Pleurisy

[fowerman]

Has anyone else suffered with pleurisy or is suffering with it.

I was diagnosed with it 2-3 months ago, i was struggling with breathing (wheezing, breathlessness and the like), with sharp stabbing pains in my back on both sides just below the shoulder blades, i was in quite alot of pain at the time as well as the breathlessness and i was beginning to get very worried i didn't goto the dr's immediately, i thought it was to do with me smoking (i'm a heavy smoker too), but my symptoms kept getting worse, so i went to the docs and she took the sthethoscope to my back and immediately said it was pleurisy and nothing to do with smoking as pleurisy is an infection of the pluera, which is the lining of the cavity outside the lungs and between the ribcage, which normally has a smooth like fluid inside the pleural cavity, and its this fluid that becomes sticky when an infection strikes, so as the lungs move up and down with breating its not a amooth action anymore within the pluera, therefore, causing pain and discomfort.

The way of treating is usually high dose antibiotics for 10-14 days which usually clears things upand releives pain, but after my tablets ran out, from time to time i kept getting pain in my back again same as above, the dr says unfortunately pluerisy doesn't totally go away in some people and if i start to have trouble breathing again to go back to drs and get some more antibiotics.

Has anyone else got this or is suffering with this infection and how do you manage the pain etc, or is there an operation that you can have etc,

any help would be vey much appreciated, thanks

[mylolly12]

   I was diagnosed with pleurisy back in January and although the symptoms have not gone away entirely, I'm not in as much pain but it still hurts.  What I am is always extremely tired. My doctor gave me prednisone, gabapentin, and told me to take 800 mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day, every day, and I can't tell if it's the meds or the pleurisy that has me so discombobulated.  By the way, the pain was so great that I could still feel the pain through the highest doses of oxycodone, percoset, and other so-called pain meds that the E.R. initially prescribed. After 2 days I realized I would still be in pain and probably a drug addict to boot.  What good is that?  I would still feel the pain. They only masked but the pain (briefly), but the meds my doctor gave me attacked the symptoms so I could get some relief. How long can this go on?  This thing is lingering.  Will I ever get any better?  It makes me want to commit sideways.  Taking ANY meds for long periods of times (especially that high a dose of Ibuprofen. It eats the lining of your stomach) doesn't sound promising.  I keep insisting that this thing go away, but it just won't.  It is very frustrating.  You have to eat with most of the meds, and then you have to work them around your day.  I've lost things, forgotten things, and almost got hit by  the very bus I was trying to catch.  I had to quit school.  It was getting to be too much.  Now all I do is sleep.  HELP!!!!  

[jpwilky]

hi i was diagnosed with this just a couple of days ago and it felt like someone had drove a car over my chest  the taqblets they give me are 50mg tramadol two four times a day and 500 mg paracetomolthese together have taken away the pain

[rockabillieme13]

I have SLE and have had this pain in my chest and shoots thru to my shoulder on my right side.also each day that goes by it seems that when I lay down I wheez with every breath and its hard to breath  and i have been hot and sweaty when i sleep.Been going on for at least a year. Just recently diagnosed with pleurisy. Dr is unsure of how to treat. Either anti inflammatory or steroids. Chose anti inflammatory due to steroids eight years ago caused my femur neck to fracture. The anti inflammatory not working. Anyone know what can happen if left untreated? Or anyone have Lupus with the same story? Please help.

[mba123]

I had 500ml of fluid in the sac around the heart. I was 15 and I was told that if I didnt have it drained when I did my heart could have stopped beating due to all that fluid. They could not see the fluid with a x-ray. they kept giving me x-rayd and EKG but didn't find anything until I was given a echocardiogram of my heart. and that's when I went into emergency surgery and all the fluid was drained. I was in the ICU recovering for 1 week.

[Jeanie1977]

I have pleurisy now the doc put me on a strong steroid for five days. Nothing helps three pain, pretty sure its getting worse

[Hadily]

The first time I got diagnosed with pleurisy was 10 months ago.  I was looking on this website to get any information on this that I could find.  The pain has never actually gone away, just gotten better at times and I'm in a bad "flair up", I guess you would call it now.  Pain in the left rib under my breast area, and sometimes in my back under my left shoulder blade.  I find myself not wanting to go back to the doctor because I've lost hope that anything can be done about it.  I still have so many questions, like you.  I hope that both of us find the answers we need.

[kels9]

I was diagnosed with pleurisy last Aug after being in the hospital for swine flu. I've had it probably 5 times since all very painful and some involving chills and fever. I've been given antibiotics, blood tests, MRI, chest Xrays. Etc... And they still don't know what's causing it.

[soccerguy36]

I had a major lung collapse when I was 18.  I had been having similiar
symptoms but also pain up my neck and down my left shoulder (classic heart-attack
symptoms as well).  After a chest tube and re-inflate on the lung, a week later I had
an infection between the lung and chest cavity.  My point is, it sounds like it could
also be a mini-collapse, but your doc should have seen that on an xray.  In my case,
the infection required sucking it out with a needle into my back at first, and when the infection wouldnt go away, another 2 chest tubes for contiunual drainage.  I was pumped full with antibiotics and all this in the hospital for 2.5 more weeks after the
collapse.  Not sure what you actually have, but if there's fluid build up and its not
going away, it could be an infection and too much fluid they would need to remove
if your body doesnt absorb it and the infection go away.

[pk76]

i also was dignosed with pleurisy a few months back, and i was only told to rest and take ibuprofen.  i was pain free for about 2 weeks and it has started coming back just not as bad this time.  

[okie67]

i was once addicted to drugs. at one time i thought i could not live with out them. you know the old saying once a drug addict aways a drug addict. not true. you know i dont even think about the stuff anymore. you want to know what happened? i found Jesus. you might not believe but to hear your story makes me think back to a time before i knew. when i asked him in to my life, he took all my addictions away. i have never felt better. good luck
by the way, i had pleurisy too and it *****

[runner65]

I had pleurisy from inhaling a substance I shouldn't have because I was addicted to doing it.  (long story).  I still crave the substance and I don't know why I ever did, well I have a hunch that is was an anti-depressant that made me crave the substance. Anyway, it gave me pleurisy and yes it is painful.  I do remember the Dr. giving me an xray to confirm it.  He put me on a steroid, not anibiotic.  I will tell you, that was 2.5 years ago, and although i feel 99% well, there are times I feel the slightest stabbing pains in my chest area etc...and I know my body is still healing.  I don't do anything I shouldn't because I think what I was doing could cause cancer etc... and just end your life.  I still crave this substance though very badly and I don't know how to control the urge other than to keep telling myself it is just slow suicide.  Other than that, I am a normal person, but depressed at times.  Well, good luck, you could also take a respiratory cleanse tablet twice a day for a few months and also take MSM and plant sterols, they are good for respiratory and cod liver oil.  Good luck.

[fowerman]

Thanks for you comments, i didn't realise that the sypmtoms cover a few diagnoses, but as the diagnosis for pleurisy was treated and was several months ago and things have cleared up, i do sometimes still get pains in my back and have been to se my doctor again and they said there is nothing that can be done. I do worry that it could be something more but i also trust my doctors decision too, i will see how things go and if things get worse i will ask for an x-ray,

again thanks for your help

[lynnkay]

You are correct in describing what pleurisy is. Linda111 is correct as well. You need an x-ray, to confirm pleurisy. I have COPD...Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A lung disease pretty much caused by smoking. But, anyone can get pleurisy. Due to this lung disease, I can get sick rather easily. In one doctor's visit I had bronchitis, pneumonia and pleurisy. The doctor confirmed these by x-ray. Of all the 3 illnesses, the pleurisy was the worse for me. You are quite right. It is very painfufl. My pleurisy was located below my right breast area. Common spot for pleurisy. I had it so bad, that I was swollen in that area and could not touch that area whatsoever. I was given a strong round of antibiotics. But, as Linda111 suggested, an anti-inflammatory is needed for the pleurisy. The antibiotics were given for the bronchitis and pneumonia. I took Advil. It would ease the pain somewhat as well. It took me over 3 mths. to completely get over the pleurisy. I was gettting really concerned that it was taking so long to go away. But, sometimes pleurisy can last a good long while. So, my suggestion is get a lung xray. If it is lingering pleurisy take an anti-inflammatory. Hope this has helped.

[Linda111]

When my daughter-in-law had pleurisy, they took a chest xray to make sure it wasn't pneumonia and to rule out a blood clot.  I had pleurisy-like pain which turned out to be pneumonia, not pleurisy.  I do not believe you can tell without an xray.  Also, my pneumonia was treated with antibiotics, but my daughter-in-laws pleurisy was treated with anti-inflamitories like Advil or Aleve.  IF it is an inflamation of the lining, you need an anti-inflamitory.  This works for the pain as well as the inflamation.  

I do, however, recommend that you insist on an xray.  What if it is a blood clot?  Linda