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Pain after Pneumothorax

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dee81927
dee81927

I am 28 years old athletic female.I have a very healthy lifestyle I eat well and work out 4-5 times/week.i had two spontaneous Pneumothorax 3 years ago on the left lung. I went under the surgery to fix the problem.I recovered well however I left with pain.I have sudden sharp pain on the left side it ysuly gets better after a few minutes I went back to see a doctor but they couldn't find any problem. Now I started to have pain on the right side the pain is very similar to the one during pneumothorax however it isn't as strong and it goes away within 5-15 min. I am scared if I will have a collapse lung in my right side as well now, not sure why I still have pain or if it is chronic pain. I also have chesty cough every morning for an hour or so. I don't smoke at all and I am wondering why I still haven't feel 100% after 3years.

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  • kathy85497
    kathy85497 dee81927

    Posted

    You may benefit from physical therapy.  My son continued to have chest and back pain after having chest tube for spontanous pnemothorax.  The nhe came down with upper respitory infection which caused a lot of coughing.  After serveral visits for ER, his Pulmonologist prescribed physcial therapy.  He said the back and chest pain is due to pain in his chest wall.  After completion of the therapy my son's pain subside considerably. 

    Best of luck to you.

    • lundgren
      lundgren kathy85497

      Posted

      Could you tell us a little bit about the physical therapy? Reading about chest physical therapy I found out that it might not be adequate for people with: damaged chest walls, or recent surgery. I am experiencing pain years after surgery so I am afraid it might be more harmful for me to try it than benefitial. If you could tell us what your son did in the physio therapy sessions it would be grate.
    • james65714
      james65714 kathy85497

      Posted

      Heykathy how old was your son I'm 24 just had my first healthy non smoker work alot it's been about 2.5 weeks and I'm having pain still all over the place in my chest and at times that pain that feels like it starts in the back like a spasm comes back how long was it before your son did not feel pain? I also had a tube and was released without surgery

  • Michellejo
    Michellejo dee81927

    Posted

    My daughter had VATS surgery - thoracotomy and mechanical pleurodesis about 4 years ago.  It was an excruciating recovery period with just breathing after the surgery.  She was in the hospital for 11 days.  Soon afterward she started having the same chest pains and thought her lung had collapsed again.  It was confirmed that the procedure was a success and that she woud not have another lung collapse on the same side again.  however, she continues to have painful episodes where it truly feels like she is having another collapse.  We didn't know who to see to discuss this pain.  Pumonologist or surgeon.  Surgeon said pulmonologist, pulmonologist said surgeon.  We went to famiy dr. and she advised pulmonologist.  They did breathing treatments and listened to her describe the pain.  He stated this was probably scar tissue and she would always have some pain unless she wanted to have surgery to repair the scar tissue, which she refused.  So basically she needs to live with this horrible pain when it hits.  It is scary but goes away within an hour or less.  Most often less.  It seems to happen more often in cold weather and hours later after she exerts herself with exercise.  I hope someone reads this and can provide additional options for her instead of just living with the nigs and nags.
    • sensifari
      sensifari Michellejo

      Posted

      check serrapeptaze enzyme, it breaks down non living proteins eg scar tissue also clears veins and arteries great for those who have quit smoking. my lung has recently collapsed so we shall see if it works, fingers crossed

       

    • bamawife
      bamawife Michellejo

      Posted

      Hi there,

      Your daughter has Post Thoracic Surgery Syndrome. Yes, it actually has a name, and Doctors recognize it. My left lung collapsed, did the VATS, then they had to do the thoracic surgery in order to staple up all the holes and do the pleurodesis. . I keep having times when the pain comes back, I think it's a heart attack. I'm old left side of chest pain?? My family dr told me to rase my hands and arms straight up. If that relieves the pain, then you know it's the PTSS. A pain management dr is who your daughter needs to see. My pain dr does an epidural a bout every 6-8 months to keep the worst of it away. I hope this helps

      Bamawife 

    • jenny04128
      jenny04128 Michellejo

      Posted

      I feel like you are talking about me! This has been my medical experience as well, accept I do still continue to have small collapses, and I feel hopeless with no answers
    • lundgren
      lundgren jenny04128

      Posted

      if you keep having collapses, then it might not be Post Thoracic Surgery Syndrome, or at least not only that. I had surgery and still had small collapses for years. Until I had a "big" collapse, and had to undergo surgey again because the lung was not able re-expand (not event a tube sucking the air). This surgery was 3-4 years ago and it was not the usual pleuredesis. Rather I had a small chunk of lung removed. Yeah, a small chung of lung removes. The surgery was performed by a very expert surgeon who found out that my lung had a quite irregular shape at the top and that it was that bit which was causing the recurrence of pneumothorax. Hope drs find a solution for you although I would NOT recommend any surgery like mine unless you have a big collapse. The risks outweigh the gains.
    • jenny04128
      jenny04128 lundgren

      Posted

      The collapses started out small and are now getting bigger : ( .....I have been told that I have very lung unusual shaped lungs.....sitting here currently in bed with a collapse hoping that my appointment with another specialist can shine light 
    • andrea84741
      andrea84741 lundgren

      Posted

      I too had a chunck of lung removed during pleurodesis. My blebs caused the collapse and were all clumped together in the bottom tip of my lung. I awoke to find out that whole chunk was removed. neutral I wonder if that's why my pain is more frequent in recent days even 4 years post surgery. I get bad painful cramps and can't really breathe well while it's happening.
    • lundgren
      lundgren andrea84741

      Posted

      sorry to hear that. life can be hard for some us.

      i am in a bad condition since almost a year ago, not related to the lung (although in my big set of health issues I also have problems breathing it seems muskuloskeletal not lung-related, maybe due to stress and atrophy of muscles).

      its incredible how life can change so much. but i try to look at the things I can still do, which is still a lot compared to many people (think about walking, think about seeing). that brings some perspective. also, thinking that you are not alone. here we are a lot of sufferers, and we still keep going!

    • jenny04128
      jenny04128 lundgren

      Posted

      UUUUUUUGGGGHHH!! Im sooooo over this!! Just had another collapse and had a heimlich valve tube in place for a week and a half to reinflate the lung, Everytime this happens a new surgeon comes to see me as if to save the day and gives me another explanation for why this is happening even after VATS, this time I was told that I have a connective tissue disorder that is genetic anyway they want to do another surgery, Im so scared!! I already have so much pain. What is it going to be like after another more aggressive surgery? On the other hand though I can't keep living with collapses every couple months for the rest of my life!! I have two small children to care for I feel like either way Im screwed.....Not feeling very optimistic right now : (

    • lundgren
      lundgren jenny04128

      Posted

      Do you have another opinion for that new surgery? And are you clear about what might be te cons of it? I was never told about the dangers of vats nor the possibility I could be left with pain even if neumotorax stopped.

      Best wishes.

    • jenny04128
      jenny04128 lundgren

      Posted

      Ha! Yeah that seams to be a commonality amongst the fellow sufferers on this forum; their doctors didnt properly inform them. I was told that I would recover in 4-6 weeks and would not have another collapse. Four years later 

      I still have pain from VATS and I get collapses every couple of months! Sometimes small needing no intervention and sometimes I get to go home with heimlich valve tubes! Anywho last surgeon I spoke with wants to do a pluerectomy? Where they remove my pluera and staple my lung! WTF!! Who comes up with this torture?

      Best wishes to you and hopes of pain relief

    • CAN_T_SLEEP
      CAN_T_SLEEP sensifari

      Posted

      Hey sensifari,  Did you use serrapeptaze enzyme and if so why did you use it and what was the outcome?
    • CAN_T_SLEEP
      CAN_T_SLEEP sensifari

      Posted

      Hi, Did you try the serrapeptaze enzyme and if so what was the outcome?
    • Thesander
      Thesander bamawife

      Posted

      Thank you bamawife for this tip via your family doctor. Raising my arms above my head stops my pain.
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