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Had second pneumothorax in a little over a year

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Chrispycritter
Chrispycritter

I've had my second pneumothorax in a year. Both times had a chest tube put in for about 4 days. First time had really no pain after felt 100% after about 4 days rest out of hospital. The second time was more painful in and out of hospital. I returned to work 5 days after being released from hospital on light duty. This morning I woke up with heavy throbbing in my chest and upper back. It seems to throb when I stand up from sitting or laying and when I go from standing to sitting or laying down. It feels like the blood is rushing to those areas when I change my orientation. I wanna goto the hospital but I have no insurance and I have over 30,000 in bills just from these 2 incidents. I also can't afford to be out of work anymore. Please I need advice if you are a doctor or have had a similar experience. Thanks in advance.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • katia53781
    katia53781 Chrispycritter

    Posted

    Dear Chris,

    At least have a chest x-Ray . If it is pneumothorax then it is an emergency .

    Mandate a diagnosis . Normally when it recurs it needs a surgery. It is your life we're talking about. Don't wait . I guess we all had the same problems

    • Chrispycritter
      Chrispycritter katia53781

      Posted

      Took your advice and went to the hospital. 50% collapse. Chest tube in. Pain is the worst yet. Under medicated as usual. Thanks for the advice.
    • katia53781
      katia53781 Chrispycritter

      Posted

      Dear Chris,

      You don't have to be in such pain . Ask the doctors for sédatives . Plus remember being in a dépressive mood makes your pain worse and delay healing. Tell yourself all people in my condition went through this . Read the forum reply. There are worth diseases in Life . You are not alone there are people who care enough to write to You. Don't loose faith your problem now is not forever and yes you have always a purpose in life.

      I told myself I have to do what I have to do to get out of the hospital and I followed the medical advice have hope .

      Just ask about the cause . You need to know this problem should have a cause . Be aware that probably you need a surgery . Choose an expérimentéd surgeon ask for explanation. After surgery and 6 month recovery period You Will go on with your Life if You know the cause. Write fréquently if You want . Ask for pain killers . God bless You

    • Chrispycritter
      Chrispycritter katia53781

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your kind words. I feel alittle better now. I am on pain meds. They work some. I was told they have to replace the tube due to it slipping out of place and that my lung reinflated I. One spot but caused another spot to collapse. The docs are discussing surgery but aren't sure yet due to the fact that there is not any fluid around the lung. They had explained to me that usually they don't do the procedure for my type of pneumo. Idk. I just wanted to say thank you for your reply and God bless you. You have made me feel like I'm not alone through all this. Thank you.

    • katia53781
      katia53781 Chrispycritter

      Posted

      Dear Chris ,

      Of course you are not alone. Happy to know you are a little better. If I can give you a suggestion: make sure you are in a teaching hospital, you have an experienced thoracic surgeon treating you and make sure you don't leave the hospital without an explanation : why you are having a pneumothorax? Otherwise you may end up with recurrence and suffering like me for years in my case 3 . This can trigger lots of anxiety and fears.

      Concerning what you told me I don't know why they talk about fluid where pneumothorax had nothing to do with fluids . Make sure again that people treating you are professional and the tube should never slip . God bless You

    • katia53781
      katia53781

      Posted

      Dear Chris,

      I hope the surgery went well.

      I will join you and your family with prayers. It is a small hard path and everything will be ok

  • fluffykitty
    fluffykitty Chrispycritter

    Posted

    Perhaps you can go to an urgent care center and get a chest xray- you can pay out of pocket and they are much cheaper. If you dont have insurance, consider applying for charity care through the hospital. You usually qualify if you fall within a low income bracket. You might be able to get some help with your other bills also. Depending on where you live these things may not apply. 

    At the least get an x ray. Im sure you know by now that a pneumothrax can be life threatning, but if you're breathing fine and feel no pain its probably a small leak or nothing at all.

    • Chrispycritter
      Chrispycritter fluffykitty

      Posted

      Thanks for replying. I ended up going to the hospital and turns out I had an even larger pneumo than 2weeks ago. They said it was a 50% collapse and the last two times were 25% each. I hope it doesn't get progressively worst Everytime. This is really depressing. The pain is unbearable this time. I don't even want to breathe anymore. I feel like there is no hope at the moment.

    • fluffykitty
      fluffykitty Chrispycritter

      Posted

      No problem. I hope you are doing better. Usually after a spontaneous pneumothorax has happened a couple of times the drs will consider surgery to reapir it. When i had mine it kept on leaking air. Surgery is much better than having to deal with chest tubes everytime a lung leaks or pops. Althou the process can be hard, you just have to keep on living, knowing it will get better in time- most things do. 
    • Chrispycritter
      Chrispycritter fluffykitty

      Posted

      They are going to operate tomorrow,Video assisted Thorascorapic surgery. They will be removing part of the too of the lung along with adhering to the chest cavity. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because there is a 95% chance of this never reoccurring after surgery and no restrictions other than scuba diving and space travel. Lol. I'm nervous because of the pain associated with post surgery tubes that will remain in place as well as being sedated. Iam not alone through all this as my family are praying And being supportive. I can't wait for this all to be behind me.

    • natasha_45537
      natasha_45537 Chrispycritter

      Posted

      Well done positive thinking you will be great I have had this same surgery it helped wonders best of luck will be thinking of you. Yes tubes etc is painful best advice I can give is stay on top of pain once it's out of control it's hard to recover to comfortable state so every 4-6 hours pain relief no matter what.

      wink talk soon

  • natasha_45537
    natasha_45537 Chrispycritter

    Posted

    It doesn't sound good often oxygen and blood rushing give the same kind of sensation it sounds like there is air trapped outside of your lung. If you imagine a bottle of water when you move the bottle the air trapped inside moves it's the same as inside your lungs when your body moves as you explained the air trapped moves it pounds like a strong throbbing feeling I've had this a lot if you bend down and touch your toes same thing but stronger?? Sounds like you need drains sorry hope this helps

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