My Hodgkin's Symptoms

Symptoms starting 2 years prior:
-overnight digestive problems resulting in complete rejection of dairy products – unresolved
-deep maddening itch in lower legs under the surface of the skin – continued until mid-treatment

Symptoms starting 1 year prior:
-shooting pain down my left arm & tingling in my hand – got worse
-odd sound in my chest when I lay on my back, like a hollow rattle only I could hear
-fatigue – started skipping work outs, dropped out of jujitsu, thought I was lazy

Symptoms starting 6 months prior:
-pain spread from my left arm to the left side of my upper back
-always out of breath, couldn’t walk a flight of stairs without huffing & puffing
-started coming home after working and napping
-nose started running all the time, a steady drip
-daily headaches
-dizzy hot spells during the day
-trouble breathing when I slept on my left side

Symptoms starting 3 months prior: above symptoms worsened
-pain was so bad in my upper back some nights Id slip into the kitchen and throw back a few shots of Rum for instant relief & sit up crying for hours – was taking Naproxen daily
-could no longer sleep on my back or left side – only on my right side with my left arm propped up hugging several pillows, thus keeping my chest cavity as open as possible for air
-night sweats started

Symptoms starting 6 weeks prior: above symptoms worsened to walking Zombie stage
-dry cough started, later became a wet cough as Pleural & Pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart & lungs) began to rise
- daily episodes of heart racing & sweats

After 6 weeks of coughing I went to the doctor who ordered a chest x-ray, we found the mass & my health deteriorated quickly from there



Notes:
Where was my doctor in all this?
Throughout the 2 years leading up to a diagnosis I would visit my doctor every few months or as new symptoms presented. He was often reluctant to pursue problems or gave simple “live with it” explanations for troubles. I did push every now and then for further investigation and got referrals to specialists that often resulted in dead ends, which I would accept. Even as the pain progressed I was often pacified with an “it’s nothing” response despite my physical discomfort. (My mother gave me her Naproxen for her Bursitis because the Dr. wouldn’t prescribe anything)
A few months prior to my x-ray the Dr. was frustrated with my increased visits about the same problems and told me the pain was likely in my head and perhaps I had a personality disorder. I was so mad and didn’t know what to do anymore, that’s why I waited until my cough was so bad before I went back to him; and even then he was reluctant to order an x-ray.