Posts by Joseph Taylor3

Joseph Taylor3 said:I was wondering if anyone could help me make sense of this:

Basically, I've had swollen lymph nodes in my neck for quite a while now. Back in May, I went in for an UTZ, and the doctor there didn't think it was anything major, so he just told me to come back in October for a follow-up. Well, I went for another neck UTZ in October (just a few weeks ago), but this time with a different doctor. This guy also said everything looks fine—yeah, the nodes are enlarged, but he insisted there’s no need for further testing because everything looks okay.

But here's what's actually messing with my head: my CBC from a year ago showed absolute lymphocytes at 2.4 (30% relative). Six months ago, they were at 2.9 (36% relative). Today's CBC shows them at 3.7 (43% relative)... For context, the normal range for absolute lymphocytes goes up to 3.35, and the relative range goes up to 46%.

The doctor looked over today's results (just the current ones) and brushed it off like it's totally fine... What's eating at me is that this shift in my CBC happened exactly during the same timeframe that my lymph nodes have been growing (which the doctors told me not to worry about). On top of all that, I've been feeling generally weak, getting lightheaded, and occasionally feeling like I'm coming down with some kind of flu.

edit—I ended up talking to an acquaintance of mine who's a GP, explained the whole situation, and she basically said that since two different specialists did the neck UTZ and confirmed the nodes are enlarged but aren't worried, it should be fine. She mentioned that if there were anything serious going on, those doctors would have taken action already.

Just wanted to ask one more thing if anyone here knows their stuff: if the doctor noted on the latest UTZ report that there are no pathomorphological changes in the nodes, does that pretty much rule out the scary stuff, like lymphoma or leukemia?

Could someone please help me make sense of this:

So, I've had swollen lymph nodes in my neck for quite a while now. Back in May, I went in for an ultrasound, and the doctor basically told me not to sweat it and suggested I come back in October. Well, I went for another neck ultrasound a few weeks ago in October—this time seeing a different specialist—and they said everything looks fine. They acknowledged the nodes are enlarged, but insisted there’s no need for further testing because nothing looks suspicious.

But here's what's actually eating at me: looking at my CBC results, a year ago I was at 2.4 absolute lymphocytes (30% relative), six months ago I was at 2.9 (36% relative), and today's labs show 3.7 absolute lymphocytes (43% relative)... For context, the normal range for absolute lymphocytes goes up to 3.35, and the relative percentage goes up to 46%.

The doctor reviewed today's results (just today's) and brushed it off as totally fine... What's driving me crazy is that this shift in my bloodwork happened exactly during the same timeframe that my lymph nodes were growing (which, according to the doctors, isn't a concern). On top of all that, I've been feeling generally weak, dealing with some lightheadedness, and occasionally feeling like I'm coming down with a virus.

edit—I ended up talking it over with a friend of mine who's a GP. She told me that since I've already seen two specialists for the neck ultrasound who confirmed the nodes are enlarged but aren't worried about them, I should probably be okay. She mentioned that if there were anything seriously wrong, those doctors would have definitely stepped in and ordered more tests.

Killer movie, and Johnny Depp was absolutely killing it...