@bill5 I have had an issue where my chest tightness keeps my left lung from moving enough and it created an issue where I was trapping phlegm and that would progress to a lung infection and this pattern kept repeating. I have allergies and asthma which adds to mucous production. What I could suggest as therapeutic stretching would be to try to side bend both directions and hold that as you can tolerate it, and also arch your back which you can do laying on your back over something like the padded arm on a couch. Most of what we do involves forward bending and bad slouching posture and all of that affects how much the lungs can move. I own a horse and rehabbed after cervical spine surgery by trail riding and doing it with good upright posture. Doing that built core strength and will also move the chest with every step of the horse. I don't know if that is something you can do, but all the therapeutic riding centers help patients because you have to move in concert with the hip movements of the horse. Some of what they have at my physical therapist's office is a power plate which is a platform that vibrates. This helps loosen the fascia and stretching on that while it vibrates helps get things unstuck. You could do something similar on your own by stretching and using a back massager together. You don't need to travel for that.

I understand how much lung issues shut down your health and energy, but the key is getting back to being able to move to improve lung function. Keep looking for a good physical therapist. A manual therapist can release the diaphragm. I know from my own issues that I have tightness that extends from my neck and shoulders through my chest wall and to my pelvis which is enough to pull one side of the pelvis forward. This happens also when hip flexor muscles are too tight and that happens from sitting too much. You can use a hard ball and put it just inside the hip bone (illium) and while standing press up against a door frame and hold it, pressing to get the tightness to release. If you can lay on your stomach, you can put a small ball inside each hip bone and lay on that. I have to keep working on that myself because I'm rehabbing from an ankle fracture and because I had to sit too much and could not bear weight for months, my hip flexors got too tight. That will affect your breathing. If you try these small changes and notice a little improvement, you'll know you are on the right track. These ideas are all things that my own PT has suggested for me.

A lot of times, physical therapy is the best medicine. Surgery will create tightness with scar tissue and that could very well make things worse and further restrict movement. Make sure to ask questions about this. I know this is frustrating, but give some of this a try if you can. The body really does have the ability to heal if you can get back to better mechanics. Injuries change things and you start guarding because of them and soon you find yourself locked in a pattern and can't move. Myofascial release is about breaking that a pattern and there is a lot you can do to self treat like laying on balls. There are a few books that show different ways to stretch and things that help like foam rollers, arc barrel (to stretch backward), devices to stretch the back of your calves, etc. Look on the myofascialrelease.com website.

Also think about how nerves travel through some very small spaces and having overly tight muscle and tissues compress nerves and that could be causing neuropathy. If it is a physical issue, physical therapy might help. The nerves that service the lungs exit the spine in the neck and travel down through the chest. If your chest is too tight, it may be compromising those nerves and if they are decompressed by stretching out tight tissue, they might be able to function better. There are some patients with paralyzed diaphrams because of problems with the phrenic nerve. There is also a surgeon who does nerve transfer surgery to replace the phrenic nerve. I'm not suggesting this describes your case, but a lot of doctors don't know about this procedure and you have to ask questions about why your lungs don't move properly. Some neuropathy can be helped with supplements. It depends on the cause.

Don't give up! Set a goal for yourself and see what you can do to help yourself. Remember to stay well hydrated. Tight tissues store waste products of metabolism and stretching releases those, so you need water to help the kidneys clear that from your body. The tight fascia in the body is dehydrated tissue and you'll help by getting it re-hydrated and functioning better. @johnbishop can also help with understanding neuropathy and you might check out some of those discussions.

I can also suggest that traveling to be able to see good specialists might be a good thing. I did that myself when I could not find local surgeons who would help me with my spine problem and I drove 5 hours to get to Mayo. It made all the difference in my life. Research who the good ones are, and make your decision on what you think is best for you. You can also travel for intensive sessions of myofascial release work. The clinics owned by John Barnes do this. The MFR website is his and he created this treatment protocol and his people train and certify physical therapist in these treatments. It is pricey, but that is an option, and it may not be covered by health insurance.

@bill5 - I have idiopathic small fiber peripheral neuropathy also but no pain, just the numbness. One thing I think that is really important was mentioned by @jenniferhunter, that is the need to stay hydrated. I try to drink an average of 64 oz of water daily although I sometimes miss the mark. Another thing that I have focused on is keeping my legs and feet moisturized with a skin lotion daily. I usually put lotion on my feet and legs in the evening. This is because the nerves are close to the skin and dry skin makes it worse. Some people have found that a magnesium lotion is calming. I've used Life-Flo brand but I think any good skin moisturizer will help.

You may find the following discussion helpful - Member Neuropathy Journey Stories: What's Yours?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/member-neuoropathy-journey-stories-whats-yours/

@bill5 i was diagnosed with a paralyzed left diaphragm last fall and couldn't tell from your posts if that was your diagnosis. I went to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack and had a lot of tests, etc. My symptoms were chest pain, breathlessness after climbing a flight of stairs, fatigue and no stamina. An x-ray showed my left lung was elevated. After a short stay in the hospital and several more tests, including a "sniff test" to see if the nerve that controls the diaphragm was functioning, I received the diagnosis. It wasn't working, and I had a paralyzed diaphragm. Did you have a "sniff test" -- maybe that was the barium swallow test? The thoracic surgeon I ended up being referred to wanted to schedule plication surgery right away, where he would use a robot to sew pleats across my diaphragm to keep it in place and keep my other organs from floating up into my chest cavity. He told me the condition was not life threatening and people could live with it. I'm doing breathing exercises and building up my stamina and hope to avoid needing surgery. I think I got really lucky with the medical care I received from literally walking in off the street and hope you have the confidence in your doctors that I have in mine. It's pretty scary when you can't breathe properly, are dealing with other medical issues, live alone, and can't do everything that needs doing on your ranch. I hope you have people to help you! Is the doctor who recommended and would be doing your surgery a thoracic surgeon? How many of these surgeries has he done? Why does he think you need surgery? I'm sorry if you explained this before, I might have missed a previous post of two. I didn't have an endoscopy so think you must have something different from what I have. I'm really sorry for all you're going through. Since you're dealing with at least two major medical issues, would it be possible to go to a major medical center like the Mayo Clinic to get treatment for both? Please take care...and I hope you'll find out more after the endoscopy. Nancy

@bill5- Good morning. My heart goes out to you. I can't imagine having these problems and being a rancher. I hope that you have help! Is there a chance that you might consider going to another city or state for treatment? It could change your life back to being pretty good!