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to everyone that is still feeling pain from surgery

Posted , 8 users are following.

john2496
john2496

Hello everyone, I'm new to this. I am a 20 yo male who suffered from 3 spontaneous pneumothoraxes last year in very quick succession. The first one occured on the 22nd of april on my right side. It was small so my physician told me to rest for a month. After exactly 35 days i had another one this time on my left side. It was big and i had to put a chest tube. It was a horrific experience but i didn't have to do surgery yet because 2 months later i had another one on my left side also and had to go under the knife. I have been very paranoid about it happening again on my right side since i didn't do a surgery for this part. I still feel constant pain on both my left and right chest part. After going to multiple doctors and getting the same answer that internal surgery will cause pain and it needs time, I decided to go to physiotherapist who explained to me that there is a membrane called fascia (google it for more info). He told me that you need rehabilitation to get this membrane back the way it was before the surgery. I am going to his clinic next week and start this treatment.

I hope this post helped you discover this idea (about the faschia) since I only found out about it.

Sorry for the long post smile

1 like, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • john2496
    john2496

    Posted

    Hello everyone, as I said i started physical therapy as a last resort for me to get rid of the pain. I am very pleased to tell you that it is actually working. Since I started I have felt much less pain. My therapist is working on the whole respiratory system from the parasympathetic system to specific muscles. He gave me exercises to make my diaphragm stronger as it turned out it was very weak. This weakness caused my intercostal muscles to have much more load on them and may be the cause of the majority of my previous pains.

    That's about it, I hope you are all well! :D

  • Ateam4eva
    Ateam4eva john2496

    Posted

    Aw I thought I was bad with my lung,,gee,s u must be in agony xx thanks for the info,,I'm going to google faschia nice xx hope this works for u xx

  • XDKTC
    XDKTC john2496

    Posted

    John, curious what physical therapy is being worked on for you.. Currently i  was just cleared to return to Physical therapy for my shoulder surgery had to stop PT due to the vats pleuraldesis and bullectomy surgery after a SP . In any case i would love to know what to talk to my therapist about in relations to the muscle ? pain im having thruout my torso in relation to that surgery.
  • Southerngal
    Southerngal john2496

    Posted

    I had surgery on both lungs due to blebs 30+ years ago.  Surgeries were 6 months apart.  I was told I was the textbook case - very tall and very thin - I am female. I'm sure surgical procedures have changed since mine, but with me they stapled off the upper portion of the lungs where the blebs were and did a plural abrasion so my lungs and inside of chest cavity adhered together via scar tissue - to prevent any future collapses if any blebs were missed.  Pain was beyond belief - felt like someone poured gasoline in my chest and then lit it on fire.  Recovery was slower than I would have liked.  Every twinge or pain terrified me at first.  There were lots of sharp shooting chest pains.  They grew less frequent and after a few years were pretty much gone completely. However, there have been a few times over the years when I knew a bleb had popped - that lovely ice pick in the upper back feeling.  I didn't panic as I knew my lung could not collapse due to the plural abrasion. Usually the pain went away after a few days of taking it easy.

    Although, there was one really bad incident 10 years ago when the pain was very intense and took over a month to improve. I was pretty much incapacitated that time.  Doctors thought it may have been a bad bleb that popped and caused pulling or tearing of scar tissue from the plural abrasion. Really scared me but finally got better.  Haven't had any problems since.  

    Wishing all the best to all of you who have experienced this.  Doctors don't often give you much info about what to expect long term - what is normal and when to be alarmed.  After 30 years I have come to expect occasional twinges or quick stabbing pains.  They are rare, but seem to be normal.  None of this has prevented me from living life the way I want to.

     

    • Ossuss
      Ossuss Southerngal

      Posted

      Thanks for your post; I think I have had the same surgery recently - stapling of the blebs and then the pleurectomy/abrasion on the left side. Sounds like you have rode the storm really well and not let it hold you back. Hoping I can do the same.

      I think I am being a wuss for not putting up with the amount of pain even with the drugs. 11 weeks since the op and I'm sometimes having to go for a lay down and the burning gas you mentioned is a good description.

      Not back to work yet although working from home where I can. Was really nice to hear a workmate on the phone telling me I sound old because I'd walked upstairs to take the call and was out of breath!

      Trying some nerve drugs tomorrow although say they take up to a couple of weeks to take effect.

      Thanks again for sharing.

       

    • Ossuss
      Ossuss Southerngal

      Posted

      Thanks for your post; I think I have had the same surgery recently - stapling of the blebs and then the pleurectomy/abrasion on the left side. Sounds like you have rode the storm really well and not let it hold you back. Hoping I can do the same.

      I think I am being a wuss for not putting up with the amount of pain even with the drugs. 11 weeks since the op and I'm sometimes having to go for a lay down and the burning gas you mentioned is a good description.

      Not back to work yet although working from home where I can. Was really nice to hear a workmate on the phone telling me I sound old because I'd walked upstairs to take the call and was out of breath!

      Trying some nerve drugs tomorrow although say they take up to a couple of weeks to take effect.

      Thanks again for sharing.

    • Southerngal
      Southerngal Ossuss

      Posted

      Don't rush yourself. You have had very serious surgery and it takes time for your body to heal. Also takes time for you mind to heal, as this type of unrelenting pain can easily make you depressed. You are not a wuss!  I have heard surgeons say that this surgery is about the most painful surgery that a person can have - even more painful than open heart surgery. Be kind to yourself - you have been through a lot!

      Your life will return to normal, it just takes time.  Other than scuba diving, becoming an opera singer or flying in non-pressurized aircraft, you can do anything you want. :0)

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