Collapsed lung or normal pain

You have Venereal disease. I would cycle indoors but only with proper protection. Wipe the saddle when finished too.

probably just a collapsed lung

Is it serious?

I actually had a collapsed lung a couple of years ago so hopefully I can be of some help.

My lung collapsed spontaneously while I was watching TV. I got a pretty sharp pain on the left side of my chest for about 30 minutes and deep breaths were painful. I hopped on the internet and sure enough, tall thin males are actually somewhat prone to spontaneous lung collapses and all my symptoms fit the bill. I decided to go to a physician just in case and, not surprisingly, he tried to diagnose me with something else (walking pneumonia I think) and said I shouldn't trust the internet. He also told me not to run for 4-6 weeks (yeah, right).

I believe this whole ordeal started on a Wednesday. I took the rest of the week off and started running the next week, putting in a 109 miles. The first mile was typically excruciating and then the pain settled for some reason. After 2 weeks I was running fine. A CT scan during all this revealed I was right and my lung had collapsed. A pulmonologist told me I couldn't run until I was 100% re-inflated and I would have to get a CT scan every 2 weeks to check progress. I continued to run anyways, and PR'd in the 5k and 10k

OP wrote:

Is it serious?

Some people have serious lung collapses that require a chest tube (extremely painful ordeal). You would know by now if that was the case. I'd say you probably have angina or something

Thanks and I'm sure it's not angina as this is only with exertion with sneezing and coughing.

Is this a sincere post?

If so and you feel well enough (which is sounds like you do, as you want to cycle and can breathe comfortably), go ahead and cycle gently. If you are truly worried about pneumothorax, see your PCP so he or she can listen to your lungs. Go to the emergency department if you develop shortness of breath that does not resolve with rest/anything beyond the usual symptoms you experience with colds.

Interesting post, I had no idea that it was possible for it to reinflate itself. My friend (also a tall thing male) had his collapse when he reached up to put something onto a shelf. In his case, he had to have emergency surgery to fix it. The surgery sounded pretty brutal and basically involved the surgeon "scratching" the lung and chest cavity where it should attach, so that they would heal back together again.

Ok thanks for the advice. So no long term injury should happen to the lung right? I couldn't imagine running with one lung. And is there a chance it's pleurisy? Still bad but not as bad.

I'm still in disbelief that this is a real post but feel obliged to respond in case you are being sincere. I can't diagnose you without examining you - your regular doctor can do this. All I can say is that if you only have a simple chest cold (upper respiratory infection), you need to take it easy and will begin to feel better in several days from symptom onset. If you are starting to feel better now, that is terrific. Yes, it is possible you have an element of pleurisy (pleuritic chest pain) with your (presumed) cold. If you get worse to the point where you "feel like something is wrong," have someone take you to the emergency department. If you have a pneumothorax, they will fix you, and you will still have two lungs. No, you will not be able to run well with one lung.

good lord. i read the thread through properly just now. i see why ppl flee this place. well, good luck, kid.

All the best man

Thanks to everyone. And I'm not trolling- I come here when I need advice and I've gotten it. Thanks again.