Hi all,

For a couple of months now, some days I wake up with quite a deep pain on the middle/lower part of my back. At the beginning I thought it may be backache, but it feels deeper and I started thinking it has to be my lungs.

It is always bad just when I wake up. Sometimes I wake up early because of the pain and I can't sleep any more. The strangest thing is, after I get up, the pain disappears quite quickly and I'm OK for the rest of the day... until the next morning.

I smoke a lot, and I am pretty scared about what this may be. Any help? I'd appreciate any hints. I am thinking of going to the doc but I'd like to have an idea of the possibilities first.

Thanks in advance.

Valha

Hi, Valha. I'm not a doctor; I can only tell you what my own experience has been. In my past, I tried to quit smoking a few times. Once, I managed to stay smoke free for two years. In the past couple of years, I noticed a pain in my upper back region...always when I was smoking. I would stop smoking, and it would clear up, eventually. Well, I again quit smoking the first of this year, and the pain in my upper back has not gotten better. Its something I live with. I take Motrins to control the pain...its a real pain, lol! My advice to you is this: its a warning sign. Maybe if I hadn't relapsed, gone back to smoking, I would not be having this pain now. If you keep smoking, know that you're playing with fire. Your body is giving you a warning signal. If I were you, I would stop smoking today. I'm serious. Quitting is nothing compared to having pain like this all the time. If I knew then what I knew now, I'd have stayed smoke free. Good luck; you CAN quit. If you don't, then you'll have to live with lung problems, like I've got....Deb

It's entirely possible that you could have some kind of inflammation of the covering that surrounds your lungs -- this is usually hideously painful.

GO TO YOUR DOCTOR.

He will know best what tests to do.

And quitting smoking is always a good idea.