Chest Pain / Smoking (Page 2)

Hi, my problrm started with about 10 days of just short breath- 'it was as if I couldnt yawn' - Ive had this occur befire so just waited for it to go away, which it did for about 3 days.

Then OUCH! The pain woke me up at 4am and I couldnt find an angle to prop myself up to relieve the pain. I was also having to take such small breaths as a full breath hurt so much so I was basically hyperventilating. Im a 28 year old man who's no softie but it reduced me to tears, which of course made it worse.

I am not a tobacco smoker but in my past I have smoked all manner of noxious substances. These days are behind me now and I hate to bu judged but for the purpose of the post I had been smoking Heroin and crack many times a day for 10 years. I never even once thought about my lungs.

The recent attack which the hospital seemed to think a nasty chest infection and some kind of Pluritc tear in the lining of the lungs.

I am still a proud cannabis user and after 4 days of recovery my lungs were back to, say, 95%. I had one VERY small pipe, felt fine for the rest of the evening, Woke up and next dayand guess what? pains back! Not as bad though,

I think if I want to continue to use god's good herb (which in itself has anti carcongenic qualities) I must invest in a Vaporiser or make some cakes

Hope all of you get well soon!

I feel them now when I breathe normally and turn my upperbody in any direction. It hurts to laugh, blow my nose , sneeze and all that good stuff.
i think u have tartar in ur teeth!!!

Hey, I've been smoking ciggs for maybe a year now.
I've been smoking maybe 2 everyday for the past few months.
Well, in the last few weeks(maybe 3) I've been getting chest pains and shortness of breath. Sometimes I can't breathe as deep as I'd like because of the tightness.
Its usually a dull pain but it doesn't stay in one spot. It gets worse at night.
I'm only 17! I've only smoked for maybe a year! I can't have cancer, right??
I'm a girl by the way. When I was born, premature and very small because they had to do a C-section, My lungs were premature as well. I've been to a check-up a few times and every doctor has said that They're normal but no X-rays have been done. I don't know if that has much to do with it but theres some info.
Please reply back if anyone has an idea.
Thank you.

Christie-Ryan, your chances of developing cancer increase with the length of time you smoke and the amount you smoke. You smoke very little and you are very young. It is very unlikely that you have lung cancer. Chest pain is a serious symptom that should be looked at. If you are experiencing chest pain you should see a doctor so that he can listen to your breathing, do a chest xray, ekg, or whatever else he may feel is necessary. You might try chewing a couple TUMS or taking a Zantac when you have the pain as it could be heartburn. If the pain generally occurs after eating then it would point to acid reflux.

Lung cancer is very unlikely. Do yourself a favor though... quit smoking.

I've quit smoking for the 100th time for about four days now. Accompanied pain in my left chest with quitting has not changed at all. I really don't know why we all get this left chest pain. Does it have to do with the heart or lungs, and if the lungs then why is it always the left chest? My case isn't that bad, it's getting better. Only once in a while I'll get a sharp pain in my left chest.

I'd say it's just the body reacting to such a huge change. I don't see how quitting can cause new problems?

your chest pain sounds exactly like pluracy... look up pluracy symptoms on google. "sharp pain usually in area of inflamation" stop what is causing the imflamation and let heal. then dont smoke anymore. you can always eat your marijuana

I'm only 18 and I've only smoked maybe a year. But I am experiencing the same dull pain on the left side my chest as so many of you, when I push it is stings. If I move the wrong way or yawn I am also aware of this. I am really very concerned.

Hi..Well mine has been on over a year now and the most thing i get scared of is that the pain runs through my shoulder and lungs and it really hurts

i haven't got the guts to see a doctor..please what am i going to do?

Hi,

I am 26 years old and female. I've been smoking cigarettes on and off for 10 years (way more on than off). I also smoke weed everyday. When I smoke cigs or weed, I always cough more than the average smoker. I cough all day long usually. The cough progressively gets worse as I smoke.
About a week ago, I noticed a dull pain in my back.. right along my bra line. At first it felt like a skeletal thing. I remember trying to twist and crack my back constantly and the pain just wouldn't go away. I could feel it like pressure when I inhaled really deep but for the most part, it didn't bother me too much.
A few days ago, the pain changed drastically. It moved from my back to the front of my chest and now feels like a knife between my ribs, stabbing into my lung. It hurts to move, to talk, to laugh, to yawn, to breathe and to cough. I can't lay down without wanting to cry. The only position that helped at first was sitting up, cross-legged, leaning forward with my head practically in my lap.
I thought for sure that this was a lung issue. The pain became so unbearable that I realized the only thing I could do was try to stop smoking cigarettes... and I did, three days ago (no cheating). SINCE quitting, the pain has doubled.. or tripled. It got the point yesterday that I knew I needed to go to the hospital. I had to ride my bike across town and went to several clinics trying to find one that was open on a Saturday. The pain got so bad as I was riding around that I had to stop several times cuz of it, just to double over, clutch my chest and sob. When I finally got to the hospital I was crying in pain and they helped me immediately.
The doctor asked me all kinds of things like if I had an injury (no, I haven't), if I had shortness of breath (I don't know) or if I have a cough. I told him I always have a cough but I can't even cough anymore because it hurts too bad.
He did an EKG, blood test and chest xray. He said that everything came back normal, diagnosed me with costochondritis and gave me some ibuprofin. Basically he says its inflammation of the cartilage joining the ribs to the breast bone. It is not associated with heart or lung problems. Apparently the exact cause of costochondritis is unknown, but it often occurs in times of emotional stress. It's a week before finals so that might explain it. It's still really hard for me to understand that all this pain is just from stress. It's possible to get costochondritis if you've been injured and I just realized that maybe I injured myself by excessive coughing. I cough because of cigarettes... so it sounds to me like it is smoking related afterall. Perhaps a combination of smoking+stress, I dunno.
So the doctor basically gave me a bottle of ibuprofen and wished me luck.
I don't know if the diagnosis is correct, but the pain is twice as bad today as it was yesterday. I have no idea when it's supposed to go away or what's gonna happen. Weird thing is, I think I'm starting to feel that gurgle people mentioned before..

I'm suffering the same condition. Left chest pain radiating to my back and left arm. The pain is worse when I move my head or torso a certain way, and it has been getting worse at night. I quit smoking 5 weeks ago. I really do think it's pleurisy. Based on how many cases I've seen here from people trying to quit I'm wondering if pleurisy is a common side effect of quitting for some reason? Maybe somehow as a result of reduced lung inflammation? I'm no doctor. Based on how many replies I see here with no followup it must not have been too serious.

so here i am, 22 never smoked, never done anything illegal, pot... anything, my life is still beginning... [addition: both of my parents are heavy smokers so second hand smoke my whole life, father had Cancer, but of the Prostate. so i don't think it complicates things, but i may be wrong ya?]

at 12 my appendix was [as my doctor put it] 2 minutes away from killing me] and of course my small intestine went into my large one, great fun that was... but anyways

mild pain, very mild pain in my left lung, wouldn't even say lung, feels like its closer to the surface of my skin that that... but its an inch to the right and upwards of my left nipple [hate that word] only pain is from breathing deep, but its momentary, and once my lung goes past that point, no more pain... [secondary note on advice from a different post, tried stretching my arms behind me, i got the pain, and now the pain is coming more often if the terms of service for this site let me swear i would be]

i am a man so i took the pain, figuring blah, nothing...

its been, a month now, i attributed it to stress over losing my job which in turn killed my health-care...

so of course i am not going to the doctor, how sad this country is now that this pain has gotten worse, i am broke, no health-care, closest free clinic is two hours away... thanks George W Bush


i got on a bus, made it to the free clinic... wish me luck on the test results -sighs-

I've started to have pains in my chest..around my breast bone and above. I'm 17 and have been smoking for a year. I have 2 cigs a day and this pain just recently started hurting. I want to wait till im 18 to see a doctor because then I do not need my parent to come in with me. I've had this pain for about a week now and its not getting any better. Sometimes I forget its there, but then I think about it and it comes back. Its an aching pain and I can't get rid of it. Any suggestions?

your post and the one before it kind of sound like what I have. I'm a 21 year old male, and on a very rough average I have been smoking the equivalent to about a half a pack a day since I'd say 17 or 18. but I don't smoke pot. I just quit on the 20th. anyway, I have had chest pains since probably 19 or 20 and never really thought too much of it. I remember once, and only one time when I was 19 probably, it was at work, my chest started hurting intensely. sharp pains and all. it went away after 30 minutes to an hour. that's the only time that's happened though. other than that it's just a dull pain in my left side. I know it's weird how it's always the left side with everyone. there's gotta be something to that. CIA experimentation...MKCOPD??? maybe it has more to do with the heart than the lungs cause I'm pretty sure the heart is on the left side of the body. anyway, I read most of these posts kind of disappointed until I got to the last two cause they sounded very similar to mine. All I have is a dull chest pain on the left side. none of the common symptoms for COPD or Pulmonary embolism or Mesothelioma or pneumothorax. no sudden shortness of breath or turning blue...none of that. it's just a very dull pain that, while it seems to shift a little throughout the day, it's located about 2 inches below my nipple (I don't like that word either...or the word pamphlet };->) from a breadth perspective it's located more near my back, and I can feel a little bit of dull pain on my back just below my left scapula (bone with wide area that's shaped like a triangle...

anyway, it hurts the least in the morning when I wake up and the most at night. If I sit down for a while without using a backrest it will hurt more especially if I'm hunched over. I really think that the gradually increase of pain has something to do with weight and the way my body supports itself. stretching actually relieves the pain and so does laying down. but if I lay sideways with my elbow propped outward helping to support my weight which causes my entire side to be stretched out for an extended period of time and then return to normal with both arms at my side it will hurt worse but that's about it. oh yeah, and when I look at a cigarette or think about smoking it starts to hurt more haha just cause I think I've consciously/subconsciously have linked the pain to smoking but I'm not exactly sure. Does anyone have any suggestions or diagnoses for me. I'm not on my deathbed like some of these people here but it still concerns me. I guess I just expected this pain to go away after quitting smoking but it's still there it hasn't gotten any worse since I quit but hasn't really seemed to improve, at least from what I can tell. thanks,

matt

Pluracy is inflamation in the outer lining of the lung. It is sometimes caused by viral infections, pnomonia, or things like lupus. The pain is usually in one lung when taking a deep breath, can cause pain in the same side shoulder, chest, and back. I went to the ER with this last week, the doctor gave me a shoot of steroids and I have been taking motrin to keep down the pain and swelling. He said it takes 10-15 days to get better, sometimes longer in smokers. Google pluracy and get more information, because if left untreated it could become severe and colapse a lung. So far as long as I take the motrin I feel fine. Good luck and be safe not sorry, See a doctor.

I have been smoking 8 years im 25 years old have had chest pains for a year or so in the left lung went to the doctor and asked about the pain he told me its the start of lung damage. so yea trying to quit sooooo hard have tryed every thing, mints have helped me cut back if that help anyone hope so!!!

I find it wierd that I have had more chest pains after I quite smoking then the whole time I did smoke. I am 28 and smoked for 15 years. I am going on a month being smoke free. The first week was the worst as far as the chest pains go. I went to the doctor about my chest pains, and she told me that it was just my lungs trying to heal. And if they last more than a month, that I should go back in and get it checked out. Hope everything is okay with you all...

sounds like pleurisy to me!

Thanks for all the posts, I thought I must be crazy. Found this on Google.

I've been smoking for 10 years daily and occasionaly will have a sharp pain on the lower left side of my lungs (normally feels like a knife like quarter sized pain).

Smoking makes it worse, in the past I thought I had thrown my back out because the left side of my lung hurt so bad when I moved. I had to walk hunched over to one side. This has been going off and on for several years now.

My doctor has given me 4 Xrays but can't find anything wrong. He's useless.

At least now I have some things to go on that it might be. I should quit smoking. Thank you...

Mondo1287 reported that his insident was when smoking and playing loud music/bass in a car.

I am 30, male, 1,79m and have smoked half my life. Sigars, sigarillos, sigarettes and periodically pot. (dont any more)
This morning I was driving to work, smoking, playing loud bass, and out of nowhere I get this herrific chest pain.

It sort of felt like I swollowed half a litre of air, and it got stuck. It still hasn't gone away, although it is a lot milder now (about 30minuts later)

I've allways hafelt in touch with my body that smoking is screwing around with my lungs. Especially when smoking pot. That is one of several reasons I stoped. Anyways, I allways figured I'd die at about 50-60 for somewhat reason, but not as early as 30. I'm in otherwise good health with no knows issues. Have had some backpain, and it seems the chestpain I'm feeling also affected my back and neck. They are aking. I'm feeling jetlagged.

you need to see a docter speacialized in that area and ask for a cat scan, x-ray or just a physical check up. do it as quick as possible! "better to be safe than sorry."