Connect
← Return to Increasing pain over time after Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery
Discussion
Increasing pain over time after Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery
Lung Cancer | Last Active: Jan 14 1:42pm | Replies (42)Comment receiving replies
Thank you so much for your prompt reply StanKent. It is very informative. I have multifocal adenocarcinoma and lymph nodes OK for now. They were initially enlarged after surgery. But my CT scans find all kinds of other stuff, scarring, inflammation, interstitial disease.
But I have now had an interesting development. Last night I realized I felt good and this morning I woke up with little side pain and my deep breath pain is much improved. I knew that yesterday morning they gave me BENADRYL 50 mg injection and methylPREDNISolone 125 mg injection before doing the CT scan with contrast. I once had hives from contrast, so I always pre-medicate and then have no issues. Now a sudden side pain that goes away suddenly may not be unusual, but a long developing deep breath pain to decrease suddenly would seem unusual. I wonder if the dose of steroids helped.
The CT is locally done and not Mayo so not very deep on lungs but shows I have no other issues which is good. It is a challenge to coordinate testing between institutions. They can't compare to past results.
Replies to "Thank you so much for your prompt reply StanKent. It is very informative. I have multifocal..."
Your post has been reassuring to me. I had VATS in May for left lower lobectomy to remove a 1.5cm Adenocarcinoma. I did not even fill my script for pain pills but what I have had is rib and diaphragm pain consistently for 7 months now - EXCEPT when my Rheumatologist prescribed 20mg prednisone for an RA flare. My rib/diaphragm pain wasn’t just better - it was gone!! For the time I was on 20 mg and then 15 as I started tapering it was awesome. But when I tapered to 10 the benefit vaporized. I’ve said I felt like Cinderella.
So I know it is inflammation - which I didn’t know before. But I can’t live on Prednisone. I’ve had CTs , X-rays and nothing provides answers - so I assume it’s just stubborn inflammation.
Did your rib pain persist after the prednisone or did it resolve over time?
Connect
If I recall correctly, my deep breath pain was severe for only a couple days and was milder before and after. I don't know why but think once the lung became accustomed to the extra fluid it hurt less, or maybe the amount fluctuates. Once fluid was removed it felt much better.
For you. too bad the records and images are not totally available to either location. Seems all my routine Allina stuff can be seen on my Mayo portal. Can't remember if my Allina doctor could see my Mayo CT . Anyway, he looked at a Mayo radiology report.
I'm not sure how that all happens but was surprised at what is all on the Mayo portal. ( even my local Walgreens covid booster shows up in their portal)
At one point, I asked Mayo for CT images and they gave me a CD. Diagnostic medical imaging studies are stored and viewed in a specific format called DICOM. Files sizes are really huge and are not as easy to download through the web.