what does it mean if

ok, so on Sunday i discovered while in the shower that i have lumps on my neck that seem to be swollen lymph nodes. they are really swollen and hurt like h*ll when i touch them. by monday i was starting to have ear and throat pain and by tuesday i was coughing. i felt a bit feverish but i rarely get fevers so i don't know for sure.
anyway, my throat and ears feel much better...i thought i was getting sick like with strep or something but now i seem to be getting much better but my lymph nodes are still swollen and painful and they are swollen really big.
i called my doc on monday and she said she thinks it's just a virus and that if things get worse she'll assume it's bacterial and put me on antibiotics which i really don't want to take.
so anyway, i don't really get swollen lymph nodes...i don't remember ever having that before. why are they still swollen if i'm feeling better?
has anyone experienced this before? and if so, how much longer till the swelling (and pain) goes down?

No idea i hope you find out what's going on and you feel better.

My lymph nodes swell just about every time I get sick...even just a cold. Sometimes it can take a full week for them to go back down. It's not fun, but there's no reason to worry about it more than likely.

thanks, Nadia.

thanks, Pam. like i said, i've never had this happen before so i wasn't sure how long it would take.
thanks, again.

It can take a very long time for your lymph nodes to return to normal after an infection, whether viral or bacterial. I discovered swollen nodes in the back of Corey's neck when she was a baby, and it totally freaked me out. And Noah, his were so big you could see them- and they were like that for over a year!!!! I think Drs must get sick of reassuring people that swollen nodes are almost always benign- but that is usually the case. You can get one from an insect bite, a cold, a toothache- lots of things. The fact that you have other cold symptoms should lead you to the conclusion that it's nothing to worry about, Jen.

I had this in March. It went away after a week or 10 days. Hurt like heck but I knew for sure it wasn't strep (had that in January). I didn't take anything for it (other than Alleve so I could sleep) and it went away on it's own. Sure was weird, though. Hope you feel better soon.

thanks, girls, i wasn't worried it's anything more than an infection but i couldn't understand why i'd still have swollen lymph nodes if there is no infection.
just wanted to see if anyone else ever had that before.
thanks for your help.
btw, in case anyone was wondering, what my post title was meant to mean is what does it mean if your lymph nodes are swollen but you are not sick? i never did make that very clear, did i?