Unable to receive a dx, don't know where to turn next.
Hello!
My name is Gabby and I am a 22 yo female. Recently this past November 2023 I started to receive extreme episodes of chest pain that come and go. I have made 2 ER trips in the beginning of my journey due to believing I was having a heart attack or PE. The episodes felt like crushing, squeezing left sided chest pain with SOB. The ER visits proved unhelpful, my labs. ECG, Chest Xray, and D Dimer came back normal as well as any cardiac labs. December 2023 I was sent to a cardiologist for a follow up with a dx of pericarditis.
I have had multiple cardiologist tests (ECG, Echo-Cardiogram, Stress test, Holter Monitor) and visits over the past two years due to unspecified cardiac issues. There was no conclusion or dx, I was told I am simply too young to worry about cardiac issues. This most recent visit proved relatively similar which is understandable.
My CBCs and Metabolic Panels and Inflammatory markers for Pericarditis have all come back completely normal with the exception of my ANA labs. I have a positive ANA with an ANA titer of 1:2560 speckled. After the ANA labs I had ENA labs ran which all came back negative, along with hand x-rays for RA and c3 and c4 components in normal range.
My Lymph nodes in my neck and armpits have remained enlarged almost every other day.
Since November I am still having episodes although the pain in my chest does not go away. I am in a constant state of chest pain ranging from sharp to dull aches at all times of the day. The pain radiates from left to right and at some points I feel chest pain bilaterally all day. Accompanying these sx is extreme fatigue starting mid 2023 that has progressively gotten worse to the point where I need to sleep 12 hours and am unable to do normal household tasks without having to lay down. No matter how much caffeine or how much sleep or rest I get I cannot seem to regain any energy.
I have been prescribed NSAIDS and gabapentin, but it does not seem to do anything.
My husband and I are completely lost on where to turn next as my sx seem to just progressively get worse. I have seen a cardiologist and a rheumatologist but have received no help or anywhere closer to a dx.
There was a suspicion of Lupus but that proved negative so far. I’ve also looked into Intercostal Neuralgia and the symptoms are pretty parallel. Just confused!
If anyone has any insight on what may be going on or where to go from here I would so greatly appreciate it. I'm only 22 and feel like my quality of life should not be this way and need answers!!
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When I was in my late teens I was dx with tzetze's syndrome which has since become costachonditis. It flares up frequently with pain across my upper chest that is helped by my PT and DO. My rib cage and sternum are also involved. I do have autoimmune disorders. At this point in life I have a variety of heart problems and shortness of breath. It is hard to distinguish between heart and costachonditis pain! Keep being an advocate for yourself. I find researching helpful.
I had really bad chest pain and went to ER, but it was actually gastro related. Have you have any endoscopes?
Wow, that is so wonderful how the doctors worked together. I also had chest pain and the stress test showed angina. I was put on beta blockers which had terrible side effects until I had an angiogram which showed my heart was fine. I have had FM since 1982 and that was the cause, muscles around the heart squeezing the heart when I exercised.
Please see an infectious disease doctor. I had similar experience and symptoms. I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and the Ebstein Barr virus was active again causing sever body pain, muscle and bone.
I had mono when I was 20 and was diagnosed in 2018 age of 68. Also,see if you can get genetic testing. It could be a rare neurological disorder. Unfortunately at the age of 50 I was diagnosed with hereditary nerve pressure palsy by genetic testing. Doctors don’t know about this disorder so they can’t figure out what is going on. I found a great neurologist and he did the genetic test which confirmed it. Causes so many issues.
My best to you and don’t give up. Be your own advocate!
Recent study at UCLA may be relevant for you @covidstinks2023
https://scitechdaily.com/zombie-virus-fragments-scientists-discover-how-covid-19-causes-severe-symptoms/
It may not have an answer for treatment today, but may help your doctor view post COVID in a new light and point a direction to future care.
Hi, Gabby. When I read your post, I could relate with many things you have experienced. It can be time consuming, stressful, expensive, frustrating, etc. when you have to do so much work to get help and find answers to improve your health and quality of life. Many doctors focus narrowly rather than on you as a whole person with connected systems when treating you which misses the whole picture of your constellation of symptoms. After many years (7+) and a lot of doctors/$$$, I was diagnosed and treated for iron deficiency (need to get a full iron panel blood test for this), small fiber neuropathy (punch biopsy on calf/thigh), spinal stenosis (congenital), degenerative disc disease, cervical spondylitic myelopathy (compressed spinal cord at C5C6 causing many symptoms), thyroid nodule/Hashimoto's thyroiditis/hypothyroid, alopecia areata, anxiety/depression due to chronic pain, sleep apnea, breast implant illness, etc. At first, I was tested for Multiple Sclerosis and autoimmune diseases/Lupus since I had a positive RA factor and ANA (and mother had Lupus/RA). That was ruled out but I was never told originally by my rheumatologist that I had thyroid autoantibodies in my bloodwork showing my body was attacking my thyroid. I started to have more symptoms after having my son (struggled with infertility so long but got pregnant naturally which is probably due to my thyroid). Pregnancy and viruses (like Epstein Barr which causes mononucleosis or the virus that causes chickenpox) can definitely trigger things. I had chest pain starting after getting the COVID vaccine (Pfizer 2nd shot) for months and thought I was having a heart attack multiple times. The chest pain would wake me up from sleep or be first thing in the morning and started taking baby aspirin (kept next to my bed in case it was a heart attack). All of the cardiac testing came back “normal” but I certainly didn’t feel normal!! My recommendation is to have a full iron and thyroid panel, an ultrasound of your thyroid and lymph nodes. If something is suspicious, they should do fine needle biopsies of your thyroid and lymph nodes. Praying for you to get some answers soon!! Good luck and God bless❣️❣️❣️
P.S. More detailed bloodwork panels help to give a better picture of what might be going on. If something is showing as “normal” but you do not feel normal, your doctor really needs to listen to your symptoms. You could have “normal” range bloodwork but it may not be normal or optimal for you. My thyroid TSH was in the normal range but I looked at the history of my TSH results and it showed that it was gradually creeping higher which showed my thyroid had to work harder to produce more thyroid hormones. Also, the chest pain can be very scary, especially when you have a family history of heart disease/heart attack (my mother died at 67 of a heart attack while lying on an emergency room gurney)!
Sounds like a poor doctor. Find a new one or ones if multiple special issues
I have had many similar symptoms, have you been tested for celiac disease? Eighty percent of people that have this hereditary disease are not diagnosed. The average time to diagnosis is 10+ years. It is auto-immune and most that have it have other auto-immune disorders.
I would honestly find another cardiologist. Don't know the age of yours but mine is mid 30's and part of a larger group at CVI (cardiovascular institute) and he's a sweetheart. I am in Ocala Florida and there's a doctor here for everything that ails you. I would research them and find the highest rated with most positive feedback within your area. Good ones are out there you just have to find them.