I had a spontaneous pneumothorax in my late teens. I was lying in bed and felt a sudden extreme pain in my chest. It was worsened with every breath. I had been

I had a spontaneous pneumothorax in my late teens. I was lying in bed and felt a sudden extreme pain in my chest. It was worsened with every breath. I had been drinking and decided to try and sleep it off. Over the next couple of weeks the pain got slightly better but persisted, and I noticed a shortness of breath. Eventually I went to the doctor and was sent straight to hospital where I discovered my left lung was 50% collapsed. I've had several more subsequently and went straight to hospital each time. Thankfully I haven't had a recurrence in years now, but I learned the same lesson the author of this post did - you shouldn't ignore chest pain.