I’m in a similar situation. Chronic cough intermittently productive with clear sputum (a month so far - and I don’t get coughs, never mind one that lasts weeks). X-ray showed inflammation of the left lung so I was put on antibiotics. Amoxicillin? No effect. Clarithromycin? No effect. Doxycycline? So far, no effect.

Due to the recent onset of unexplained pain between my shoulder blades and on the right side of my rib cage (plus the seemingly futile use of antibiotics), I’ve convinced my GP to refer me for a CT Scan - just in case the inflammation was masking a sinister root cause. Praying it confirms it’s just a viral infection that won’t respond to antibiotics!

I hope you, Charles, are OK and the original poster is OK. The probability of a 14 year old having lung cancer is near zero I’d suspect, whereas I’m 49, so the worry is perhaps a bit more warranted!

Hi there. How are you getting on these days? I have been  experiencing similar symptoms over the last month or so and I was just wondering what was the outcome of your story. I hope you are doing well.

Hi,

If the question was targeted at me (apologies if not - I am conscious I may have hijacked the thread!), my symptoms have reduced a bit in the last 3 weeks or so.

Cough is much less frequent and the Respiratory Specialist thinks it may be hypersensitivity in my throat as my lung CT scan showed only very mild bronchiectasis which doesn’t even need antibiotic intervention (in their opinion). So I’ll be seeing a Laryngologist mid-October for a nasal endoscopy. I do have a weird cloudiness (blocked sensation) in my right ear which isn’t due to wax. That plus the chronic (but mild) tinnitus has me a little concerned about my hearing.

Although it’s fair to say I’m one of the relatively lucky ones on this site, I admit that I will be glad to see the back of 2019!

[@DaveW1970]‍ good to hear that you are getting better. And what about the pain between your shoulder blades?

is it still present?

[@Moody420]‍ I was wondering how are you doing these days? I hope everything is ok.

The pain between my shoulders has subsided but I still have a stiff neck with about 85% of full/normal range of movement. An X-ray in June showed my neck (top of spine) is showing signs of wear though, and I doubt it’s related to my lung problems.

I spent most of my life up to mid-2019 sleeping on a shallow pillow, but now I use a fat pillow to combat silent reflux. This may have also helped address the back pain, no idea really!

I’m 49, so these ailments are to be expected I guess.

However, I’m a bit shocked by the tinnitus coming so early in life.

Sorry I really should have replied ages ago. To cut a long story short I'm totally fine the blood turned out to be a polyps high up in my nose bleeding at night into my throat and the cough was just plain bad luck, I had it for like 4 months in total.

It just shows you its not always the worst possible outcome. I am now living a very happy life looking forward to a future with my wife and two young sons. Hope someone can take comfort from this.

Hello anyone ,I'm on this site as I am soo scared that I have lung cancer and it's consuming my whole life .I haven't slept keep having panic attacks and would like any advice.I had a really bad cold and then a hacking cough that would be constant and coughed so much it was making me gag and shortness of breath.The doctor put me on asthma pumps 2 lots but they didn't help much then two lots of steroids and now antibiotics.I had a chest X-ray that came back clear and bloods that came back clear but she has rushed me through to a two week appointment to see specialist. I have a pain in my back but it feels muscluer not coughing up anything and cough is getting slightly better . Thank you for reading any advice x

Hi there,

I am going to try to offer some words of comfort..I am not a doctor and I am telling you about my symptoms to try and help you feel more rational, not to diagnose you! 

I have recently been diagnosed with lung cancer (about 4 weeks ago) and I just want to say that my symptoms started at the beginning of October with a feeling of being a bit under the weather, a dry cough, a wheeze (which I have never had before - I don’t have asthma or allergies) , but NOT cold symptoms e.g runny nose or productive cough. I also had intermittent fever in the evenings into the night. These symptoms led me to be prescribed inhalers and two lots of antibiotics ( which of course didn’t bring about any improvement) and then to be told it must be flu and I would need to sit it out. The cough got worse daily and I was still getting fevers every few days so I went back to the GP for the 4th time and was sent for an X-Ray. As it turns out, the tumour was blocking off my left upper airway so basically my body was trying to get rid of it. So I didn’t have symptoms typical of a virus or infection. It sounds like you do. Does that make sense? 

It is extremely good news that your X-Ray was clear and that your cough is getting a bit better. Try to believe that because it really is a very good sign. It is also good that your doctor is taking no chances. You won’t have to worry for so long and it is the worry that is your problem right now. I have suffered from health anxiety in the past after having melanoma 10 years ago and I know how awful it is because we just cannot know if we are unlucky this time and are really ill. We can never know and we torture ourselves with it so I really do feel for you. The way I tried to see it to get over my anxiety, which I’m proud to say I did, was that feeling anxious is actually a choice. It doesn’t feel like a choice but deep down I was able to see that for me it was -  and I chose not to allow myself to feel it but to appreciate life as much as possible because I didn’t actually know I was ill at all. I managed to do it. This sounds so rambling (!) but maybe it will help you? 

Even now with an uncertain outlook the last thing I am going to do is spoil another day of my life with the evil that is health anxiety. It is pointless and makes no difference at all to whether or not you have cancer or will survive it. Actually it probably undermines survival chances! That’s my main goal! 

As you are suffering such extreme anxiety and no doubt tense all the time, even when you are trying to sleep that definitely  is going to give you aches and pains so try to believe that your back pain is down to that. I am sure it is.

I really hope you feel better soon and just trust in the doctors who will do all they can to get you better whatever you have got.

Enjoy Christmas! Please! 

Joy x