Wow, I really thought that I had reached a point where I wouldn't be compelled to post on here! Sadly, almost 2 years on and I'm here again.
I've had a terrible run of health anxiety from October onwards with fears about three different illnesses - heart failure, oral cancer and now lung cancer.
I thought that I was doing better...
Basically, I've had a cough for a really long time, we're talking months. In July, I had Covid and I think that's what started it off. I seem to think that, at times, it was a bit better but then over Autumn I have had colds, viruses etc, and I noticed that my last two weren't going to my sinuses but instead my chest was affected, which is new for me, as my sinuses have always been my weak spot (physically!).
I noticed that I was always coughing on a morning and bringing up phlegm then the day seemed to be okish, as far as the cough was concerned, before ramping up again early evening. Then I was bringing phlegm 'up' spontaneously without coughing. I noticed I was a bit more breathless. At one point, I brought up some mucus that was very lightly blood streaked and I completely freaked out (although the next day I realised that maybe it had been from my nose after I blew it) and went down the heart failure route - having what I thought were other symptoms of this.
I had various tests 2 x chest x-ray, a CTPA because I had a very slightly elevated D-Dimer and an echocardiogram. All came back negative and it was deemed to be asthma, and I was given a steroid inhaler. I had asthma mildly in childhood and, admittedly, also in adulthood (wheezing) but completely uncontrolled. My last inhaler was 10 years ago. I started using the steroid inhaler and then got oral thrush. You can see where this is going.
I was being treated for oral thrush and getting over the heart failure business and I then caught yet another cold and completely lost my voice for almost a week. It started to come back and then the cold turned into pneumonia. So, as I said, I've never been a chesty person so the pneumonia was a big shock. During a coughing fit, I had another tiny speck of blood. I know this will have been from a burst blood vessel. Whilst recovering, on some major strength antibiotics, I had too much time to think plus I was constantly looking at my tongue. I convinced myself I had cancer of the tongue.
Then, this quickly moved onto the oral cancer having metastasised to my lungs. That's when it hit me! All of my heart failure symptoms hadn't been heart failure but instead it's lung cancer. This is where I am now suffering with:
A cough that has been with me for around 6 months, the latter couple of months I have noticed it is productive (white phlegm)
Wheezing
A hoarse voice (it didn't fully recover)
Chest tightness and a tickly sensation
Having had pneumonia for the first time
A pain in my chest when I take a deep breath or bend forwards.
Pains all over my body, as I'm now convinced it has spread to my bones/brain etc.
I had my 2 x chest x-rays and CTPA less than 2 months ago, when I had a lot of these symptoms - certainly the cough, wheezing, hoarseness, chest uncomfortableness/tickle, 1 x episode of blood streaked phlegm and they all say that my lungs were clear. I harangued my GP into allowing me another chest x-ray this week, as I developed pain and the symptoms haven't gone. I'm less than a month since my pneumonia. All bloods have been clear (except the very slightly elevated D Dimer) before the pneumonia and since.
Things that I do try rationalise it with - I have problem sinuses and when I had pneumonia, I also had infected sinuses so there is a possibility that there is some post nasal drip stuff going on. Also, I have previously suffered with GERD and have had 4 week course of omeprazole at the beginning of the year. I thought I was controlling it with avoiding trigger foods but maybe not.
Help!
Editing to say that I have never smoked.