Months of Chest Pain - Please help

Hey thanks! Yeah, i know you arent doctors lol. And I know I need to go get checked but deep down I think its something serious. Its not gas pains as the others here suggest. Gas pains dont last off and on for 24 hours a day for 7 months and counting. Plus I know what gas pains feel like. Like someone else said..they are sharp like a knife. These pains arent sharp or severe. They are a dull cramping and sometimes pinching feeling. Once awhile it feels like pressure and radiates down my arm. Now the past few nights when i lay down i feel a lil short of breath and my heart feels like its beating harder. Not FASTER...but beating harder. My pulse and blood pressure both remain normal during these "episodes". Sometimes when I get myself worked up and anxious about it, it makes my pulse go up but for the most part its normal. But lately Ive been catching myself needing to take deep breaths as if im not getting enough air. I dont know, Its just scary. I know I need to go. I did tell my PCP but shes doing telehealth right now and i dont understand how she can properly examine me or my heart over the phone lol. I guess my best bet is to go to an emergency room and let them do an exam and see if they feel i need to see a specialist i guess.

I’ve also been dealing with left side chest pains for about 10 months now. I’ve had pretty much every heart test done and only thing found was a small amount of blockage. I’ve been in and out of the er a bunch of times especially lately. Tons of blood work and ekgs and chest X-rays etc. everything always comes out fine. Besides talking to my pcp and heart doctor and recently a therapist and psychiatrist. He recommended Effexor for anxiety etc. been on it for a month it hasn’t helped. I do have acid reflux which be had for years and take meds for that. I’ve stopped drinking alcohol. I don’t smoke and have tried other anxiety meds and nothing has helped. I’ve explained to my doctors that it’s a physical pain and and there has to be something to stop it. It’s ruined my life. I can’t work or anything. Please help.

Hello @jessedude119, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I know it can be frustrating and scary to not get any answers that help with the pain. It sounds like you are doing the right things to help with maintaining your general health. Until other members can share their experience, here's an article that offers some suggestions that you may find helpful.

Reducing Chest Pain Caused by Anxiety: https://www.news-medical.net/health/Reducing-Chest-Pain-Caused-by-Anxiety.aspx

Have you doctors mentioned any alternative treatments that might help such as deep breathing and mind-calming techniques?

Hi I am viraj
I have the similar sysmptoms as you had in the chest area. Doctors say it is due to anxiety. Did you find a reason for this chest pain

Hello @virajroshan, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm assuming your question about having similar symptoms was for @jessedude119 or @capt209, who started this discussion. Unfortunately @capt209 did not post again after starting the discussion and may not be receiving email notifications.

Has your doctor suggested or started any treatment for then anxiety diagnosis or done other tests to determine another possible cause?

Thanks for replying. Actually I had needle stabbing line paining initially for only few seconds, then had a dull pain. Mainly I had both side of the chest, but now I feel even my both hands. I checked Ecg, echo and stress test. all were normal. Doctors saying I have a anxiety. Now I have very tiny pains over the body. But I feel all these pains when I am in rest. During exercises I have no such pains. In addition I don't have any symptoms like painting, sweeting, vision problems during the pains. Primarily I observe these pains are during the evening and night times, very rare in morning. But it never disturb for sleeping. I have good sleep every night. This is been around five months now. Do any one have idea about this ?? I am fed up due to this.
Thanks...

@virajroshan, I can certainly understand being frustrated that you are not able to get any answers for the pain. Hopefully other members with similar experience will share what has helped them. I did find a couple of articles that may be worth reading that may be related to the symptoms you mentioned.

- "Apr 15, 2019 — Sudden, Sharp Chest Pain That Goes Away: What Is It? ... Severe anxiety and panic attacks can cause sudden, sharp chest pain. ... arms or back; dizziness or lightheadedness; shortness of breath; fast or “pounding” heartbeat ... ": https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-attack/sudden-sharp-pain-in-chest-that-goes-away-quickly
- What is precordial catch syndrome?: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320105

Did your doctor prescribe any medications to see if they help?

They have me on too much medication. Clonazepam for anxiety 2 pills daily. I was on that once before and only took 1 pill a day, plus welbutrin which never did work on me and generic cymbalta, plus abilify. I don't take the abilify and am sick of all those pills. I have gotten panic attacks. The chest pain was due to the loss of blood that is when they admitted me into the hospital and did a transfusion and two bags of iron. Plus I take other meds for thyroid, high cholesterol, acid reflux. I fell like I'm taking way too much medications and they all have side effects. I don't think I need to be on 3 depression meds at all, so I don't take one. But even being on two is ridiculous. I'm always tired and that was never like me to be tired constantly. I am just confused with all that has been going on this past year, especially when I had the bad reaction to the latest shingles vaccine.

Hello, I am new to the group. I’ve been experiencing deep chest/diaphragm pain for the past 4 months, I can’t create the pain, it’s just there always, better in the am but towards the night it gets worse. some light burning in the left pec muscle and pain shooting in back area directly behind chest discomfort. Had ekg, stress ekg, calcium score test(0), endoscopy, seen a DO, chest MRI, chest x-ray, ultra sound of chest, all clear. Did acupuncture, ozone/vit c therapy, massage, etc. no answers. Was told by DO I injured myself in gym, some practitioners mentioned intercostal neuralgia, costracondrotis, teets syndrome. Can’t seem to get an answer. I would sure like some insite. Thank You.

Hello @funk24, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. There is an older discussion started in 2011 but it has posts from 2019 that you might find helpful - Costochrondritis/ Tietze syndrome: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/costachrondritis-tietze-syndrome/

Have you thought about seeking help from a major teaching hospital or large health facility like Mayo Clinic? If you would like to seek help from Mayo Clinic, contact one of the appointment offices. The contact information for Minnesota, Arizona and Florida can be found here http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63.