Searing Lung Pain When Breathing

[roadtrip]

What the heck causes your lungs to feel like they are ripping when you are breathing. I was in bed last night and for hours it went on. i had on my oxygen, moved around continuously to try and make the pain go away and ended up putting pillows on my chest as hard as I could.

It ultimately went away after about 4 hours but today I feel like ti comes and go in waves. I already am on my preds and antis, etc. and know I have walking pneumonia, my lugs are tight, etc,

I have had all of these things before but never the ripping lung pain before. Any ideas?

Thanks.

[Colleen-NC]

Pred & Anti's can reek havoc on the stomach, could it be heartburn?

[Toby]

It could be from the pneumonia. Colleen is probably right about the heartburn.

[blondie]

Grethen, I'd check with your doc. Especially before you head out on your cross country trip. Please let us know what is up with that. It sounds miserable. I've had heartburn before and it's a deep awful pain.

Pat

[roadtrip]

Thanks gang. Ii am however horribly familiar with heartburn and that is not it. I have also had pneumonia many times and just never had this stabbing pain in the dang lungs. It only happens when I take a breath. My Dr did tell me earlier this week that my ribs are all screwed up because I am trying so hard to breath. With that said I am wondering if it is plueresy (sp) again - I just thought about that. Don't want to go back to the Drs - bad place to be right now. Thanks - i will call the nurse in the AM and just ask.

[maryaz]

Gretchen, You better get checked before you leave. It would be worse to end up in a hospital in a strange place.

The ribs hurting and having a problem breathing can be pluerisy but that pain you described sounds different. So hard for us to describe what is happening. I had pleurisy many year ago and thought I was going to die from not being able to breath. I was in my 20's or 30's.

What number are you setting your oxygen on at night to sleep. Do you have it too high. I don't really think this is a problem but thought I would throw it out.

Take care, friend.

[Toby]

When I first read your post I thought of pleursy. If you have had it before then you know how that feels. I have ended up in the hospital several times with that. The pain is horrible and it does hurt when you breath. I hope your feeling better soon!

[sue]

My thought was pleurisy also. Not a chance of antis not working on the infection, or maybe a pulled muscle from coughing?? Call the dr regardless.

[virginiaal]

RT. I have had the burning when I had lots of conjestion..but yours sounds to bad not to be checked, and i am like Mary, would hate to wind up in a strange hospital.
Calling the nurse might help you decide what to do..(((hugs)))

[bobbic]

I have had compression fractures of the thoracic vertebrea, with horrigble pain, with spasms that went all the way around to the fron of the chest and abdomen. Last time had to have bone cement put in to decompress. Have you had a recent chest e-ray? mystyblu

[roadtrip]

Thanks everyone. My Pulmo is out of town until the end of next week. I have an appt. with him then. I did however go back to my PCP today and he says I sound a bit better. He thinks I may have cracked another rib. He says I use my rib cage so hard because of how hard I have to breath and that is what is working to crack the ribs, combined with my bone disease.

My rib cage is all distored and continues to move out of shope. A lot of my ribs are now sticking up under my breastarea - they are moving around. So that is his theory. He said that the Pulmo needs to look at them and maybe get a thorasic surgeon involved. Bobbic, thanks for the words. You may be right. Did they tell you how you got your compression fractures?

Thanks again all.

[maryaz]

Bobbi and Gretchen, Oh my, this does not sound good at all. Please be careful with what you do. Bobbi, I know you are trying to work out. Hopefully you know what you can and cannot do so as to not cause anymore problems. Didn't sound good when you explained earlier but this sounds even worse.

Gretchen, You better be careful. With the bone density problem I can see where it would be worse, if what you describe is the problem, you don't need anymore. Sounds like it could get crippling. Rib areas cause a lot of pain. My husband still has pain from where they cut the ribs for his surgery. Not as bad as was but still there.

I am sure going to try to quit struggling so when I am really SOB. We are suppose to 'relax' (key word that is hard to do when SOB) and gently do our PLB. Panic tells me to do what I shouldn't. I cannot put it in writing. Like stacking breath and trying too hard to get the air out. We try to force too much.

We had a girl in rehab once that had this Idio....something where your diaphragm doesn't move. Painful, I guess. We don't want that.

Gretchen, doesn't the prednisone contribute to the bone loss. How do you deal with that anyway. You need the pred you need it. Don't you have Urgent Cares there. We do and have worked pretty well for us when no doctors available.

I better sign off, I am rambling. I am worried about two of the people that I take special interest in.