# Can benign nodules cause enlarged lymph nodes?



## mollyfin (May 17, 2013)

Curious about this - I have a large benign nodule and a couple of enlarged lymph nodes - one occipital node and one of the ones over to the right of that one. Just discovered the occipital node today while fussing with some irritated skin in the area, and it's pretty big. The other one's been there for a while. Doctor said he thought nothing to worry about and to focus on dealing with the thyroid workup. So all that came back normal. Normal levels, benign nodule. Now I'm wondering if it's cause and effect or two things going on. I've felt off for a while - fatigued and hot a lot of the time - and my girlfriend has the same symptoms I do, albeit without the swollen nodes, so it's possible it's unrelated and we have a virus or something. But she also has a large benign nodule (and is generally hypo, but right now borderline hyper).


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## ives6797 (Apr 23, 2013)

Welcome!

You say they are benign. Did you both have a fine needle biopsy?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Have the nodes been biopsied? I think they should...

Can you post all your lab results with ranges, please?


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## abymom99 (Apr 15, 2013)

mollyfin - I'm in pretty much the same exact boat. The four lymph nodes they measured around my benign nodue (determined benign by FNA) were all "prominent", but they were unable to biopsy any of them due to location. For a while now, I've been feeling like my throat is swollen/painful at times. Sometimes it feels like I'm just being choked, which I relate to my thyroid being enlarged from time to time, but other times it feels painful/swollen just in a particular area and feels like a lymph node is causing that to me.

I'm going to my first ENT on Thursday to get a second opinion, since my endo was so apathetic the entire time I was going through my ultrasound/biopsy and even "forgot" about my lymph nodes. The ENT specializes in neck masses and lymph nodes as well as thyroid nodules, so I will definitely report back on what she has to say.

By the way, my symptoms have been mainly anxiety, insomnia with exhaustion most of the time, rapid heart rate, heat/cold intolerance and hair loss. I also have a lot of neurological symptoms going on, but now think most of that may be caused from the anxiety piece, although I'm still not sure on that.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

mollyfin said:


> Curious about this - I have a large benign nodule and a couple of enlarged lymph nodes - one occipital node and one of the ones over to the right of that one. Just discovered the occipital node today while fussing with some irritated skin in the area, and it's pretty big. The other one's been there for a while. Doctor said he thought nothing to worry about and to focus on dealing with the thyroid workup. So all that came back normal. Normal levels, benign nodule. Now I'm wondering if it's cause and effect or two things going on. I've felt off for a while - fatigued and hot a lot of the time - and my girlfriend has the same symptoms I do, albeit without the swollen nodes, so it's possible it's unrelated and we have a virus or something. But she also has a large benign nodule (and is generally hypo, but right now borderline hyper).




You may have to rule out EBV for starters. However, if you have never had an ultra-sound of your thyroid, you definitely should.

One thing I know for sure, if a lymph node is swollen, something is going on. Have you had CBC done?

Have you had "any" of the tests listed below?

TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies) TBII (thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin), Thyroglobulin and Thyroglobulin Ab, ANA (antinuclear antibodies), (thyroid hormone panel) TSH, Free T3, Free T4.

You can look this stuff up here and more.........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/

Trab
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684583


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