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Pnemothorax

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dana46235
dana46235

My son lung Collapse 5 days Ago.😞 I cant express how sad Im for my 14 years old. I feel so sad for what he will be going throgh.. or meany not... My son Is very healthy teenager but he is tall and skinny youngone. I Never hear about this pnemothorax until now. Im looking for old people around his 70 , 80 to say that they are ok and they have feww falls but they have a good life. Nobody that I know have it and Im desperated to help my son. I want to know by experience from people who have pnemothorax for year and they are ok and tell me they still happy positive... everything I hear is miserable life painful and surgery over surgery until the rest of his life. Please anybody give some peace of main that you still out there.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Owen_Snelling
    Owen_Snelling dana46235

    Posted

    Hi Dana,

    personally i had a spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax back in 2012 when i was just 16. spent about 1 month in hospital and due to my young age i ended up having operations(only because it was a double collapsed lung). I would say that in my day to day life i have had to get used to common chest discomfort ( i would not call it pain) but it is personally manageable. it is however important to remember that everybody has a different story and i am sure that some people have much more positive results from operations than i did.

    i have no idea how bad your son has this but i believe sometimes some people don't even require an operation when it comes to this so i guess there is that.

    i am no expert (being that i pretty much spent a month taking as much pain meds as i could :P) but you or your son are more than welcome to message me if you need to about it.

    all the best

    owen

    • dana46235
      dana46235 Owen_Snelling

      Posted

      Owen,

      My son probably has a more mild case, but I am worried about him. He's out of wrestling now (it happened during a match) but what about everything else in life? Im worried that her won't get to go hiking and swimming or other sports Flying. Can you share wit us.

      How have you worked to manage?-

  • Southerngal
    Southerngal dana46235

    Posted

    So sorry that your son is going through this.  He certainly can live a long, happy, healthy life!  After 3 collapses in each lung, I had surgery on both lungs over 30 years ago.  I am 55 years old and have had very few problems since my surgeries.  

    I know now it is very scary going through this, but have faith that it will all be ok in the long run.  Your son might have some tough things to deal with, but there are lots of medical options to enable him to have a great, normal life.  Be sure you find a good doctor who is experienced with this type of problem.

    Hope he is better very soon.

    • dana46235
      dana46235 Southerngal

      Posted

      God bless you!! You just give me some air to keep breething. THANK YOU so much!!! My teenager and my entire family are so worry how will be his life but with this you give us hope. Thanks you. I just want to ear this from someone who have it for long time and see how are you doing. Nothing have chair me out then this☺ Me as a mom reading, searching, studing about it, asking, eating the internet, youtube..everything but everyone telling us is sooo painful, not much study about!. I just need to ear this from someone who have it for very long time and keep being ok. Thanks. Although can you share with us how did you manage your condition? My son is atletic guy love wrestling but he is quitting now but. Maunting. Daving flying restricions for you too?
  • Owen_Snelling
    Owen_Snelling dana46235

    Posted

    Hi Dana

    i think only really diving is a no go for people who have these issues. from what i know. happy to be corrected on that.

  • Southerngal
    Southerngal dana46235

    Posted

    As Owen said, scuba diving is definitely out for someone with pneumothorax problems.  Also, becoming an opera singer is not a good idea, due to the pressure the high notes put on the lungs.  I have flown commercial airlines many times with no problems, but private jets are not a good idea as they fly at much higher altitudes. Contact sports can be a problem - imagine the impact on the lung if some got tackled hard in flootball.  His doctor would need to advise him about intense exercise, as sometimes that can put pressure on lungs too.  

    Every case is different.  Your son’s doctor can advise what he might need to avoid.

    • dana46235
      dana46235 Southerngal

      Posted

      Good Evening. Thanks for sharing your post with me! I know it will be hard for him and as a mom his pain will be main too but together can go through this. Knowing now that he can have almost Normal life... Well this is my hope.Im greatful even with some pain in the future but we are wailling to be strong as long He live a bit longer life still positive and happy. Yes we know life can be very hard but still beautiful to keep living.
    • dana46235
      dana46235 Southerngal

      Posted

      Can you share with us since when did you have your first pnemothorax and. How many years since you dont have a collapse?
    • Southerngal
      Southerngal dana46235

      Posted

      My first collapse was in 1984 when I was in college.  Over the next few years, I had partial collapses on each lung. After a total of 3 collapses on my right lung, they did pleurodesis surgery at Emory in Atlanta. Six months later (around 1986 or 1987), they did the same surgery on my left lung.  The surgeries were painful and took around 6 weeks to recuperate. The surgery fixes things so that the lung pretty much cannot collapse again.  

      My my problems were due to blebs.  They were not able to staple them all off during the surgery as there were so many.  Since my surgeries, I have had 10 or 12 times over the years when I bleb popped.  It is a little painful, but not too scary as I know the lung cannot collapse from it.  I take is easy for a few days and then it is fine.

      I’m sure it is very scary to see your son going through this.  Every case is totally different, and some people have one collapse and then never have any other problems.  Do they know why your son had the collapse?  From what I understand, this condition is almost never fatal and doesn’t reduce the length of your life.  There are a few things that those of us who have this shouldn’t do, but as I was never very athletic, I haven’t missed out on anything at all.  I have lead a very happy and normal life.  Since my surgeries, this has been a minor inconvenience and not anything that has had a big impact on my life.

      Please feel free to ask me anything you like.  I’m happy to help.

       

    • dana46235
      dana46235 Southerngal

      Posted

      Thanks for your Replay we apreciated it. that give me so much hope. Thank you. Yes Drs send him CT scam and EC and see if anything they can find. He is a teenager that want to keep running. Rollar coaster swimming some flying too...HE LOVE CAMPING... And Now we are considering getting helicop insurance when He go camping. I know sound a bit extrem... But He hike a lot.... But you know once you get its dancer and we got to move fast. He have mild collapse. No surgery yet. They just waiting now for another collapse and they will move. Since this verily happen Drs told everything will be ok but some restriction...and that we need to have open main that He WILL get a surgery next time. Sound sooo scary but We will do it,If it give us chance to keep living a good life.

  • ahmed99383
    ahmed99383 dana46235

    Posted

    Hi Dana, Sorry to hear about your son, i know how much stressful can this be to him and you, i will write my story here may be it helps

    i had my first (discovered) collapse in 2013 i was 33 years old by that time, and i say discovered because from the sensation and symptoms which cant be mistaken with anything else it seems to me that i have been having mild collapses since i was a teenager, but always thought its a muscle spasm or a cold, so my guess is probably i had around 10 collapses on both sides without even realising what i have since mild ones resolve on their own with some time.

    in 2013 i had one of this mild collapses, and me not knowing as well i took 4 flights, it seems the pressure made it collapse more, so 10 days after i arrived my country i thought this is taking too long, went to doc and xray showed around 70% collapse, scheduled for a surgery right away because the doc advised its better to do a preventive op and get this over with, its been 5 years now since the operation, my left lung is behaving, no collapses and living my life normally without any problems

    just incase your son have to operate don't panic, its not that horrible as you read on the internet, just both of you need to be prepared because this is the part that the Doctors don't tell you about the (Mental pain) which in my opinion is worse than any physical pain i have been through during the operation.

    I had the blebs on my lung stapled and the lung sprayed with adhesive chemical (talc) to stick to the chest wall

    i would say the first couple of hours after operation is painful but not unbearable 

    starting next day i was walking around and i even refused to take any pain killers because it was manageable and its mainly caused by the chest tube between the ribs, once the tube is out, i would say pain was 2 out of 10 after that for 10 days or so

    fast forward abit:

    started going back to doing all my activities, going to work, travelling and all sort of stuff

    what you and him need to expect is:

    -The lung itself is gonna be fine, his breathing will be as it was before, after full recovery

    -The operation result in some nerve damages on the chest and of course scare tissues inside, this is what causes all this horrible stories, not because they are painful, but because the patient doesn't really know whats wrong

    nerve damage will take sometimes to heal and now 5 years post operation i barely feel any of this pains, may be couple of times a year when its too cold or when i am too stressed and its not pain, just discomfort but since i know what it is i don't panic and thats the main part

    hope your son's collapse don't re-occur, and if it does dont worry let him go for the operation, he is young and will heal faster and better and will at least have peace that the recurrence is most likely not to happen again

    Sorry for the long post smile

    Wish you all the best,

    Ahmed 

    • dana46235
      dana46235 ahmed99383

      Posted

      Oh I LOVE LOVE what YOU just share with us. Thank you soo much!Probably its one of the most important thing my son , me and anybody who have this can hear!! Im soo scare now sending my son to school or his regular rutine.... He will be starting high school next year and He really want to do some workout... Cross country and I DO NOT KNOW HOW HOW TO PREVENT HIS NEXT COLLAPSE!!! Drs say He can do everything... But I feel they dont know much about just sergury for prevention.... witch it is scary but a blesding to give him quality of life... Please what do you think about runing for PE.. Camping on the mountain. Did you do this after surgery or fly?Everything He goes my heart is on my mouse now. I dont have peace since we found out.😞

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