Motility, joint, twitching & sinus issues, sharp pain near sternum
Off and on since October last year, I’ve been having chest pains or kind of a sharp pain maybe near my sternum area. This year and more recently, it hasn’t really felt like chest pain but maybe a sharp pain near my sternum area. When I feel that way, it feels like it’s in the same area on my back as it is on my front side. I’ve felt like I’ve been going through cycles since October, where I’ll feel the pain and it’ll last maybe 3 days, and then it kind of goes away or I don’t notice it. It seems like I’ll go maybe for around 2 weeks-maybe a month or few months, and then it’s come back. Sometimes when I’ve felt the pain, it’s given me the urge to have a bowel movement and I feel uncomfortable and like I need to get things out. Sometimes I’ve also had feelings of fullness near my sternum/maybe stomach, and it almost feels like somethings there. I’ve wondered if it could be a hernia, but I don’t know.
I’ve also been constipated/have felt like im not fully emptying since fall 2020. I’m going to the bathroom and having decent size bowel movements half the time or more, but I feel like I have some kind of blockage or like something’s preventing me from feeling like I fully emptied. At times I’ve wondered if I’m just constipated and I haven’t dealt with it, but I’ve been going through cycles where I’ll go consistently for a while and feel like I’m getting things out, and then feel like I need to go more but it’s too hard to get out on my own or it would hurt too much. Sometimes my mouth has felt watery too, when I feel like I need to have a bowel movement but it seems like nothing would come out.
This morning not long after waking up, I started feeling the pain somewhat near my sternum. I had a decent sized bowel movement, and then later I felt like the pain or discomfort was giving me the urge to go to the bathroom again. I went through that a couple times and went decent amounts, but I’m still feeling like I need to go more but I can’t get it out by pushing.
I’ve also had sinus pressure for at least a year, and sometimes my upper nose feels like there’s pressure and sometimes stuffed. I’ve wondered if that’s connected to my bowels and everything going on. Sometimes when my nose has felt stuffed, I feel worried like I don’t know if something going on with my bowels is causing a blockage somewhere in my body.
Sometimes I’ve also had kind of like a pinching feeling in my joints, like in the area between my lower and upper arm. Sometimes I’ve had weird twitches too, like in my leg or near my pant pocket.
What could be causing this? I have a doctor’s appointment next month.
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I experienced that pain in sternum area, thinking it was GERD, over 2 years. It became more frequent, severe. Went to ER, where it was diagnosed as a GALL BLADDER issue. It never crossed my mind! I’m now 2 weeks out from surgery to remove it.
@nicolerose30, you're right. Gut health and the gastrointestinal tract can affect our overall health. I've seen my own gut issues (due to a medication I was taking) do this to me.
Great that you have an appointment scheduled, as this definitely sounds like something that you'll want a medical professional to investigate. While you wait for that, members here can help you prepare for a good appointment.
I note that you are already monitoring your symptoms and connecting possible dots to see if symptoms are relevant or related to one another. Along those lines, starting a journal could be helpful for your appointment. I would suggest taking note of things like:
- [Name the symptom]: When does it happen? How severe is it on a scale between 1 and 10? Any possible triggers or other possible items of note, like what did you eat, what were you doing at the time, physical activity, etc.?
Have you started a journal to write down your symptoms, nicolerose30? Do you have a list of questions to ask when you are with the doctor at the appointment?
I've had some of the same symptoms, and having had every test imaginable with not alarming results I've started just sitting down, stopping what I'm doing when the symptoms start. Taking long slow breaths. Drinking slowly a glass of room temperature water. Sometimes chewing non-mint gum helps. Sometimes taking a gentle walk helps. Sometimes gently moving my legs on my stationary bike helps. Sometimes drinking water loosens the mucus in my nose and when I then blow my nose to eliminate the mucus - some of the dripping into the back of my throat and my stomach slows down. Good luck with yours. And maybe stress - thoughts, anxiety, fears - etc will end up being the root of it, in which case you can look for some of the triggers that start this process in your body and start to reduce them. That's the journey I'm on now...