Please could I have some advice as I am getting a bit worried about some chest symptoms that I am experiencing.
Firstly I do smoke cannabis (without tobacco) on a regular basis and have done for many years now. I have been getting pain in my chest on the right hand side under my collarbone for a couple of months now. The pain comes and goes, and i’m not sure if it is my lung or ribs that are aching, or if I have injured a muscle in my pectoral. My concern being that I feel fine in the morning but have been producing brown specks and the odd lump in my phlegm, this will stop after being up and about for an hour or so. I don’t have a cough and otherwise my lungs feels clear. I run regularly between 3-8 miles 2-3 times a week with no pain or noticeable problems with my breathing, in fact I keep besting my times. I have in the past stopped smoking for several months at a time and have produced this phlegm for a few weeks then it goes away. I assumed that this was just the oil and muck coming out of my lungs.
The reasons I am unclear about if it is muscular is that if I “pull” my shoulders back as if I were on a parade ground the discomfort increases in the chest. Also I find that the ache is far less after I have had a hot bath (possibly the effects of the steam?). I have over the summer been working delivering water which was very heavy work, lifting down 18.5 litre bottles from my truck always taking the load on my right shoulder then carrying them two at a time all over the place! The first time that I started to get these chest pains was strangely when I was on holiday and was not lifting anything heavy. I am no longer moving water about my chest pains seemed to start as my heavy work stopped (give or take a few weeks)
i have seen my local doctor about this problem, I did omit the fact that I smoke cannabis as I cant have that on my records, and didn’t raise the oil in my phlegm as a result of wanting to keep that private. He listened to my chest and got me to do some resistance tests with my arm and he feels that it is a muscle problem.
The one thing that is worrying me is that the ache does feel worse once I have smoked some cannabis, i’m not sure if that’s my lung’s being aggravated or the psychological effects of the drug.
I used to work as a diver and I am looking to return and so killing two birds with one stone I am awaiting a diving medical. This will look at my lung and heart function as well as chest x-rays. I’m hoping that this will show up anything sinister that may be going on.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks