Hi.I went through something similar to what you are talking about.I don't smoke,but I used to.I have chest pains now (i'm 29/m) and i've had a chest x-ray but no problems.What have you done to diagnose the problem?

I have not seen a doctor or have gone through any testing yet.. I was kind of waiting to see if the pain will simply go away by itself after a while.. I'm sure thats not the best solution I just dont how long to wait and dont know what exactly to do.. I just dont know if it's general chest or something else...

I just joined today and saw your post. I had the same problem...Yesterday in fact. I could barely catch my breath, my chest hurt soooo bad and that pain radiated all the way around to my back. It was so bad I had to leave work and go to the Dr. Well I have been smoking off and on for about 25 years. I've quit several times...Sometimes for long periods of time. And always when I was pregnant. Anyway...After about 2 1/2 hours of waiting, testing, xrays, etc., the doctor told me I had the beginning stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd). This is not a good thing, and if you continue to smoke you will end up walking around with an oxygen tank permanently attached. I left the dr's office with two different meds...Both inhaled. If I don't smoke any more my condition will not worsen; however, it won't go away either. It's something I have to live with from now on. I haven't had a cig since my dr's visit, but it hasn't been easy that's for sure. I am also a pot smoker...But I didn't have the courage to ask the doctor if that was just as bad. I just haven't done that either. Guess we'll see what happens. Hope that is helpful to you. How are you feeling now? Did you go to the doctor to see what it was?

Definitly go to the doctor and get xrays. When I was 19, i'm 25 now, I was riding in a friends car when I started having very severe pains in my left lung
much like you're describing. The pain was so bad I could barely breathe and starting throwing up from the pain. I went to the doctor the next day and was diagnosed with pneumothorax. Since then i've had a few problems with it but never as bad as the first time. They say it most often occurs in tall skinny smokers, but there was a study done that also directly linked it with loud audio bass. The first time it happened to me I was in a car with pretty loud bass. Since then if i'm somewhere where there is a lot of bass my chest will start to hurt.

I had that. It turned out it was a pulmonary embolism.My pain was in my back though. I thought I just hurt my back. It hurt to breath, move ,i couldnt lay down because the pain was so bad I had to sleep sitting up. Mine was in my back but usually the pain is in the chest. Don't worry because chances are you dont have one because young people usually dont have them. Unless in my case you take birth controll. But to be safe see a doc.

Sorry about caps, shift key stuck :(

What are the symptoms of pulmonary embolus?

Cough:
begins suddenly
may produce bloody sputum (significant amounts of visible blood or lightly blood streaked sputum)
sudden onset of shortness of breath at rest or with exertion
splinting of ribs with breathing (e.G., bending over or holding the chest)
lightheadedness
fainting
dizziness
chest pain:
under the breastbone or on one side
sharp, stabbing, burning, aching or dull, heavy sensation
may be worse at night
may radiate to the shoulder, arm, neck, jaw, or other area
may be worsened by breathing deeply, coughing, eating, bending, or stooping
sweating
anxiety
breathing, rapid
rapid heart rate (tachycardia)

That is so strange you mention something like this, because recently I have gotten some sharp pains like that. I am not too sure if it is related to smoking or not (might be accutane too) but I just recently quit smoking because I dont want to take the chance.

I also have this problom dose it also affect you when you play like sports or are active....

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This is really unfortunate. It seems as if I have a similar problem but it happens and goes away all the time. I have anxiety attacks so I always assume it is one, but then it feels like there are fluids in my lungs.

- I have sharp pains on the left side of my chest
- The pains often radiate to the same spot, except near my back
- I get a pulsing ache on my left shoulder and neck
- If I lay down on my left side of my body, my heart does this gurgling action

I am not sure if my problem is related, but it is really annoying and I hope I don't have that clot thing and die >.>

okay, well...I am just glad that I am not crazy after all! I went to the hospital 9 days ago with severe chest pain that was also in my back and neck. I kept telling the nurses that when I moved a certain way, I could feel this gurgle, they wouldn't even listen to it and they said it was just a fast heart beat! ( as if I have no idea what it feels like when my heart is pounding!) They took a chest x-ray to rule out clot and said it was pluracy. I do not agree with the pluracy diagnosis ( although I do believe that I have experienced pluracy before ). I am still tolerating this chest pain after 9 days, but it is a lot more tolerable now.

- gurgling in chest that feels more like my heart or throat than in my lungs
- sharp pains that started in the center of my chest and raidiated to my back and neck. ( now it is mostly only in my back)
-when I lay on my back the pain is worse
-breathing deep/coughing/bending/moving made the pain worse the first 4 days (now its not so much)
-shortness of breath
- I am begining to experience lightheadeadness when I sing, or talk a lot quickly ( did not used to be a problem)
- the pain is on the left side
- moving to the left is painful
- siting up and leaning forward was the only way I could tolerate the pain durring the first several days.

does anyone have any idea what this could possibly be? I searched all the things that were listed and either the symptoms don't quite match, or the hospital already ruled them out.

Hey, I had an experience similar to this last night, and I found this site through Google. I was up late studying for finals, and the first time I felt the really sharp pain was when I layed down in bed, propped over top of my books. I thought maybe I had pulled something, and it hurt when I breathed in and out deeply, like at the top and bottom of my breaths. It felt like it was on my left side, just underneath my heart. I decided to go to bed, but it got worse when I laid down. If I moved in any direction, there was a sharp pain. I had to prop myself up on the couch, and I'm not sure if I fell asleep or passed out from my short breaths. I absolutely hate hospitals, and I'm hoping it will just go away. The only difference with me though, is that I'm not a smoker, I'm 20, and I never have smoked. It's a little better this morning, but my chest still hurts.

Anyone have an experience similar to this? What's wrong with me?

I am 20 recently quit smoking cigarrettes, and have pretty much the combination of symptoms of this thread here, in my home town however there seems to be some sort of severe acute respitory disease going around shut down part of our hospital because of it but its accompanied by flu like symptoms as well which i dont have at all, infact since i quit smoking my cough went away but my sharp cheat pain has gotten worse it seems

ok.. first off, thanks to all who have shared in this post..and on this site for that matter. For starters, I'm 38, I've smoked BOTH pot and cigs since I was 15. And I mean daily. I'm hooked...and thank God I don't care for alcohol. Anyway, I have this pain, it's there everyday...it's in the upper/center of my chest. It hurts when I put pressure on it. Started about 6-8 months ago. It hurts damn near all the time. I feel fine, no shortness of breath, I'm about 15lbs overweight but in pretty descent shape. I have no "balls" to go see a doc. I fear the worst...and even though I feel it constantly when I stretch, you know, when you get up in the morning type of stretch, I feel it, it doesn't stop my stupid *ss from headin' out to the garage for a buzz and a butt...though I constantly think about it...

what the hell is it with me??? I have a 6 year old that I love dearly...you'd think that would be enough to help me quit...but I just can't. I'm sooooo afraid that it's the big "C" but can't bring myself to face the music...I swear I just keep telling myself that if I die, oh well, no one will give two shi*ts anyway...less my daughter, and I honeslty keep thinking up scenarios of how she'll be fine since my inlaws are "well to do" and such... how sad is that? How frickin unbelievably sad is that?

I guess I'm just venting, 'cause I know you all out there can't help me with it...but thanks for reading this none the less...

It's 1:30am, I'm at work, and am goin to have a butt after I post this...

it's hopeless.

HI there, i am 30 and suffer similar symptoms - for the last 2 weeks. i am considering giving up smoking, which i have been doing since i was 18. i suggest you do the same, dont think of cutting down, just pick a day and quit it, and then stick to it, i want to achieve this within the next month! and i WILL do it. just be strong and make up your mind.

hi there,
reading all these posts has been helpful - I have a similiar chest pain on my left side that hurts when I stretch or take a deep breath, the left side of my chest is tender when I touch it. It's certainly a concern, and I've been reducing that amount I smoke / inhale - though it hasn't gone away yet.

this pain has been going on for over a week, though I'm familiar with it - it's been coming on and off, depending on how heavily I smoke. I should add, I don't smoke cigarettes, I smoke pot. Over the last couple years, I noticed that the amount I smoke would inflame both my lungs and throat. I was worried, so I went to the doctor and they performed various lung tests and diagnosed mild copd - which, like an earlier post says - sticks with you, and makes your lungs more fragile, I think.

I bought a good vaporizer last fall, and that has helped quite a bit, though I still get worrisome inflamation at times, and it seems overall, my lungs are much more suseptible to irritation - this may be a lasting legacy of copd?

About 2 weeks ago, I turned up the temperature of the vaporizer, I used it for about a week on its highest temperature. (a higher temp produces a denser mist) That, and a couple joints over those two weeks (I really don't smoke joints since getting the vaporizer) - seemed to inflame my lungs.

Now - like I said - I've a tight chest pain that hasn't gotten any better for a while. I've turned down the vap to low levels again, and will keep it there, though this chest pain does hurt, and it is worrisome.

I'm trying to cut back or quit completely until this chest pain subsides, which really may be the only way to know if it's my smoking habits that are doing this, or something else...

I found others posts useful, comforting knowing it's probably related to what I smoke, (and not something worse, at least not yet) - also knowing others are going through similiar worries-

OMG, I thought I was the only one this was happening to. I'm 51/female and have been smoking off and on since 18 (quit for 12 years and like an fool I started back 8 years ago). I just smoked about 1/2 pack per day, but since Dec I've had bronchitis 3 or 4 times. My doctor gave me Chantix to quit smoking and it has really helped. I quit 6 days ago and have not messed up yet. About 2 days after I quit, I started having back pain, which has moved to my chest now.

I'm like pasmallies. I don't have the guts to go get it checked out. I know smoking is bad, but I couldn't help it. I looked at my kids and hated myself for smoking. Now it is probably too late to stop doing something that I knew all my life was so bad. I thought the back pain was going away, but this morning it is in my chest, neck, shoulders and back.

I did - 2 weeks ago; very early days yet, I know - but if I can anyone can - you've read that before! I remember from my two previous unsuccessful times that the first 3 days are the hardest - i'm over them - i'm never going back.
Ironically, today the dr found a nodule in my lung - just hope my quitting didn't come too late.