What can cause a sharp pain either in my chest or right below it?

I'm no doctor, but from personal experience, I know there are many, many causes of pain the chest/abdomen/torso.

Most are unpleasant but not immediately life-threatening -- dehydration, stress, indigestion, strained muscles, hernia, etc. But the ones that are serious can be *plenty* serious.

Rather than speculate, please get it checked out.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

@emilystewart30 My first thought was: gallstones! But you are very young for that. As @scottrl suggested though, the first place to start is to get an appointment with your family doctor.

Thanks for responding. Can gallstone symptoms last for months?

Thank you for responding. Would X-rays show anything? I had X-rays done today and was kind of hoping if something’s wrong it would show up on them. I won’t know the results for a couple weeks. I have a doctors appointment towards the end of this month as well

@emilystewart30 Yes, gallstone symptoms can go on for several months - even years. Your symptoms sound a lot like mine before I was diagnosed with gallstones. Here’s some information on it:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/7313-gallstones
End of the month seems a long time to wait for a family physician’s appointment. Sounds like you live in Canada! Perhaps you could give the receptionist a call and ask her to put you on the wait list for any cancellations before the end of the month.

If you had a chest X-ray it would only show if anything is wrong with your lungs or ribs but it will not show anything else wrong. Gallstones would be seen on an abdominal ultrasound.

Thanks for sending the article. I don’t have all the symptoms of gallstones or a gallstone attack, but I’m not saying I don’t have it. I haven’t been nauseous or vomiting, but maybe it’s possible to have it and not be nauseous.
If it’s alright to ask, what were your symptoms like?
I feel like I have a sharp pain either in my chest or right below it that kind of comes and goes, but I feel off most of the time. Sometimes the pain radiates to my back, and I’m worried to go into a deep sleep because I’m not sure if something would happen. I assume I’m sleeping during the night and don’t really wake up through the night, so I’m not sure if it’s in my head.

You say right below your chest. Which side, or is it in the center? R side could be gallstones/liver issue. Please don't let anyone put you off because you are "too young". If you are having consistent pain, something is wrong. You may need an MRI or and MRI with contrast, if the x-ray shows nothing. I had a similar issue and it took three different tests to finally determine what it was. Good luck

I agree about your efforts to seek medical attention to determine what is happening. I just read an article that teen-agers are getting kidney stones now, so don't think just because you are young you can't have problems that previously were considered just for older folks. I hope they also check you for heart issues since chest pain is involved. You probably suspect digestive issues may be a factor, which is why you posted here. While waiting for answers from real doctors would it make sense to experiment for two weeks with OTC h2 blocker like Pepcid or proton pump inhibitor like omeprazole and see if that helps? Or cut out high acid, fatty foods and ultra processed food for a couple of weeks and see if that helps? Also if you are afraid of sleeping deeply could you get an app that would track your sleep and maybe do an alert if you stop breathing? I don't know if such a thing exists with the alarm function but maybe. Good luck in your search. You are doing the right thing by doing your homework so you can better advocate for yourself. Don't be afraid to ask questions or press for more information or tests if you think it reasonable. Please update us when you know more!

You should see a doctor and not go by those in this group. That being said, your may have a tortuous colon and this could be gas. A tortuous colon is an extra long colon that is under the ribs and around the back. The extra twists and turns makes for painful gas. I have this.

It feels like it’s in the center. Sometimes it doesn’t really feel like chest pain and like it’s lower, but other times it feels like it’s near my chest. Sometimes it’ll radiate to my back, and it’s almost like at times it’s in the same place on my front side as it is in my back.