Solitary Pulmonary Nodule

[Margaret Smith]

I just had a CT that revealed I have a 1 cenimeter lung nodule. What I have read thus far is that is more than likely not a concern. However, the one difference from all I have read thus far is that I do have pain. It is not 100% constant, yet it is there and I can feel it about 75-80% of the time. I did have pneumonia earlier this year.

I distinctly remember in February when I first felt the pain in my upper back on the right side. What of course complicates matters is I do have a 3 mm kidney stone. I passed two stones already one in August, one in September. I did tell my doctor that the pain feels higher than my kidney. Also an urologist told me repeatedly that unless the stone is blocking the flow of urine it is not causing pain.

What I would like to know is, what is causing the pain? Should I be concerned that this nodule is giving me pain? The location of the pain feels far too high to be coming from my kidney.

Can the scarring from pneumonia cause pain? Does anyone know? Thanks for your help.

[UroDoc]

In my experience lung nodules, structurally, by themselves do not cause pain. Good luck

[Margaret Smith]

Thank you for your reply. I keep wondering why there is pain if a nodule in and of itself does not cause pain. Would you know if it is possible that two bouts of pneumonia, one in February, and one in May, could have left scarring that would explain the residual pain? As I said it is not harsh pain, more of a dull ache. I have noticed it is more frequent/consistent than it used to be.

Also, are there any further tests you would recommend? I would surely like to avoid having biopsy as that appears to be fairly invasive. The CT was read by a radiologist, this may be off the wall, yet, would it be a good idea to have any other doctor/specialist look at the CT? Are there other actions you would recommend? Part of me is concerned mainly because there is pain associated with this nodule... and I can't help wondering what could be the source of pain? Again, thank you for your help.