Pain in rib cage/clavical - pulled muscles, colapsed lung , other?

CaliSally · May 23, 2008

I read Julie's post from a while ago about her hubby having trouble, but I'm wondering -
If my lung is fully or partially colapsed, can it get better on it's own / what is the harm in waiting it out to see if it's just a pulled muscle ?

I woke up yesterday with sharp pains in my upper left rib cage and shoulder/clavical. It HURT to breath and especially to take deep breaths. It's sharp pains, only when I try and breath, no pain otherwise. I could barely cough, yawn or blow my nose.

I also hate going to my clinic (it's 90 miles away) - I'm the kind to "wait and see". The strange part is if I pressed a certain way on one of the spots, I could breath deeper, and with lesser pain.
If I call my clinic they will just tell me to go to the ER (which I understand their reasoning)- but I HATE, HATE, HATE that more than anything.

The day before the pain, I attempted to vacuum, something I hadn't done in years. I had also gone to the chiropractor. These things make me lean toward a pulled muscle.

This morning the pain in the rib cage is much better, but not gone. I'm able to take deeper breaths.

Any thoughts?

CaliSally · May 23, 2008

I read Julie's post from a while ago about her hubby having trouble, but I'm wondering -
If my lung is fully or partially colapsed, can it get better on it's own / what is the harm in waiting it out to see if it's just a pulled muscle ?

I woke up yesterday with sharp pains in my upper left rib cage and shoulder/clavical. It HURT to breath and especially to take deep breaths. It's sharp pains, only when I try and breath, no pain otherwise. I could barely cough, yawn or blow my nose.

I also hate going to my clinic (it's 90 miles away) - I'm the kind to "wait and see". The strange part is if I pressed a certain way on one of the spots, I could breath deeper, and with lesser pain.
If I call my clinic they will just tell me to go to the ER (which I understand their reasoning)- but I HATE, HATE, HATE that more than anything.

The day before the pain, I attempted to vacuum, something I hadn't done in years. I had also gone to the chiropractor. These things make me lean toward a pulled muscle.

This morning the pain in the rib cage is much better, but not gone. I'm able to take deeper breaths.

Any thoughts?

CaliSally · May 23, 2008

I read Julie's post from a while ago about her hubby having trouble, but I'm wondering -
If my lung is fully or partially colapsed, can it get better on it's own / what is the harm in waiting it out to see if it's just a pulled muscle ?

I woke up yesterday with sharp pains in my upper left rib cage and shoulder/clavical. It HURT to breath and especially to take deep breaths. It's sharp pains, only when I try and breath, no pain otherwise. I could barely cough, yawn or blow my nose.

I also hate going to my clinic (it's 90 miles away) - I'm the kind to "wait and see". The strange part is if I pressed a certain way on one of the spots, I could breath deeper, and with lesser pain.
If I call my clinic they will just tell me to go to the ER (which I understand their reasoning)- but I HATE, HATE, HATE that more than anything.

The day before the pain, I attempted to vacuum, something I hadn't done in years. I had also gone to the chiropractor. These things make me lean toward a pulled muscle.

This morning the pain in the rib cage is much better, but not gone. I'm able to take deeper breaths.

Any thoughts?

CaliSally · May 23, 2008

I read Julie's post from a while ago about her hubby having trouble, but I'm wondering -
If my lung is fully or partially colapsed, can it get better on it's own / what is the harm in waiting it out to see if it's just a pulled muscle ?

I woke up yesterday with sharp pains in my upper left rib cage and shoulder/clavical. It HURT to breath and especially to take deep breaths. It's sharp pains, only when I try and breath, no pain otherwise. I could barely cough, yawn or blow my nose.

I also hate going to my clinic (it's 90 miles away) - I'm the kind to "wait and see". The strange part is if I pressed a certain way on one of the spots, I could breath deeper, and with lesser pain.
If I call my clinic they will just tell me to go to the ER (which I understand their reasoning)- but I HATE, HATE, HATE that more than anything.

The day before the pain, I attempted to vacuum, something I hadn't done in years. I had also gone to the chiropractor. These things make me lean toward a pulled muscle.

This morning the pain in the rib cage is much better, but not gone. I'm able to take deeper breaths.

Any thoughts?

CaliSally · May 23, 2008

I read Julie's post from a while ago about her hubby having trouble, but I'm wondering -
 If my lung is fully or partially colapsed, can it get better on it's own / what is the harm in waiting it out to see if it's just a pulled muscle ?
 
 I woke up yesterday with sharp pains in my upper left rib cage and shoulder/clavical. It HURT to breath and especially to take deep breaths. It's sharp pains, only when I try and breath, no pain otherwise. I could barely cough, yawn or blow my nose.
 
 I also hate going to my clinic (it's 90 miles away) - I'm the kind to "wait and see". The strange part is if I pressed a certain way on one of the spots, I could breath deeper, and with lesser pain.
 If I call my clinic they will just tell me to go to the ER (which I understand their reasoning)- but I HATE, HATE, HATE that more than anything.
 
 The day before the pain, I attempted to vacuum, something I hadn't done in years. I had also gone to the chiropractor. These things make me lean toward a pulled muscle.
 
 This morning the pain in the rib cage is much better, but not gone. I'm able to take deeper breaths.
 
 Any thoughts?

Sevenstars · May 24, 2008

Ack, still no replies.

Well I don't have any definitive advice but I'll see if I can help any. <img src="">

Quite a while ago (I was maybe 13 years old?) I had pretty much the same symptoms you are having. It was even in the same place, mainly my shoulder. I was just sitting there, watching TV, I coughed once... took a deep breath after... and BAM sharp pain. It hurt so bad and I had NO idea what it was. I breathed out, then slowly... breathed deeply in again, and of course it was still there. I figured it was just a "lung catch" (I don't even know what that is really, just heard it mentioned here with a name for the first time... you know, the occasional sharp pains you get when you breathe in, but it goes away?). Anyway, this one didn't go away, after an hour or more, so I finally went to the ER. They said "it's probably a small pneumothorax, but we can't see anything on xray, so it should heal itself after a while". I think it took a day or two to stop hurting, but it eventually did with no treatment.

Short answer, sure it could be a pneumothorax, and yes, if it's small it should probably be ok on it's own. If you feel any other symptoms though, or it lasts more than a day, I'd certainly call your doctor though. Again, take my advice with a grain of salt, I'm not a nurse or anything and I don't want to advise you to do the wrong thing!

Oh, something else I remembered... I went to the Chiropractor for a little while too. The very first time I went, I got that deep tissue massage thing they do on your back - with the heating pad etc. He was really rough on my muscles, and when I was in the car on the way home I coughed up roughly a small bucket of blood. SO that is another thing to consider... maybe he poked you a little too hard somewhere and it hurt something? Just another idea.

I hope it goes away soon, at any rate. Feel better!

Sevenstars · May 24, 2008

Ack, still no replies.

Well I don't have any definitive advice but I'll see if I can help any. <img src="">

Quite a while ago (I was maybe 13 years old?) I had pretty much the same symptoms you are having. It was even in the same place, mainly my shoulder. I was just sitting there, watching TV, I coughed once... took a deep breath after... and BAM sharp pain. It hurt so bad and I had NO idea what it was. I breathed out, then slowly... breathed deeply in again, and of course it was still there. I figured it was just a "lung catch" (I don't even know what that is really, just heard it mentioned here with a name for the first time... you know, the occasional sharp pains you get when you breathe in, but it goes away?). Anyway, this one didn't go away, after an hour or more, so I finally went to the ER. They said "it's probably a small pneumothorax, but we can't see anything on xray, so it should heal itself after a while". I think it took a day or two to stop hurting, but it eventually did with no treatment.

Short answer, sure it could be a pneumothorax, and yes, if it's small it should probably be ok on it's own. If you feel any other symptoms though, or it lasts more than a day, I'd certainly call your doctor though. Again, take my advice with a grain of salt, I'm not a nurse or anything and I don't want to advise you to do the wrong thing!

Oh, something else I remembered... I went to the Chiropractor for a little while too. The very first time I went, I got that deep tissue massage thing they do on your back - with the heating pad etc. He was really rough on my muscles, and when I was in the car on the way home I coughed up roughly a small bucket of blood. SO that is another thing to consider... maybe he poked you a little too hard somewhere and it hurt something? Just another idea.

I hope it goes away soon, at any rate. Feel better!

Sevenstars · May 24, 2008

Ack, still no replies.

Well I don't have any definitive advice but I'll see if I can help any. <img src="">

Quite a while ago (I was maybe 13 years old?) I had pretty much the same symptoms you are having. It was even in the same place, mainly my shoulder. I was just sitting there, watching TV, I coughed once... took a deep breath after... and BAM sharp pain. It hurt so bad and I had NO idea what it was. I breathed out, then slowly... breathed deeply in again, and of course it was still there. I figured it was just a "lung catch" (I don't even know what that is really, just heard it mentioned here with a name for the first time... you know, the occasional sharp pains you get when you breathe in, but it goes away?). Anyway, this one didn't go away, after an hour or more, so I finally went to the ER. They said "it's probably a small pneumothorax, but we can't see anything on xray, so it should heal itself after a while". I think it took a day or two to stop hurting, but it eventually did with no treatment.

Short answer, sure it could be a pneumothorax, and yes, if it's small it should probably be ok on it's own. If you feel any other symptoms though, or it lasts more than a day, I'd certainly call your doctor though. Again, take my advice with a grain of salt, I'm not a nurse or anything and I don't want to advise you to do the wrong thing!

Oh, something else I remembered... I went to the Chiropractor for a little while too. The very first time I went, I got that deep tissue massage thing they do on your back - with the heating pad etc. He was really rough on my muscles, and when I was in the car on the way home I coughed up roughly a small bucket of blood. SO that is another thing to consider... maybe he poked you a little too hard somewhere and it hurt something? Just another idea.

I hope it goes away soon, at any rate. Feel better!

Sevenstars · May 24, 2008

Ack, still no replies.

Well I don't have any definitive advice but I'll see if I can help any. <img src="">

Quite a while ago (I was maybe 13 years old?) I had pretty much the same symptoms you are having. It was even in the same place, mainly my shoulder. I was just sitting there, watching TV, I coughed once... took a deep breath after... and BAM sharp pain. It hurt so bad and I had NO idea what it was. I breathed out, then slowly... breathed deeply in again, and of course it was still there. I figured it was just a "lung catch" (I don't even know what that is really, just heard it mentioned here with a name for the first time... you know, the occasional sharp pains you get when you breathe in, but it goes away?). Anyway, this one didn't go away, after an hour or more, so I finally went to the ER. They said "it's probably a small pneumothorax, but we can't see anything on xray, so it should heal itself after a while". I think it took a day or two to stop hurting, but it eventually did with no treatment.

Short answer, sure it could be a pneumothorax, and yes, if it's small it should probably be ok on it's own. If you feel any other symptoms though, or it lasts more than a day, I'd certainly call your doctor though. Again, take my advice with a grain of salt, I'm not a nurse or anything and I don't want to advise you to do the wrong thing!

Oh, something else I remembered... I went to the Chiropractor for a little while too. The very first time I went, I got that deep tissue massage thing they do on your back - with the heating pad etc. He was really rough on my muscles, and when I was in the car on the way home I coughed up roughly a small bucket of blood. SO that is another thing to consider... maybe he poked you a little too hard somewhere and it hurt something? Just another idea.

I hope it goes away soon, at any rate. Feel better!

Sevenstars · May 24, 2008

Ack, still no replies.
 
 Well I don't have any definitive advice but I'll see if I can help any. <img src="">
 
 Quite a while ago (I was maybe 13 years old?) I had pretty much the same symptoms you are having. It was even in the same place, mainly my shoulder. I was just sitting there, watching TV, I coughed once... took a deep breath after... and BAM sharp pain. It hurt so bad and I had NO idea what it was. I breathed out, then slowly... breathed deeply in again, and of course it was still there. I figured it was just a "lung catch" (I don't even know what that is really, just heard it mentioned here with a name for the first time... you know, the occasional sharp pains you get when you breathe in, but it goes away?). Anyway, this one didn't go away, after an hour or more, so I finally went to the ER. They said "it's probably a small pneumothorax, but we can't see anything on xray, so it should heal itself after a while". I think it took a day or two to stop hurting, but it eventually did with no treatment.
 
 Short answer, sure it could be a pneumothorax, and yes, if it's small it should probably be ok on it's own. If you feel any other symptoms though, or it lasts more than a day, I'd certainly call your doctor though. Again, take my advice with a grain of salt, I'm not a nurse or anything and I don't want to advise you to do the wrong thing!
 
 Oh, something else I remembered... I went to the Chiropractor for a little while too. The very first time I went, I got that deep tissue massage thing they do on your back - with the heating pad etc. He was really rough on my muscles, and when I was in the car on the way home I coughed up roughly a small bucket of blood. SO that is another thing to consider... maybe he poked you a little too hard somewhere and it hurt something? Just another idea.
 
 I hope it goes away soon, at any rate. Feel better!

CaliSally · May 25, 2008

Thanks sevenstars.
It got better on it's own....I know for sure now that it was a pulled muscle. Every day was a bit better. It still hurts a little today, but at least I can lay flat and still breath, and it doesn't hurt to take more than shallow breathes. Whew! The experience gave me a glimpse into the future and what it will be like. Not pretty, very depressing if I might add.

What you called lung catches - I think those are mucus plugs. I get those once in a while - there is a sharp pain when you take a breath, but it goes away after a few breaths.???

Question: What is pneumothorax? Is that the same as collapsed lung? Or is it something different?

CaliSally · May 25, 2008

Thanks sevenstars.
It got better on it's own....I know for sure now that it was a pulled muscle. Every day was a bit better. It still hurts a little today, but at least I can lay flat and still breath, and it doesn't hurt to take more than shallow breathes. Whew! The experience gave me a glimpse into the future and what it will be like. Not pretty, very depressing if I might add.

What you called lung catches - I think those are mucus plugs. I get those once in a while - there is a sharp pain when you take a breath, but it goes away after a few breaths.???

Question: What is pneumothorax? Is that the same as collapsed lung? Or is it something different?

CaliSally · May 25, 2008

Thanks sevenstars.
It got better on it's own....I know for sure now that it was a pulled muscle. Every day was a bit better. It still hurts a little today, but at least I can lay flat and still breath, and it doesn't hurt to take more than shallow breathes. Whew! The experience gave me a glimpse into the future and what it will be like. Not pretty, very depressing if I might add.

What you called lung catches - I think those are mucus plugs. I get those once in a while - there is a sharp pain when you take a breath, but it goes away after a few breaths.???

Question: What is pneumothorax? Is that the same as collapsed lung? Or is it something different?

CaliSally · May 25, 2008

Thanks sevenstars.
It got better on it's own....I know for sure now that it was a pulled muscle. Every day was a bit better. It still hurts a little today, but at least I can lay flat and still breath, and it doesn't hurt to take more than shallow breathes. Whew! The experience gave me a glimpse into the future and what it will be like. Not pretty, very depressing if I might add.

What you called lung catches - I think those are mucus plugs. I get those once in a while - there is a sharp pain when you take a breath, but it goes away after a few breaths.???

Question: What is pneumothorax? Is that the same as collapsed lung? Or is it something different?

CaliSally · May 25, 2008

Thanks sevenstars.
 It got better on it's own....I know for sure now that it was a pulled muscle. Every day was a bit better. It still hurts a little today, but at least I can lay flat and still breath, and it doesn't hurt to take more than shallow breathes. Whew! The experience gave me a glimpse into the future and what it will be like. Not pretty, very depressing if I might add.
 
 What you called lung catches - I think those are mucus plugs. I get those once in a while - there is a sharp pain when you take a breath, but it goes away after a few breaths.???
 
 Question: What is pneumothorax? Is that the same as collapsed lung? Or is it something different?

beleache · May 25, 2008