Pregnant with one lung

Honey! You need to get the BEST advice from your surgeon and also your gynecologist/Ob! IF the tumor is cancerous, and they plan to do chemotherapy, you need to find out how long they can hold off with the chemo or radiation! Surgery itself shouldn't be too much of a factor! BUT it definitely will be for chemotherapy - as the chemo attacks ALL growing cells (including a baby)! Also i HAVE heard of this in the past, and from what I remember it was just a pregnancy that needed to be watched - and perhaps an induced labor! A baby is viable about 27 weeks - with lots of problems of course - the longer you can go the better! So ask away - write everything down you want to know! Take the questions with you and someone else, so you can write it down and write down the answers! As this is a stressful time for you and you need to know what's going to happen after - as far as lung health, and also what is going to happen with the baby! Hopefully your Pulmonologist knows you are pregnant! And your OB knows you are having your lung removed! The good thing is that they wont be removing it for a couple of months! So it doesn't sound urgent - such as cancer! Just ask away honey, and IF you aren't satisfied, get another opinion! This is YOUR body, and YOUR future - and you have BIG questions that need to be answered! So don't wait OK? BIG hugs and please keep me updatted!

Thank you for replying!
My tumour is non cancerous, but it does continue to grow.  Chemotherapy is not an option however, so they will be removing the entire lung.  I do have A LOT of questions for my OB/surgeon and am very anxious to ask them.  I just thought I would try to get an opinion from someone who has been in the same situation.  My surgeon says that surgery is doable when you're pregnant, but I really wanted to see if anyone has actually gone through it before.  Sometimes I have a hard time listening to doctors when they haven't actually gone through what I'm going through.  However, I do trust my surgeon's judgement.  I think I'm just nervous about the whole situation so hearing from someone who has been through something like this would be very comforting.
Thanks again for your reply! I will update you as soon as I know.  My first appt with my OB isn't until June 30th.  So now begins the waiting game. :)

The good thing is that it is not cancer! So concentrate on that for awhile! And since your doctor said it's doable, that is a great 2nd thing to concentrate on! As I said write down EVERY question you have, even pass the questions over to them! I don't think you will find many people in this situation, but I had surgery when I was 12 weeks, and I was FREAKING out! So the surgeons and the anethsetist talked to me and had a plan! And when I came too it was my 1st question "Is the baby OK?" And he was! The womb is a wonderful thing honey! It keeps our babies safe from outside forces and the body is also amazing in taking care of it's responsibilities! Have they mentioned about recovery etc.? I know for sure you will be doing lung exercises etc and I would think that the sooner the better - before the baby starts growing and getting into the area of pushing up on your lungs! Just ask how long the site will take to heal, and if you will need oxygen through your pregnancy, stuff like that! So i know it's a terrible worry, but it is truly amazing how resiliant babies and our bodies are! And the baby ALWAYS takes what it needs to grow etc. You just need to find out ALL the stuff that is coming with it! And also to have ALL your questions answered! I think that you will have to be watched more than others, but as long as you are watching the babies movements etc. I am sure you will be fine honey! Even if you found someone with the same problem, everyone and every pregnancy is different! So just keep faith that you are in good hands, everyone is on the right page, and you WILL have your health and a baby! 

i have a friend, a very close and good friend she just had her entire left lung removed on june 2nd. she is still recovering she is young and doctor said she will be fine after few weeks. she really wants to have kids after everything is healed up. i did ask the same question to the surgeon and he said she can have many kids as she could .. however she is worried at the same time. she is stressed out she really needs help i showed her many reviews so i am here bymyself writing on her behalf to make her feel better. it is not a cancer though. can anyone please give her the best advice how she can do better on healing up quickly. can she still be pregant and have kids. your words can change her life and many others who are in the same situation. as far as my knowledge even after her one complete left lung removal she is breathing fine and i always pray to god that she will be fine very soon.

Good luck with everything, I had my left lung removed due to a carcenoid (non cancerous tumour) when I was in 18 in 2002 and I didn't really have a choice as I also had pneumonia.  As i was young I was out of hospital in 5 days but had a long time recupperating at home.  With all the things you have to do/painkillers/physio etc I would definately recommend having the operation after the baby if your surgeon is ok with that.  They filled my left side with a type of gel to stop everything moving about and i'm not sure how it would work if it's all squished due to the baby?  I suspect recovery would be easier on your body too.  My one recommendation is not to watch any really funny movies in the first few weeks, it will hurt to laugh that much (and that's from experience!)!

Nearly 10 years on i'm in good health, can do everything except Scuba Dive and people are always amazed that I only have one lung :)

I wish you the best of luck!

Sarah x

 

Sorry it has taken me so long to update.  I had my lung removed about a month ago while I was pregnant. (I am now 18 weeks) My surgeon and OB both reccommended that the best time to do the surgery was during my second trimester.  The anesthetic during the surgery CAN cause birth defects or pre term birth, but is fairly uncommon.  They made me realize that I should focus on MY health first, in order to make sure the baby was as healthy as possible.  I decided that removing my lung in order to get rid of this tumour was the best choice.  The surgery went great.  They did an ultrasound the day after my surgery and the baby was fine.  A strong heartbeat and kicking around!  I was in the hospital for 5 days recovering and am now at home.  I feel great.  My doctor is actually surprised at how well I am doing. I am hardly in any pain, and am not on any pain killers. Breathing feels different, which I expected, but not as bad as I thought.  My OB also said that the only "complications" I should see during my pregnancy is my breathing when my belly starts to grow.  This is common with women who have TWO lungs though.  Because of the baby, everything pushes up on your lungs making you FEEL like you cant breathe, when you are actually getting all the oxygen you need.  It's all a matter of making sure you tell yourself to relax and breathe deeply and as normal as possible.  I'm fairly confident that everything will be fine and am glad I decided to have this surgery so I can concentrate on my pregnancy and not have to worry about having a lung tumour anymore.  :)

Thanks again for your replies!

I am so proud of you and your spirit Leialiam and everyone else who wrote on here! I also had my left lung removed from a carcinoid tumor 3 years ago. It has made me a stronger person, and I am healthier now. I am wanting to start a family with my husband, and was looking for people who had a baby with one lung when I found these stories. I am inspired with all the courage. I was 25 when I had my lung removed, the tumor was spreading, but slow growing. I had weird symptoms for years which all went away when my lung was removed. I was in the hospital with pneumonia when I heard a doctor tell my Mom someone needs to tell her she has cancer. It was scary, but I was lucky that it was contained and that I was free from the tumor when my lung was removed. I wouldn't change anything about my life. My husband was with me through that, and now we are ready to start a family. 

I know it has been a while since this was posted but I just wanted to say that I carried an entire pregnancy and delivered naturally with one lung. My little girl is perfectly normal. I do have to say I was probably a little more winded than most pregnant women and I rested a lot. I also went in for a scheduled induction at 39 weeks because I was a little concerned because she starting to make my breathing more difficult. I had a severe case of histoplasmosis which cased pulmonary fibrosis in my left lung. I lost all function of the lung and I have some scaring on my right lung from the disease.

Our daughter had her entire left lung removed in 2009 because it became a fibroma (benign) over a period of 10 to 12 years without any of us knowing about it. She was 25 at the time of surgery. Now she is married and would like to have children, but her pulmonologist is advising her against this. We would like to get in touch with jc-labor-rn-mom for guidance on this.

Hi Sarah

I just wanted to say hello! I too had a carcinoid found in my lung in 2003 (when I was 18!) I had my right lung removed. I just wanted to reach out really as I've never met someone the same age as me with the same condition.

Hannah x

Hi Sarah it's a year later but I have also lost most of a lung to a 3cm carcinoid. How are you doing now ? M x

I have a curve spine and one lung I am five five one side of my body is shorter and weaker then the other is it safe for me to have a baby?

Hi also lost my right lung to a carcinoid tumour! I had only had a baby. I'd been told initially it wasn't cancer but then found out carcinoid is cancer!
I'm still suffering