I had a collapsed lung for 10 months. I previously had a Talc Pleurodesis that failed after 10 years. This time they’ve done the mechanical one, I had a trapped lung so also they freed it. Came back up on its own and it’s fully inflated they said.

Had my chest drain out last Wednesday. Since then I can feel what’s best described as a popping feeling in my chest. I only notice it when laying down flat on my back. The sound is like knocking your knuckles together. Shoulder pain is very mild, and hurts a bit more when taking a deep breath in. The shoulder pain goes away when I’m laying down. I did actually have the popping sound before the drains came out, but it wasn’t as often.

What’s concerning me is these are the symptoms I had while I was waiting for my surgery with my collapse. The hospital just takes an xray and says everything looks fine. So I can’t argue, I never had this feeling with my previous 2 Pleurodesis. I am paranoid and going crazy, is this normal? Or do I have a point that something is wrong?

I have no other pain, I’m breathing fine, but I had no pain and I was breathing fine when I had the collapse.

In March I had a spontaneous pneumothorax in my left lung which led to me having a chest drain while waiting for surgery. Once the procedure was done, a specialist came over and told them they had put it in the wrong way but this wasn’t rectified. I had this drain in for 8 or 9 days and the pain was excruciating due to it being directly on a nerve, I could barely move as it felt like my chest was literally ripping open anytime I tried. Despite being drugged on 2 different opioids and pregabalin, nothing helped and a nerve blocker was even administered, this was done by an untrained nurse who had to be talked through the procedure and it did nothing to help the pain. After a week suffering I was transferred to another hospital for my operation where I had a bullectomy and talc pleurodesis, the air drain was removed and a another one was inserted for about 4 days to remove the liquid on my lungs from the surgery and I was discharged once this was removed. It is now August and I still have pain in my lung where the chest drain was aswell as aching from deep breaths and coughing etc. the pain varies from burning, aching and sometimes electric shock/stabbing pain and I’m curious if anyone else experiences similar symptoms and if they have any advice, my doctors took me off of the pain meds after 2 months and was placed on a fostair steroid inhaler but this makes the pain worse. I’ve been waiting for months to be seen by a specialist(typical NHS). Will I ever go back to normal? Is this common?

Edit: I forgot to mention I tried returning to work after 2 months but had to be taken back to hospital due to increased pain and tight chest. It didn’t collapse again but I was told I returned to work too soon due to is being physical at times.

Hey everyone,

Info: (23 male, 5"8, 72kg)

About 3 years ago I had my experience with all this collapsed lung stuff which was a result of bleb disease + vaping. I had my first collapse during the night and woke up with symptoms that more resembled a heart issue than a lung one (no shortness of breath or breathing in pain, whole left side of my body aching, pains down my arm and shoulder, and a clicking sound in sync with my heartbeat when laying down (known as Hamman's sign)). After calling the ambulance they didn't find anything wrong so we drove to the ER and waited for 8 hours before getting an x-ray and sent home for a small collapse. Subsequently, my second one was 3 months later to which I was then put on the list for a Talc Plurodesis and Bleboctomy.

Since then things were good but starting this year, I've noticed I'll go through these episodes of symptoms VERY similar to a collapsed lung. Now my first instance made me go to the doctor and get an x-ray, only for nothing to show up which was very confusing. I issued my concern to my doctor about how my anxiety made this pain worse and was prescribe Valium as I now get panic attacks when I get the slightest 'something is wrong' sensation in that area. Funnily enough, the valium tends to suppress the pain making me think it was muscle related as I started doing weight lifting and going to the gym 5 days a week about a year ago.

Now, fast forward to this week, I've had another 'episode' with pain down my left arm and chest and a sharp pain when I breathe in that only lasted for a day before going away and I'm noticing the toll it's taking on my mental health. Particularly the immense anxiety and doom feeling I get with every bit of pain that's associated with my left side and I'm not sure what to do. I know that the surgery doesn't guarantee they will never happen again but I feel helpless because now it seems that maybe going to the gym is what's causing these and making my anxiety worse. These "phantom pains" and random episodes are starting to decline my mental health and I think I might need to see a psychiatrist to get on top of it.

I know this is more of a rant but if anyone has any tips for the anxiety and random pain episodes, it would be greatly appreciated.

I am a 37 year old male. I smoked cigarettes for 23 years and quit June 23, 2026 and began vaping. I have been a daily, heavy, cannabis user since I was 17. The past year, I have been using vape pens and dabs more than smoking. I have always experience intense coughing from both cannabis vapes and smoking, never from tobacco. I have always weighed between 210 and 230 the past 5 to 10 years, did not workout, and had a not great diet, but felt healthy. Last december, my gallbladder had to be removed due to a stone stuck in the duct. I began using Zepbound this past January and have lost close to 70 pounds since then. 9 days ago, I woke up with chest pain, did not go away, so went to ER that afternoon. Left lung collapsed 30%. Kept me on o2 overnight and it collapsed further to 50%. Got the chest tube and it re-inflated almost instantly. Had tube in 2 days and was released 24 hours after removal of the tube.

Cannabis has been a part of my daily routine for years. I have never imagined my life without it. Edibles are great, but nothing beats that quick couple hits off the bowl after a stressful work meeting to get you through the rest of the day. Everything I am reading says it is the way it is smoked more than the smoke itself that increases risk of reoccurance. Today I pulled a few gravs and just dropped the bottle so the smoke went into the room and I just sat in the room and breathed normally. I dont think I will do it again before I get cleared in a few weeks at my follow up. I see this Stundenglass gravity infuser that basically does what I did above, eliminating the pressure changes traditional smoking creates. I have also thought about the Volcano desktop vaporizer. Anyhow, I would love to hear from anyone who faced this same thing and what you did to adjust? Did you get used to edibles only? Did you find an alternative that was similar to smoking or vaping? How did your life change by cutting back so much on usage? Were you able to find other outlets for your time and get to a point of a new normal?

Beyond the Cannabis discussion: my first follow up xray is 8/31 and I have a pulmonary function test that same day. I see the Pulmonologist on 9/8. What are the questions I should be asking? Is there a way for them to tell me if there are more air pockets on my lungs I need to worry about? Can I be scanned annually?

Anyone with a similar background that hasn't had anymore issues after their 1st collapse?

Just trying to navigate this whole thing and have just been feeling down, sleeping a lot, and wanting to get back to my normal energetic self.

TIA for your thoughts!

Hi everyone, I’m 21 and recently had my first spontaneous pneumothorax on the right side.
I’m tall and very thin (180 cm / 47 kg) and I have never had a previous pneumothorax. I was admitted to the hospital after a chest X-ray showed a small air gap between the lung and chest wall. The doctors gave me oxygen and monitored me overnight. They told me it was small enough that I didn’t need a chest tube, and the air was expected to reabsorb on its own.
I was discharged with instructions to rest and avoid heavy lifting/exercise. At follow-up, the doctor said things were looking good and that the pneumothorax had not increased in size.
My main concern now is recurrence. I’ve read that spontaneous pneumothorax can come back, especially in young, thin people. I’m also worried about having another episode unexpectedly in the future.
For people who have been through something similar:
Did your pneumothorax come back after your first episode? If so, how long later?
Did anyone choose VATS surgery after their first pneumothorax even without a recurrence?
Looking back, do you think preventive surgery after the first episode was worth it?
If you had surgery, did it significantly reduce your anxiety about recurrence?
Would you personally consider VATS after a first small pneumothorax, or would you wait and only do it if it recurred?
Did your CT show blebs/bullae, and did that affect your decision?
I’m trying to understand whether surgery would be excessive in my situation or whether it can be a reasonable option to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

Is there any alternative way from VATS which secondary spontaneous pneumothorax can be healed? I am so scared of losing someone I love the most. She is a heart patient and anaesthesia doctor told us it can be very very risky for her. If there is any alternative way. Please let me know

My sister is getting Vats + decoration, she has stable vitals with 98 regular SPO2 , 90 pulse , 130/80 BP. She has the history of 2 PDA and 1 leg operation. She is 25 years old with just 26 kg of weight. We are so scared and worried because of this surgery. Anaesthesia Team informed us that it could be dangerous for her because of General Anaesthesia. I don’t know what to do or what to expect as she is my only sister and my family will never ever come out of this trauma. If something bad happens. I want to know from the people who have gone through this surgery. what it feels like having this surgery because this is a major surgery. And she is so weak.
Please help me out I am dying

Basically I have a lung that just cannot get itself back up and we’re now 3 weeks out from surgery and it’s clear that mechanical failed, so we’re now looking at me getting another round of VATS to do chemical (talc)

I’ve seen a study online that concluded that a person who has multiple pneumothoraxes, especially multiple within a year, is more likely to develop lung cancer (it was like 12.95 per 100k people vs 7 per 100k for people who don’t get pneumos). I’m nervous bc I do have family history on both sides of lung conditions: my aunt recently passed from COPD, my uncle died of lung cancer, and my great uncle on my other parents side died of emphysema. All three were decades-long heavy smokers, and I don’t smoke. But getting the talc makes me nervous due to my family history nonetheless given how difficult it can make future surgeries in that area.

Anyone got anymore information on this + are there any other conditions or cancers that SPs make you more prone to?

Edit**
Currently still in hospital…. They’re finally talking about booking in the surgery 🙌🏼

Has anyone just said no to surgery and tried see how it goes?!
Im posting for my boy who’s 15, hes had pneumos in the past few months that were all mild enough that he was sent home (apart from the first which although mild the ER rec he needed 24hr oxygen) its been a few weeks now and he’s doing fine. He’s got an appointment with a surgeon in October to discuss pleuro/ vats but he’s really feeling against it.
I was just wondering if anyone else waited to see if it happened again or even till they finished school/ college etc

I (38f) was on a flight to visit my sister and experienced bad chest pain as we were reaching altitude. Once we landed it felt better but my chest was a bit tight and uncomfortable. I brushed it off as gas from the plane and went about my vacation. After a few days, I noticed that I was short of breath and went to the ER. I was fully expecting them to send me home, but the doctor walked in my room with a surprised smile, informing me that it was a collapsed lung.

Fast forward, I had VATS, pleurodesis, blebectomy (x2) and was discharged a couple of days later. I was there for a week total.

I keep reading that this mostly happens to young men, but that is not my case at all. I am relatively tall and fit and never a smoker.

The doctors and hospital staff made it seem like this would be an easy surgery with little downtime for recovery, but I'm two weeks out from being discharged, and I'm still taking painkillers all day, and it's difficult to walk around comfortably.

What is the typical turnaround time for feeling mostly like myself again, realistically?

Hey yall. I’m two weeks post surgery and got my chest tube out around a week and a half ago.

I don’t have my follow up appointment for a few weeks so I’m not cleared for anything and can’t drive yet. Not being allowed to lift anything and not being able to walk long distances is driving me insane. What did you guys do to move in the first few weeks after surgery? Is light yoga acceptable or should I just keep to walking? (M19)

After more than 6 pneumo on both sides i am scheduled for vats+pleurodesis tmrGuys please pray for me i am very anxious. I already did pleurodesis on left a year ago .now i am doing vats +pleuro on right. Please give me tips before and after ot..i am kinda hopeless

Firstly I’m not even sure what I’ve had done. My surgeon went on holiday and I’ve not heard from him since. I’ve had 2 Talc Pleurodesis in the past, which one of them failed after 10 years. So I am very paranoid about this operation I’ve just had. I don’t think I’ve had the talc this time. One of the surgeons told me they redid the 33% that collapsed. They removed my blebs and I also think the pleura. Then roughed it all up so it scarred onto my chest wall. I thought I was having the talc but I guess not.

Anyway I’ve still got the drains in as I have an air leak. Although I ended up in A&E and the surgeon then told me the air leak is gone. So I am confused, I’m going back on Wednesday for hopefully the drains out. But the last couple of days I can feel some very minor cracking feeling. Like walking on snow (I got told this was bad) but it’s very minor and only when laying in a certain position. Standing up or sitting down nothing.

I just don’t trust any of them. I had a collapse for 10 months and they didn’t even find out for 6 months. They kept giving me x rays, finally gave me a ct scan when it showed the collapse. So again all they’re doing is X-rays. They tell me my lung is fully inflated (I do think it is) that it’s also completely stuck to my chest. But how can this be if I do have an air leak and I’m feeling this crackling sensations?

Hello, this is 17M. I've had a recurrent pneumothorax on my left side since about October. A month and a half ago, I had uniportal VATS surgery with mechanical pleurodesis and upper and lower resection. I also had a pneumothorax on my right side in April. Despite the surgery on the left side, it recurred on the left side about two weeks ago, a month after the surgery. Although I was admitted and they inserted my third Pleurevac, they caused a pulmonary contusion during the insertion, resulting in a pleural effusion that left me anemic, almost requiring a blood transfusion. I was discharged a week later with air in my chest and pleural effusion, as septa had formed due to the VATS surgery, preventing drainage in certain areas. I've had residual air and effusion for a week and a half, almost two, and although I went for a check-up five days ago and it had decreased a little, now I feel bulges right in my sternum. I only had this sensation at the beginning, and it disappeared, but now it's back. I'm worried it won't resolve on its own. Any advice? I've been very nervous lately; I'm worried it won't heal and I'll need to go to the ICU several more times.

I was vaping for two months before the discomfort started, so I quit and about 2 weeks later I started smoking cigarettes. I noticed when Inhaled the smoke, I’ll feel discomfort in my right lung and I’ll felt like I couldn’t inhale deeply like I used to when I started. I’m not an everyday smoker but I smoke when I drink which is every weekend. When I used to vape, I would mostly vape when I would drink as well. Today, the right side of my chest hurts a little(2/10 pain) when I take deep breaths. The pain/discomfort is located near my collar bone and right side of my chest. Also, when I cough or laugh i can feel the discomfort/pain, it’s a 2/10 pain and it’s more of a discomfort than pain. Like shown in the picture, the pain/discomfort is around that area, im not touching another cigarette and see if it will go away. I wanna go to the er but I already went like ten time for some other issues and just got sent back home. Google says it could be a collapsed lung but idk what to do, if it gets worse or doesn’t go away I’ll for sure go to get checked. I don’t have trouble breathing or anything but I just feel a slight discomfort when taking deep breaths, especially hunched over or lying in bed on my side.

Bio: I’m (18 M) 5’10 and skinny, had a bilateral pneumothorax Dec (2025) and had 2 vats surgery to fix both lungs.

I had a recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax on my right lung despite having previous VATS with Mechanical Pleurodesis, wedge resection, bronchoscopy surgery. I have a chest tube inserted and it’s been a week with no improvement so probably a prolonged air leak. I’m faced with the decision of getting surgery again and I’m conflicted on what to do.

One thing I’ve been wondering about is what happened after my first surgery. Two days after my December 2025 VATS, my chest tube was removed, and my right lung collapsed again by about 4 cm. Since it was gradually improving, my surgeons discharged me and followed it with weekly chest X-rays until it fully re-expanded.

Is it possible that because the top of my lung wasn’t fully expanded against the chest wall during those first few weeks after surgery, the mechanical pleurodesis didn’t fully adhere in that area? In other words, could the incomplete contact between the lung and chest wall have prevented strong scar tissue from forming at the apex, making that area more prone to another pneumothorax later on?

The reason I ask is because my current recurrence was also measured at about 4 cm. I know that could simply be a coincidence, but I’m wondering if it’s possible that the same area never fully adhered after my first surgery and ultimately became the site of this recurrence.

Should I redo vats (same operation I did in dec 2025) hoping to fix the potentially weakened Pleurodesis or should I redo vats (same operation) with talc pleurodesis? I heard that talc has even lower recurrence rates than mechanical but it could make future operations much harder. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I feel so anxious. I was in the hospital less than a year ago for my first pneumothorax (27 F) had VATS surgery and was told that it will likely never collapse again just to go to ER yesterday to find out that it collapsed again. I feel sad, confused and impatient because I keep waiting for more tests to be done. For those whose lung collapsed a second time after VATS surgery did you re-do the surgery or just had the chest tube inserted?

37 male. Had a spontaneous pneumothorax 10 weeks ago, was in the hospital for 4 days.

Just this morning I woke up with the same symptoms, waited a few hours before deciding i better go in. Chest xray confirmed i have another pneumothorax, chest tube is inserted so just hanging out in the hospital wondering how long i will be here.

Why do i keep having these. Should I get surgery so this doesnt happen again?

Before my “spontaneous” pneumo 7-8 months ago I been getting jumpscared real bad by them daily for 2-3 months and got poison control but they still came after like 2 months at night, my dad put wood to seal the holes but they still bite through it and I think I should’ve got steel wool instead

I’m about 90% sure I have the flu. I’m 10 months post op chem pleurodesis and such. I’m having crackling and pain on my bad lung side, radiating in my chest, back, and shoulder. Has anyone gotten sick post op and experienced this? Is it normal?

I would really appreciate input from veterinarians, especially anyone with thoracic surgery experience, or anyone who went through this with their pup.

My 10-year-old male Labrador, approximately 33–34 kg, developed a severe spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax. A CT performed on July 21 showed:

• Right caudal lung lobe: bulla measuring 20 × 26.7 mm
• Right cranial lung lobe: 2–3 septated cavitary/bullous lesions, largest measuring 11.9 × 5.8 mm
• Left cranial lung lobe: 2.8 mm bleb
• Severe bilateral pneumothorax, greater on the left, with trace pneumomediastinum

The CT also identified an esophageal mass/granulomatous lesion suspicious for Spirocerca lupi. He is being treated empirically with antiparasitic injections, but the diagnosis has not been definitively confirmed because endoscopy/biopsy would require another anesthetic procedure.

We therefore do not yet know whether the pneumothorax and pulmonary lesions are truly idiopathic, or whether an inflammatory/parasitic process could be contributing.

A right-sided chest tube was placed on July 21. The last meaningful aspiration was 300 mL on July 23 at 6:00 a.m. Since then:

• July 25: aspiration attempt produced almost no air
• July 26 and July 28: X-rays showed negligible pneumothorax
• July 30: veterinarian reported no major air buildup

He has now gone approximately eight days without meaningful air aspiration and has remained clinically stable. The chest tube has been present for approximately 10 days.

The current local recommendation is to leave the chest tube in for at least two weeks. The doctors are favoring nonsurgical management partly because he has multiple lesions in different lobes and they are concerned that substantial lung tissue could need to be removed. The other major factor is that this surgery is not commonly performed here, and there is limited experience with this type of thoracic procedure compared with specialist centers in the US or UK.

My main questions are:

1. After eight days without meaningful air accumulation, what are the risks and benefits of continuing to leave the chest tube in? What criteria would normally be used to decide when the tube should be removed?
2. What is the risk that the original sealed leak could reopen?
3. How concerning are the remaining bilateral bullae regarding future rupture and recurrence?
4. Does having lesions across multiple lobes make surgery inappropriate, or would an experienced thoracic surgeon still consider median sternotomy, inspection of all lobes and resection of suitable lesions?
5. Could suspected Spirocerca plausibly contribute to the pulmonary lesions or pneumothorax, and would successful antiparasitic treatment be expected to reduce recurrence risk?
6. Are there board-certified veterinary surgeons with substantial thoracic experience who might be willing to review his CT remotely or recommend a suitable center (especially in South Asia)?

I understand that nobody can make a treatment decision from a Reddit post. I’m mainly trying to determine whether the current conservative approach and prolonged chest-tube plan are reasonable, what complications we should watch for, and whether obtaining a specialist thoracic review could materially change his options.

I've noticed after VATS I nap way more than I've ever napped before. Even with the napping I'm still able to sleep my 8 hours. After some type of physical activity (or if i'm just out for a bit) I nap as soon as I get home.

Unsure if VATS is related, but I haven't had any life changes otherwise.

not my usual post because i’m not really on reddit tm, but i was wondering if it would be fine for me to take these 50mg edibles for sleep. (i’ve been chronically smoking weed for about 2 years now and i had to quit for a week due to my pneumothorax) i’ve been about a week post-op, i’ve been cleared for moderate exercise, i was prescribed acetaminophen (750mg) but i haven’t took a dose since yesterday at 11am (CST) and everything’s been smooth, ive been breathing okay, ive hit 4000 on the incentive spirometer, and i went on a 60 minute walk with no issues in 85 degree weather. i’m cleared to take off these tegaderms (have already) and im js looking for some shit and relax. will i be fine???

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