I am almost six weeks post-op and my back is feeling GREAT! In fact, my doctor said I have been way "ahead of the curve," since day one. I am very happy with the results of my back surgery and my back doesn't hurt at all! However... at about three weeks post-op I started to experience shortness of breath, so I went to the doctor who performed a chest x-ray and CT scan -- everything was normal. Anyway, a week later, I began experiencing excruciating knife-stabbing pains in the side of my rib cage that intensified when I lied down or whenever I laughed, cried, yawned, burped, tried to take a deep breath, etc. Because the Percocet and Valium I had been taking wasn't helping at all, I went to the doctor for some relief/answers, and he dismissed my pain as spasms in my intercostal muscles and possible nerve pain, and prescribed me Skelaxon and Lyrica. Neither helped. A week later... the pain kept getting worse and worse. I was getting shorter and shorter of breath that I'd become winded after going up half a flight of stairs! I got to the point where I stuck hunched over in bed because I couldn't breathe and the pain was so bad! At this point, my doc told me physical therapy may help, and while the massages felt good at the time, in the end the pain was NOT going away and I just could NOT take in enough oxygen. I went back to my doctor this past Friday after taking some more x-rays that morning. Turns out I've had a MASSIVE amount of fluid around my lungs for the past couple of weeks -- called pleural effusion -- and that has been causing inflammation. The fluid and inflammation have been causing my shortness of breath/severe pain, supposedly. Anyway, my doctor didn't feel comfortable sending me home that day, and admitted me to the hospital to see a pulmonologist. What's weird is that I remember experiencing "tightness" in my chest a few days after my scoli surgery, and they did a CT scan, which showed I had some fluid. That time, it went away on its own, though, since at three weeks post-op, my lungs were clear. This time, it caw back a lot worse, and they don't know why. Since Friday, I have been poked and prodded and have eight x-rays and two CT scans. Because the CT scan showed soooo much fluid, they decided to do a thoracentesis, which is an invasive procedure to remove fluid or air from the pleural space. The needle part didn't bother me at all, but the fluid removal process hurt like HECK and I honestly felt like I was having a heart attack (not that I'd ever had one, but that's what I would imagine one would be like). It caused my lung to re-expand so quickly, that the pressure/pain was just unbearable. Anyway... by the next day, nearly ALL the fluid returned. I was so upset. So, they put in a chest tube today, which is so painful I wouldn't wish one on my own worst enemy. Docs want the fluid to drain over a few days, so I will be having this thing inserted in me for awhile, which sucks! What is even more frustrating, though, is that most of the docs here refuse to admit that this pleural effusion is surgery related (which I KNOW it is...I've NEVER had lung problems before, and my chest x-rays have always been normal up until the surgery). They are testing my fluid for infections, lupus, even cancer! It is ridiculous. One doc finally came in and said he thinks it is just a rare reaction to the surgery and he believes my pleural cavity is just so inflamed from being "manipulated" so much. Yes, it's rare, but that's me... And I don't "blame" any of my doctors for what has happened. This couldn't have been predicted/prevented. Anyway, I will be in the hospital for at least another week, but if the fluid continues to return even with the chest tube, I will have to have another procedure called pleurodesis, which essentially causes the membranes around the lung to stick together and prevents the buildup and/or reaccumulation of fluid in the space between the membranes.
Please keep me in your thoughts/prayers, everyone! This totally sucks!
Please keep me in your thoughts/prayers, everyone! This totally sucks!
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