I woke up yesterday morning with severe chest pain on my left side every time I moved or breathed. Scared me to death! I didn't have any other symptoms of a heart attack, or anything, but you never know. So, I ended up spending 7 hours at the ER yesterday. They decided it was pleurisy, which is an inflamation of the membranes around the lungs. They gave me anti-inflammatories and some pain meds, and I feel much better today...still some pain, but very manageable. They don't really know what caused it, I haven't had a cough or anything. I guess just one of those things. They thought I had lupus a few years ago,(pleurisy is not uncommon with lupus) but I haven't had any real symptoms for a couple of years...I sure hope it's not a sign of that flaring up.
Anyone had this? It really hurts!!!

By Karen~moderator on Sunday, October 24, 2004 - 01:02 pm:

So do you or do you not have lupus???? I've been tested for that several times in the last few years. It's important for you to know if you do, in fact, have lupus. I had pleurisy once, one of the times I had pneumonia, it was very painful. Have they ruled out bacterial infections such as pneumonia?

*IF* it's due to an infection and you're on meds for that, and take your meds for the pleurisy, it should clear up on its own.

However, if it's due to lupus, you may have some ongoing problems with it. Pleurisy has several causes, and from what I know sometimes pleurisy is the first symptom of lupus or RA:

Causes:

The underlying medical conditions that can cause pleurisy are numerous. They include:

An acute viral infection, such as the flu (influenza)
Pneumonia, in those cases in which the infected portion of the lung involves the pleural surface of the lung
Autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune hepatitis
Tuberculosis and other infections
A clot in an artery of your lungs (pulmonary embolism)
Pancreatitis
Pleurisy can also occur as a result of trauma to your chest or after heart surgery. In some cases, the cause is unknown (idiopathic).

I hope you start feeling better soon.

By Sunny on Sunday, October 24, 2004 - 01:16 pm:

I don't have any experience with pleurisy, but I do hope you feel better soon. (((hugs)))

By Happynerdmom on Sunday, October 24, 2004 - 09:14 pm:

Well, I have not been officially diagnosed with lupus. I've had many blood tests, but none confirm it. Several years ago, I had all the classic symptoms...joint pain, fatigue, rash, etc. and saw a rheumatologist. He said that sometimes it takes years for an official dx, but that my combination of symptoms definitely pointed to that. Sooo...I really changed my lifestyle, went from a full-time to a part-time job, learned to manage my stress, started getting more rest, and I've been almost symptom free for almost two years! I can tell when I've let myself get too tired or stressed...I start getting achey all over. I've never had this before, (the pluerisy)and I'm not really having any of the other lupus symptoms right now, so I don't know what to think! I'm feeling much better. Thanks for the info, though. Maybe I'm just the "unknown cause" case!

By Happynerdmom on Sunday, October 24, 2004 - 09:16 pm:

BTW, yes, they ruled out bacterial infection in the hospital.

By Karen~moderator on Sunday, October 24, 2004 - 09:41 pm:

Well, take care of yourself so you can get past this!