I slept Monday away after the busy weekend, so called my Dr's office this a.m to let them know I have fluid in my lungs, hoping I could just stop by the lab for an x-ray. Nope. Nurse wants me seen by the Dr, and dh and I had a meeting today at the only time the Dr had available. So I'm seeing him tomorrow at 2:30. Which is good, cause I'm still not coughing or anything really when I'm upright, but at times feels like I'm half-drowning when laying down.

Humidity must have been 95% today, honestly. Wonder if you can OVERDO the deep breathing? Great, I can't even breathe right - just shoot me, please!

beth

Good luck at the doctor and I hope you feel better soon!

Dr thinks the chest tightness and pain when side-lying is due to the dreaded costochondritis, although a new manifestation for me. Says I have a slight allergic rhinitis responsible for the sensation of needing to clear my throat. Maybe that's the culprit behind worsening swallowing problems lately, or maybe I just haven't been paying enough attention when I eat and drink, mistakenly acting like a regular ol' human bean.

Did get X-rays done and a scrip for the Chantrix (sp) starter pack, the new sto-smoking med that's getting lots of poitive attention. If we can get this case settled in the next month or so I'll have kicked the habit before my next birthday in October. I'll be 46 - started smoking at age 14 my freshman year of HS. My Dad smoked, and of course it was much more COOL in the 60's and 70's - my parents split when I was 12, and I think I partly started as a way to share something with my Dad, keep a part of him with me.

Now, you might think I'd learn something when he had a heart attack at 50 - he's fine, Drs have been amazed at his recovery - but it's only males with heart problems in our family, my blood pressure and cholesterol are great, and my heart checked out fine when I went through testing for the ketamine treatment. Besides, I'm not 50 yet, right?? Addiction - just another name for chemical stupidity.

I'm starting on an anti-inflammatory for the costochondritis, a new one to me, Etodolac 500 mg 1 tablet twice daily. Anyone familiar with it? Big blue boy - hope I don't choke taking it!!!

beth

beth - glad to hear you got it checked out and Fingers crossed for you with your new anti smoking meds- my dad died of lung cancer, so it is a near and dear subject to me. I really hope it works for you

Just heard back on the x-rays - no fluid, but Dr did see a "post-infectious lymph node." Wants another x-ray in 6 months to re-check.

So, can someone with a medical background please explain the significance of a "post-infectious lymph node" on a chest x-ray?

my PCP rx'd a box of those nicotrol inhalors after i first saw dr. ahn and he dx'd TOS on the spot. not only did he advise me that i needed the rib resection (for mine is a case of true neuro TOS and all the PT in the world wasn't going to help me, he said), but this very knowledgeable fellow very patiently explained to me that my smoking was actually adding to my TOS sx; namely, the ischemia...

ischemia, i thought to myself! sounds more like a communist plot to me--

and a hell of a time to have to give up cancer sticks, too! right before a major and risky surgery, which can be um, a little nervous-making to put it mildly... (the buddhist didn't seem to care)

but dr. ahn is the man who gave me the best reason i'd ever heard of to finally kick the habit, beth.

the inhalors got me used to not smoking cigs in a fairly painless manner. so i looked like an idiot with a pacifier dangling from my mouth for a few weeks, OK months, whatever... who cares, it worked! this was before the rx you mentioned had become available, so ask your doc about using the device in tandem with that med, though.

there are some wonderful programs on-line which i also found very informative, supportive and useful. freedomfromsmokingonline.com is sponsored by the american lung association. quitsmokingonline.com is good, too. whyquit.com is another one, and there are others as well.

not gonna tell you it's easy. but definitely one of the best things i've ever done for myself. i wish you every success and do let us know how that new med works out for you, beth. it sounds very promising in the field of addiction... and make no mistake - that is what we are dealing with here.

since the scalenes are respiratory muscles, though, there is a definite EXTRA payoff for TOS'ers who quit, in that it will eventually really help with diaphragmatic breathing (plus that ischemic aspect) and, therefore with pain management technique... on top of all the myriad of reasons to quit the american lung association and any reformed smoker will be only too happy to tell you all about ad infinitum and on and on and on. snore zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

lucky for you i don't have a medical background and can't answer your other question, so i'll stop here having given my usual too much unsolicited advice for the day thang--

alison

Hi Beth,

I don't have much of a medical background (I'm a social worker in a health clinic), but I tried to look on webmd for you, and couldn't really find anything. I saw something that said if there were signs of infection in the lymph nodes, it could be mono or TB. But I seriously doubt you have TB or else they would have treated you right away with penicillin (that much I am sure of). And if they didn't give you antibiotics, you probably don't have mono either. It's probably a generic "infection" that will work itself out. The lymph nodes are supposed to filter out infectious organisms and waste, so hopefully they will do their job and rid your body of the infection.

Anyone else with more expertise, PLEASE post and help out Beth.

And Beth, if you don't get any good info here, I would call your dr back and ask him exactly what that means. Sometimes they think we know what they're talking about and they forget to talk in layman's terms.

Hope you feel better soon!

Shellie,

Talked to the nurse - basically they just saw a swollen lymph node on the chest x-ray, but no signs of fluid or anything showing current infection. They can't tell what kind of infection from the x-ray. But I'm on an anti-inflammatory - Etodalac - 2 x a day for 15 dyas, then a refill for another 15 days. SHe says it will take a while to see a difference in breathing and tightness as it takes a while for the inflammation to go away and everything to heal, but if no change by time anti-inflammatory meds have all been taken - 30 days - then I am to call back in.

I do wonder if I have somehow brought this on with the deep-breathing I try to practice - but now it's the only way I can actually get a full breath.

While I wait for the med to do it's thing, does anyone have any at-home therapies they've used to relax tight ribs? I CURSE my ins. co for not allowing me further PT!!!!!!

Johanna, this new med really sounds like a breakthrough - after 5 days on, if you try to smoke a cig it makes you nauseous from what I hear. It targets the same receptors as nicotine, so you don't go through all the nasty withdrawal at once, you still get the feel-good benefits while your lungs start cleaning up and healing. And you don't gain weight with it either. But I will need something to do with my hands, you're right Alison, and I have been intrigued with the inhalors. I'll ask, don't know that I can use them, but one of the worst parts of quitting is finding a replacement for the cigarette!

Case has to settle first, once it does, I'll fill the scrip and let you know how this works. My youngest has been on my case since she took DARE in 4th grade - it's a BIG issue with her!

beth

thanks, beth

yeah and for me, it was not just the hands. i was stuffing emotions big-time with those cigarettes. i was what you'd call a "hot-boxer," beth, and would inhale very, very deeply. so i think it was not only a manual fixation but also an oral and maybe a pulmonary one as well with me. because i was definitely trying to fill that empty hole inside. and that void was extremely profound.

those sites i gave you actually provide a great deal of insight into the inner workings of what is going on in terms of the distorted thinking process.

and they blow wide open a lot of the myths that the big tobacco conglomerates are only too happy to perpetuate about "how hard it is to quit," "how fat i'll get if i don't smoke," "how will i ever deal with the stress," etc., etc. etc.

the physical withdrawal stage is actually fairly short-lived. there are some really cool tools to deal with the cravings. not just for nicotine but for sweets. your brain will try to play tricks on you. and i do think it can be an extra challenge for someone with TOS or any chronic pain condition because, as we all know, our emotions drive our perceptions of our pain levels...and your quit will do a number on you at the beginning, beth. but you know where to come for support. like you say, we have each others' backs here...

and knowledge is power. you don't have to do this alone. use those sites, my friend, and this one as well (i'm not sure why neurotalk doesn't have a quitting smoking forum like OBT does, but just "act as if," beth - addiction is a brain disease, after all [more good news, yikes!]). you won't have to be the lone ranger through this just like you don't have to walk through the TOS or the RSD by yourself anymore...

and tell your sweet daughter you love her, but this quit is for mommy. you have to want to do this for YOU. otherwise it won't work, it won't take because you won't be ready and it won't be true despite the very best of intentions. this has to do with your emotions. the kicking is the easy part. it's very complex and of course it's so hard for her to understand. maybe grandpa can help explain it to her.

you know there are also face-to-face 12-step groups available if you are interested in that, beth. i wish you godspeed.

(where is tamara anyway? she used to wish godspeed all the time...)


alison
"Be Brave"

Hi Beth, This may be somewhat unrelated, but my brother just had a hernia repared. the xrays they did postop showed that he had a 'nodule' on his lung. he was all freaked about it until the dr came in to tell him this was nothing to worry about.

Even tho they show it to be lymph nodes, I hope it turns out to be a 'no worry' and the meds knock it out.

love ya!
Anne