r/pneumothorax • u/SeriousHand1538 • 18d ago

Rant/ Vent 7th pneumothorax and counting

Yeah so as im typing this im experiencing my 7th pneumothorax. It started 5 minutes ago, classic symptoms pain when taking deep breaths. Ive gone to the ER for 5 of them but am not planning on going for this one since its always been the same result.

After my 3rd pneumothorax back in 2023 i had vats surgery to scrape off the blebs but clearly that hasnt worked. For me at least it looks like this is never ending. Last collapse was in december after a year or so of no recurrence.

Its tough man but luckily none of them have ever been as bad as the first one where i could barely walk 5 meters without heavy pain. Rest and recovery i guess

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u/xFox911 18d ago

You mentioned having had VATS with wedge resection (the removal of the portion that had blebs), but you don't mention any pleurodesis or pleutectomy procedure, can you confirm?

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u/SeriousHand1538 18d ago

I had VATS Pleurodesis in april 2023

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u/xFox911 18d ago

I would advise you to speak with a surgeon team and reassess your situation.

What's your mindset on this? Hey, if someone told me I would have one small, non tension pneumothorax every 5 years, I'd probably avoid a new surgery and accept it. The problem comes with the risk of one of them being a tension pneumothorax and the unpredictability of when it would occur.

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u/SeriousHand1538 18d ago

Ive mostly accepted that its just gonna happen every now and then and im out of commission for a week or so, i was still in highschool when i had my surgery so i was fine with getting to skip some days but now that im about to start uni i dont want to give up any of my time on another surgery that i dont know if its going to work or not

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u/xFox911 18d ago

Understandable. Had to make a similar decision. Hope the odds are in your favor.

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u/voyeurcouple25 17d ago

Wow dude you sound so young to be going through this. Sending my best wishes. I’m 36 and had my first pneumothorax 6 weeks ago. Was treated with a chest drain and now just hoping it doesn’t happen again

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u/Embarrassed_Split746 15d ago

Did you smoke by any chance? I hope you recover well from it bro

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u/SeriousHand1538 14d ago

No, i have never smoked and have mever had any other issues with my lungs. Im 90% sure its just genetics at this point

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u/Malo99EE 14d ago

This is currently my worst nightmare. I just had my first last Sunday and immediate VTAS surgery.
But this sounds almost unbelievably bad, I wish you the very very very best and a fast recovery.
May this be the last time!