katesa
17-09-13, 11:36
Hi everyone,
Quick recap - 29 year old woman who beat HA once but now probably needs sectioning.
Skippy gave me some great advice last week but despite that, I am still haunted by the fear of lung cancer.
I have quit smoking (again, and this time it's final) but my fear hasn't stopped.
Friday morning I went to my doctors about having to constantly clear my throat - she took a look and diagnosed Post Nasal drip and gave me a spray. She also listened to my chest and declared it sounded clear.
So I skipped home happy with that. But then that afternoon, I started getting awful pain below my breastbone, where the ribs meet. I took some antacids which didn't help and it infact got a lot worse - I couldn't breathe in or move my leg without pain and pressure. I called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance which scared the crap out of me.
So after a long wait in A&E I saw a lovely doctor who initially wanted to do a chest x ray. He saw the look of panic in my eyes and my husband explained I suffer from anxiety. So the doctor said he would take a look at my bloods and examine me and only do the x ray if he felt it was necessary.
So my bloods came back, in his words "absolutely brilliant". My blood oxygen was at 100% (yay for quitting the cigs). He examined me and listened to my chest and said it was all clear and that he didn't need to do the x ray. He said I might have a virus or have eaten something and said I could go home. He gave me some Lansoprazole incase the pain was caused by acid.
So I went home reassured, took the pills each day.
So by today, the chest pain has gone completely. But for the last two days I have had - well, not exactly pain, but stiffness in my right shoulder, shoulder blade and arm and I am back to panicking. Yesterday it hurt more whenever I breathed in. Today it isn't as bad, more just stiff so it has improved. I do think I've had this before and just haven't noticed so much. I tend to lay on my side to breastfeed my 6 month old (very heavy!) baby with my arm underneath him and often fall asleep for a few hours doing this in this very silly position so the logical part of my brain thinks it is that.
But I'm in the grip of HA and can't seem to get out whatever I tell myself. I'm remembering things like the fact my body temperature was 37.7 in A & E (although I had just been vomiting) and another lung cancer sign is high temperature. I keep feeling so sure that I have it that I cuddle my baby and cry, thinking I wont see him grow up. My poor husband is getting really down because of me.
Nobody on here can diagnose me, but does anyone have any advice? If I had lung cancer advanced enough to be causing these symptoms, do you think it likely that I would have perfect blood oxygen levels and blood test results? And how likely do you think it that they would miss it on examination - ie, listening to chest, prodding and poking etc?
It doesn't help that I think I'm coming down with a virus (so I can look forward to more "symptoms" I'm sure) and having cig withdrawal. How my husband puts up with me I'll never know.
Quick recap - 29 year old woman who beat HA once but now probably needs sectioning.
Skippy gave me some great advice last week but despite that, I am still haunted by the fear of lung cancer.
I have quit smoking (again, and this time it's final) but my fear hasn't stopped.
Friday morning I went to my doctors about having to constantly clear my throat - she took a look and diagnosed Post Nasal drip and gave me a spray. She also listened to my chest and declared it sounded clear.
So I skipped home happy with that. But then that afternoon, I started getting awful pain below my breastbone, where the ribs meet. I took some antacids which didn't help and it infact got a lot worse - I couldn't breathe in or move my leg without pain and pressure. I called 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance which scared the crap out of me.
So after a long wait in A&E I saw a lovely doctor who initially wanted to do a chest x ray. He saw the look of panic in my eyes and my husband explained I suffer from anxiety. So the doctor said he would take a look at my bloods and examine me and only do the x ray if he felt it was necessary.
So my bloods came back, in his words "absolutely brilliant". My blood oxygen was at 100% (yay for quitting the cigs). He examined me and listened to my chest and said it was all clear and that he didn't need to do the x ray. He said I might have a virus or have eaten something and said I could go home. He gave me some Lansoprazole incase the pain was caused by acid.
So I went home reassured, took the pills each day.
So by today, the chest pain has gone completely. But for the last two days I have had - well, not exactly pain, but stiffness in my right shoulder, shoulder blade and arm and I am back to panicking. Yesterday it hurt more whenever I breathed in. Today it isn't as bad, more just stiff so it has improved. I do think I've had this before and just haven't noticed so much. I tend to lay on my side to breastfeed my 6 month old (very heavy!) baby with my arm underneath him and often fall asleep for a few hours doing this in this very silly position so the logical part of my brain thinks it is that.
But I'm in the grip of HA and can't seem to get out whatever I tell myself. I'm remembering things like the fact my body temperature was 37.7 in A & E (although I had just been vomiting) and another lung cancer sign is high temperature. I keep feeling so sure that I have it that I cuddle my baby and cry, thinking I wont see him grow up. My poor husband is getting really down because of me.
Nobody on here can diagnose me, but does anyone have any advice? If I had lung cancer advanced enough to be causing these symptoms, do you think it likely that I would have perfect blood oxygen levels and blood test results? And how likely do you think it that they would miss it on examination - ie, listening to chest, prodding and poking etc?
It doesn't help that I think I'm coming down with a virus (so I can look forward to more "symptoms" I'm sure) and having cig withdrawal. How my husband puts up with me I'll never know.