Pleural Effusion - anyone else?

I have just had the second drainage - now had one each side

anyone else know about these = how often do the come back?

how long does the cough last?

so tired from coughing!

gill

hello Gill
I know exactly how you feel! When I was first dx in 2007 with bc with secondaries straight off I had a pleural effusion in my left lung. this was how they found that I had BC by testing the fluid that they drained off. I had a terrible cough all the time and I also had it for a while after they did the draining and I had the pleuradesis where they stick it together,
Exactly a year later I had the same problem with the right side and again had a pleuradesis but the coughing wasn’t so bad.

I now have different problems with my left lung and apparently have lymphangitus where the cancer cells have got in to my lymphatic system in my left lung and have just started another course of chemo Taxotere this time.

the drainage did work for quite a long time I had FEC chemo to start with and was on Arimidex and Zoladex injections for a year and it has kept the little devils at bay. I have mets in my liver as well and these are hardly visible now.

Have you had to have any chemo or hormone treatments?
love Caroline

Dear Gill
Hopefully your bad cough is settling down a little now. As a little veteran of certain pleural oedema coughs and a GPs daughter, I have picked up the odd tip on getting some relief, as coughing nonstop all day and night can cause a lot of fatigue and low morale.

If the cough is troubling you a lot at night ask your GP and or consultant for some oramorph (a little 10ml cup at night works wonders on pesky coughs), also a codein linctus is brilliant for day time cough suppression.

Keeping pleural oedema(s) at bay are a big subject. Luck is a big factor, sometimes a drain and no pleurodesis will work for ages especially if followed by chemo to reduce the cancer cells irritating the inner lining of the lung. Otherwise the breast consultant would consider a pleurodesis a more definitive way of stopping them by sticking the 2 linings together so there is no gap for fluid to build up in. I’m sure your consultant will be happy to consider referring you to have this done, especially as your oedema has recurred. If he/she isn’t maybe you need to ask them to!

Hopefully as I say things are getting much better on the breathing and coughing front. If your cough is not settling after a week, please call the consultant/ consultant’s secretary.

all the best
F