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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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Still having chest pains and lots of PVCs. Driving me crazy
@russellbeard Did you get a chance to read the post by @jenniferhunter? She mentions some information that sounds similar to your symptoms. Here's the link to her post - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/months-of-chest-pain-please-help/?pg=17#comment-436652
I had a few of your symptoms and it turned out to be my gallbladder. I had been having reflux at night in bed which I never had. I eventually was doubled over in pain all throughout my upper belly and nauseated. I went to the ER where I had ultrasound, CT and lots of lab. Had already lost my appetite. My gallbladder was large but no stones. Liver has I don't know how many cysts, all my lab OK except an elevated lipase. Docs said it is unusual for someone to be thin, have an enlarged gallbladder and have no stones. I will see a GI doc for video conference on Monday. Maybe I can get to the source of a lot of trouble. I've had trouble with foods, stomach reactions to who knows what, chronic constipation in spite of eating to avoid it.......this has gone on for years. I know not to eat saturated fats. I am weary from it all. Constant migraine on top of it.
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1 ReactionHello all, I just wanted to update you with my journey. I've been having chest pain on and off (but mostly daily) for 10 months now. In the last 2 months I have also developed pain on the sides of my neck, wrist pain and calf pain. My GP has run an auto-immune disease blood works and it came back significantly positive for ANA. He said this could either be lupus or RA, I'm currently awaiting appointment with Rheumatologist which looks like it's going to take months. I feel like I'm getting closer to get anwers.
Hi everyone, I have experienced similar symptoms to many on this thread and it had been comforting to read through the comments. In March last year, I experienced a sharp pain in the left of my chest when running - I’m a regular runner, 26, so I know what normal running pain (stitches etc) feel like, and this wasn’t that. It forced me to stop running immediately, the pain subsided and I walked home. Ever since then, this has been a recurring problem - not on every run, but with increasing frequency. If I don’t run for a few days or weeks it might be fine for a couple of runs before returning. In November last year I also had sedentary chest pain for the first time - more of a dull ache, and on a couple of occasions palpatations. I worried (and continue to worry) that this was a more advanced phase of the pain experienced while running. Since November the pain at rest has been near constant - it’s mild during the day so I can continue with my day at possible. It usually gets worse in the evening and when lying down. In the past week my left arm has also constantly ached which I worry is connected. I’ve had an ECG, chest xray and blood tests which have all been fine. My GP has prescribed me Omprezole which I’ve been taking for 2 weeks with no noticeable effect. I’m due to have an arythmia test in February but continue to worry and speculate - it’s taking ages to diagnose largely due the NHS being overwhelmed (I live in the UK). I’m not sure if I have 2 separate issues or if they are connected, nor how serious either could be. But it is affecting my quality of life as it’s stopping me running and the pain at rest is unpleasant.
Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated. Thanks everyone.
@larrydyer How much do you run at one time? How does what you eat and when you eat affect the pains? Do you lie down within 2 hours of eating.. try not to ... Do you sleep prone? Try raising the head of the bed 6" or more..
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1 ReactionI'm having a very similar problem I had a hernia surgery the end of june 2020 and about a week later I was lying in bed and had this chest pain/pressure so I stayed up all night told my wife we went to er I have sense been to the er 4 times heart dr has done test says not a heart issue I have been to stomach dr he ran scope down and took biopsies all came back good its will go away sometimes for a week or so but come right back it's starting to mess with my head a little bit sometimes I get a little dizzy to some days are better than others I just need help getting this fixed
Hi hartline, Do you think you could be having anxiety attacks? They can play havoc with us and cause all kinds of symptoms. Best wishes for a healthy and safe 2021! Baz
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2 ReactionsI have not tought about or looked into that
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1 ReactionHello @hartline and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I understand you are having chest pain and have been to the Emergency Department as a result 4 times since your hernia surgery. I am sure this must be very concerning and scary for you.
I found the following article that illustrates typical symptoms of heart-related and non-heart related symptoms of chest pain so you can try to narrow down which might resonate more with your experiences these last several months.
-Chest Pain - Symptoms and Causes:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chest-pain/symptoms-causes/syc-20370838
-Why does my chest hurt?
https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/whats-causing-my-chest-pain#1
Can you come back and share your thoughts/reactions?
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