Two Complete Collapses followed by VATS (Robot)

Hi all,

Bit of a rough ride lately. Had my first total lung collapse on 20th Aug, short hospital stay with a drain then sent home. Not long after, had a second full collapse and ended up referred for surgery.

Last week I had:

  • bullectomy

  • talc pleurodesis

  • pleurectomy

I’m now 5 days post-op and still really struggling – pain all over my torso, can’t get a deep breath, numbness, staples digging in, barely sleeping, and moving around is tough. Only sent home with paracetamol + dihydrocodeine which doesn’t touch it most of the time.

Anyone else been through this? How long before you felt normal again, or at least able to breathe/sleep properly? Any tips would be magic.