Since around fall/winter 2024, I’ve had a feeling of pain either in my chest or in the area between my chest and sternum. The pain has come and gone, and sometimes I feel somewhat alright and don’t notice it, but other times I notice it and am worried. Sometimes it’s felt like a sharp pain (don’t know if sharp pain is the right way to describe it) maybe in the center of me, in the area between my sternum and chest. When I feel it, usually it hasn’t lasted long like maybe seconds where it’s sharp, but hours after that I’m kind of on edge and worried about what I experienced and part of me still doesn’t feel right. I’ve also been constipated, and have been going most days, but I always feel like there’s more I’m not getting out. Last week I was going everyday, and I was going large amounts but still felt I needed to go. Sometimes I’ve gone days/week or more where I’m going everyday consistently, and then I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve felt I needed to go more, but like I couldn’t and I couldn’t push more out or it would be too hard for me to push it out. Sometimes I’ve felt pressure or a feeling of fullness maybe in my stomach area right below my chest. Sometimes I’ve felt like I’ve had troubling relaxing because I’m worried if I relax something wouldn’t feel right maybe near my stomach or sternum.
The past few days I haven’t really had pain near my sternum/chest, but I’ve felt kind of on edge and like I didn’t feel right. Today I was sitting down most of the day except for a walk, and maybe a couple-few hours after walking I went to use the bathroom, and around that time I felt like I had a pain near my sternum or chest. Going to the bathroom today didn’t seem to cause that pain though. Earlier today before that happened, I sniffled and something didn’t feel right near that area, but I sniffled after that and didn’t feel the same way. The past few days, when I haven’t felt right in that area or have had pressure, it’s seemed like I’ve felt it almost after changing positions or getting up. Today I felt kind of a pain when I went upstairs after sitting down for a while. Maybe a few weeks ago I had a similar feeling, like after using the bathroom (didn’t have a bowel movement) and standing up, I kind of had a feeling near that same area but it didn't last long.

Sometimes I’m not sure how much is going on physically and if stress/anxiety is affecting this, but it doesn’t seem like it’s all stress. Sometimes I feel somewhat decent and want to think I’m alright, but I feel like most of the time I’m somewhat alert and aware, and am worried about feeling this way again. I’ve felt like for the past year there’s been many times I’ve felt a pain near my sternum/chest, but most of the time I haven’t felt pain but I haven’t felt completely right. Sometimes I want to think I feel alright, but during those times I think I feel alright, part of me feels tense like I’m almost waiting to not feel right physically. It also seems like the times I’ve felt this pain, I haven’t felt it during the night, and I don’t know if that means anything. The past few months, it’s seemed like my bowels have been making more noises than usual during the night, and sometimes if I stay up on my phone I notice the noises.

Does anyone have advice about this? There’s a few things I’ve wondered about if I have, like costochondritis or a hernia (maybe a hiatal hernia). I have a doctors appointment next month, and I’ve thought about if I’m still feeling this way talking about the symptoms I’ve had.