Smoking After TB
Hello,
So I've been searching the internet for an answer to my question, but all the pages I visit seem to be related to the risks of getting TB because of smoking. I already have had TB 8 months ago. It was in the lower right lung, a part which is apparently rarely afflicted by the disease. I found out because of a referred pain in my right shoulder, resulting in a CT scan which accidentally caught the TB patch (X-ray was negative). I was a heavy drug user who lived a horrible lifestyle for six months before I contracted TB. I also smoked about a pack a day. Once I was diagnosed, I quit smoking for four to five months. Since then, I have started smoking once again after a follow up CT scan reported that I was no longer infected. I smoke much less, perhaps 4-5 cigarettes a day. However, disturbingly, even though I am still taking medication (Rifampizin and Isoniazid, which I have taken extremely regularly, having forgotten perhaps a couple of days in the past six months), I find that this past week my referred pain has returned slightly at the same place in my shoulder, along with pain in the previously afflicted part of the lung when pressed by my finger. I stopped smoking immediately, but am getting paranoid that my TB may have relapsed. I am unable to tell my family doctor that I have been smoking even when I should have stopped (since I cannot have the news reach my family), and since she has been treating me all along, I have no one to consult. However, I have none of the other tell-tale signs of TB (weight loss, fever, night chill, massive sweating) that I had when I contracted it. Please do advise me on whether it is possible that I have relapsed, and if not, why my referred pain has begun.