Living with one lung

I hope he gets along fine....My father had one of his lungs removed and a small portion of the other, in the 1940's at the end of WWII. He contracted TB and Malaria in Europe during the war and was shipped back to be in the hospital for over 2 years.....However, he lived for 40 years after that and farmed and raised his kids and was active...He had trouble breathing a bit during really humid days and if there were chemicals around (He never used any chemicals in his farming!).  I pray your dad gets along well.

I was naturally born with one lung, and so was my twin. i am a dancer, and the only problems I have ever had are running and other strenuous activity

i am 42 i lost my left lung at age 30. im living a very normal and good life, you learn what u can and cant do. it is frustrating knowing you can't run and running out of breath is scary but you do learn.no one would really know i only have one lung and thats awesome..o and can NOT swim or i should say tred water very long so b very carefull...life is what u make it

This gives me great comfort to read a lot of these posts. I have scar tissue in my left main bronchus that is so thick they may not be able to get through. I'm a cancer survivor (Non-hodgkins at 23 in my mediastinal space that fully crushed my left lung). I have had a few surgeries after the cancer went away but the damage is from radiation. The left lung has been minimally working for years when they were able to break through the scar tissue. This time they couldn't, I'm going for a second opinion, I have 9 month old twins and the lung has been down for a little bit (my body has mostly adjusted over the years but still a little short of breath which is hard)... Possibly talking about removing the lung if they cannot get through either my my side etc. The pregnancy made my right lung larger and it has stayed that way so in a way that has helped! I'm still sad I cancelled my follow-up in May though maybe I messed up and I would have still had a lung somewhat working if they had put in that stent!

I understand, I have the same questions, my mother has had a half of lung removed and breathing is so different, Im looking for answers as well.
vvit

I was born with one lung atresia 71 years ago and have the right lobe.  Life is good!  I had two kids, and now 5 grandchildren, have a profession and held down very responsible jobs.  Sure, I have never been able to run without gasping, so don't run.  Played some tennis, but found non competitive sport such as skiing much better for my self esteem.  Had some additional respiratory challenges such as whooping cough at 20, despite having been vaccinated.  That was not pretty as they say.  Also, asthma and COPD although I never smoked. I can still walk the dog at brisk clip and do a flight of stairs with hardly anyone noticing.

It is sad to see that many posting here really are coping with bigger medical problems than just having one lung.  Where doctors approve, I recommend flu and pneumonia shots for fellow one lungers.

Hello, had my entire left lung removed almost 10 years ago. Have periods of extreme shortness of breath in very hot or cold weather, so I pace myself, keep my weight down, drink 60 ounces of water a day to stay well hydrated and walk for exercise. Your mom needs to walk everyday, start slow, build up to a good 20 minutes, will help her feel better, breath easier and will help expand the remaining lung tissue. At first I was afraid of walking, taking the stairs, but as time went on, became much easier. good luck and email if you have additional questions I can help with. Linda

Hi, my name is Kari, but call me Kiwi. I was born with one lung, but I was also born 5 months early. Since I was born premasure, my other long didn't develop. I was kept in the hospital for three months after I was born hooked on tubes. When they released me, they put me on an oxygen tank because I had sleep apnea. I had to sleep and walk around with the oxygen tank until I turned 6. Dispit all that, I lived my life like any other kid would, but it was tough. I played baseball and I cheered, ran around, and started singing at the age two.. I did all those things but I just had to take it easy. Now I'm sixteen years old and I do cheer leading, softball, and show choir. I also used to do cross country. I've lived my life with only one lung, but I didn't let it stop me. I do things like any other kids, but I do as much as I can. I still lose my breath, but I just take a breather and then continue. No one knew I had one lung until I told them. When I do, their impressed and surprised because I don't acted like someone that has one lung. I make them see that I'm just like them on the outside, but on the inside, I'm exceptional.

my mom had one lung removed at the age of 5 due to pnemonia[sp] and now she is 60 with very few problems as long as she is very careful in bad weather . i am very thankful she is still here and her doctors , thank you

My unique mum has lived with one lung since she was 14 years old, she is nearly 80 years old to date, she caught tb when she was 12, and the doctors did not think she would survive, but she has. She went through pain and suffering, that no-one nowadays could handle, that's why when people complain about things - I just look away, my mother is a hero.

I am 40yrs old and on feb. 20th I had my entire right lung removed. im still figuring out breathing ect. I don't need oxygen thank goodness. I had stage 3b lung cancer. dr said I am doing very well. apparently people that have had the surgery I have had are still in hospital or barely getting off the couch. I am up doing some house work ect but I also have 3 children 20,18,15 and a great husband and tons of family and friends support so I think with a good support group u can do anything just don't give up

I don't know how old your mom is, which may make a difference as far as depression, etc., or her general outlook on life, but that being said I had my right upper lobe removed in July 2012. I totally lost my taste for foods that I once loved to eat/drink. I lost 24 lbs. by the time I came home from hospital. It took me several months to get some of the taste for food back. My doctor said that sometimes the anesthetic wreaks havoc with taste buds in some people. I have since gained all my weight back (boo hoo - wished I could have kept it off). I will be 70 in August. In the meantime, after making great progress something weird happened in the remainder of my right lung. I began coughing up blood about 6 months after surgery and I had a pulmonary artery occlusion. Bronchoscopy stopped the bleeding, however, I am much shorter of breath than I was when the upper lobe was originally removed. I am now on oxygen 24/7. However, was sent to Cleveland Clinic for consultation as no one seems to know what the occlusion is. They cannot use a stint to open up the artery as it is life threatening. So I can either go along like now being very short of breath due to this complication or go ahead and get the remainder of the lung removed which should help with my breathing. I go to Cleveland Clinic again next week to make the decision. The best advice I have for your mom is be thankful she's alive, get up and move as much as possible, her other lung will compensate if she does walking and other exercises that build lung capacity. Good luck to her. It's good to be alive.

Hi, I am 43 and have had one lung since I was 13, to start with it was hard, the Doctors gave me a long list of what I shouldn't do, after a couple of years I threw the list away and thought that I would just try and see what I could do. I am now very active, I run and horse ride regularly, walked 65k along the Great Wall of China, and I have even done a couple of parachute jumps. There are times I feel that I am at my limit and I know when not to push harder, but I have friends that I have known for years and they are totally unaware that I only have one lung. Best wishes to your father.

i believe that until you been there you wont know how it is.. I am 31 years old in march 2006 i was diagnosed with lung cancer i had my entire left lung removed.. luckily  i only needed surgery... the down side is that the type of cancer i had radiation and chemo have no affect to kill the cancer.. but life as we know it has been very hard for me.. i no longer do the activities that i once did before. i can not run very far when i use to love track i grew up swimming and now im affraid of swimming in the summer due to the anxiety and how tired i get affraid i will drown.. even regular household chores are very hard to complete with out many breaks i have had a couple of children since my removal but im always a high risk pregnancy my one year old son it was the most difficult preg yet. I had stress test 2xs a week pulmonary function test if breathing with two lungs is hard imagine with one lung the baby was at risk and even had trouble breathing so they induced me and even the labor was the most intense yet luckly i made it trough it and since then i can not have more children due to the fact of my limitations indangering mine and my babies life should i get preg again... but the main quiestion is is life liveable with only one lung? and the answer is yes because im living proof but is it hard? yes it is.. but were all here for a reason.. i thank god every day and live life now with a greater purpose but i know everything that i have endured is for a reason... have faith and be positive is key

I am 61 and had left lung removed at age 38. Remember, left lung has two lobes and right lung three, so you are left with 60% function, and my specialists told me that after time I would probably regain to about 80%. I really have no limitations on activity, don't run anymore, but was planning to quit for other reasons. After all this time, still have occasional but mild rib pain. Walk two miles a day and basically live a normal life. Notice my condition primarily at high altitudes--but so do a lot of two lunged people. It is a life transforming event as are all brushes with mortality, but I can testify that a long, near normal life is possible. I may run for Pope!