Heyy is bronchioscopy painful?????

Stats: 24F, 5'6, 190 lbs, athletic, used to vape and smoke pot but I stopped four years ago. I do burn a lot of incense, though. No formally diagnosed medical issues that I'm aware of, but all my life I've had chronic bowel problems and I almost had to get a colostomy bag as a child. Had surgery to remove part of my stomach 8 years ago. I drink a lot of caffeine. I don't know my family's medical history and they never really took me to the doctor outside of emergencies. I don't have anxiety.

A little over a week ago, I suddenly developed shortness of breath. When I inhale, it feels like my lungs are hitting a wall and can't expand any further. Sometimes, I can kind of brute force them and get in a deep inhale, but it still isn't my full capacity and its very uncomfortable. Sometimes, this deeper inhale causes mild pain between my shoulder blades. It feels like I'm breathing at about 2/3 of my usual lung capacity, and its making it very hard to workout and perform at my job :( This problem persists at all times, but its tolerable if I'm sitting at rest. When I get winded or anxious, I struggle to catch my breath and get dizzy. I haven't fainted, but I almost have. I have no other symptoms.

I went to a clinic and they took my vitals, listened to my breathing, and did an EKG. They said they couldn't find anything wrong and I should go to an ER for further testing. They seemed pretty confident it wasn't asthma, but I tried a friend's inhaler anyway and found no relief.

Today, I went to an ER. They took my vitals, listened to my breathing, did an EKG, chest x-ray, and did blood work (including a D-dimer and troponin T panel). No clots, pneumonia, or heart issues. Said my oxygen saturation looked good. They said I wasn't currently dying, but they didn't know what was wrong and I should see a GP.

I'm starting to wonder if it could be an allergy? I'm getting desperate. I'm so uncomfortable constanstly and its making me feel really down.

Female (31). I've had a strange cough on and off for over a month. My question is: to those of you who have heart issues and had/have coughing, how does it feel?

Mine starts with a feeling at the center of the chest. When I breathe out it feels kinda tingly just like your throat would feel when you have a cough. And then I cough. I've also had episodes where I felt breathless in bed doing nothing.

Could it be the Heart??

I have a bit of a congested nose (one nostril is blocked and it may be related to a medication I'm on - Vyepti) but no other flu symptoms.

I have chronic migraines, occipital nevralgia, and recently what feels like a bit of gastroparesis.

Hi all! I’m coming to Reddit because I am desperate and seeking some advice.

I was diagnosed with asthma in 2024 at the age of 24 after pulmonary function testing confirmed it. Prior to that, I had never experienced asthma or any breathing problems. My symptoms basically developed from one day to another and I noticed them after being extremely out of breath, especially I would notice it after eating (no matter the size or speed of the meal).

Medication History
- Albuterol: Provided temporary relief, but my asthma remained uncontrolled.
- Alvesco + Albuterol: Helped for a but, but eventually stopped
- Breyna (no albuterol): Initially worked but eventually stopped
- Wixela 500/50+ Albuterol: Improved symptoms at first, but over time my asthma became uncontrolled again and was referred to allergist.
- Montelukast 10 mg + Wixela (+albuterol as needed): Prescribed by my allergist to determine whether allergies were contributing to my asthma. Allergy testing was negative, so montelukast was removed.
- Wixela + Spiriva 2.5 (+albuterol as needed): This combination has provided the best overall control. However, I continue to experience significant flare-ups.
- Breyna (no albuterol): We attempted switching back to Breyna with an increased number of puffs, but it was not effective. I returned to Wixela and Spiriva.
-Wixela, Spiriva + Azithromycin (Zithromax) 250 mg: Recently prescribed to take a few times per week during the colder months to help prevent asthma flare-ups. I have not started this medication yet until October to test it out.

Tests
-Pulmonary Function Test: Results were consistent with asthma
- Evaluated by an ENT specialist(found some acid reflux and post nasal drip. No major concerns. Recommended I take omeprazole)
- Chest X-rays and CT scan were normal.
- No allergies

Over the past three weeks, my asthma symptoms have worsened again. I currently need to use my rescue inhaler up to three times per day (typically two puffs each time) it provides some relief, but I eventually feel short of breath. My asthma is also not caused by my environment because I continue to have the same issues when I travel and have moved.

I don’t know what else to do. It has been exhausting to feel this way for two years with no clear solutions or understanding why this happened out of nowhere!!!! Made an appointment to see my allergist again but nothing is open until end of August..

Thank you!

30 years old, 185 lbs, I smoke weed a lot but haven't for about 2 weeks.

I have been to the urgent care twice since June 18th. Originally went because of a nasty cough I couldn't get rid of. The first time I got a chest X-ray and had just a lot of mucus. So I got amoxicillin and then some Promethazine and they called it a day. I went back the next week because my head was just stuffed. The chest did sound way worse. I got a steroid on the buttocks and then was given prednisone and another steroid to take. Also got the albuterol inhaler.

My symptoms are MUCH better. The mucus I do have is small and comes at the very end of the day. But my current obstacle I just can't seem to beat is the weird whistling, sometimes crackling sound when I breathe in. It's almost like acid reflux in a sense. It seems to be getting better, but here I am headed to bed because my mind just can't take the nerves of this away. Like it leaves me crying it scares me that bad. I have an appointment with my PCP next week. Any advice would be great

I am 25F, 5’5, 145lb.
My main health issues are Asthma (since I was very little) with a few asthma attacks and trips to urgent care throughout the years, but it is relatively controlled right now; it is mainly triggered by allergies, sickness, sometimes physical exertion; and Multiple Sclerosis, DX in October 2023 with an almost 2 month hospitalization due to an intense relapse which included numbness and weakness in half of my body, vision issues, hearing decreased in one of my ears, loss of fine motor movements, etc. (no cough as a symptom) and on Ocrevus 2x a year.

I have had a consistent cough for almost a year now and was hoping someone might have some ideas as to what might be going on.
The cough is mainly dry/ itchy throat kind of cough, but in the morning there is bright green phlegm. It does not particularly feel like an “asthma” cough, nor do I feel out of breath/ chest tightness/ etc with the cough.

Here is the sequence of events:
May 2025, I got sick. Then, while I was still sick, I got my Ocrevus infusion; after which I got much worse. This sickness ended and there was a month or two of residual cough. By July my cough subsided.
August 2025 I moved to San Francisco. Literally day 1 I started coughing. It was pretty bad: would often keep me up at night, I’d have to leave meetings to cough and get water, etc.
I mainly tried to mitigate it by drinking a lot of water, having honey, tea, or Nyquil-type OTC meds.
After a few months, I went to urgent care. First doctor I saw said it was most likely allergies. He recommended I take antihistamines. That helped it a bit. But it persisted.
The second doctor I saw a few months later, a PCP, reaffirmed it was probably allergies. Recommended I take Flonase daily. It persisted.
Third doctor, a month or two ago, was an ENT. Also said allergies. Recommended a sinus rinse. Helped a little but not that much.
Now recently saw a pulmonologist. He created a pretty solid plan to get to the bottom of this. Said it could be allergies but also could be Asthma related or GERD.
We did a full allergy panel and planned to up my otc allergy meds / flonase/ BREO inhaler gradually, one at a time. He also said there was a little bit of a “fuzzy area” on one of my chest CT scans a few years ago, so we planned to do another just to rule anything more out. If nothing here helps we’re gonna treat for acid reflux even though I have no other symptoms.
The allergy panel came back and literally no local allergies besides cats and dogs which I already knew. So my suspicion that I’m allergic to something in the Bay doesn’t seem to be the case.
Waiting to take my CT Scan next week.

It’s definitely better than when I first got here. But some days are better than others. Last night I couldn’t even sleep and had the worst night ever because of it. In three separate meetings this week the other person asked if I needed water. People often ask if I’m okay. It’s embarrassing and tiring.

This how now been 11 months of a cough. I feel like that’s cause for concern. But people just keep telling me allergies.
Again it’s slightly better than when I got here but definitely DAILY, with some days better and some days worse. and some days are so bad. People notice. My life feels disrupted.

I’m so tired and feel so lost at this point.

Medications: Daily: antihistamine, flonase, junel fe.
As needed: albuterol inhaler, DELSYUM, Cepacol

Hello, I am a 25F, 5’6 and 170lbs. Recently, I started experiencing difficulty breathing during the day.

For example, I would be fine if I’m occupied with something (and not paying attention to my breathing) like when I play games, I would be completely fine. However, when I get to wind down and “relax,” I would feel like out of breath and would struggle to breathe here and there. It would go on for around 30 minutes to an hour every time. It doesn’t affect my sleep. I usually go on 30 minutes to an hour walks before but just these past 2-3 weeks, I’ve been struggling.

I have also noticed it happens if I’m having a hard time digesting my meals. I was wondering if acid reflux or anything is the case. Or, if it’s the weather?

I’d appreciate any help or advice. Thank you.

Hi everyone. So I recently travelled to high altitude places for a trip. First I traveled to a place at 10000 ft and stayed 24 hours for acclimitization. Then I traveled to 12000 ft where I stayed a night. On 3rd day I did some light trekking. Post that I traveled for 5 more days navigating between 10-14k ft. I didnt have any symptom of AMS but my God the breathlessness was horrible. Whenever I did even a slight inclined walk or few flights of stairs, I would get tired after 5-6 steps.

My question is

1. Whenever I got tired my heart would beat faster and feel chest pain in the middle. It would subside in a minute though. What kind of doctor should I visit for this?

2. This breathlessness never improved over my stay. I didnt have any headache as such but only the breathlessness caught me off gaurd and people would look at me worringly. So was this a silent AMS ?

Now I am in plains I am feeling no such symptom. I even do cardio everyday alongwith weights (not heavy)

Please suggest kind of treatment I should go for. Also anyone else have ever felt this please share your experience.

​

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for experiences or insights from people who have managed or seen similar cases. I understand Reddit cannot replace my mother's treating doctors, and I'm not looking for a diagnosis. I'm mainly trying to understand whether others have seen a similar recovery pattern.

Patient

- Female

- 48 years old

- History of diabetes and hypertension

- Previously independent before this illness

- No known chronic lung disease

Illness timeline

About 8 days before admission, she developed fever and became progressively unwell. She was treated with medications at home, but continued to worsen. She had very poor appetite and barely ate for about 6–7 days.

Approximately one day before admission, her breathing became noticeably worse.

Hospital admission

At admission:

- SpO₂ was around 82% on room air.

- CT scan showed severe pneumonia involving almost the entire left lung. We were told the infection was spreading.

- She was admitted to the ICU.

- Started on high-dose IV antibiotics.

- Initially managed with BiPAP.

She remained mentally alert and was never confused before intubation.

ICU course

Initially:

- Respiratory rate around 32–35/min.

- Blood pressure stabilized after ICU treatment.

- Fever started improving.

- BiPAP improved oxygenation.

However, she continued to require significant respiratory support.

Eventually she deteriorated enough that she required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Mechanical ventilation

Initial ventilator settings included:

- FiO₂ around 80%

- PEEP approximately 10–12

Serial ABGs showed acceptable oxygenation and normal lactate.

Bronchoscopy was performed.

Immediately after bronchoscopy:

- FiO₂ was temporarily increased to 100%.

Over the following day, ventilator support gradually decreased:

- 100% → 80% → 70% → 60% → 50%

Repeated ABGs were good enough that the ICU team continued reducing oxygen.

Bronchoscopy results

Bronchoscopy cultures did not grow any organism.

The treating doctors felt this could be because she had already been on broad-spectrum antibiotics before the sample was obtained.

Chest X-ray progression

Initially the left lung was almost completely white.

Over several days:

- The amount of aerated (black) lung gradually increased.

- The opposite lung remained much better.

- The overall appearance improved significantly compared with admission.

Extubation

She was successfully extubated.

After extubation:

- Briefly used non-invasive support.

- Then changed to low-flow nasal oxygen.

- SpO₂ remained around 94–98%.

- She was able to sit up for about 1.5 hours.

- She was stable enough to be transferred from the ICU to the general ward.

At this stage she appeared clinically much better.

Current concern

Despite this overall improvement, she has now had two episodes within about three days of the following:

- Sudden feeling extremely cold.

- Severe shivering/rigors.

- Fever around 102°F.

- Heart rate increased to around 140 bpm.

- Respiratory rate increased to around 40/min.

- Oxygen saturation dropped (around mid-80s during the episode).

- Medical treatment was given and she improved within about 10 minutes.

Between these episodes:

- She remains on low-flow nasal oxygen.

- SpO₂ generally stays around 94–96%.

- She is awake and talking.

- Chest X-ray overall is much improved compared with admission.

My questions

1. Has anyone seen recurrent high-fever episodes with rigors after apparent improvement from severe pneumonia?

2. Did it turn out to be:

   - persistent pneumonia,

   - a new hospital-acquired infection,

   - an inflammatory response,

   - or something else?

3. Is it common to have these temporary setbacks even after successful extubation?

4. Were blood cultures or antibiotic changes ultimately helpful in identifying the cause?

Again, I'm not looking to replace her treating team's advice. I'm just hoping to hear from physicians, ICU staff, or families who have experienced a similar recovery pattern.

Thank you.

Hi community,

I'm sharing my dad's story here in hope someone can offer some hope, words of wisdom, or share their own experience.

Summary:

Diagnosis: Organising Pneumonia, ILD umbrella, with fibrosis.
Dad's age: 68
Before illness: Incredibly healthy, never smoked, no risk factors, previously would go on 10 mile hikes.
Time in hospital: 3 months
Time in ICU: 17 days
Weight lost in hospital: 16kg
Drug Treatment: The Drug Infusions: Cyclophosphamide. The Steroid Tablets: Prednisolone. The Lung Scarring Prevention: Pirfenidone.

Dad's Story

3 months ago my dad was sick with a cough, exhaustion and fever and was sent to the hospital by his local doctor as they believed he had a nasty bacterial pneumonia and his oxygen saturation was alarmingly low. They tried over 4 different antibiotics but his breathing was not improving and after 2 weeks in hospital he was admitted to intensive care and put on a ventilator for 7 days. When on the ventilator, the doctors pivoted strategy, diagnosing him with Organising Pneumonia and administering industrial level steroids via injection, alongside proning him on his front for 12 hours at a time. He responded to the steroids and proning, and was able to come off the ventilator and onto high flow, and was then given a tablet form steroid called Prednisolone.

10 days after he came off the ventilator, he got moved from icu to the respiratory ward for 3 weeks, before being discharged with oxygen. When he came home he was extremely immobile and weak, needing oxygen and a walking frame to move between rooms. Climbing up stairs could take 10 minutes as he had to have breaks to catch his breath.

After 10 days at home, an ambulance was called as his oxygen sats dropped really low. This was after the doctors told us to reduce the number of Prednisolone tablets he was taking from 6 to 5. I have read that it is common to see a relapse in OP recovery when tapering steroids too early.

He went back to hospital 7 weeks ago, and he is still in hospital today (29/06/26). The doctors believe he has an ILD, with fibrosis, as the CT scans are showing ongoing inflammation, and scarring, which he didn't have when he was discharged from hospital the first time. We are told this is a 10 in a million illness, and my dad has an incredibly rare form of it.

He is now being given two specialist drugs: Pirfenidone, which should halt and prevent further lung scarring, and an immunosuppressant called Cyclophosphamide.

Where we are today

Opinion varies greatly regarding dad's prognosis. The latest CT scan is showing no change since before he was given both specialist drugs, which is a positive sign as it shows the drugs have halted the progression of inflammation and scarring. One doctor actually believes there is a small improvement on the scan.

When he was first readmitted to hospital we were told there's a "50% chance" he has an aggressive pulmonary fibrosis, that he may deteriorate rapidly and the only option would be end of life care. That was 5 weeks ago, and since then, Dad's requirement for oxygen has reduced and he is being weaned off high flow onto a face mask. He is getting into a chair for a few hours every day too. We feel we have beaten the 50% chance odds of rapid deterioration, but what next?

Some doctors feel he may always need oxygen, some feel he will need oxygen but only in the medium term, some feel he could be housebound, some tell us that people with lung scarring can still play tennis, the spectrum of recovery feels incredibly wide. He will need months of rehabilitation to be able to build up his strength again and put the weight back on.

It is also hard to put his breathlessness down to his lung damage vs his extreme muscle wasting and deconditioning as a result of being bed bound for 3+ months.

Please share any words of wisdom

Has anyone experienced something similar, do you have insights to share?

58 year old female, non-smoker (ex-smoker- quit on and off smoking for 15 years in 2008), no alcohol. Chronic illness, symptoms since January 2025 following query viral illness. Respiratory symptoms continue with SOB, wheezing, extreme fatigue, total weight loss of 44 lbs since onset of illness (current weight 106 lbs, 5’4.5”), asthma was ruled out by respirologist a couple of months ago (CT was taken June 25/26), overall malaise, weakness, unable to walk more than 10 minutes without use of walker due to chest pressure and fatigue. Consult with Thoracic Surgeon in January recommended seeing respirologist (above). Was admitted to hospital in March 2026 for suspected pneumonia and treated with IV antibiotics for 3 days and discharged home. Symptoms have worsened over last 3 weeks. Comments from specialists are appreciated. CT Results below:

Clinical history: Follow-up of pulmonary nodule.
CT scans were volumetrically acquired through the chest using overlapping
3 mm collimation with low-dose technique. This is compared with a
previous CT pulmonary angiogram performed at on July 29, 2025, reported as negative for embolism.
The thyroid gland is unchanged showing a questionable nodule in the left
lobe.
The mediastinum and hilar structures are unchanged. There is no nodal
enlargement.
The pleural surfaces are unchanged, showing no effusion.
There is no coronary artery calcification. Mild aortic calcium.
Small basal nonspecific pericardial effusion unchanged.
Limited views of the upper abdomen are unremarkable.
The breasts show tiny calcifications on the right.
The central airways are clear.
Right lung shows worsening inflammatory nodularity in the upper lobeanteriorly around image 75, associated with some mucous plugging, mucous
plugging in the middle lobe image 68, 73, worsening nodularity image 73,
significantly worsening opacity in the middle lobe with micronodularity,
band atelectasis, mucous plugging, mildly smaller inflammatory nodularity
in the lower lobe around image 98, remainder not significantly different.
Left lung shows nodule apex laterally image 20 stable, calcified granuloma
anteriorly image 35 stable, new and worsening inflammatory nodularity in
the lingula, nodule anterior basal lower lobe image 96 stable, remainder
unchanged.
The thoracic skeleton shows no significant lesion. There may be small
hemangiomas in the mid thoracic spine.
Impression:
Overall there has been worsening of inflammatory opacities in both lungs
suggestive of atypical infection such as NTM.

Hi all,

I’m a 25-year-old male and I’m trying to understand whether anyone else with asthma or reactive airways has had a similar experience. To note, I’ve always had asthma, but not like this.

About a year ago, my girlfriend and I both got a pretty nasty flu-like illness. She went on to develop breathing issues, coughing and mucus plugging for several months, but eventually recovered. I never really got back to normal.

For the last 12 months I’ve had:
-A persistent chesty cough.
Intermittent wheezing.
-A feeling of mucus sitting in my chest or larger airways.
-Frequent air hunger and a need to take a deeper breath.
-Breathing that often feels “90-95%” rather than completely normal.
-Good days and bad days.
-Symptoms that are often worse indoors than outdoors.
-Symptoms that can be worse in hot, humid weather.
-Symptoms that often improve when walking, exercising or fully relaxing.

One thing that has always confused me is that my exercise tolerance is generally pretty good. I’ve continued walking, exercising and playing cricket, although sometimes I feel more breathless than I think I should.

I also have a lot of upper airway symptoms:
-Thick yellow/cream mucus from behind my nose and at the back of my throat.
-Post-nasal drip.
-Morning throat clearing and coughing.
Right ear blockage for several months which improves during the day.
-Crackling/squelching sensations in the ear.

I’ve recently had a flare-up where I was coughing more, wheezing more and occasionally bringing up small mucus plugs.

The reassuring part is that I’ve now had quite extensive investigations:
-Chest X-ray normal.
-HRCT chest scan normal/clear.
-Spirometry normal (they didn’t even perform reversibility testing because there was no sign of obstruction).
-Oxygen saturations always normal.

I also had a private respiratory consultation and the consultant felt Breathing Pattern Disorder could be contributing and suggested breathing physiotherapy, but I really don’t know (I’ll still pursue this either way).

Current medications:
-Luforbec 200mcg.
-Montelukast.
-Dymista nasal spray.

The Luforbec definitely seems to help, but it doesn’t completely eliminate the symptoms.

My main question is:
Has anyone had a similar story where asthma/reactive airways, post-viral inflammation, post-nasal drip, upper airway issues or Breathing Pattern Disorder caused symptoms for a year despite normal CT scans and normal spirometry?

Particularly interested in hearing from people who experienced:
-Air hunger.
-The feeling of not being able to get a satisfying breath.
-Chesty cough despite normal tests.
-Improvement with exercise or being outdoors.
-Significant post-nasal drip alongside asthma symptoms.

Would love to hear other people’s experiences.

Thanks!

10 years ago I began experiencing shortness of breath and pain/pressure on my left side of my chest. For 10 years the doctors have been shuffling me off on each other (general to rheumatologist to pulmonologist to cardiologist and second, third opinions from some) and no one allegedly found anything wrong.

2 years ago I was hospitalized for an unrelated matter.

Last month one of my doctors actually read the hospital report from my hospital stay 2 years ago and told me I had a severely dilated pulmonary artery.

I was sent back to the cardiologist with this info and he conducted another echo. He claimed I have ongoing mild pulmonary hypertension and no medicine is needed. That I only need a pain doctor to help with my “muscle pain” (that’s what he says I feel every time I breathe).

Everything I’ve read says I need meds. The pain is now in my neck, jaw, shoulder ,back, and arm. I intend to get a second opinion. But, am I wrong? Is this just my life now? Pain with every breath I take?

48 soon 49 female smiker. last year and a half I had alot of stress was fatigue everyday I would here myself awake when falling asleep they said panic attacks. I started taking my oxygen when I would wake ut was in the 80s U went for a sleep test they said I hadn't had enough episodes to be apnea that was a year ago maybe a bit longer year and 3 months. Still feeling extreme fatigue my dr done an overnight pulse ox it was showing 70s she sends me to a pulmonologist who does all the standard tests everything checks out except im retaining mild carbon smoker. She sends ne for a other sleep test the respitory therapist their said I was living in the 70 the pulmonologist said I drop their in rem sleep. She doesn't offer cpap but wants me to go on oxygen at night. I read that thats usually not the treatment. Then she has the nurse follow me into the parking lot and say I may not for sure have a very mild cause of emphysema I said how do we k ow if I do the nurse said x rays but the pulmonologist said my x ray was good. Any advice would be helpful. For reference my oxygen only goes down when im sleeping it goes up when im exxersing.