Hello,

I realize I'm sort of going out on a limb here, but I have been suffering from some somewhat troubling symptoms for approximately 3 months and am really not sure where to post... (I should mention that in late January of this year, I had a cardiac ablation for an electrical problem in my heart and supposedly everything went fine..)

I experience daily shortness of breath, chest tightness, chest pain, dizziness and lately unexplainable fatigue and diarrhea. In the past month or so, I have had a few new things such as burning sensation in my bronchi, phlegm, nausea, and headache. Some days are better than others, and some days are just really bad!

I have seen my doctor several times and nothing has really been determined. I had a chest X-ray and blood work done about a month ago and it came back normal. I was referred to a neurologist for my dizziness last week and he decided that I should have an MRI to check for neurological problems or complications from my surgery.

I am a 24 y/o male that is about 20 pounds over weight. I smoked for about 5-6 years and quit in January of this year.

One of my main fears right now is lung cancer. Perhaps that is unfounded… but after doing some research on the subject, I see that several of my symptoms fall in line with lung cancer symptoms. i.e. the chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue etc etc.

Am I just completely out there with these fears? Do 24 year olds typically get lung cancer? Is 6 years of smoking a real cause to fear lung cancer?

I have some anxiety issues and I tend to freeze up when I see my doctor and just sort of agree with what he says. My communication skills really just sort of break down. Does anyone have any advice on how I can work with my doctors to find out what is wrong with me? Should I start making demands and if so, what should I demand? These symptoms are really starting to degrade the quality of my life and interfere with daily tasks like school and work.. Since I have an MRI coming up from the neurologist, do you think its possible for me to convince them to look at my chest in addition to my head? Would an MRI be likely to show any problems? Would my regular doctor be the one to ask about this.. or the neurologist who prescribed the MRI in the first place?

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you all

Hi-
Great all is okay with your heart...my uncle just had that procedure done too and amazing what they can come up with these days! They believe had that been around when his dad was alive it would have saved his life, but at least it is saving lives now.
Now as far as your symptoms...you never know. I am not one to fully trust a lung x-ray...I think the best way is a CT scan but you might be exposing yourself for no reason. I do know stress can play havoc with our bodies. I think 24 is young for lung cancer...but we have no control of the disease. My husband is 52 and never smoked and has it...so you just never know. I would just make sure all tests are run and everything is ruled out...could be something as simple as stress and maybe acid reflux. (I say simple...compared to cancer) It is good to get the MRI and that end a lot of worry. Good luck and so happy to hear you have stopped smoking....You take care of yourself. I find for my stress a good workout is the best way...each person is different so find something to help relieve from stress...
Kim

Thanks very much for your kind words Kim, I will get back to you when I know more. I will be looking into the stress / anxiety / acid reflux issues as well. Best of luck to you..


Keith