I would think that a muscle and a lymph node would feel different.
They do. The doc was a bit of a douche. He didn't even palpate the swollen region. But I'm going to try the allergy angle and see how that works out.

I'm a fan of counseling myself - had a couple of gratis sessions during college - but I'm finding it hard to actually commit to a name. Making that first leap is tough.

Btw - Shingles. Ye Gods, that must have been horrible.