Proper melt down!!!

[Kay8010]

Hi all

Sorry for posting again!! I am having a proper and i mean proper melt down whilst i type this message!!

I have a cough and off, very productive at night, it seems brown when i look at it on the tissue! I also have shoulder pain for the last 3 months or so that comes and goes! I have had 3 colds in 2 months but this cough is making me severely anxious and think I have lung cancer! Im searched and it says shoulder pain and persistent coughing is likely cancer i.e lung!!

I smoke too!!! I will stop but im just so anxious right now!!!! As you all might know I had a clear chest xray in Feb 2016 but maybe the cancer wasn't visible yet!! Freaking out now badly!

[bottleblond]

Hi all

Sorry for posting again!! I am having a proper and i mean proper melt down whilst i type this message!!

I have a cough and off, very productive at night, it seems brown when i look at it on the tissue! I also have shoulder pain for the last 3 months or so that comes and goes! I have had 3 colds in 2 months but this cough is making me severely anxious and think I have lung cancer! Im searched and it says shoulder pain and persistent coughing is likely cancer i.e lung!!

I smoke too!!! I will stop but im just so anxious right now!!!! As you all might know I had a clear chest xray in Feb 2016 but maybe the cancer wasn't visible yet!! Freaking out now badly!

Hi Kay

Please calm down

Brown phlegm doesn't indicate Lung cancer. It usually indicates the person is a smoker. It's all the tar and gunk in the lungs.

A lot of us have had a cold that's quite persistent (myself included). You feel like it's gone away and WHAM it's back again. I think it's just the particular strain of the cold that is hitting everyone this year and with all colds, it's usually the cough that's the last part to go. Your shoulder pain will be muscular from all the coughing.

P.s My mum has just gone through Lung cancer and there are no similarities so please try to put the 'C' word out your head.

Lisa
xxx

[Kay8010]

Im really trying. This shoulder pain has been here too long with this cough. I really dont want to die im wheezing also, another sign of the big C. Im all congested today and forever swallowing rubbish!!! I dont know how much of this i can honestly take!! My head feels like its going to explode

[bottleblond]

Im really trying. This shoulder pain has been here too long with this cough. I really dont want to die im wheezing also, another sign of the big C. Im all congested today and forever swallowing rubbish!!! I dont know how much of this i can honestly take!! My head feels like its going to explode

You're not going to die!. I'm a smoker and I wheeze. Phlegm can make you wheezy too but if you're really concerned then ring your out of hours doctor for advice, at the very worst, you may just need an antibiotic but they rarely give them out these days. lol

I'm certainly no medical expert but I've had the exact same thing you have. In fact I've had it a few times and I'm still here. You're letting the anxiety take over and the more anxious you get, the more you'll probably cough.

Health anxiety ruled my life for so many years so I truely know how you feel but you're NOT going to die. What age are you Kay?. xx

[Kay8010]

Thanks. Im 36

[bottleblond]

Ok you're young so don't let HA take over. I could kick myself now for all those years I wasted through it.

[Kay8010]

Been reading of lung cancer being diagnosed in my age group though, its not unheard of. Im truly so upset and concerned. I have a GP appointment tomorrow for another issue (which is not ha related its a genuine condition i have) but ill mention the cough to him

[bottleblond]

No it's not impossible but it is rare. As I was saying before, my mum just gone through Lung Cancer and your symptoms don't compare but do tell your doctor tomorrow of your worries as I'm sure they will be able to put your mind at rest. You're gonna be fine. xx

[Kay8010]

So went to the GP today to swap my blood thinners I have been on for 17 years to another less complicated one and I mentioned my coughing and shoulder pain, he did not entertain me other than come back in 6-8 weeks if nothing changes or worsens, said it was that time of the year where everyone is ill.

I am still coughing today, shoulder pain is more or less there every now and then, am I still panicking yes because I know I will go back to the GP and request a Chest X-ray and all the massive worry will start once again.

I guess this is a question that is brought up loads on this site but had a FBC & kidney etc...bloods taken 3 weeks ago yesterday, SURELY if there is a massive tumor in my lung it would mess with my blood, right? But the niggle is what if the chest x-ray last year did show the tiny lung cancer.. & a FBC results cannot diagnose cancer!

I NEED to just talk on here even if it is just to myself.

[PanickyGuy]

Hi Kay,

22 year ex-smoker here. I smoked half a pack a day and I smoked cigarettes at first then switched over to little cigars for the majority of the time I smoked all those years. I quit about 5 years ago when I was 39. In all that time I smoked, I had gotten colds, sinus infections and even pneumonia, but the biggest problem I had with smoking was the constant bronchitis that flared up on occasions with coughing, which would often produce the brownish phlegm you mentioned.

But see, it was coming from my sinuses as a side effect from the smoking and draining into the back of my throat, thus making me cough it back up and out. That's what it was in my case and it never turned out to be a sign of cancer. Maybe it's the same for you?

And if you're sneezing hard or coughing a lot, you're eventually bound to have all kinds of chest pains, including shoulder pain from doing all that. That's a lot of heeving and intense muscle contraction strain on your upper body muscles to force something out fast from your throat\chest.