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Chest and upper back pain with bronchiectasis and pseudomonas
MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Feb 1 2:15pm | Replies (131)Comment receiving replies
Hi, my name is Maryann. I am fairly new to this site (this being my first post), as well as all things Bronchiectasis as I was just diagnosed last winter and am currently awaiting results for MAC, which my pulmonologist highly suspects, from bronchoscopy done 3 weeks ago. I too have experienced chest and back pain that my doctor actually attributes to my lungs... she even went through my CT scan with me and the connection was made that each area I was having pain correlated to an area in lung with inflammation. My doctor told me that the area surrounding the lung is rich with nerve endings and being that the location of the inflammation/Bronchiectasis is near the outer wall of lung and is why I am experiencing what I am. So while the lung itself may not produce pain, it can cause the nerves surrounding it to activate. I used to think it was my back, my bra, etc., but once I saw the CT and how the areas of pain matched exactly with the “spots” on the film it all made sense and is now one of the ways I/we evaluate my symptoms. Matter of fact, evidently the bronchoscopy stirred things up and instead of getting better I became worse, especially this last week, with shortness of breath, low 02 levels, chest sweats at night (anyone else get that?) and return of lung (chest and back) pain... In addition to daily/consistent nebulizing of saline and albuterol (which thanks to following discussions on this site, I now understand the importance of consistent use...my doctor probably told me but I was a bit overwhelmed when I first got the news and somehow thought it was as needed) I was also put on Azithromax and Prednisone 3 days ago and today I am starting to notice a decrease in the areas of “lung” pain. Still have a couple of more days of meds to go...hoping it’ll just keep getting better ..... then I only have to deal with the CA air quality 😱
Replies to "Hi, my name is Maryann. I am fairly new to this site (this being my first..."
Hello Maryann. I am glad that you posted and joined our conversations. We learn so much from each other here. Have you had a chance to read over older posts yet? A member, @kateman has posted a treasure trove of good info. You can go to the magnifying glass icon at the top of this page and type in her @kateman name and pull up all that she has posted. We have our Discussion board list of topics that you can scroll through forever and pick up conversations that you may find helpful too. That is located on the opening page for this group. I see that you are now taking prednisone; that should help to make you feel better soon. It always did wonders for me. I hope that you are able to avoid the smoke there in Ca. that has to be miserable. Are you able to go someplace else to get away from the smoke?
Hello Maryann - I will add my welcome - to our wonderful, helpful & supportive group. Feel free to ask questions any time - we have members like Terri, who have been on this journey for many years, as well as folks who have a new diagnosis. We learn from each other, while we are not doctors, we are often able to tell you what has worked or not for each of us.
To answer a few of your questions, yes, I had night sweats with MAC when it was severe, as well as pain, shortness of breath & fatigue. All improved over time once I was correctly diagnosed & on antibiotics.
If you read through past posts, you will see one of the things that is a hallmark of MAC - it is "slow to grow and slow to go" - you may have had it for a long time and only noticed symptoms as it got worse. By the same token, because it is slow-growing, antibiotic therapy is long-term to knock it out, and involves multiple antibiotics at the same time. There are (manageable) side effects and you can get a lot of support here.
Let us know what you learn and how you are progressing.
Sue
I hope your tests are negative but your doctor sounds compassionate. You mentioned “chest sweats” at night. As I consider myself cold blooded-all day long I wear more clothes than anyone else I see or live with, many nights I wake up feeling like I could fry an egg on my body, but with no sweat. I find this very strange. Does anyone experience this kind of experience as well as your chest sweats?
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Thank you for sharing this has made me feel better knowing that it most certainly can be from my lungs.
I did schedule an appointment for Monday to have my dr listen to my heart and surrounding area to see if the outer lining of my heart has inflammation as well.
Again thanks for sharing I hope you feel better soon.
Joann