TMS after surgery or a real issue for concern

Hey everyone. Been awhile since I have been on. Ever since winning the battle against my TMS in early 2014 I have had such a better perspective on things. I have not allowed my health anxiety and TMS to enter into my thoughts when I get sick and have pains.

But.... in early November I began to develop a bad cough that cause my ribs to become sore I was doing it so much. I had fallen into a cold river in Tennessee on vacation horse playing with my son. I immediately chalked it up to that being 38 years old. Finally went to the doctor after a a few days and they diagnosed bronchitis. I took my meds but ot didnt seem to help. About 6 days later i developed a fever and chills so I went to immediate care at 11pm. They took said bronchitis and gave me more meds. Another week went by and still no luck so my dr. switch antibiotics. That worked and I was feeling better but started to cough up really smelly yellow mucus. Called my dr. back and was able to get in with the nurse practitioner. She thought the mucus sounded like reflux and gave me some nexium. A few days later I woke up drenched in sweat. Looked like I had been swimming so my wife made me go to the emergency room. They did a chest xray and found a large amount of fluid in the plueral space around my right lung. I was admitted and had a chest tube for 3 days draining the large amount of fluid. It was infected and yellow. I then had to have surgery where they cut me 7 inch in my right back and spread my ribs apart to then remove scar tissue from the right lung. I spent 4 more days in the hospital with a second chest tube. I finally got to come home and was on a 24 hour IV drip of antibiotics to kill the bacteria infection.

So now I am finally free and clear. I last week I had a chest xray and my surgeon said I was good to go. My infectious dr. said my vitals check out and took me off the IV.

For some reason, i have developed a very sore rib in my left back. It is sore to the touch. I also noticed that when i breath deep it sounds like a gurgling or bubbling sound. Its not always there.

I want to believe that if the surgeon looked at the chest xray he would have also look at my left lung even though the right was initially impacted. I know the worrying and such has created sore muscles for me in the past very similiar to this rib pain I have now.

I don't want to spiral back into running into the dr. I want to believe I am ok now but I don't want to find out my left lung is impacted and needs surgery as I waited too long.

Handling my TMS has become harder now that I had my dr. miss the Pneumonia that caused my surgery and really had an issue.

I am still positive and better than I was, just not sure what I should do.

With my right lung I had no gurgling noise but who knows.

 

Hi Pingman,
It sounds to me like you'd feel better if you had a doctor look at what you believe is still ailing you. And/or get a second opinion. It would be great if it was TMS, but after all you've been through, why take a chance? And why not eliminate the physical cause, if it is TMS?
Andy B.

 

Andy, I went to the doctor last week, pulmanologist and she did a chest x-ray. My lungs looked great she said. I asked her why them do I feel this squishy feeling on my left side and she said I would feel weird things from the way they had me compressed in the bed for surgery.

All was good but yesterday I woke up and the squishy sound was back again and this time I felt pain in my mid back where the feeling was coming from. My ribs do feel somewhat sore and today I awoke and now I am really sore up into the left side of my head, shoulder blade etc....

Sounds a lot like tension and stress pain doesn't it?

 

Also...I am still riding my recumbent bike, not going to stop doing that. I can't job yet due to internal stitches of my right side but I am itching to be active again. One thing I did think of is that for around a month I slept/laid on only my left side due to my surgery and tubes in my right. I wonder if I overworked that left side and its now showing itself.