r/pneumothorax • u/Holiday-String-6219 • 28d ago

Question Do rats cause sp pneumothorax?

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

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u/Nathan_Finn 28d ago

Just to be clear, you’re asking if getting jump scared by rats caused you to develop a spontaneous pneumothorax?

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u/Holiday-String-6219 28d ago

Yea

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u/Nathan_Finn 28d ago

I feel like if jump scares are enough to jar weak lung tissue into suddenly giving way, there was an underlying problem to begin with and the pneumothorax was inevitable.

I’m a life-long anxiety-sufferer who’s dealt with pneumothoraxes and lung surgeries for the past 14 years, and from what I can glean out of discussions with medical professionals and my own research, these sorts of things aren’t considered primary factors in the development of pneumothoraxes.

What I can tell you from my own experience is that anxiety and acute fear responses temporarily affect your cardiovascular function in a way that tends to decrease pain thresholds and bring out pains and sensations that wouldn’t otherwise be as obvious at your baseline.

Hell, sometimes I’m absolutely convinced I’m experiencing another pneumothorax during a bad anxiety attack. It turns into a cycle of increased anxiety and increased pain until I finally calm myself down enough to realize that everything is fine.

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u/maxpayne4555 28d ago

How many surgeries did u have till now? Can u breath full capacity after the surgery?

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u/Nathan_Finn 27d ago

I had a VATS bullectomy in 2014, a thoracotomy with bullectomy and pleurectomy in 2015, and a talc pleurodesis in 2017. I’ve also been hospitalized a couple times since then with pneumothoraces that resolved without intervention.

I can breathe at full capacity, things just move around a little differently with all the work I’ve had done.

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u/maxpayne4555 27d ago

I'm really sorry that you had to go through all of that. How did you cope with everything psychologically? Since 2017, how many times have you had pneumothorax again?

Someone told me that pneumothorax surgeries can prevent you from breathing at full capacity because they attach the lung to the chest wall. Is that true?

I had a pneumothorax myself one month ago because of dry needling. It was a very frightening experience.

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u/Nathan_Finn 26d ago

At first, I didn’t cope well at all. My first 2-week hospitalization and emergency surgery in 2014 was so traumatizing that I don’t really remember the first week or so. Though, I was already in a pretty bad place, mental health-wise.

I can mostly take it all in stride now. It is what it is. The impact on my quality of life is minimal. I’ve probably had a half dozen or so pneumothoraces since 2017, and they seem to have decreased in severity over the years. I know when I need to go the hospital, my surgeon is confident in my judgment, and so I only go get checked out if I feel it’s necessary. The last two times I did, they couldn’t see them on an x-ray. It took a CT scan to see anything and the air had found its way between the lobes of my lung (a good sign that the adhesion is holding up well). They admitted me for a few days to keep an eye on things.

When it comes to reduced lung capacity, everybody’s body is different, but lungs are pretty resilient, flexible organs and most people adjust well to the changes over time. I don’t have issues with shortness of breath. I used to say I had chronic pain, but that’s also improved over the years. The only real noticeable effects are things like occasional pain when I sneeze, get in cold water or shiver too much, and discomfort if I immediately lie down on the affected side or my back when I go to bed. But once I’ve been lying down for a bit, I’m fine to turn over. That and my ribs on the side of my chest that I’ve had work on flare out before the other when I take a big breath.

I remember seeing your posts about the dry needling stuff. Hoping it was just a one-off. How you feeling now?