Spontaneous lung collapse

[redcell43]

Has anyone had this happen to them? I have had 3 with in the last two years. Use to smoke a pack a day. But gave that up after the first one. The doctor said smoking didn’t cause it but it’s not going to help it either. When it first happened I was at work and my chest hurt to breath real deep. So I left early and went home. When I got home my wife was asking if I needed to go to the hospital. I said no I haven’t been to a hospital in over 7 year and haven’t been to the doctor’s in 4 years (I really hate doctor’s) so I was laying down on my couch and my arm went numb couldn’t feel it so I was like holy crap im having a heart attack so my chest starts killing me and I couldn’t breath lucky for me I only live 5 mins from a hospital. So anyway they stick a chest tube in me and put me on breathing treatments. So I started asking my specialist why this happened. And he said it happens to tall skinny guy’s alote. Note I weigh about 215 pounds and im 6’2 so I layed up in the hospital for 2 weeks with no good explanation why. About 9 months later the second time it happened I knew exactly what is was and it was a Saturday morning and my wife was cooking breakfast so I tell her and she like lets get to the hospital and I was like we have some time, so I eat real quick then put on some crappy clothes for them to cut off of me in about 5 mins. I get a different specialist this time and he gives me the same crap story I happens to tall skinny guys. I was weighing about 230 now because it would always start to hurt when I played Soccer or lifting weights so I took it easy and tried not to push myself. So im laid up in the hospital for another 2 weeks witch sucks but I was better prepared this time for it portable DVD player and laptop. So I get out and when you get out im mean you have to do just nothing sit in front of a tv witch I hate. Can’t have any sex is what suck worse. A day and a half later its collapses again this time its deflated so fast that my sternum was crushing my hart it hurt so bad. They did a biopsy on my lung they went in with a little piece of sandpaper and scratched my inner lining of my lung then they pump in some type of bonding agent to fuse the inner lining and outer lining together. I was out for a month. 8 months later and im just barely getting back into my normal routine with exercise and weightlifting. Just started to run my two miles each day. My lung still hurts like hell all the time. It hurts when I run and lift. I have to sleep in a lazy boy or propped up my side of the bed because it hurts to lay flat or on my side. Me and my wife were avid hikers and campers and now she is too scared to go off into the outdoors for fear of it happening and being able to get to a hospital in time. So that sucks as I am a outdoorsman. But was wondering if anyone on here has this same problem. I seen 3 different doctors and I get the same crap from all of them. I want to get back to a normal life but it seems impossible.

 

[H_T_]

yeah , i did, but it's cuz someone put some 9mm slugs thru me.

 

[redcell43]

yeah , i did, but it's cuz someone put some 9mm slugs thru me.

well thats not spontaneous that happend because of a hole was made.

 

[H_T_]

well thats not spontaneous that happend because of a hole was made.

well bor, everything you've put up there, i have went thru the same thing. chest tubes, lack of sleep cuz of pain due to surgery, fatigue, breathing treatments, etc. mine have healed cuz this happened 9 years ago. yours is recurring, am i correct? what was the prognosis?

 

[redcell43]

yes it's happend 3 times already and feels like a fourth is going to happen.

 

[H_T_]

yes it's happend 3 times already and feels like a fourth is going to happen.

i'd be in the ER right now if i were you. what is your current treatment?

 

[MikeMartial]

Sounds like genetics are against you.

Spontaneous pneumothorax is supposed to be more prevalent in tall, thin males than the regular population, but at 6'2 and 215 you don't fit the profile.

In the past 10 years, I've only seen elderly males with non-traumatic pneumos, not the textbook "young, tall and thin".

I'm surprised the pleural bonding didn't take; perhaps you'll have to have the prcedure done again.

Good luck.

 

[redcell43]

i'd be in the ER right now if i were you. what is your current treatment?

Why waste my time and their time they just tell me there is nothing they can do till i collasps. i go see my docter and tell me the same thing nothing i can do till it happens. here have some painkillers. i am paying a ton of money to hear this same crap. theres nothing we can do till it happens. so why waste my money and time.

 

[redcell43]

Sounds like genetics are against you.

Spontaneous pneumothorax is supposed to be more prevalent in tall, thin males than the regular population, but at 6'2 and 215 you don't fit the profile.

In the past 10 years, I've only seen elderly males with non-traumatic pneumos, not the textbook "young, tall and thin".

I'm surprised the pleural bonding didn't take; perhaps you'll have to have the prcedure done again.

Good luck.

yea they said small blister on the top of my right lung keep opening and thats why it is happening. i dont think i will get that procedure done again that was the worst thing i have been threw surgy wise.

 

[guest username]

It's not how tall you are, but how quickly you grew. People who are tall often have more dramatic growth spurts than shorter people. That rapid growth causes subpleural blebs to form from the lung's connective tissue not being able to expand quickly enough to accomodate the rapid increase in torso height.

Being thin has nothing to do with it. Most guys that are really tall are thin. Tall guys are often thin, tall guys get pneumothoraces, therefore, thin guys get pneumothoraces. That's a false conclusion that many physicians make. I've seen plenty of pneumothoraces in tall, well-built/muscular guys as well.

Have you had a CT scan of your chest to look for subpleural blebs? I'm assuming your cardiothoracic surgeon or pulmonologist did this prior to the pleurodesis procedure. I hope you recover fairly quickly. That can be a very painful procedure.

With regards to chest tubes, there is research to support simple aspiration with a needle, follow-up chest x-ray, and then discharge home. Likewise, there is research to support small chest tube (pig-tail catheter type chest tubes) and discharge home with follow-up x-rays in 6 hours.

If you ever have another pneumothorax, you might want to ask your physician to look into this. This may not be something all physicians are comfortable with, and more research might be needed before it's widespread use is adopted.