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Months of Chest Pain - Please help
Hello all,
My name is Brandon and I'm a 34 year old male. I'm excited to get signed up on here and hopeful this may help my anxiety which is through the roof! I have been through ongoing chest pain for the past 4 months. The pain started off as a pinch on the left side of chest. It evolved into a pinch and pressure onto the right side of chest. It would be nearly daily, but didn't really get worse after meals or doing a lot of exercising. The pain then started radiating to my shoulders and sometimes into my arms but rarely. Now, it radiates into my jaw occasionally. I get a wierd fluttering in my chest occasionally when I lay down, but when i sit up and get doing stuff I don't realize it much. Now the chest pain mainly feels like pressure in my chest snd i get occsssional sharp pains on the lower portion of my ribs and sometimes on each side of my sternum. What could this be?
Here's what all I've had done....
CT scan of heart and heart echo - found i have a slightly dialated aerota at the base that they will monitor yearly. I also have a bicuspid aerota valve with moderate regurgitation. Cardiologist does not think my heart is causing the pains. I have no blockages at all and they aren't concerned at all of a heart attack.
I was scoped and found i have a moderate to large hiatal hernia and esophagitas. They also did a manometry test and found I was having esophogas spasms. I am set to have a bravo test this week to see if acid reflux might be the cause. I bet that will show that is the case because I've had acid reflux since my late teens / early 20s.
During my CT scan, they saw a slightly enlarged lymphnode...which i think was on the right side of my chest. They said they would recheck that in 6 months. I had a cold or infection during that test and had some congestion and they say that may of been the reason for that.
I have been on a proton pump inhibitor, zantac and tums as needed but i haven't really noticed much of an improvement on them, if at all.
I have back problems and a neck injury as well. They also think that may be the cause of the chest pain. I had an MRI which did not show any nerve compression but I am constantly battling neck and back pain, sometimes severe.
Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks all,
Brandon
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Hi, no I am not on steroids, I am going back to the hospital tomorrow I think to see what advice they give me and alright how old are you?
Hi. No medications. Other than the occasional pain reliever for hesdaches. Which are daily as well
Hey brandon,
I'm suffering from this condition "EXACTLY THE SAME" for over a year now.
I have done more than 10 ecgs, echo test ,ultrasound and all came out clear.
I was also diagnosed with hiatus hernia....
My symptoms are exactly like yours... pain in left side, radiates to the arm, shoulder, sometimes makes the jaw numb as well, bubble on the lower side of the rib cage which obstructs breathing as well.
I haven't found a permanent fix but these things if you keep taking will remove the pain and probably fix in the long run.
1) Kefir yogurt (Get free kefir grains from somewhere and make yogurt daily and drink almost a liter everyday) *for all gastro issues plus promotes good bacteria - if you are in dubai...i can give you.
2) Nexum. *gastrointestinal issues...
3) pregablin (Lyrica) *Nerve related issues
4) Bromazepam (Lexotenal) *Anxiety
All of these are solutions to these.
I would suggest to try all and see what works for you.
For me all of them work specially kefir since its natural(organic) with no chemicals and still does the job.
Please let me know if any of the above help you out.
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1 ReactionI have also had chest pain for a longer duration- since last Saturday. It seems like an especially panicked run across downtown Chicago to make an evening train may have triggered it. I'm not a runner so by the time I made it to the train I couldn't breathe. Since then I've had trouble taking a deep breath and have felt chest pressure and pain. The pain didn't happen immediately while running, but came on gradually. I've been taking aspirin daily to try and alleviate...seems like taking two is more effective. I've been putting off a doctor's appointment because I'm still paying for an MRI and lab work (from late last year-and I have insurance!) for headache issues. Is it anxiety? Is it my heart? Did something happen in my lungs? I'm scared.
Welcome @helena4000 @altamash and @jdad0602
I’m truly sorry to hear about your stress and frustration of not being able to pinpoint a cause for your pain – It’s horrible to feel scared and worried!
I encourage you to go through these discussions on Connect, where @astaingegerdm @happyat76 @danab @bonnieh218 @brrn have shared some information and experiences that I think you’ll find useful.
– Chest pain > a month https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chest-pain-a-month/
– Ongoing Chest Pain with normal tests https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ongoing-chest-pain-with-normal-tests/
– Chronic Stomach, chest and back pain https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chronic-stomach-chest-and-back-pain/
There are a few conditions that can cause this kind of chest pain – GERD and other gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers, muscle spasms in the esophagus, a gallbladder attack, can cause chest pain and symptoms that mimic those of a heart attack or angina:
– Heartburn or heart attack: When to worry https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heartburn/in-depth/heartburn-gerd/art-20046483
However, it is always safer to get it checked out –the more you know, the easier it is to avoid damage.
Thank you....since I posted I have been to my own doctor, who did an EKG which he said was normal. He immediately jumped to anxiety without suggesting any other tests. I'm like, but I've never had this before, running must have triggered something-I've never had pain in my chest & trouble breathing for a month. He thought it was musculoskeletal. Gave prescription for sertraline and lorazepam, and ibuprofen cream. A week later I called off work & went to an urgent care clinic because it hurt so much, and I still had trouble breathing. They did an X-ray, looked normal. Ibuprofen pills prescribed. Which brings me to today, rapid breathing at rest, continued pain...and everytime I go to the doctor they throw anxiety at me. I'm terrified to go to an emergency room. And people wonder why we don't like going to doctors. They don't listen.
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2 ReactionsSorry to hear that. I haven’t posted in a while and I didn’t have the same breathing issues as you but i had chest pain etc for almost 7 months undiagnosed. They threw anxiety and stress at me every time along with musculoskeletal. I ended up pushing them harder and they ordered a CT scan to see my arteries and heart more closely. They found I was 90% blocked in my main coronary artery. I was shocked and so were they. Immediately admitted and had a stent put in. It’s been 2 months since then. Be persistent and stick up for your self if the pains aren’t going away. Best of luck.
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1 ReactionThat's awful! I'm glad they finally found it though. Can I ask if you have a family history of heart problems?
Grateful that we caught it though! My mother had a stent placement at the age of 70. No one as early as me. I just turned 40 and have kept myself in good shape. They believe it was hereditary along with some diet issues. Pretty early though!
That's super early! I hope I can get my doctor to do more tests. I'm thinking about dropping him.
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