Multiple lumps

[EIEIO]

So I’ve had small lumps (subcutaneous or right under the skin) in multiple areas on my body for years. They stay the same size, some firm, some are movable and some aren’t. I’ve been to multiple doctors and even a dermatologist. They all say they’re small cysts or they don’t know exactly what it is but they weren’t worried. Now I noticed a new one similar to some of the others that’s not too big. Feels almost oval, not rock hard but not soft and not movable. Now my HA is creeping back in. Why am I getting new lumps? My PCP says I’m gonna get new cysts but I can’t seem to shake the worry. At this point I want to biopsy them all. Idk what to do

 

[bin_tenn]

Cysts or lipomas, if I had to guess. Lipomas are benign fatty tumors (collections of fat cells). They feel extremely similar to cysts, but cysts are fluid-filled sacs rather than fatty tumors. Lipomas are generally somewhat soft and mobile, but they can indeed feel more firm and less mobile as well. I have lipomas all over the place, ranging in size from smaller than a pea to relatively large, to the point that they are easily seen (on my right forearm). Lipomas are also benign and don't need treatment/removal except for cosmetic reasons. In very rare cases the lipoma may be deeper and presses on nerves which can cause pain, in which case it may be deemed medically necessary to remove it. Overall not a big deal.

I also find new ones all the time. I'll lightly scratch my arm, for example, and I feel a tiny lump that I don't recall noticing before. Again, no biggie. It happens.

 

[EIEIO]

Cysts or lipomas, if I had to guess. Lipomas are benign fatty tumors (collections of fat cells). They feel extremely similar to cysts, but cysts are fluid-filled sacs rather than fatty tumors. Lipomas are generally somewhat soft and mobile, but they can indeed feel more firm and less mobile as well. I have lipomas all over the place, ranging in size from smaller than a pea to relatively large, to the point that they are easily seen (on my right forearm). Lipomas are also benign and don't need treatment/removal except for cosmetic reasons. In very rare cases the lipoma may be deeper and presses on nerves which can cause pain, in which case it may be deemed medically necessary to remove it. Overall not a big deal.

I also find new ones all the time. I'll lightly scratch my arm, for example, and I feel a tiny lump that I don't recall noticing before. Again, no biggie. It happens.

Wow this is so reassuring! Thank you so much. It’s so weird to have these little lumps everywhere. Were you able to get this condition diagnosed easily or did you have to get multiple tests? And what did they do to diagnose you?

 

[bin_tenn]

Wow this is so reassuring! Thank you so much. It’s so weird to have these little lumps everywhere. Were you able to get this condition diagnosed easily or did you have to get multiple tests? And what did they do to diagnose you?

My doctor looked at and felt of a few of them, when I first mentioned it. I started finding mine around 2008. At the time, they weren't visible to the naked eye. They have only ever so slowly grown since then, and at this point the growth (at least for the bigger ones) seems to have ceased.

I first showed my doctor in 2015 at a physical. He looked at and felt them. He asked "do they hurt, are they growing, are they causing you any other problems?" When I said no, he said "okay, they're fine, you can leave them be."

My mom also has a few that you can easily see/feel, and I think my brother has at least one or two as well. Unfortunately there isn't much at all known about lipomas otherwise. Maybe ask some immediate family members, if possible, if they have some? There's a condition called "multiple familial lipomatosis" (I think that was it) where a person has numerous lipomas. They're often found in small numbers, but they can indeed be very large in number.

 

[bigjetplane2]

Where do you have them?