins are blocked and the nodes aren't flowing the way they should be.
Blockages from toxins can happen anywhere in the body. Abx aren't a cure all. In fact blockages like this can keep the abx from getting to some areas.
Exactly why one must do tons of detoxing, good therapies when doing abx.
Pam
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
When I was 12 (35 years ago), my mother's lymph node swelled up like a grapefruit. The doctors back then thought it was cat scratch fever aka bartonella... It turned out to be non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
You have to be careful with these things. There are homeopathic drainage remedies, lymphatic drainage massage & other things you can do about it. Rebounding on a trampoline is supposed to help.
I did research on the Lymphstar Pro & I wish I had one. I checked with some massage specialists around but no one does that around here with the Lymphstar Pro.
From what I heard, cancer lumps & bumps are usually not painful right off the bat. Don't worry too much - stress does not help in general.
Seems to me that you may have a blockage, Maybe you can find a massage therapist who specializes in lymphatic drainage? You have to find someone who knows how to do it. There are special schools that teach it (the Vodder technique is one). It's not basic massage therapy.
This website has some info about lymph blockage & an herbal tea:
(I don't sell or get money from recommending products.)
Hope everything goes well!
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
presuming all is ok with the biopsy.....and its toxins etc......would that make my spleen swell???
I have had pain in my left back ribs for months and months.......where the spleen is located but in the back.....
again i just kept presuming it was the Babs/lyme....but that seems to be getting worse aswell................
I see my LLMD in May....may go see my PCP see if they can look at my spleen.........getting worried now that I am blocked up with toxins.......
Posted by azdaisy (Member # 25357) on :
you know Flo, your pain may be kidney related. for what its worth, spleen presents in the front and kidneys in the back. How is your water intake? this affects lymph as it is 90% water...just thinking...and with all my meds I had to be put on 1000ml IV Daily to keep me properly hydrated in addition to my 3 liters of water I drink! and for what its worth, Dr. Vodder is the MD who pioneered lymph treatment and his methods are the best and its worth seeking out a therapist who is vodder method. I don't benefit in any way with any recommendation other than the joy of sharing. Laurie the owner of Lymph Star is very generous and sold me a refurb for a discount. It never hurts to ask and being that you too have a "brat" I can't say enough about how big a differnce it made for me. It was more cost effective to buy the machine that I could use daily where I could never afford daily massage and it will last a lifetime!! Also, spleen is red cell clean up like the lymph is white cell clean up...so its not out of the question that it is over run too...I took Trental my first 8 months of treatment. My LLMD gave me that.
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
azdaisy...what is trental for......they just called me to say....it came back ok...."benign"........siad they would keep a check on it review in 6 months.......i do wonder though if everything is backed up as my left side is starting, my back.......and no i am terrible with fluid intake..........
Posted by sparkle7 (Member # 10397) on :
IMHO - The least invasive way to go would be to drink more water, get a rebounder & try some Vodder style lymph drainage...
Posted by azdaisy (Member # 25357) on :
Not sure all the off lable uses for Trental...my LLMD said it was to make my red blood cells more elasitic and better able to carry oxygene and therefore help me heal. this is my brain fog time so, forgive my choppy reply. and without question my dearest Flo...you MUST make changes in your water intake. You are living the consequences of not drinking enough water. Its that simple. No mystery here. Lypmph is mostly water, blood is mostly water, plasma is mostly water, digestion requires water...see a theme? I have no idea what medication regime you are on...but water is the single most important "medicine" you can possibly take in. Good water at that! My LLMD has me drink only room temp water plain or with lemon and I use a specific glass to help keep track of my intake. MINIMUM of a Liter and I feel like crap if I only drink that much. NO CAFFEINE and if I do it's 16oz of H2O for every 4oz of caffeine to break even. Caffeine is dehydrating!!!! and never coffee- way too acidic and that is whole other problem. Yes you will have to pee all the time when you first start...that is your bodies desparate action to dump all the toxins you have stored before you forget to drink water again...once it sees that you will do it often you don't have to go quite as much. I would lose my kidney's with all the meds I take if I didn't drink as much H2o and I have IV 1000ml(1 liter) of Lactated Ringer or mineralized water daily in addition too. I tried a rebounder and am too weak and easily disoriented to do that now..hence the LymphStar Pro. Vodder method is great and I would recommend that asap to move through your plug. I'm not sure how much you know about Lymph and its job in the body..it is your immune systems highway and you can't afford to have that jacked up. Bottoms up my friend!! Please and report back!! its going to change your life!! your skin and how you feel and your healing!! Great fresh distilled almost tastes sweet a great book that will change your life..." Your Body's Many Cries for Water" author has long east indian name...at amazon. oops long post and diatribe forgive me.
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
You might also ask for a trial of cholestyramine to pull poisons. I am a lot better for it.
Posted by Florence1 (Member # 22960) on :
thanks.....the more i think about it the more i think the pain in my left side/back may be spleen........
Posted by daniel (Member # 22201) on :
think of bartonella too !!!!!!!
Posted by peacemama (Member # 17666) on :
My older son has had lymph nodes the size of peaches/walnuts over the course of his 13 years. Sometimes, with treatment they have been down to the size of garbonzo beans, but usually walnuts. Even when he was 3. The docs blew me off. . .and then the doc who dx lyme was the first one in 12 years who paid attention.
They ebb and flow now, with treatment and flare ups.
Bartonella is what my LLMD says.
Posted by GiGi (Member # 259) on :
Find a licensed lymphatic drainage specialist. They are here in this country too - on every street corner in Europe. Picture a plugged up bathtub or kitchen sink, or toilet! No matter what causes it, it needs to be supported to drain. You cannot heal in this condition! You can start with gentle brushing - very gentle brushing. The lymph network is right below the skin. No hard pushing. Always in the direction of middle of chest (exit of lymph). A good ND will know.
I use a green laser with remedy. I use homeopathic drops. I use infrared laser with remedy. And trampoline if you can physically handle it. Chi machine (ours cost under $100) to keeps things moving as you are on treatment and die-off. We use a Galileo vibration plate. They are available in some gyms now.
Take care.
Posted by ott70 (Member # 18237) on :
My left side pain has been my spleen. It was enlarged a year ago, but not dangerously. I have also had enlarged lymph nodes in my neck, maybe the size of a grape, but not growing.
I went so far as seeing a ENT and hematologist who both agreed that a biopsy should be considered. However, the nodes were borderline, and they decided on a PET scan if insurance allowed it.
Whew. I was past my deductible for the year and insurance actually covered the whole cost of the PET!
Findings, as with most of us Lyme patients, zilch. Nada. No light ups on the PET scan from the radioactive gatorade you have to drink.
My spleen went back down, but flares up in pain once in awhile. The nodes in my neck stay unchanged. Occasionally, a node in my armpit might flare up but reduces back down.
Remember, if you keep feeling your lymph node, as I like to do, then it will stay that size from palpating all of the time. I was told it can take weeks of not touching it for it to reduce in size.
I totally agree with the lymphatic drainage comments. Very important. I have a co-worker whose son has some weird lymphatic immune problem that sticks him in the hospital often. It always seems to stem from his feet and then can flare the whole body.
His best results come from lymphatic massages.
Posted by karenl (Member # 17753) on :
I drink red root juice from biotta ( diluted in water) every day about 1/3 of small bottle (start slowly,herx). Also I put some bacitracin (antibiotic ointment from Walgreen, no prescription) on it and it helped in my case.