I would have a CT scan of the chest and abdomen to get a more detailed image of the fluid collections and any other abnormalities. I would get a culture of the fluid obtained during the thoracoscopy procedure to determine if there is an underlying infection, and then a biopsy of the pleural and pericardial tissues to determine the cause of the effusions.Shortness of breath, swelling, and fluid accumulation can be symptoms of congestive heart failure. Your history of high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes increase your risk for this condition.
what is wrong with me? respiratory problems and oedema doctors baffled need ideashi I know this is a long shot and I'm not looking for a replacement for a diagnosis by a "real life" doctor - I have been having a long series of tests and scans etc etc and been in and out of hospital for months. It's just a matter of curiosity really.I became ill with what I thought was asthma in roughly june last year. It started with terrible chest pain that I woke up with and called an ambulance when I was no better after 4 hours. The pain was roughly central and felt like I'd been kicked by a horse and I was very short of breath. In hospital my O2 was measured at 71% which they blamed on my smoking habit. I had an x ray and ecg and everything seemed fine.I went home and continued to have terrible breathing problems which I thought was asthma for about a month before I was referred to minor injuries by my GP. They did an x ray and freaked out and got all the students to listen to them tapping my chest because one side was almost completely full of fluid. I got rushed to hospital in an ambulance and admitted. I had a chest drain put in and then had to go to a specialist hospital to have a heart drain put in as I had fluid on both lungs and around my heart. After a couple of weeks I was allowed to go home.Unfortunately the problem has persisted and I've been in hospital 3 times now, with my chest no better. I also had a.broken rib which I think was the result of coughing after I caught a cold at christmas. That's healed up now but I still have swollen legs and a swollen tummy and trouble breathing that has me gasping after a few steps. I'm on a diuretic for the swelling and it's been increased twice.I've had all sorts of scans, x rays, blood tests, ecgs, and most recently had a broncoscopy with a fine needle aspiration biopsy of swollen lymph nodes in my lungs. None of the tests have shown anything and the consultant says he is baffled and they are going to have a meeting about me. I have to go back in to hospital soon for a few days to have my chest drained and a thoracoscopy (?) - camera between my ribs and a biopsy.I've given up smoking but it hasn't helped. My O2 isn't as bad as it was in june/july though - tends to be high 80s or low 90s. I also hit menopause at the exact same time that my health took a nosedive and haven't had a period since june '22. I was also diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and high cholesterol when I was hospitalised in august and have been taking medication for that.So far tests have been negative for cancer but he says it can't be entirely ruled out.Does anyone have any insight at all or any ideas as to what might be wrong with me?age 51sex femalerace whiteweight 230lbslocation ukdiagnoses: schizoaffective, type 2 diabetes, asthma, high cholesterol, bilateral pleural effusion and cardiac effusionmeds: furosemide (? diuretic tablets), statin, a tablet for diabetes that is supposed to increase insulin after meals, folic acid, salbutamol inhaler. Supposed to be taking metformin but it makes me have an upset tummy and I found that difficult as I am living in a hotel at the moment and don't want to have an accident so I haven't been taking it. Up until august last year I was on paliperidone injections 75mg (invega) for schizoaffective disorder but they stopped those in case it was making me ill.