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← Return to Chest Discomfort/Pain for 3+ Months
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Chest Discomfort/Pain for 3+ Months
Lung Health | Last Active: Nov 29, 2018 | Replies (13)Comment receiving replies
@bbbogh It's interesting that both you and a few coworkers have the same symptoms. Are you doing a physical job holding your arms overhead? Is it a high stress job? I'm asking this because I have a condition that produces symptoms in my chest. When your pain starts at 8 or 9 AM, what are you doing that might be bringing it on and how long time wise were you doing this? Do you think it could be work related? Are you and the coworkers who have the symptoms doing exactly the same job? Does this happen on your days off? Is it positional or does it come on with a certain posture? Do you get breaks to stretch at work? Are you practicing good ergonomics at work?
What I have is thoracic outlet syndrome and it is aggravated by bad posture and it becomes a problem through incorrect use of muscles that causes a nerve entrapment in-between the rib cage and collar bone. It causes my neck and chest muscles to be too tight and can put a muscle spasm right into my chest. It affects my breathing and I start using my neck muscles when I have trouble breathing which I do because of asthma instead of breathing from the diaphragm. TOS can cause pain radiating to the arms and cut off circulation a bit, but it also puts an ache into the front collar bone area, and you can have it on both sides. Often it is worse on one side. It might be worth asking about, but you would need to see a neurologist who understands it, and a lot of doctors don't and they think it is rare. It's not rare. Look for a medical center where they treat TOS to find a specialist who is familiar with it. If you have this, physical therapy helps. My PT does a lot of manual work with myofascial release. See myofascialrelease.com for info on that. If it's a physical problem, that would make sense that the inhaler and antibiotics didn't help. You can also be allergic to molds even though they have tested "low" in the workplace. Molds cause airways and lung tissues to swell. I feel that when I have problems. Here is some information on TOS https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
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I have a fairly cushy office job. We don't do much physical labor throughout the day. Summers can be high stress but for now, it's relaxed. We have roughly the same jobs/responsibilities. I do get the pains on my day off, it doesn't seem to come/go with a change in posture or position. I do get up and move every hour or so and I'm cognizant of that throughout the day.
I saw the doctor again. Since all my previous X-rays, EKG and blood work have come back normal, he decided to concentrate on my acid reflux. The doctor doubled my Omeprazole to 40mg a day instead of 20 to see if that would get the acid under control. He said any extra acid can cause spasms and cause pains similar to what I'm experiencing. He said to take a few weeks to see how it works out.
It's been about a week since my appointment and, so far, my pain has been lessening with every day. This has happened before when I've gotten treatment, only to have the pain return in a few weeks. I'm wondering if its some sort of placebo effect now or if the stress of thinking of the constant pain is causing further pain. I will add that I have 10-month-old twins at home and am living with my mother-in-law. So added stress could be causing my acid reflux to spike.
Of the two coworkers who were experiencing similar symptoms, one feels back to normal while the other is still getting constant pains. Although, his pain has moved nearer to his abdomen. His doctor has yet to find anything of note, he is getting an ultrasound Friday.
Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts, my apologies for my late response. I'll report back in a week or so.