Chest Discomfort/Pain for 3+ Months

Posted by bbbogh @bbbogh, Nov 16, 2018

I'm a 28 year old male with no history of heart or lung problems. I've been dealing with mild chest discomfort for over 3 months now and am in need of some answers. This pain sits in the center of my chest. It doesn't worsen with exercise but after sleeping the pain improves dramatically. Most mornings, I do not have any chest pain until about 8-9am. I do not have any other symptoms currently. My pain has never been very debilitating, mostly it's just a irritating pang throughout the day.

I have visited a doctor 4 times trying to diagnosis the pain. In the beginning, two coworkers and I started having chest tightness and stiff joints all that the same time, so we assumed it was something viral or bacterial. None of us had any sort of cough, fever or other symptoms. The pain would escalate throughout the day, some to the point where one coworker went into the ER thinking he was having a heart attack. Initially, we all suspected Walking Pneumonia. I did a round of antibiotics (z-pack) and was beginning to feel better. But, at the end of the following week, the chest pain crept back in. This was consistent with my coworkers as well. I also took Flonase for a couple weeks.

I then suspected some sort of mold exposure since we work in a fairly old office space. Blood tests for mold exposure came back at low levels, but nothing that should cause any symptoms. The office was tested for mold and those levels were again low, but not harmful. I then had blood samples taken to test for other allergies/red flags, chest x-ray, and EKG, all which came back normal. I was prescribed an inhaler to see if that would open my airways. The inhaler did not help. I tried changing my diet to see if it was my acid reflux acting up (which I've had most of my life and take Omeprazole to control). Initially my pain seemed to be lessening, but after a week of an adjusted diet, the chest pain remained and it might have just been a placebo affect.

I don't have any other lung issues that I've noticed with this, so I'm unsure if I'm in the correct discussion group. My coworkers are still experiencing this chest pain/discomfort as well. I'm fairly certain it is not heart related since all tests came back negative. Any suggestions for what might be going on? I'm having a follow-up doctors appointment soon, but I wanted to try my luck here since my doctor has not yet been able to diagnose the pain.

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@redhead63

Hi:
Some people are extremely sensitive to small amount of mold. Or what about Rayon. That is very common in old buildings. What about mildew too. If you guys are getting sick then most likely it’s coming from the area that you are working from.

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Even though mold levels were shown to be low, I'm still convinced that we were exposed to higher levels of mold months ago and that was the beginning of our symptoms. Now, we're dealing with the fallout. There was a leak in the ceiling a month or so before we all became ill. It was never fixed and the water damage was in the workspace for quite some time. It's hard to verify, but it is really the only thing that fits with all our symptoms and timing.

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@merpreb

The pain can be very bad or mild..depending on a lot of things.

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My doctor said we would move onto scans/more testing if this round of meds doesn't straighten me out (see my other post for my current treatment). My pain has never really gotten severe, it's usually just a dull annoyance these days. Early on it was enough to keep me awake, but still wasn't searing or anything.

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@bbbogh

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.

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@bbbogh - When I have bad reflux with spasms I take FD Guard. Directions on the box teal you about eating with it. There are two kinds of guards- this one is for pain above the belly button. I also take omeprazole twice a day. I'm glad that your pain has lessened. Congratulations on your twins!

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