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Elevated diaphragm causing COPD type symptoms
Lung Health | Last Active: Aug 31 7:57am | Replies (35)Comment receiving replies
Hi Kevin -- I'm sorry you're going through this. In addition to the tests scheduled, I'd really recommend a test called EMG which tests to see if the phrenic nerve is working at all and scheduling a visit with a neurologist. My thoracic surgeon didn't do this test as part of diagnosing my paralyzed diaphragm, but I'm going to request it if/when I decide to have plication surgery. It sounds like a pretty tricky test that takes a skilled technician to administer, but I'm sure you could find one. If the nerve is working at all, you have a couple of options on how to proceed. Several people on the facebook paralyzed diaphragm group have mentioned the correlation between viruses -- and vaccines which I guess contain viruses? -- damage to the phrenic nerve, and a paralyzed diaphragm, so I think there is something to it. Most people look at a paralyzed diaphragm as a breathing/lung issue; but it's being caused by a problem with the phrenic nerve, so it's a neurological issue as well. If the nerve is just damaged, which the neurologist can hopefully tell you, there is a possibility it will heal itself over time...which others in the facebook
group have also experienced...and give you options like diaphragm pacing to kickstart your diaphragm into working again. Please keep us posted on how things go...Nancy
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Hi Nancy,
Thanks so much for your feedback. Yes, I'll talk to my pulmonary doctor about the EMG test. She already made an appointment with a local hospital for me to have a "sniff test" and a CT scan on July 6. On the Pulmonary Care Plan she also wrote "Pulmonary Function Test" and "Diaphragm test" but she didn't order them yet.
It's likely that the vaccine caused damages to my phrenic nerve and they affect the diaphragm's functions, but there is another possibility : 2 years ago I fell off a 6 feet ladder and hurt my left rib section. Yesterday I watched a video about "Paralyzed Diaphragm" and a surgeon said that sometimes a fall might cause a tiny crack in the diaphragm then months or years later it widened and allowed part of the stomach or other organs to squeeze thru the crack and partially blocked the diaphragm's movement.
He said that sometimes he had to operate to pull back these organs and fix the hole in the diaphragm. One scary thing he said was : "it's a very risky operation, the mortality rate for those kind of operations is 50%".
I'm a new patient so I still have a lot to learn about "Elevated Lung Diaphragm" and "Paralyzed Diaphragm", but I hope that there will be other alternatives to correct the problem (such as drugs, diet, breathing techniques, physical therapies) so I don't need to go through risky medical operations.
BTW, you also said that : "diaphragm pacing to kickstart your diaphragm into working again". What is "diaphragm pacing" ?
Thanks.
Kevin