Have you ever had cold symptoms like this?

[DarkStar189]

So first thing, I got a rapid Covid test which came back negative and the test was sent away for the longer test which came back negative.

Monday: Woke up and the dangly thing in the back of my throat (uvula) was swollen. No pain there or in the throat, just a weird discomfort because it was swollen. That went away by the end of the day.

Tuesday: No symptoms

Wednesday: Nasal discomfort. Nothing major. 

Wednesday night: Got in the shower and suddenly had a weird dull pain in my chest, kind of in the center but about 2 inches to the right.  Pain gets worse and 3 hours later its midnight and every movement and every breath feels like I'm being stabbed in the chest on that center/right side. It hurt like hell but I just didn't have the feeling like it was life threatening. Still felt like I had energy/strength, just not really able to breathe without stabbing. I'm walking around pacing, not sure if it was worth a hospital visit sitting there for hours, also the cost...

Thursday: I stuck it out till morning barely got 1-2 hours of sleep. Went to the Dr right when they opened. No fever, aches, or muscle pain. EKG heart reading perfectly fine, chest x-rays looked fine, rapid Covid test came back negative. They sent me to the emergency room only to rule out a blood clot because they weren't able to test for it there. Hospital does all the same tests and blood test came back negative for clots. At that point I have a slightly stuffy nose and the bad chest pain. They said I'm not dieing, try ibuprofen for a while and see how it goes. 

Friday-Sunday: Woke up and zero chest pain. Like it never ever happened. Now my nose is in full on cold/sinus mode.  Friday was rough and Saturday was the same. Today I feel a lot better already. Covid test also came back negative.  Family member on my wife's side said he experienced the same thing years ago. Sudden stabbing chest pain, rushed to hospital and they found nothing wrong. Next day he also had a cold. Some quick googling it sounds kind of like something called pleurisy but maybe not. I don't know, felt really fucked up and scary. I feel fortunate it wasn't serious. Is this the shit you get when you start getting older? I'm not into it. 

[Xbob42]

I was literally about to type pleurisy when I read it right at the end of your post. My father-in-law has COPD, and one of the symptoms he gets on occasion is pleurisy. Having pleurisy doesn't mean you have COPD or anything, by the way, don't want to give that impression.

 

Basically the way I've heard him describe it based on what doctors told him is that your lungs get inflamed and/or sticky (with mucus), which makes them very raw, so when you breathe or move they "peel" off your chest wall or something like that and it hurts like a sumbitch. Think of if you've ever had a bad rash/infected sticky spot on the inside of your elbow or knee and how it feels when you flex that and it "peels" away from the rest of your skin. I experienced that as a kid and it sucked ass, can't imagine it in the lungs. He's gone to the ER for it a few times thinking it was something much more serious.

 

I'm not saying it is or isn't serious as I'm no doctor, but my impression is that it sucks and is terribly painful but isn't life threatening or anything.