<p>can anyone think of any reason why I might have a painful lump in one of my armpits that <em>isn’t</em> a reason to panic about? I have a doctor’s appointment for this coming Tuesday, but it’s difficult not to speculate in advance, and I’m afraid (given past personal experience) that if I rely on Google, panic will be the only possible outcome! </p>
<p>I’m embarrassed to say how long ago I first noticed it, but let’s just say it’s been a while. There have been periods of time when it seemed to disappear (which I take as a positive sign, obviously), but then it returns.</p>
<p>There’s nothing I do or use under that arm that I don’t with the other, so I doubt it’s any kind of allergic reaction.</p>
<p>The reason I waited this long to have a doctor take a look at it? Apart from continually hoping it would disappear permanently, I guess I’m just so, so tired of dealing with health issues that I simply couldn’t cope with dealing with another one. Especially given the fact that I’ve had such wretchedly bad medical luck all these years. Childish reasons, to be sure, but real nonetheless.</p>
<p>Very common are inclusion/sebaceous cysts or cysts associated with sweat glands. They WILL seem to c0ome and go. Don’t panic. Just keep the appointment. </p>
<p>For now DON’T squeeze or press or be checking it. Hot compresses. No antiperspirant on that side (deodorant is OK).</p>
<p>I can’t help you with this, Donna. However, I can commiserate with the point about Google. This information age with the internet has so many plusses but sometimes there is a down side. On the one hand, it is great to have a wealth of information at one’s fingertips. I have used the internet to look up symptoms and health issues. Sometimes it is a great help! But sometimes, it can make me worried as I’ll read that it can be this or that and where this or that is not too good. And so it will cause unnecessary anxiety and all these, often unlikely, possibilities come up and it’s a huge drag and ADDs to the worry, rather than solves anything! That’s been my experience!</p>
<p>Could also be an inflamed lymph node which is not necessarily for a bad/scary reason. If I get anything anywhere on my head, even the tiniest thing, my neck lymph nodes are tender. No cancer, no problem, just highly reactive. </p>
<p>With all your health adventures, you are likely oversensitive physically, wouldn’t be a surprise if your lymph system is also more sensitive than the average bear!</p>
<p>I had a staph infection in my armpit which caused a lump. No big deal, just took antibiotics and couldn’t shave for a month. The good news is that it’s long sleeve weather ;)</p>
<p>I get a sebaceous cyst in an armpit periodically. Essentially, giant zits. They get painful. Eventually, with hot compresses, they drain. They seem to have a life cycle of their own – there may be weeks or months of “is this going to be a problem?”, then it will be an embarrassing and annoying issue for 4-5 weeks, and then nothing for 5 years.</p>
<p>Even if something like that seems like it’s a big deal, it can end up being nothing whatsoever. I panicked and panicked over a lump I found, finally went to the doctor, she found it immediately and said, “Is this what you’re talking about?” and I burst into tears. She recommended that I get it ultrasounded, and the U/S revealed that it wasn’t anything to worry about. Just a weird cyst, completely benign, no biopsy required or anything. I mentioned the scenario to my mom later, who said, “Oh, yeah. Women in our family tend to have lumpy breasts.” (lumpy breasts?? eww.) “It’s nothing to worry about.” (sigh…)</p>
<p>Now I know that if I find something, it’s entirely likely that it’s not anything to be worried about, but it’s good to check it out and know for sure.</p>
<p>After my first child was born, I had a lump under my arm that turned out to be a swollen milk gland. I, too, have decided not to seek medical advice on google any longer. :)</p>
<p>I have had both the cyst and the painful lymph node lump under one of my armpits, that have repeatedly come and gone for years. Sometimes I get one painful lymph node lump on the same side of the groin area that comes and goes as well.</p>
<p>Well, thank you; you’ve all given me a great deal not to panic about! My most rational speculation is that it’s some kind of harmless lymph node swelling (I think I have an idea what a sebaceous cyst looks like, and it’s not like that), but I guess I’ll know soon enough. I suppose I’ll also mention to the doctor that I had quite a bit of pain in one place in my breast on that side a few months ago (it went away before I got around to seeing a doctor, and I couldn’t feel any kind of lump), although I obviously have no idea if it’s related. I’m probably overdue for a mammogram anyway; it’s been a couple of years.</p>
<p>PS: Speaking of avoiding checking medical symptoms on google, I think it’s even more important to avoid looking for photos of them on google images. Trust me, it’s not a good idea. It won’t be easy to unsee what you find there.</p>
<p>The advantage of googling symptoms is that once you find out you are fine, you will be soo much more relieved knowing all those worst case scenarios! :D</p>
<p>When I was anemic, I searched some symptoms BEFORE my Dx and anemia never came up, but when I searched those symptoms + anemia AFTER the Dx it came up all the time, so it really is not reliable to search Google and assume you have seen everything. Asking on a forum is better as you can read so many different experiences, it allows you to think of so many new questions to ask your doctor and another’s experiences can help you gain awareness of symptoms that you might have neglected to mention to your doctor, not realising the link.</p>
<p>Can you manipulate the lump? Does it move around or does it seem “attached?” Is the skin around the area inflamed? How large is it - a small chicken egg, robin’s egg or pea-sized? </p>
<p>I also wonder if it can be an inflamed sweat gland, which can be very deep and can seem to come and go. Have you had recent oral irritation or surgery? My daughter had a large, hard egg-sized lump on her neck; it appeared seemingly overnight. I rushed her to the physician and it turned out to be an enlarge lymph node due to oral irritation from her braces! It took about six months to go away.</p>
<p>It could be a lipoma (harmless fatty mass, usually not painful), sebaceous cyst (sometimes painful), hidradenitis suppurativa (inflammation of sweat glands, often painful), any sort of reactive lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes due to infection; sometimes painful) or something more worrisome.</p>
<p>I had something similar but it came on quickly. I had a spider bite on my neck, ignored it although it was painful and in a few days the lymph node under my arm became swollen and painful. It worsened, went to the Dr. and antibiotics were prescribed. Healed within a week or so.</p>
<p>It most likely is just a swollen lymph node but should still be checked out by an MD. Good luck!</p>
<p>I had something similar happen many years ago to me, although there was only pain, not a lump, and it turned out, it was caused by too much salt in my diet. So, you might want to consider whether that has anything to do with your problem. I look back on it now and wish I hadn’t panicked over it, but of course the mental torment probably made the pain worse.</p>
<p>I was sort of hoping it would be gone when I woke up this morning, but no such luck. Darn. </p>
<p>Gourmetmom, robins’ eggs are really small, right? So, bigger than a robin’s egg, but definitely smaller than a breadbox. Maybe an inch and a half wide. And big enough to be clearly visible. And it’s definitely attached and way under the skin; not something on or near the surface that can be moved around.</p>
<p>Sure, I guess it could be hormonal, given what I mentioned about other symptoms on that side a few months ago. (Which were followed, unless I was imagining things, by an increase in size on that side only, which I thought was completely strange, since nothing happened on the other side and besides, I can’t imagine why that kind of thing would happen now after all these years anyway. I never brought that up with my doctor, but I suppose I ought to now.)</p>
<p>No, no recent oral irritation or surgery, nothing like that.</p>