Hi all
Hope your keeping well, so I had my chest x ray result and saw a respiratory specialist last week, he didn’t seem to concerned with the light scarring on the bottom of my lungs and he examined me and asked lots of questions. But I have a ct scan tomorrow just to make sure all is ok but I am a bit worried to be honest. My upper back is so tight and painful, can that effect breathing???
On the plus side it’s been over a month since I stopped smoking 
Yes tight tense muscles do effect breathing. Do t worry about the scan. It is nothing to worry about at all. Worry also effects breathing. Don’t dismiss this, but have you ever meditated? There’s lots on YouTube. I like Oprah and Deepak. I have Perfect Health on an app on my phone and it really helps me relax. If you do have a go, don’t judge how well or how badly you do it. It doesn’t matter. It is just a way of relaxing your body and your mind for a few minutes at a time.
Please don't worry about the scan. It's good for satisfying both you and your doctor that things are as expected. I had a CT scan about 3 years ago as the consultant wanted to check things out before starting me on a particular medication. They did find a couple of things and I had to wait 3 months for a follow up scan to confirm no change. It was a relief to get the good news. One of the asthma nurses explained that something always shows up on scans and tests, in her words, "if we're looking then we'll find anomalies. In the majority of cases these turn out to be something that has been there for years, without affecting one's health". I get very tight muscles, upper back and rib cage. I bought a large massager (mains powered) similar to the one that my chiropractor uses. It has a long handle with a large massager head - so i can reach down my back. It's such a relief and I'm definitely going to get a smaller one for my neck. It wasn't cheap but worth every penny. Even as a child I found back massages from my mum really helpful when I had an asthma flare.
Try to relax if you can. The best thing about getting a lot of tests and especially ones that allow doctors to look at your lungs is that you can rule things out as you try to figure out what's going on. And often it leads to relief if the doctors don't find much or anything at all.
I feel like covid + the lockdown has ratcheted up everyone's anxiety so much. Adding additional stressors like these (going into a hospital environment, getting a big test etc.) feel extra taxing right now! Take good care.
Upper airway obstruction on spirometry?
Update: Severe Asthma (Eosinophilic) & Clinic referral & Fatigue
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