AIBU (and pathetic) to think I'm dying?

[EmeraldScorn]

I know how this will sound, that I'm a hypochondriac and/or an attention seeker (I am neither of those things) but I am feeling quite worried at present.

The background and I apologise for the length, I haven't felt "right" since around September (2016), it was nothing that I could really put my finger on as such but extreme tiredness, excessive face sweating, a lot of random shooting pains in my chest/back/shoulder and pins and needles in my hands.

I went to my GP, she checked my blood pressure, my oxygen levels etc and all looked alright. I continued to feel shit though!

Mid October time I got an abscess on my inner thigh (I shower daily and practice good hygiene etc), I was in agony with it but after a course of antibiotics it went away.

November time I started feeling really congested (for no apparent reason) which very quickly descended into coughing and VERY LOUD wheezing. It hasn't gone away and the wheezing especially is really intense. I did book a doctor's appointment but I had to cancel it last minute and to be honest I just didn't bother rebooking. (I should have)

The wheezing, coughing, pains and general feeling of illness has stayed with me and on New Year's day I woke up with a severely painful throat and shooting pains in my shoulder. My throat has since eased! I then started getting highly excruciating pain in my mouth, that I put down to an impacted wisdow tooth but having been unable to bring my dentist appointment forward I went to the emergency dental hospital and the dentist agreed that my gums were inflamed but didn't think it was from my wisdom tooth and he couldn't detect any signs of other dental issues.

I can't do much without sweat literally running down my face, a simple task and my face/hair will be soaked in sweat. I am excessively thirsty (I drink a lot of water but it's never enough), I feel as if there is some thing restricting my breathing, sometimes I will feel this dead weight pressure between my shoulder blades and coughing is really sore. I was checked for diabetes at the start of 2016 (just as a precaution as I have a family history) and I was clear of it just incase the "excessive thirst" symptom made anyone think of it.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I managed to get an emergency appointment with my GP for the afternoon. I went and had quite a thorough check up (as far as is possible in a doctor's surgery).

Blood pressure.
Peak flow.
Oxygen levels.

She is going to put me on a monitor on Monday for my blood pressure to be recorded for a 24 hour period. My peak flow results were indicative of airway narrowing but she said it would need to be monitored weekly for comparison, etc.

Then I was told to come back on Monday morning for blood tests and given a prescription, a 7 day course of antibiotics and an inhaler!!

She couldn't tell me what is actually wrong with me but she did say that because I was obviously sweating/coughing and my temperature was raised she was putting me on the Amoxicillin to clear any infection and she wanted me to start using the inhaler because she said she could clearly see that I was struggling to breathe. She then said we would wait for the blood results and take it from there. Bloods take WEEKS to come back at my doctor's, that's if they don't lose the sample first which happens often there.

I am so tired to the actual point of abnormality; Washing the dishes has become an effort, I get so tired and sweaty I have to sit down. Trying to put my make up on in the mornings is a living nightmare because as quick as I put it on, the quicker it all sweats off again. It's just my face though, I'm not excessively sweating elsewhere.

I have this feeling that I am dying (pathetic I know) but I just don't feel like myself, I seem to have been sick and feeling weak for months. I have a family history of breast cancer and the thought of it is petrifying me, it never bothered me before I started feeling sick though.

Would I seem like a complete nutjob if I was to go to A&E in the morning? AIBU to basically ask for a second opinion? I mean my GP was lovely but she didn't give me an actual diagnosis and I know I have to wait for the bloods etc but it's a drawn out process and I don't want to wait.

I don't normally behave like this, usually I'm quite care free and live for today but I don't feel myself at all and my mind is racing with an assortment of life threatening diseases.

I've tried to use the inhaler a couple of times tonight and I'm not doing it properly at all. Would I be unreasonable (and a dick) to go to the hospital tomorrow for a quicker assessment?

Firstly get on YouTube and watch a video on how to take an inhaler. Remember they aren't always the instant fix you see on tv either.

Secondly ask them to do a more detailed check of your thyroid. I get a very sweaty face, lethargy and general feeling of doom and gloom when my levels are off. Thyroids can cause so many problems from depression to weight fluctuations and hair loss including eyebrows. It can be a total bastard and even if it is that it can take months to feel "normal" again. But you'll get there.

I hope you get it sorted, I know how hard it can feel to not feel "right" within yourself.

Have you had your blood glucose checked? I thought I was dying once, shaking and sweating, hair loss, vision loss and then breathing trouble. Was undiagnosed type 1 diabetes and I was in DKA.

I am not a Dr. But you need a full blood workup. Is it possible for you to see a private GP? I know I will be flamed but I have no faith in the NHS. I know that sometimes they act quickly and sort things out, but I have been fobbed off one too many times (dd2 almost died because of NHS fob off) and my MIL did die due to NHS negligence. Private GP's don't think about saving the NHS money, they think about the patient. I disagree that your symptoms are indicative of anxiety and you need further testing (bloods) as your next step here.

My partner had something very similar (male) and it turned out to be pericarditis. This is NOT life threatening or life limiting and is treatable. It took months for chest pain to kick in, but when it did they finally diagnosed it with an ECG.

Sweats, exhaustion, wheezing, recurrent infections in various parts of the body, chronic athletes foot, tightness of the chest, feeling of impending doom etc. Go back to the GP and ask for an ECG.

A&E is not appropriate.

If you're really shattered and feeling unwell then you will be also feeling delicate emotionally.

How about trying out the antibiotics first and then booking another appointment if you don't feel better. Maybe try another GP if you have lost confidence in yours. You are not obliged to see her. You could change surgery if you prefer.

I'd try and get a full blood workup, a chest X-ray and an ECG. Possibly through via a private GP if that's an option. I wouldn't go to A&E. Good luck.

Please google Graves disease/overactive thyroid.

My friend was identical to you.

I also don't think that A and e will help as they literally can't do anything

Your best bet is to keep pushing through the GP and consider a second opinion if needs be . PUt another way use the energy it takes to go to a and e into chasing at GP level and also write /type this all up so you can show them . Sorry it's rotten as - but honestly A and E will make you feel worse not better as they can't fix this either

How old are you OP? You could have menopausal symptoms they cause excessive sweating feeling out of sorts. I also think you could be having some sort of panic attack on top coupled with your dying thoughts is exacerbating the symptoms. I think the abscess on your leg, sore throat is just something that you have picked up e.g. Virus but believe me you are not dying. You need to see a GP and get your levels checked for Menopause and anxiety.

Will just mention ; at the beginning of november I took unwell overnight and luckily had a routine appointment booked with the nurse that morning who had a look at my throat & chcecked temp and said to get an emergency docs appointment. I did so and after arriving at the surgery an hour and a half later for my doc app I had to leave the waiting room twice for fresh air as thought I was going to pss out. My words to the GP were, 'i think I am dying', Ivhave honestly never felt like it before. Four minutes after getting into her office an ambulance was called and I was blue lighted to hospital. I had sepsis.

You would know if you felt truly awful and if you genuinely do believe you are dying please follow it up. We have instinct and gut feeling for reasons.

On the positive side it sounds like your vitals are fine and the GP isn't concerned about any immediate issues, just make sure you chase up your bloods. Take care.

A and e not the right place and you would be wasting their time.

Go to gp and ask for blood tests - hormones, thyroid, cancer screen etc.

Something is not right but it's not an emergency

Some of what you describe shouts menopause to me - sweats, anxiety, general lethargy, joint/ muscular painpain can all be symptoms.
Have they looked at your hormones levels?

I have huge sympathy, what you're going through sounds awful. But... you've been ill for months and only seen the doctor a couple of times in that period. It sounds like your gp is taking you seriously and starting the process of making a diagnosis (as well as immediate treatment to make you more comfortable): I know you've reached the end of your tether, but the gp can't diagnose you in one short appointment. You need to wait for the test results and take things step by step.

I second (third?) a full bloods work - including Vit D. Don't be fobbed off with "normal" results - ask exactly what the results are and check online whether you're only just in what they consider normal range.

Have you done absolutely all the blood tests they can possibly think of? If you were in France, they would have drained you dry by now looking for all sorts of infections and diseases such as auto-immune etc.

sorry but didn't have time to RTFT but want to extend my sympathies. I have been unwell since September and was diagnosed quite recently with Lupus but it took scores of blood tests to get there.

Best of luck with it

My advice would be to step away from Dr Google for a start, it's not helpful.
Try to focus on the fact you've seen your GP, think of the massive amount of training and experience they have. Trust that at present they feel the inhaler/tablets are a starting point and give them time to work. A lot of posters mean well and are supportive, but unless medically trained the suggestions of what it might be can be unhelpful. You do though sound exhausted and stressed and that must surely have raised anxiety levels a lot.
I really hope you feel better soon.

Get your b12 checked when having the bloods checked too. Pernicious anemia causes a lot of the symptoms you have.

Symptoms scream menopause to me, too. Don't don't don't go to A&E with these symptoms.

I think you just have to be persistent. Which is difficult, I know, when you're struggling to get breath. I'm in the middle of an unexplained fluid-on-the-lungs saga that's been going on for a few weeks and I sympathise re every simple task being exhausting. But I think the back and forth to the surgery is part of the necessary grind

(The 'panic disorder' suggestion made me gurgle though )

You have to keep going back to your doctor if the antibiotics don't improve things. Diagnosis is often a process of elimination, but it does mean you have to become someone who goes regularly to the doctors. You are not being a nuisance, if they try something but it doesn't help then the diagnosis isn't correct and they need to look at other things.

Hopefully they've got it right and you have a chest infection (I believe this is what you;re being treated ffor). Antibiotics may not be enough to treat it and you may need steroids so go back if the symptoms persist.

Have you had unprotected sex with a new partner? Get tested for HIV.

OP have PMed you

You need to wait for your results and follow-up appointment, I'm afraid. In the meantime you'd be better off finding relaxation and stress-management self-help techniques than demanding a 2nd opinion at A&E. Please don't do that.

After your blood's been taken in a few days, I mean.