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Asthma  (Expert Forum)
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Asthma or pain from allergies?
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Asthma or pain from allergies?

by Meligerl, Nov 13, 2008 09:32PM
Hi-
I'm a 29 year old woman who has never suffered any lung issues whatsoever, and otherwise generally healthy. I moved from the South to the Northeast two years ago, and this past Spring I started waking up in the morning with pain in my lungs... I couldn't take a full breath, as that's when I would feel the pain both in the bottom of each lung as well as the top of my lungs, or near the bottom of my throat. It feels like my lungs are congested, yet there's no phlegm that I can get up later. Along with these symptoms, I will have extreme sensitivity to the touch all over my body. It even bothers me a little to wear clothes. It went away from a really long time, and then this morning, I woke up with it again. Last spring I thought it was somehow associated with acid reflux, so I had an endoscopy performed, and I am healthy in that realm. I am obviously going to make an appointment to see a specialist, but I don't know who I should see. I don't have a GP, and I am torn between seeing a pulmonary specialist and an allergist, as perhaps these symptoms are of an allergic reaction?

Any ideas  or suggestions? Thanks!

by National Jewish Health, Nov 17, 2008 04:45PM
The symptoms you describe, pain and hypersensitivity to touch (hyperesthesia) are primarily neurological in origin.  The pain may or may not be originating within your thoracic cavity, an example being pleurisy.  More likely, given the increased sensitivity to touch, the pain is also originating somewhere in the central or peripheral nervous system.  These are not symptoms associated with acid reflux or with lung or heart disease but are so unusual that they may provide a clue as to what is going on.  With that in mind, the specialist you should see is a Neurologist, not a pulmonary specialist or an allergist.  
A variety of neurosensory symptoms are seen with Lyme Disease.  Generally there are other symptoms with this disease but, with your having moved to New England prior to the onset of symptoms, you might want to ask your doctor about this.
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