Sigh...

I've had problems with swollen lymph nodes before.  In 2009 I had a big one near my jugular vein surgically removed to make sure it wasn't cancer (it wasn't).  I have a smaller (now permanent) lump on the side of my neck, but scans have showed that it's nothing to worry about.  It stopped growing when I added Singulair to my medications.

Anyway... I'm on vacation right now.  Last week my sister and I took our kids to a carnival and I rode a few rides with them (my son wasn't tall enough to ride on his own... you should have seen the puppy-dog look on his face).  The next day I felt like I had the flu... achy all over.  The lymph nodes in my neck were achy (pretty normal for me), but I didn't notice any unusual swelling.  Two days ago my mom and I took the kids to the Mall of America and I went on a bunch of rides.  By the end of the day that all-over achy, flu-like feeling was back.  I was even running a fever.  This time, a lymph node around my parotid gland is swollen to a huge size!  It feels approximately like a golf ball was cut in half and slipped under my skin.  Today it's not so achy, but the swelling hasn't really gone down.    Incidentally, none of my other nodes are swollen, not even on the other side of my neck.

Anyone have a similar experience?  Maybe this is temporary (I hope so), but I haven't had a lymph node swell up quite so big before.  It's painful to turn my head when I'm driving!

Heather

Hope it's nothing, Heather. Keep us posted!!

Bit of an update...

The achy, flu-like feeling is gone (yay).  The swelling is better, but there's still a lump about an inch wide and two inches long.  Much like the lymph node I had removed in 2009, this one doesn't hurt and it moves around easily in my neck.  Hmmm.  It's probably the same thing as last time, but unless it disappears in the next two weeks (when my vacation is done) I suppose I better bring it to my doctor's attention  

Heather