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Occipital lymph node swelling

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Posted 10/2/2014 1:12 AM (GMT 0)
As I'm waiting on my 1st appointment with a LLMD on Monday, I'm trying to remember all the crazy things I have experienced the last 7 months or so. Two days ago I began having one of my 3-4 day long headaches. My headaches aren't that bad as long as I keep taking tylenol 2 times a day but I've tried not taking anything and it just keeps getting worse until I start sweating and having aches through my whole body. I wanted to know I could beat the headache w/o medication but the last time I really tried hard not to take anything it got so bad it mad me sick. Again, as long as I stay medicated I feel pretty decent. One thing I noticed when having these headaches was that there is a slightly tender knot on the right side of my spine where the neck meets the base of my skull. I can definitely tell that it is much larger during these periods of headaches. When I'm not having headaches I can barely feel it by pressing hard against my neck. This seems to be the area of the Occipital lymph nodes. Is this a common occurrence in Lyme disease? Have any of you experienced this?
Posted 10/2/2014 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
ToTheTop - Yes, I have two different lymph nodes that swell and hurt periodically. The first one is between my clavical and neck muscle on my left side (in the "dip") It's been flaring off and on now for a year or so...but I didn't know it was a lymph node until a couple months ago.

The second one is on the right side of the back of my head..just above where the head meets the neck. It came on a few days after I introduced a new antibiotic, lasted a week, and is now gone.

I think swollen lymph nodes could be bartonella.
Posted 10/2/2014 1:28 AM (GMT 0)
I've also noticed that drinking alcohol makes it a lot worse. The one on the right side of the back of my head, just like yours, is the one that swells up when I have headaches. I usually notice the swelling because my head hurts mainly around the back behind the middle part of my ear and gets tender around the TMJ joints in the little soft spot right behind your ear lobes. I no longer drink alcohol because of this even though I love a cold beer but that's probably a good thing :P I've learned about alcohol intolerance being another possible symptom.
Posted 10/2/2014 7:36 AM (GMT 0)
ToTheTop,

I hope sharing this helps.

I have occipital-nerve headaches that start in the back of my head at the hairline, wind around the right side, and end at my eyebrow. Ibuprofen will get rid of them for hours, but, like you, I worry about taking too much of the stuff.

Ice works, too. I use a wide-belt ice pack to trace the headache around my head, and in 15 minutes, the headache is gone. I also have a gel cap icepack that fits over my entire head. I keep it in the freezer, and it gets way colder than an ice pack. Wearing this cap for five minutes stops the headache.

Massage also helps. I can trace that nerve and massage until it's better.

A pain-blocking cream works at my eyebrow, too, but I don't want to put it in my hair.

A couple of months ago, I started taking a bunch of supplements, and in the last week or so, I sometimes wake up without a headache. On these days, I sometimes go most of the day without a headache. Unfortunately, I started taking numerous supplements at one time and I have no idea what is helping.

Good luck to you in getting relief from your headaches.

Jane
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