Question about IV's

anonymous

New member
This is my second round of IV's since Jan. Both times I have had chest pain occur and worsen on my left side during treatment. In Feb and March the Doctor said it was pleurisy. It eventually went away. I started a second round of IV's last week as I haven't been feeling well for some time. The pleurisy wasn't really bothering me though, until I started the IV's. It has worsened over the last week. I'm wondering, has anyone else experienced a similar situation with chest pain which is seemingly brought on by IV antibiotics? Could it simply be that the antibiotics are fighting an infection in that area of my lungs and it is causing the inflammation? I generally feel better execept for the pain in my left side.

John, 26 w/ cf
 

NoExcuses

New member
I've had pleuracy, but never when I've had IV's. It hurts pretty badly - and usually doesn't go away until I take advil (which I can no longer take cuz I get bleeders).

I hope the pain goes away!
 

thelizardqueen

New member
I had pleuracy while I was in hospital on IVs. Mine went away after about a week of IVs, and hasn't been back since. Usually when I get it though, its in my right upper lobe where I had my embolization done two years ago.
 

thefrogprincess

New member
Once when my brother was on IVs he developed paracarditis (inflamation of the sack around the heart). He had to go on very powerful antiinflamatories for the duration of his IV treatment and for a little while after.
 

S

New member
from webmd.com

What Is Pleurisy?


Pleurisy, also called pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura, which is the moist, double-layered membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the rib cage. The condition can make breathing extremely painful, and sometimes it is associated with another condition called pleural effusion where excess fluid fills the area between the membrane's layers.



The double-layered pleura protects and lubricates the surface of the lungs as they inflate and deflate within the rib cage. Normally, a thin, fluid-filled gap -- the pleural space -- allows the two layers of the pleural membrane to slide gently past each other. But when these layers become inflamed, their roughened surfaces rub painfully together like two pieces of sandpaper with every breath, sneeze, and cough.

In some cases of pleurisy, excess fluid seeps into the pleural space, resulting in pleural effusion. This fluid buildup usually has a lubricating effect, relieving the pain associated with pleurisy as it reduces friction between the membrane's layers. But at the same time, the added fluid puts tremendous pressure on the lungs, reducing their ability to move freely and causing shortness of breath. In some cases of pleural effusion, this excess liquid can become infected.

What Causes It?

Viral infection is probably the most common cause of pleurisy. Other diseases that can cause pleurisy are lung infections, such as pneumoniapneumonia and tuberculosis, and other diseases such as systemic lupuslupus erythematosus (lupus), rheumatoid arthritisrheumatoid arthritis, cancercancer, liver and kidney diseasekidney disease, heart failureheart failure and pulmonary embolismpulmonary embolism. Other causes include chest injuries and drug reactions.

Pleurisy and pleural effusion are generally only as serious as the underlying disease causing it. If you have either of these conditions, you may already be undergoing treatment for the underlying disease; if not, seek medical attention immediately.

A pleural effusion can occur without pleurisy, as is the case in heart failure.
 

coltsfan715

New member
I actually had this exact problem when I was admitted a few weeks ago. I normally have occasional chest pain whether I am sick or not, but when I was admitted two weeks ago I noticed that I was getting pain under my arms and in the upper portions of my back much more frequently than I usually do. I asked my doc about it cause it kind of worried me and he explained the whole pluerisy thing and also that cells in the lung tissue are not causing the pain that it is the outlying cells that sense pain and that most of the discomfort I was having was probably neuromuscular from excessive coughing and that it would subside as the infection went away and as I was on IVs longer. I must say he was exactly right. I am still getting mild discomfort in my back but the overall degree of pain and frequency has decreased ten fold.
Maybe if you have been coughing alot that could be a cause of it too. As your cough gets better the pain may go away as mine has started too.

Lindsey
 

anonymous

New member
Thanks for all of the info.

Lindsey, how long have you been on IV's. Are you still on them? My doctor suggested two weeks, but I'm wondering if the pain is still there if I should stay on them for another week?

John
 

coltsfan715

New member
I was admitted on May 16th and am still on IVs at the moment. My IV treatment ends on Thursday(June 1st?) and I go back to the doc on June 5th for xrays and PFTs, then he is going to decide what to do with the meds from there.

I asked about the pain when my doc decided I was ready to come home on home IVs because I didn't think it was right that I was having more chest pain than I had when I was admitted. He told me that the lung tissue does not have the ability to sense pain - (not that congestion and inflammation can't cause the outlying tissue to sense pain just that the lungs themselves aren't what is exeriencing the pain). He also said it is common that people with lung disease have some degree of discomfort all the time (randomly- and sometimes for no reason) because of the damage our lungs have already sustained and due to the irritation and inflammation we have on a pretty much constant basis.

He told me that it can be aggravated by coughing and infection - which I definitely had an infection and had been coughing a whole heck of a lot and also very hard especially when I was first admitted. Since I have been on the meds (just about 2 weeks now) it is much easier for me to get the junk out - I cough once and get stuff up rather than hacking til I am ready to pass out. For me I think the coughing had alot to do with the pain as my coughing has subsided the pain has decreased. I have still gotten a few twinges of sharp pain in my back, but they are slight and only last a few seconds vs before (last week) where I was getting them for 10-15 minutes every few hours.

I can also say this, I am scheduling a massage for the week I get my PICC pulled that way I can get the last bit of muscle tightness and tenderness out of my system and start over feeling completely rejuvenated. I had a nueromuscular massage a few weeks ago (before I was admitted but when I was pretty sick) and it helped a ton. The pain came back relatively quickly because I was coughing so much but it was amazing the difference I felt the day that I had the massage. Maybe that is something you could look into to help with your pain. I know the place I went to I told them the problem and they concentrated solely on my ribcage, back and shoulders and it was wonderful.

Lindsey
 

Diane

New member
I've had pleuritic pain while on iv's and off. Last time i had it , i had whats called "pleural rub", Where when you take in a breath it feels like ridges are being rubbed along the way as i took in the breath. It was the oddest thing and an odd sensation (painful too) Made sleeping very difficult because i could only sleep sitting up and leaning to the left to have any relief. ( the pleural rub was on my right lower lobe)Since i am not one to take pain medicine for anything ( i didnt even take any after my extensive sinus surgery), i just sufficed with two tylenol and eventually within a few weeks (3) slowly it went away.
 

JazzysMom

New member
I had it towards the end of my iv treatments at home. It would last for a bit aftr the dose finishing dispensing, but remained tender to the touch a bit longer. I never had that problem during iv's until this time. Now that I am done with them its completely gone. I have had pleuresy, but this was a different type of pain & in a different locaiton. My pleuresy tends to be lower lobe locations. I was concerned it was bothering my heart, but since it did ease up between doses I didnt panic.
 

anonymous

New member
Diane,

Mine is lower lobe and it is a pleuritic rub like you experienced. It is a really odd sensation like you said. Mine is painful but on a scale of 1-10 its probably only a 3 or 4. Its just so annoying. Ibuprofen has not done much to help.

John
 
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