lung bullae

[Midge23]

hi.. my husband had a pneumothorax last September, recovered after a drain was inserted then 3 days sent home it collapsed again, and then he was told it’s not fully inflated but safe to go home when the drain was removed, and it would heal in time. he has been ok apart from occasional sharp pains in his lung every now and then.. this year he has problems with his eyes so the dr decided to do a ct scan of his lung to see if related.. it has come back he has lung bullae the dr was an eye specialist and totally disregarded it as he wasn’t there for that, he was discharged from the lung specialist 2 months after the pheumothorax.. question is we are supposed to fly out next week on a 4 hour flight and his own gp doesn’t have any answers I don’t even think they have even looked at the ct scan.. unsure what to do or if it’s safe to fly! I can’t risk anything happening to him but how long should we put our holidays on hold..

[Swizzy]

I do have to tell you to be cautious and to take specialist advice. In 2021 I had a pneumothorax which supposedly healed. After 2 years my lung suddenly went down again and it appears that it had never fully inflated and suddenly gave way. I was in hospital for 12 wks and it went down 4 more times. In the end I had to have a nasty procedure to stick the lung back to the chest wall- twice. I defied them all by living through it and my scans show that my lung is now up. However my consultant will not let me fly as he does not think that I would survive another pneumothorax mid air. Please think carefully.

[Midge23 in reply to Swizzy]

Thank you for your reply, his health is definitely more important to me than a holiday, but we obviously would love to get away but the drs aren’t giving us any information regarding this, I know it’s something that’s so unpredictable and you just never know but surely that’s not a way to live your life. I just can’t imagine never being able to get away!! Not sure if I’m being selfish or not

[Swizzy in reply to Midge23]

He does need it checked out by a respiratory specialist too find out if there is still an air pocket there and for ongoing advice. Your GP is very remiss in leaving you to make drcisions which you are not qualified for. I had had 3 scans where it had been missed. Believe me missing a holiday is nothing to him becoming as ill as I was - I am still recovering 1 yr later or his having a pneumothorax on the plane. They are extremely serious.

[djbctla in reply to Swizzy]

Here here BERNARDINE

[Swizzy]

Your husband should be seeing a specialist about the bullae that have shown up in the lung. I am not medically qualified but sometimes a pneumothorax can happen because something is going on in the lung and the bullae could have something to do with that. Do get the specialist on the case before your husband takes a big risk.

[Midge23 in reply to Swizzy]

Will do thank you. After days of reading up I agree a holiday is nothing compared to going through that again.. I’m glad you are making a recovery. I will certainly ring his gp Tuesday and get a referral done. I think I will look into a private scan also.

[Swizzy in reply to Midge23]

I hope all goes well

[peege]

Tricky. There is a 'Safe to Fly' (or is it Fit to Fly?) certificate which you may or may not need. How you find out if he does need one your GP should know. A bit of a catch 22, if you fly without one & he gets ill his insurance will be nullified. My thoughts are that surely he needs a referral to a consultant with lung bullae although I'm not a medic.

I'd call the helpline first thing on Tuesday. 0300 222 5800 uk office hours. The very best of luck. P

PS a private consultation would be quicker if you can afford it. European trains are marvellous as is Eurostar. I wouldn't think twice about driving to the south of France on my own or with the dog as the roads are fantastic compared to ours

[Patk1]

Only a Dr can decide that. If u do go be sure hubby is imsured for the conditions he has

[Troilus]

Hi Midge. I can’t offer advice but I just wanted to say the I don’t think the GP gets to see the scans. I know ours doesn’t. They get a letter from the consultant and we are also sent one (by the hospital) As far as I know that is it.

[Midge23 in reply to Troilus]

it’s just all confusing he is an ex smoker so was just put down to that.. he hasn’t heard anything at all about the Scan the only reason we knew about this was because of his eye appointment and we asked about the results and she looked it up. He is absolutely gutted about flying we just can’t risk it. I have a fear that if we go what if.. I couldn’t imagine dealing with something like that in another country we just feel it has put a big hold on the things we like to do.. yea uk holidays are still as nice but we have done all that and our preference is to go abroad.