I may have low grade lymphoma or it could be from inflammation

@lact Oh, I can really relate to wanting a diagnosis immediately! As @loribmt said, it can take a series of testing to determine what is going on. Let me relate a personal story. I have Systemic Lupus, officially diagnosed in 1988. But it took over 6 months to make that diagnosis. They did initial testing, then based on results another test was ordered, and so on. It was frustrating, and scary. All I knew were my symptoms, and I was at the mercy of the medical team to figure out what was going on. They were careful to not lead me on, and to explain everything, for which I am so grateful. But as you know, it did nothing to ease my mind, and as I was working full time plus, the head games playing in my mind made me feel so off balance!

Our minds often want to run to worst case scenarios. It might be a way of being ready to hear the final word, but it does nothing to ease our comfort in the meantime, right!? All I can say is to distract yourself, do something that you will find peace and joy in. Leave the hard testing and diagnosing to your trusted medical team, and then when they tell you their thoughts, you'll deal with it gracefully.
Can you try this?
Ginger

Hi Lori! Thank you so much for reaching out. In November, I had surgery for a small bowel obstruction. Ever since then, my platelets have been high with mild anemia. The problem did not seem to be resolving, so my internist referred me to a hematologist. She did a series of test including bone marrow abnormalities. Everything was negative.
I had breast cancer 17 years ago, and I had a hematologist at that time who I loved. I went back to see him; he agreed the platelets were abnormally high, and we needed to do something. The first hematologist my internist referred me to wanted me to have a bone marrow biopsy done.
My original hematologist did not seem to think the biopsy was necessary. He started me on hydrea. Meanwhile, I had an ER visit last week, which had me admitted to the hospital. Turns out I had inflammation of my adrenal glands. They wanted me to have a hematology consult while there, so I did. I really liked that hematologist, and she is closer to where I live. It appears I have reactive or essential thrombocytosis. Of course, having had breast cancer in the past, I am going to the worst possible scenario with my thoughts. However, I agree with you that knowledge is power and I want to know what’s wrong so I can go forward. The sitting around and waiting and not knowing is definitely worse.

Years ago I had a refrigerator magnet that said, “Worrying is my super power!” It was funny at the time but then I realized how much time I must be wasting on negative thoughts to have my worrying be that noticeable!
But as humans we’re pretty gifted when it comes to telling ourselves stories! The goal is to keep them on a more positive note…not dark like some of the Grimm’s fairy tales.

Anyway, I digressed yet again…LOL. From what you’ve mentioned, you had a clean bone marrow biopsy. That’s excellent news because the bone marrow is the heart of the blood manufacturing in your body. The biopsy and aspiration give your hematologist a clear picture of the health of your bone marrow in being able to produce healthy blood products…which was clean.
Reactive Thrombocytosis, from what I understand can be caused by inflammation or infections, among other things. You recently discovered you have inflamation of the adrenal glands. Is the source of this infection what you’re waiting to find out?

I have not had a bone marrow biopsy yet. That is scheduled for the 13th.
What showed up negative were blood markers for bone marrow disorders. So Dr wanted to follow up with the biopsy.

Oops, I was focused on the comment about negative blood markers for bone marrow disorder that I forgot your first reply in Connect talking about your biopsy on the 13th!
Nothing wrong with my memory. 🙄 Sorry about that.

So you will be having the bone marrow biopsy (BMBX) next week. This is a really good idea to have the biopsy completed. There’s so much information provided by the detailed reports that come out of the analysis of the small, spongy core sample and the peripheral liquid in surrounding marrow.
Unfortunately, the timing on results will test your patience further as it can take a full week or more for the testing and analysis to be completed. Since this is your first biopsy, do you have any questions?

No, not really. I’m not worried about the actual procedure itself, only the results!
They told me to be NPO 8 hours before the procedure. That kinda surprised me. Was that the case with you?

That may mean that they plan to sedate you. It can be done without sedation; your call on that.

As @normahorn mentioned, that would most likely mean you will have mild sedation, so nothing by mouth for 8 hours before hand.
I’ve had 3 biopsies without sedation and 10 with. Personally, it was much more comfortable being sedated. Though not painful, the biopsy process was easier to have the sedation for the overall experience. Quite frankly, after months of treatment for AML and a bone marrow transplant I was just ready to take the easy way for anything. 😅 Plus, I woke up refreshed and quickly each time to Lorna Doone cookies and juice, with no memory of the biopsy. Can’t beat that!

The biopsy is usually taken from the pelvic bone just above one of the dimples over your butt cheeks. The area will be a little tender, feeling like a small bruise for a couple of days. You’ll leave with a pressure bandaid over the site. That stays on for 24 hours. After that, you’re free to shower and resume normal activities.

Wishing only good news on the biopsy! Let me know how it goes! ☺️

Wow Lori that is a lot of biopsies!
I’m having a lot of anxiety about this and of course thinking the worst. I had chemotherapy & radiation for breast cancer 17 years ago and all the fears and anxiety from that are flooding me now. I also realize I could have leukemia secondary to those treatments.
I saw my internist today & she was positive about it all. She said if something is found, there are so many new & successful treatments out there now.
I’m so glad I found this group. Just being able to talk about it with people who have gone through and are going through these things is very helpful to me!

LOL. You’re right. That was a lot of biopsies. Cute story with #13. While chatting with the team who would do the biopsy that day, I joked that this was #13, a Baker’s Dozen and asked if this one was special and on the house?
Without skipping a beat the NP quipped, “Nope, but today we toss in a free colonoscopy!” “Interested?” 😂
I settled for my traditional post-op package of Lorna Doone Cookies. 😁
Joking aside, the biopsies served a vital role in diagnosing/treating my leukemia, along with monitoring progress of treatment and success of my bone marrow transplant.

I wish you only the best of news on your upcoming biopsy. Of course there’s that anxious period of waiting we lovingly refer to as Scanxiety. ☺️ From experience, the results weren’t always what I ‘wanted’ to see, but they gave my doctor a clearer direction for the next step that has me living a normal, healthy and active life at 71 after AML/BMT 6 years ago.
With your adrenal glands showing signs of inflammation does your internist feel that could be related to any prior treatments you had for breast cancer?