I'm 41. I let stress get to me at 35 and smoked for 3 years to the day. I stopped 2.5 years ago. Because of all my efforts to quit I probably only smoked 32 of those 36 months and on average over the whole time I smoked about 25 a day, somtimes as low as 15 sometimes 40. However, I was raised by smokers, so I was exposed to second-hand smoke for 18 years, and I inhaled deeply and often ripped the filters off of lights and ultra-lights.
A couple of months ago I began to notice a slight tightness in the right side of my chest. When doing breathing exercises it feels like the right side is tighter and not filling as fully as it used to. I didn't think much of it. Then about 10-12 days ago I began to notice that when I wake up in the morning and begin to breathe deeply there's a feeling of a 'catch' and it feels like a rattle, though I hear nothing and do not cough. It last for 4-5 breathes and then is gone. It may come back some during the day if I've been inactive a while, but then it's usually one breath and then gone.
Then last week I began to get a burning in my back and a mild pain in my lower right chest, exactly in front of the spot that burns in back. It doesn't get worse with breathing, but it's pretty constant. I don't cough, though sometimes I feel like it, but it feels like it's in my throat, usually. I do think I'm breathing a little shallowly.
Was at the Dr. yesterday. Breathing sounds fine, good BP, good EKG, some blood work and chest x-ray, no results yet.
I'm just in a waiting panic and wondering about my odds