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deig123 , 29 Jul 2010

Swollen Lymph Nodes?

Hello All, I am new to this forum & like everyone else has said, so happy to have found out I am not alone. I'm 39 & a recovering Opiate addict. When I got clean I believe I traded using drugs & now pick/pluck my eyebrows. I no longer have any eyebrows left. I have to draw them on. I have a multitude of products that I use from brow powder, wax, liquid, brow fibers, etc. You name it, I've bought it to try & hide the fact that I have no eyebrows b/c I can't control myself. Anyway, I mentioned Swollen Lymph nodes, b/c I just found this site & see that a lot of people have talked about having that? I'm not sure I understand, what does picking & lymph nodes have in common? I don't think I've ever experienced swollen lymph nodes due to my tweezing excess. Any explanations would b greatly appreciated. Of course now, the anxiety is kicking in,LOL, & thinking all kinds of bad scenarios. I have noticed that my scabs have been getting so red around them, infected? I assume. I do put Neosporin on after every picking episode. I've managed to apply the 12steps of Narcotics Anonymous into my life, now I need to try & do the same with my picking. Thanks 4 reading. Good Luck 2 everyone to stop & stay stopped. That's the hard part.
6 Answers
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heavymetalfan
July 30, 2010
Hi there and welcome to the forum! Skin picking is related to lymph nodes because they are the draining system of toxins in your body. They contain white blood cells in your immune system that help to fight off infection and attack other intrusions into the body. In other words, they filter the blood. When you get a back of parasites, viruses, funguses, etc, in your bloodstream, they swell up as they work in overdrive to address the problem by producing more white blood cells. When you have open sores on your body, continuously, it's not uncommon that they will swell up as they deal with having to produce more white blood cells to fight off infection. This is a normal, healthy process that your body has to do to cleanse itself. However, lymph nodes, like most any part of the body, can act dysfunctionally (autoimmune diseases, cancer, etc.) The bottom line is that your body acts holistically... that is, any action that goes on in your body has some effect or another on all other parts. It's a complicated system, and sometimes it's difficult to understand why certain things are related to other parts of the body, but when we mistreat our bodies, the entire body suffers to some capacity. I hope this helps!
deig123
July 30, 2010
YES, It really does, Thank You so much. Sometimes I get so scared that I've done damage that can't be healed, especially scarring. Does anyone have a product they use to reduce scarring from picking? plucking? I've heard of Mederma & wonder if it really works?
heavymetalfan
July 30, 2010
And also, good luck with your journey of recovery. It's a life-long struggle, but it's definitely manageable. The best way I've found to deal with it is to replace old habits with new, healthy ones. Skin picking releases endorphins, but so does light to moderate exercise. Before I got sick, I started exercising, and that helped minimize my picking. I hope you are able to find something worthy in your life to act as a replacement to the picking!
deig123
July 30, 2010
Thank You. It is a life-long struggle. I know I'll always have the disease of addiction, that it can't be cured, But it can be arrested, & then recovery is possible. I think my addiction & plucking are related by the anti-depressants I take. I'm on Paxil, & Wellbutrin, and when I started the latter, That's when my plucking really took off to the point that I knew I was in trouble, & that it had become unmanageable. Thanks 4 responding, Take Care.
idoittoo
April 18, 2012
Twice the csp has skyrocketed from adding Wellbutrin. Before taking Wellbutrin I would have similar levels of csp in times of high stress. Not that Wellbutrin adds stress, but I think it gives me more of a need to be doing something with my hands. One thing I have not yet seen in these forums is the cause being an effort of "perfection". I once had a dream where I was cleaning the floor and scraping off some stuck-on crud...only to wake up to the crud being my skin. I often pick to the point where my skin is "smooth" meaning there's no more scab to pick that all of the skin is "soft" and no rough spots. In waking hours I really do over clean things around the house, so I can see how this is categorized with OCD.
idoittoo
April 18, 2012
Twice the csp has skyrocketed from adding Wellbutrin. Before taking Wellbutrin I would have similar levels of csp in times of high stress. Not that Wellbutrin adds stress, but I think it gives me more of a need to be doing something with my hands. One thing I have not yet seen in these forums is the cause being an effort of "perfection". I once had a dream where I was cleaning the floor and scraping off some stuck-on crud...only to wake up to the crud being my skin. I often pick to the point where my skin is "smooth" meaning there's no more scab to pick that all of the skin is "soft" and no rough spots. In waking hours I really do over clean things around the house, so I can see how this is categorized with OCD.

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