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Ongoing Chest Pain
A week ago, I woke up at night from chest pain. It was pretty intense and I thought it was heartburn. I took Tums, which always help, but they didn't help. The next day I went to my doctor. She did an EKG and it was normal. She prescribed Omeprazole for GERD. Even after days of taking it, I do not feel better. My chest pain is constant. It's minor but it moves around. For example, it is in the middle of my chest right now but has been on the left side and then the right side today as well. My cholesterol is normal, I am a 28 year old female, I am not overweight, and there is not history of heart issues in my family.
Sometimes I feel like my heart is fluttering. I've also been very tired and a bit dizzy. I am not sure if part of the cause of my symptoms is anxiety, but anxiety attacks don't typically last for days on end. I have a hard time focusing on anything lately because of my symptoms. I feel shaky too.
Please help me. I am not sure what is going on and I feel like my doctor doesn't think it's a big deal.
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hi @kanaazpereira ! I am a 24 year old girl experiencing similar pains, for over a year now. I have spoken with my doctor about GERD causes and have tried acid reflux medicine and did not feel better, do you have another idea? thank you!
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1 ReactionHi @samb33, chest pain is a common symptom that can indicate many things. It is really important to work with your doctor to investigate. What may be the cause for chest pain for one person may not be the reason you are experiencing this pain.
Having said that, good for you for trying to find possible causes. You may wish to see the ideas members shared with other young members in these discussions:
- Months of Chest Pain - Please help https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/months-of-chest-pain-please-help/
- Chest Pain for 1 month https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chest-pain-for-1-month-1/
- Chest Pain/Disconfort since May 2019 https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chest-paindisconfort-since-may-2019/
- Left chest lower rib cage pain moving upwards https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/left-chest-lower-rib-cage-pain-moving-upwards/
Because there can be so many reasons for chest pains, I recommend that you keep a log or diary of when you experience the pain. Keep track of things like:
- how intense is the pain
- where is it
- how long did it last
- what were you doing when you experienced the pain
- what did you have to eat or drink before or while you experienced the pain
- how was your stress level at the time of pain? Did you have stress at work, home or school?
- how was your overall health that day, for example well rested, good eating habits, exercise, etc.
Bringing this information to your next appointment can help you and your doctor figure out what is going on.
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1 ReactionWelcome to Connect, @samb33. I can imagine your worry because there's so much emotional stress with having symptoms that nobody can explain!
I wanted to quickly mention that I’m not a medical expert, hence I wouldn’t be able to advise you. However, since the most important ingredient of Connect is its members––like you––I’d be glad to tell you what I’ve learnt from all the shared experiences and insights.
Chest pain is one of those things that can be quite challenging to diagnose––and you want to consider it seriously as this type of pain can be a sign of heart disease. Chest pain generally originates from one of the organs in the chest (heart, lung, or esophagus) or from the components of the chest wall (skin, muscle, or bone). Organs close to the chest, such as the gall bladder or stomach, may also cause chest pain. Pain in the chest may also be the result of neck or shoulder joint pain that is referred to the chest, called referred pain. Take a look at this article, which explains the possible causes of chest pain: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/chest-pain-beyond-the-basics
@samb33, have had any tests to rule out heart-related issues?
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1 Reactionhi @kanaazpereira thank you! I have seen a cardiologist, he ruled out heart related issues with an echo, ct scan with dye, and a stress test. I have also seen a pulmonologist and rheumatologist who both said everything seemed normal. I'm thinking a gastroenterologist might be next, but wanted to come here to see if anyone had other ideas of what it could be.
Thanks for the article! Esophogus could be another thing for me to explore as well, I have seen esophological spasms brought up a few times.
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3 Reactionshi @colleenyoung thank you! yes, I have been working with my doctor for over a year now and she seems to be somewhat stumped too unfortunately. I will try to do a better job at keeping track of the pain before our next appointment though.
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2 ReactionsHello @samb33
I agree that journaling your daily activities, food, exercise, etc. is a great way to help track your symptoms. I hope that this method will help you.
I look forward to hearing if you make any progress with this chest pain. Will you post again?
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1 ReactionHi @samb33,
You might also wish to view these discussions, where @kimh @franduffy @sylvias @kozlo52 @brie87144 @ryhughes @cim37343 @debiobrien have shared their experiences with esophageal issues:
– Esophageal spasm https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/esophageal-spasm/
– Esophagus issues https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/esophagus-issues/
Have you ever had sternotomy surgery?
This is actually not a normal CT scan for what you have described called a CTA I would actually have to get on my paperwork for the rest of the description it is a CTA with something in the description. it looks through all of your blood vessels and more it's not an extensive test. however insurance companies are not happy to pay for it I do not know if this is for cost for other reasons. It took me about three months of pretty much daily fit not to mention that I gave them my 14 year olds name and number so they could explain to her if something happened to me and she was thrown into the foster care system due to the fact that I only have permanent guardianship of her which means she is a ward of the state , because they just didn't feel that the test should be done or that they were saving themselves a dime.
Hi how are you now?