Chris, I feel for you. What an awful long time to have this and suffer pain.
Take care. I hope it stays away.

Chris, that does sound SO scary, and I’m really glad you got everything checked out and did not have a heart attack (something I increasingly worry about, with my family history, especially when I fall out of shape as I have done lately). I hope you are feeling much more like yourself quickly and can get back to activities you enjoy. It must be hard! Sending gentle hugs and lots of support.

Thanks so much for the kind words Pil, Barbara Diane, Adriana, and Janet!

karen13 nodding along with you. You give such excellent advice, I hope you are taking it yourself

Anchie, sounds like you have been through it too, for 9 months, it must have seemed endless.

Bijou, thanks, a holiday certainly would have been much more fun!

Sisi thanks, and Simon is a funny guy, he's very sweet and affectionate SOME of the time but at other times not so much. Like most cats he has his routines/patterns.

Hey I sent you a PM but re-reading this... pleurisy is nothing to F with!! I had that in my teens. The pain was so incredibly bad. If I had to cough, I felt so much pain I'd nearly black out from it. See stars and the world would start to dim and go dark .. just from the pain. So sorry you're going through this. Can totally understand how you might've thought it was a heart attack, and glad you went to the ER because you just never know.

There is such a thing as a half birthday and I think you need to celebrate yours this year.

Much empathy from me. I was making such progress after my Aug back surgery then suffered a huge set back in early Dec. that I am still recovering from. No particular reason - just flared up, as others have described. It takes so long to settle down. It's absolutely depressing. Sending wishes for a very quick calming down of the inflammation, and speedy recovery. And thank goodness it was not your heart, that's great news.

What a terrible two months you have had. I still remember how painful it was to breathe when I had pleurisy in my early 20's. YLF and wardrobe planning is a fun distraction when recovering. I also read a lot of books and watched TCM last year when I was recovering from complications from the flu (low electrolytes). Hopefully you'll be 100% soon.

Hi Shiny, I have a feeling they called in "pleurisy" for lack of any better name. It never occurred to ME that it might be a heart attack..I have very good cardiac health However the symptoms, according to the EMTs, were similar, which I'm glad to know. I only went to the ER because I could only take extremely shallow breaths and was in horrible back pain so I knew something was very wrong, but the pain was never IN my lungs. Love the half birthday idea...and it will be in June which though not summer will certainly be warmer than December

Laurie, how miserable for your issues to flare up for no particular reason. I always believe there really is a reason, but many times we can't figure out what it is and that makes it extra frustrating.

bonnie, that sounds like a memory you won't forget but would like to!. I had a bad bought of bronchitis about 15 years ago and remember that it took many weeks to recover. Our bodies are tough but they can take a long time to heal.

So glad you are feeling better and on the other side of that! I had a similar thing happen years ago one morning woke up and could barely move without excruciating pain in the upper back. I tried so many things - chiropractor, acupuncture, and finally the thing that helped the most, massage. It lasted for a couple of weeks or so if I remember correctly. I think I was in a daze most of that time. Pain can be so life changing. It prompted me to get back to working out with weights regularly (gently at first of course). Now I try to work out with weights (not too heavy) a couple times a week and it seems to really help.

Wow, that sounds awful Texstyle, and that reminds me that I need to start doing massage myself now that the pain is not there all the time. You are right that exercise helps a lot! My 90 year old mom recently declined my lunch invitation because it would have made her miss her weekly yoga class, and she has some pain issues too and didn't want to miss the class. We went on a diff day Thanks for the support!

Serious hugs! I truly hope you're feeling much better!

Thanks La Bell D!

Glad you are on the mend! Back pain is the worst. I had a back issue over Christmas and you're right, it totally affects everything. It was humbling to read how many Fabbers have struggled with chronic issues--makes me feel like a baby for my two week flare up out of the blue (but due to stress, I think.) Hope that you get some relief! Hugs.

Thanks KellyGirl! You are so right, so many people have some sort of ache or pain or something. It doesn't have to last a long time to be debilitating. Modern life isn't kind to our bodies, we have to do a lot of exercise and other stuff to deal with it, most people find it hard to find the time, and it just gets worse as you get older. But as they say, getting older sure beats the alternatives!

What a scare! So glad you did not have a heart attack.

Lol! Yes it does.

THanks bj1111!

Yup Kellygirl!

Just saw this Chris!
Chronic pain is extremely debilitating and I am so glad you are through the worst of it. Also I had no idea about it being a symptom of a heart attack for women . Sharing that information here is invaluable. Thank you so much .

I do hope you continue to heal and feel better with each new day , to a full and complete recovery !

Chris, I'm ever so sorry to hear you have been in pain. Especially back pain which is the kind that no one else knows about so you didnt get lots of sympathy and casserole offers! Physical therapy, movement, yoga, exercise are all excellent ideas when you can manage them. When I was being lifted into the ambulance after a DWI driver struck my car head on I only felt immediate pain in my left hip ( my left leg had been trapped in the car wreck) so I assumed it had been broken and all I could think was "oh god, please. Please. Not that." Probably similar to your scary thoughts about potential heart attacks. Rest assured that you sound as if you are through the worst of your scary injury. Lots of soft hugs to you.

Please continue to be gentle with your self.

Thanks Taylor!

Canada, thanks! Being in car accident sounds so horrible, glad you are healing.