Rispiratory Disorders

[toottoot1964]

I have had Pulmonary Fibrosis for 5 or 6 years and Im having breathless moments all the time, I have back at times and chest pain I am not doing any house work or can walk very far I get up at night needing air but can't get it, so I am awake most of the time.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

If you have constant coughing, it could cause muscle strain and chest pain. Sometimes the pleura, the lining of the chest cavity and lungs can get inflamed causing pain with coughing. If with movement you are getting pain it is likely to be an inflammation of the skin, subcutaneous tissue or the bone. This can happen with injury, repetitive activity or an infection of the skin. Sometimes it can be costo-chondritis, inflammation of the sterna rib junction. If the pain is aggravated with work or exercise then it could be due to cardiac pain. But when in doubt always best to have it checked. So please consult your primary care physician who may ask for an EKG or a treadmill test to rule out a cardiac cause for the pain.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[toottoot1964]

What can I do about the chest and higher back pain in this IPF is their any thing I can do about this it gradualey get worse.  Thank you so much for helping me.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

If there is bronchospasm, bronchodilators can help improve breathing, this can be detected with spirometry. Also PO2 levels will need to be monitored. If the PO2 is low oxygen therapy is indicated. It could be via a nasal catheter or a mask. The normal value is 80-100 mmHg. Oxygen therapy is continued till the underlying pathology is resolved and the oxygen levels are normalized.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.