Slight chest pain on left side when deeply inhaling

[IronmaninTraining]

Hi,

I had OHS July 1st. Over the last couple days I have experienced a slight pain (I say slight because its not terrible but noticeable) when i take a deep breath on my left side. I called the doctor this morning and am waiting to hear back (and searched the internet), but wanted to bounce this question of anyone that might have experience with it. I stopped using my spriometer over the last week or two so I don't know if that's related in any way.

Thanks

 

[epstns]

Well, if surgery was July 1st, you are almost 3 months out. Most of us have chucked our spirometers long before you, but some, like me, had minor bouts of pleurisy (fluid build up in or around a lung). I think the medical term may be "pleural effusion." When I last had this, I was only about 4 or 5 weeks out from surgery, and since it was minor, my doc told me to take over-the-counter ibuprofen for a couple of days. This served to reduce the inflammation that was the cause of all this, and the problem resolved. He told me that they actually collapse our lungs while we're on the heart-lung machine (to get more room to work), and that sometimes portions of the collapsed lung stick together and take quite a while to "re-inflate."

I am not telling you this to diagnose and treat your pain, though. I am mentioning it so that you won't panic until you can contact your own doc. Your doc knows your history and has all the notes, and they are prepared to treat whatever is causing the pain.

 

[Duffey]

I had the same pain about 3 months out. I did have a pleural effusion and was treated with a diuretic and an anti-inflammatory. Glad you called the cardio so you can get a handle on anything that might be going on.

 

[IronmaninTraining]

About two weeks after my surgery i was readmitted for pleural effusion but they were unable to drain alot. My cardiologist working with a lung doctor felt it may be more of a gelatin type of material rather than liquid. My lungs have improved and I'm sure my upcoming xray and echo in Oct will show my lungs are back to normal. I'm still on lasix and was taking an anti-inflammatory for a while but that was maybe only into August.

I did receive a return call from my cardiologist nurse and they recommended ibuprofen. I will try that and hope it works.