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Unknown Diagnosis - Respiratory

Posted , 4 users are following.

renatac95
renatac95

Hi all!

This is my first post here as I'm using this website as a last resource - I've been to every doctor I possibly could and they find nothing but my symptoms do not subside.

I'm a 24 year old female, healthy (or am I), don't drink or smoke, don't take any medications and don't have any previous disease record (except for pneumonia when I was 6) or surgery history.

Since I don't know what relates to what, I'll start from the very beginning:

Since the beginning of this year I have been getting a LOT of yellow mucus on my throat, which I managed to spit out when coughing. I went to an otolaryngologist, they made a CT of my sinuses (which were clear) and gave me anti-allergens for the mucus - which didn't help, but it wasn't bothering me that much so I let it go.

In September after coming back from a trip, I felt super sick, threw up and had diarrhea for over a week - which I did go to the doctor for and they said it could be a viral infection or food poisoning. I did a feces test and it came back clear, so they gave me no medication. Symptoms subsided after 2 weeks.

Since then I have been getting sick on and off (1 week I'm fine, the next I feel ran down, dizzy, stuffed nose, throat hurting. etc). I got 2 episodes of mild fever (37.5 degrees), but other than that I didn't get any. I got a super weird pain under my right shoulder blade which I thought was a pinched nerve (and this particular pain did go away after a few days), but my chest/upper back started giving me sharp pains randomly throughout my torso area and it sometimes hurts more when I breathe in.

I returned to the doctor and they said I had tracheitis (which I find unlikely since it's pretty rare and my voice was normal) and tonsillitis so they put me on antibiotics (10 days) and anti-inflammatory (3 days). During that time I felt worse and had multiple panic attacks (which I recognize I struggle with, but it had never been that bad) which took me to the ER and got sent back home with no diagnosis again and again.

Since I didn't feel better at all after the antibiotics, I insisted and visited more doctors (general, cardiologist and endocrinologist) and made a full exam (blood tests, x ray and EKG, which all came back normal), they all said I'm fine and shouldn't worry.

I then got a sore throat again and started producing more mucus (yellow), my nose is stuffy and I'm still getting back and chest pain (the cardiologist assured it was not my lungs, even though I do not think it's muscle related - pain medication doesn't help and it feels a lot like the pain I felt when I had pneumonia), my ears feel clogged, I'm getting easily light-headed and with tingling arms and legs (this part might be anxiety, for it comes and goes) and started coughing like hell.

I understand I do have bad anxiety which may lead me to think I have a more serious condition than it actually is, but since my symptoms don't ever go away and may be getting progressively worse I don't think I could be THAT paranoid to make them all up. I believe that we can tell when our bodies are not working properly, and mine definitely isn't.

I needed some help to figure out what other questions I could possibly bring up to a new doctor, what exams I should ask for and which doctor should I try to attend. It has crossed my mind it could be a lung clot, bronchitis, allergies, sinus infection... I don't even know at this point, but my other doctors assured me it's nothing serious based on the exams I took.

Sorry for the long post and hope I can get some help!

Ren

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • renatac95
    renatac95

    Posted

    Forgot to mention, I got all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed in August under local anesthesia, did a treatment in another tooth with local anesthesia again which failed and I might have to treat it again as a root canal.

  • suzi_27147
    suzi_27147 renatac95

    Posted

    Hey sorry to hear you are going through this. I know what its like to be sick and nobody believe you ive been dealing with that same thing for years. From my experience it sounds like bronchitis. Your pcp should be able to diagnose with just a regular exam. If test is desired i guess a chest ct, but this is not really nessecary for this. If thats what it is my doc always just gives antibiotic, steroid, and an inhaler should go away in a few weeks. Good luck!

    • renatac95
      renatac95 suzi_27147

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply! It sure is frustrating when doctors ignore you. I asked my cardiologist if it could be bronchitis and he laughed, so I didn't really think it could be it. Will try visiting a pcp and see what happens! Thanks again!

  • amkoffee
    amkoffee renatac95

    Posted

    The following are just some suggestions to ask your doctor about.

    1. Bronchiectasis. This can only be diagnosed with at CT of your lungs
    2. Sjogren's syndrome. This is a long shot but it can cause tooth decay and muscle/joint pain in addition to the dry mouth and eyes
    3. Anemia. I'm assuming they would have tested this but make sure that it was done.
    4. Hypothyroidism. Would not explain the respiratory conditions but it can cause fatigue muscle aches and pains weight gain and a variety of other symptoms. I am assuming they would have tested this as well but double-check.
    5. GERDS. This can cause chest pain and trouble breathing as well as the typical nausea and heartburn.

    Other tests you might request

    1. A pulmonary function test
    2. Blood tests for ESR and C-reactive protein. Both check for inflammation and are not part of a standard panel of blood tests.
    3. Endoscopy of your upper digestive tract
    4. Have your Sputum checked for bacterial infection and molds/fungi.

    Good luck to you. It really can be a struggle.

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