armpit lump still here, stopped hurting, now hurts

samikay

I posted about a year ago with swelling and a lump under my armpit that came with lots of pain, but not visible on the surface or any redness. but it also hurt when i would sleep on it and sometimes during the day when i put my arm down. i wasn't even sure WHAT hurt, but my husband felt around and he said that something felt weird compared to my other underarm. so i went to the doctor and told him it was causing pain and it hasn't gone away.

he had me lie down (because it disappears when i sit up) and poked around and while it didn't feel GREAT (like achy) there was one point when he pressed right in the middle right on the crease of my armpit and it was like "OUCH!!!" he said it didn't feel like the lymph node, but it felt like a cyst. he said it felt "strange" and he recommended i get an MRI of my armpit. the people at the imaging facility said a CT scan was probably the better solution, so i got that instead. my PCP said it was cellulitis, gave me a nasty dose of antibiotics and sent me on my way. it stopped hurting and i thought it went away, but i think it buried itself or got smaller (!?) because now, a year later, i think it's back; it hurts when i press on it, it's tender, SOMETHING feels weird about it (even though i can't feel anything in particular) and my jackets fit tighter on that side than on my other side.

i have since switched doctors, and my new doctor felt around on it and referred to my CT scans from last year. she said she does not think it was cellulitis at all and she wants me to have an ultrasound and a mammogram. i talked to my insurance, talked to a local native health facility, and due to $$ stuff i told her i was going to have to wait until the end of the month to have it done. she said that was fine, she wasn't worried about it and that waiting 3 weeks or so would be fine. but i am a nervous wreck about all of it.