Hi JHunie23,
I certainly didn't mind that you visited this old thread...I have yet to be "officially" diagnosed with fibro, and I've been having lymph node swelling for over a year now.
I already see a rheumatologist for rheumatoid arthritis, and she told me she doesn't think my problem is fibro, but she doesn't know what it is, either. She told me at my last appointment that whatever I have doesn't seem to be "progressive", so she's just going to treat the symptoms. (She's never even done the pressure point test that I've heard so much about--it's so frustrating!)
She gave me a prescription for gabapentin, but I haven't taken any of it yet, and my appointment has been over a month ago. I don't like medicating symptoms when I don't know what the problem is!
Although this all started out with all-over lymph node swelling, they did an ultrasound of the nodes in my left armpit, because it was the most painful spot, and because they were worried about breast cancer.
My mammogram came back fine, but the ultrasound showed four swollen nodes. A follow-up ultrasound done about six months later showed that I was down to one swollen node in that location, but if my sensations are any indication, I seem to be in a holding pattern.
I get worse if I'm stressed or tired, and my worst pain is in my underarms and down about eight inches (left side worse), and the outer side of each breast, and sometimes the whole breast. I also get less-severe pain at the sides of my waist and (oddly) the lower portion of my butt-cheeks. Other parts of my body (my calves are the worst, but I also feel it other places) have the sensation of being swollen, although they look normal.
You mentioned that you have costochondritis, and I've had that before to, as it's common in people with RA. I don't have any of the ropy, bumpy feeling that you wrote about, but I think I've heard others with fibro talk about that. Have you been diagnosed with fibro then?
I've asked here about if others had swollen lymph nodes as part of their fibro, but I never get many positive responses. I was on another site, though, and there were several people who mentioned swollen lymph nodes.
I, too, have had sensations in my face (cheeks), and on the backs of my hands, but that's only when I'm at my worst.
I wondered about chronic fatigue syndrome, as swollen lymph nodes are a common symptom there, but I just don't have most of the other symptoms associated with that. I am fatigued a lot, but it doesn't seem to be to the degree that sufferers of CFS are.
Well, thanks for sharing some of your story, and now you know some of mine. If you do ever find out about a connection between swollen lymph nodes and fibro (or anything else!), please let me know what you've learned--thanks, and good luck to you. I hope you feel better soon!