Apologies if this sounds at all ridiculous or overly anxious, I just feel that this may the best place to ask for advice concerning recent health worries.
Over two months ago I noticed a slight dull pain in my chest, which gradually got worse and predominantly stayed on the left hand side and travelled into my left arm, causing numbness and muscle aches. Understandably, I was sent to A&E on two occasions by my GP for this pain where blood tests, ECG and chest X-Ray almost completely ruled out any cardiac issues. Alongside this pain, I am somebody who frequently suffers with fatigue and occasionally shortness of breath. I have also had night sweats on several occasions (drenching) but they have occurred less frequently over the last few years. I usually assume they occur when I’m feeling unwell or anxious, ajough sometimes they just occur without any reason.
I’ve found during this time my symptoms gradually got worse, with my GP not seeming concerned as they primarily wanted to rule out any heart related issues. Despite this, the chest pain has become much more frequent (sharp/stabbing pain or dull ache) and can occur down the left ribs and towards the armpit too. Within the last two weeks, I have also began to feel sharp pains in my flank on both sides and my joints have become particularly painful (namely knees and elbows). After once again visiting my GP, they put it down to something ‘viral’ that could have lasted for almost three months, or an illness such as costochondritis or fibromyalgia. I’ve been prescribed naproxen for the pain which hasn’t really helped...
Now, the almost three month episode of ill health has left me feeling both mentally and physically exhausted and unfortunately quality of life has dropped dramatically. Wanting to try and find more information on my pain did sadly lead me to Doctor Google, which brought Lymphoma to my attention. The chest pain, night sweats, unintentional weight loss, fatigue etc. being what greatly worry me. I have also developed a slight rash on my chest and abdomen in the past two days, although it doesn’t itch. When I raised the big C concern to my GP, she said based on my bloods (good lymphocyte levels) and X Ray being clear that she “didn’t think it is lymphoma”.
Rather than to feel comforted by this, I have opted to fork out for a private ultrasound tomorrow or my abdomen and kidneys (where recent pain has been), and will look if the clinic is able to offer an ultrasound of the chest area. This may be a foolish act of anxiety on my part, but I just felt at best it’ll be able to put my mind at ease if things look clear (at which point I can look into alternative causes for my recent ill health to hopefully find a remedy, as the pain is becoming particularly unbearable).
Apologies that this went on a bit, I just have a few questions for those of you that may have more first hand experience at being in my position
• Are my symptoms anything that should be taken more seriously? My GP seems to think viral... but says so without certainty or much explaination.
• Are the bloods and x-Ray at all an indication for lymphoma? In my reading I’ve seen that both are not accurate, which is why I’m surprised my GP is relying on those for clear indicators.
• Is there anything I can ask at the ultrasound that could help to see if lymphoma is causing my issues? Or would the nodes even be visible on a chest/abdominal ultrasound?.
thank you to anyone in advance for this, and sorry if my worries seem exaggerated!
