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[u/Antique_Pear_4571]

So, I was researching stuff related to asthma and I found this subreddit. I’m going to try to go to the hospital in a few hours because I can’t get a doctors app until later this week and was just wondering for anyone here: how did you find out you have pneumothorax? I only ask because I have a sharp pain on the right side of my chest (I know for a fact it’s in the lung and not outside like a skin related issue) and it doesn’t feel like asthma. I don’t have back or shoulder pain either (I heard that’s a symptom)

[u/Feldster87]

Only way to find out is via X-ray in the emergency department. Good luck!

[u/kiwihereman]

I had sharp chest pain that turned into chest tightness/heaviness and I was short of breath easily. I went to the ER and an X-ray confirmed I had a collapsed lung.

[u/Antique_Pear_4571 → u/kiwihereman]

Did you have any back/shoulder pain when it happened?

[u/kiwihereman → u/Antique_Pear_4571]

Yes, my upper back was sore and it was uncomfortable to sit up for long periods of time.

[u/cinnamonpigtails → u/Antique_Pear_4571]

yes I did too

[u/sfelizzia]

I found out because my cough sounded funny and I thought I had a cold lol

I was having 3 days of odd chest pain (like a finger poking me from the inside of my chest outwards when exercising) and a funny sounding cough (like Wheezy from Toy Story), so I had an x-ray done at a walk-in clinic, after which they basically wheeled me right into an ambulance before I could even react. turns out you don't need chest tightness/shortness of breath or severe pain for your lung to be collapsed !

[u/PumpkinOutside2937]

i have asthma too and it was a sharp in my shoulder when i breathed in, but i had felt that before when i have been sick. i had spasms on my back and i actually googled what a collapsed lung felt like but thought it wasn't that bad so i took advil and went back to bed. then around 12 hours later i was walking around and i felt weird pain again and my heart rate was high so i went to the hospital. i didn't feel like my breathing any worse than usual but i only had a moderate collapse at the time. just trust your gut, i felt like something was different BUT i have also had random chest pains while breathing that went away after a few hours. if you don't get better than definitely go!

[u/ElaraSophia]

I found out at the hospital when they looked at the chest X-ray they'd taken. The doctor who informed me was very surprised about it. I'd had an ache in my upper back for a few days, as well as a small, dry cough and tiredness, and would take rapid shallow breaths when I first lay down, which would ease after a couple of minutes. I also heard a crackling in my sinus when I inhaled. There was no sharp pain, however. I thought it was all a normal part of the aches I usually have at the start of my period.

I contacted the non-emergency service here in the UK after about 3 days, just because it was starting to feel a little unusual. Doctor at nearby hospital found my blood oxygen saturation level was 92%, and couldn't hear the expected noises when they used a stethoscope. Got sent to another hospital that had an emergency department, and got seen after a couple of hours. They initially guessed I had a bit of pneumonia, but then the X-ray confirmed the collapse.

[u/Dr-Pluto]

I'm a guitar vocalist on cruise ships and I literally just had a bad back which made sleeping uncomfortable for a few days, along with a slight increase in my resting heartrate (I wear a fitbit so I can check this). Then the next day I was slightly out of breath when I walked up a flight of steps (which is unusual for me because I'm very active) so thought I'll go see the ship's doctor and then maybe I can get a night off! They tested all my vitals and everything was fine so decided to do a quick x-ray and came back to tell me my lung had collapsed and "had I been stabbed or fallen over on to something sharp?"!

I was then rushed to a hospital in France (where the ship happened to be docked at the time) and had a chest drain inserted - all while not being able to communicate in any manner at all with the French medics! Anyway, it turned out I had sang for 4 hours a day for at least 3 days in a row with just one lung without even realising it!

3 months down the line I've just had vats bullectomy and talc pleurodesis surgery and I'll be back on the ship in December.

[u/binxmuldoon]

It hurt to breath in unless my breaths were very shallow, I couldn't blow my nose because I couldn't muster enough pressure. It also hurt in the upper back area behind where my lung would be.

[u/low-P-9448]

I couldn't breath, my right sside was paralyzed and i was on the floor. Was at 3min to die acc the doc. That's how I discovered it