i have had swollen lymph nodes for over three months now. they are pretty much always swollen, however they fluctuate in size. i have gone to urgent care(no heath ins. or primary doc.) and they did blood work, tested for HIV , mono and strep. all negative. they are the nodes just under the jaw. both sides are swollen, leading everyone to belive that its not cancer . i had a broken tooth for about a year, it did not abcess. three or four weeks ago i got a root canal , on tuesday of next week i am going iin to get the temporary filling taken out and the permanent on put in along with a crown. my dentist said the tooth looked like it could be on the verge of becoming infected but that it was not infected. he prescribed me antibiotics. the lymph nodes are still swollen. also, i have oral herpes , so i thought maybe the nodes are swollen because they are fighting the virus that is coming down the nerve, keeping it at bay. i got an outbreak weekend before last, the outbreak has since gone but the nodes are still swollen. maybe someone can tell me if the nodes can stay swollen while the herpes virus is latent. or any other insight whatsoever. Also i have a large knot in my left shoulder accompanied by moderate to severe shoulder pain, hopefully all this info as to whats going on can help someone help me to figure this out.