Hello,
I really hope someone can help me with my questions, I've thought for months about writing on one of these sites, I've done nothing but scan the web and forums about my symptoms and I'm absolutely convinced that I have pulmonary fibrosis. I'm a 25 year old female with a 4 year old little boy, I've always been a worrier and suffered with health anxiety which I am completely aware of, and I sort of feel like the boy who cried wolf because now I think there's something serious wrong with me no doctor are taking me seriously. I first noticed this problem in January, a popping sensation in my left side, more towards my back where I imagine my left lung is when I breathe in, it didn't happen on every breath I took and I only noticed it when I was sat slumped, I mentioned it to my doctor and he listened to my lungs and said they sounded clear and said it was probably one of my ribs clicking or something when expanding, I had no other symptoms and it wasn't causing me much bother so I put it to the back of my mind, it remained like this for months, until June, it got worse, I noticed it all the time, when I was walking around and I developed a horrible dry cough, it started to hurt to cough, still only had the popping and pain on the left side, I'd been back to The doctors about 3 times by this point with the same thing and every doctor who listened to my lungs said they were clear, however a nurse practitioner said she would send me for a chest X-ray just to rule anything out, I went for the chest X-ray, and whilst I was waiting for the results I was constantly googling my symptoms then I came across 'finger clubbing' and when I looked at my finger nails I noticed how different they were and it looked like early stages of clubbing, few days later my chest X-ray came back 'normal' so I went back to the doctors and showed him my fingers and explained the lung pain was getting worse as well as the cough, he looked at my fingers and said I needed to go for a ct scan, as it was very early stages of clubbing, he listened to my lungs and said they sounded clear.. I had to wait 5 weeks for the ct scan, in the 5 weeks I waited for the ct scan the pains in my lungs had gotten worse, I was (and still am) in agony, not even just when I breathe but constantly, it's as though my lungs throb, and the cough is so dry and horrible, my throat has been sore too, and I've just felt all in all crap! I went back to the doctors to see if they could hurry the ct scan along and told the doctor how much pain I was in, the pain started to go up into my left shoulder and neck, he listened to my lungs and said he could hear crackling in my lower left lung and he diagnosed me with bronchiectasis, he put me on steroids and antibiotics for a week and he said he would see me again when my ct scan results came back but he was certain it was bronchiectasis and told me it was very unlikely to me pulmonary fibrosis because of my age, I'd never heard of bronchiectasis so of course I went home and googled and seen how people cough up a lot of phlegm on a daily basis, I don't cough up any, nothing. Then about 2 weeks later the ct scan came back - normal! So I went back to see the doctor who diagnosed me with bronchiectasis (this would of shown up on the ct scan if it was that) and he said it's good news your ct scan is clear, no fibrous tissue, and I said well what happens now then you can't just tell me there is nothing wrong with me when I know something is definitely not right, and he said the bronchiectasis is so mild that the ct scan hasn't picked it up?! Then sent me on my way with more steroids and antibiotics!! Whatever this is, it's not mild because I am in agony and the popping sensation has got worse, my lungs feel tight and literally like they are squelching when I breathe it's horrible, I'm also in a lot of pain, they throb, the pain sometimes goes up my shoulder and into my neck, it's getting worse.. Does anyone have any advice? I feel like they aren't worrying about it because of my history of health anxiety.. I know this isn't in my head because my fingers wouldn't be clubbing and I really wouldn't be in this much pain. I've had blood tests to check for infection, full blood count, everything and everything has came back normal. I'm completely convinced I have pulmonary fibrosis and it's been missed on the ct scan because I know ct scans don't always pick it up.
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