The unending chest pains....

Nakatomi2010

Alright.... So here I am, half past midnight, having problems sleeping.... Its my chest again..... I'm beginning to believe that I do not have any type of dgiestive problem such as GERD as despite taking Prilosec I still fel the pain.... I've also been getting into a habit of two tylenol in the morning and another two in the evening as pain management....

I am 23 years old...

I am going to give a very detailed description of the issues I am experiencing... I have bene to the doctors, and all I'm getting is Acid Reflux out of them, so I'd appreciate some form of an educated guess....

The pain is ALWAYS in my left chest, it all began back in November/October shortly after I made the idiot mistake drink a two liter bottle of Gamer Fuel without really eating anything else, sicne then things have been going down hill.... The pain seems kind of like it around the nipple area of my chest, it'll move between my side beneath the armpit over to above the nipple area depending on how I sit/move....

In December/January I noticed a new dot on my chest, a red dot about half an inch to a full inch to the upper right of my left nipple, it looks like a birth mark but I honestly do not remmeber it being there until a month or two ago, I haven't given it too much thought lately as my wife said its always been there.... It does not look like a freckle or mole, and occasioanlly the pain seems realtively focused in that area.... The red spot is in fact sournding a hair in that area, in that the area is going in the middle of the red spot.

If I stretch too much, or move myself too quickly towards my left side I have "torn" feeling in the general area of the pain like something has torn itself within and I'll have a moment of intense pain while it does it things and I calm down....

Tonight I was laying in down on my stomach and started to feel bad, and now any horizontal position I try to occupy makes it feel... Oddly painful, yet like its "going to get me", so I'm actually sleeping on the couch tonight to keep myself a little more raised as it seems to make it feel a little better....


Can't think of any other real identifying things, but those are the majors...... I'm willing to accept that yes I have GERD, but this other pain I'm having, I refuse to believe it is related to it because it is still very much there.....



I understand its a lot to read, but this pain is beginnign to affect my day to day life.... And I'm honestly reaching a point where I'm tempted to simply walk into a hospital and simply say "Look, there's something wrong with me, and I'm not leaving till you guys figure it out" Cause this is driving me bonkers....

Thank you for your time and efforts...

Edit: There are times where I feel like I NEED to keep myself awake because if I don't I'm going to either pass out, or do the untimely alternate option... While I realize the second option is not likely, its how I feel when I begin to fall asleep....

The pain itself, at its worst, has been able to be felt into my left arm, additinally when its really bad it'll affect almost the entire left side of my body, my right side ALWAYS feels fine, but my left side can feel wonky at times.... Always chest first, but other places afterwards just... Eck....

dlinfiniti

did the doctors rule out pneumothorax? its pretty common and is a possibility considering the spontaneity of it

purplebubbles

It sounds like you probably should be getting a second opinion, or going to another doctor. Have you been to see a gastrointestinal specialist? Perhaps you should request an appointment.

In my experience I am aware that gastrointestinal reflux, is often mistaken for chest pain, but of course the primary concern is always making sure that it's not heart related at all. When you went to the doctor the first time did they put you on a cardiac monitor? Did they take an EKG? Blood tests? Have they scheduled for any other tests? When somebody takes your pulse when you are feeling like this is it irregular?

I'm not sure that we can provide much more advice, other than if you are not happy with your diagnosis, it's never a bad idea to go and seek a second opinion.

Midshipman

I'm not really able to help diagnose your problem, but I can tell you that it is a good idea to avoid long term use of Tylenol. That stuff is pretty bad for your liver, and while it won't cause immediate damage if you stay within the reccomended dose (or mix with alcohol), it can greatly increase the odds of you getting liver disease in the long term.

Technicality

I hit similar problems a few years ago. It sucked a lot because the doctors wouldn't do anything to magic it away, because there isn't anything. None of the drugs I tried made any significant difference, it just took time, awareness and practice.

Nakatomi2010 wrote: »

If I stretch too much, or move myself too quickly towards my left side I have "torn" feeling in the general area of the pain like something has torn itself within and I'll have a moment of intense pain while it does it things and I calm down....

Tonight I was laying in down on my stomach and started to feel bad, and now any horizontal position I try to occupy makes it feel... Oddly painful, yet like its "going to get me", so I'm actually sleeping on the couch tonight to keep myself a little more raised as it seems to make it feel a little better....

These are very acid refluxy sounding things, like I was getting. The left hand side thing didn't happen to me, but I got weird back and rib pains, so its possible it affects people a bit differently. AFAIK the reason the pain is so weird is due to the inflamed gullet (usually due to something from half an hour or so ago) deferring pain all over the place.

Definitely do keep your doctor up to date on how much it is troubling you though, and seek a second opinion to be sure. If your doctor isn't very sympathetic find one who is. As hard as it is to believe right now (I too heavily suspected the doctors were wrong, because I felt more like I was dying) you may have to accept the fact that they could be right though.

If at any point you want me to share what works for me, just ask.

Nakatomi2010

purplebubbles wrote: »

It sounds like you probably should be getting a second opinion, or going to another doctor. Have you been to see a gastrointestinal specialist? Perhaps you should request an appointment.

In my experience I am aware that gastrointestinal reflux, is often mistaken for chest pain, but of course the primary concern is always making sure that it's not heart related at all. When you went to the doctor the first time did they put you on a cardiac monitor? Did they take an EKG? Blood tests? Have they scheduled for any other tests? When somebody takes your pulse when you are feeling like this is it irregular?

I'm not sure that we can provide much more advice, other than if you are not happy with your diagnosis, it's never a bad idea to go and seek a second opinion.

I have been to a Gastro guy..... I've had an ultrasound anf CT scan done to eliminate gallstones and problems with my intestines and stuff.... The results were apparently that I have a distended colon, which is apparently nothin to really worry about...

Technicality wrote:

any point you want me to share what works for me, just ask.

Do share... anything that helps me feel like I'm not going to die is greatly appreciated....

Gnome-Interruptus

Umm.. seriously, get your heart checked out. I know this is just anecdotal, but a friend of my mom was constantly taking one of those heartburn / acid reflux medications she had gotten from her doctor because she complained about having heartburn. Turns out that it wasnt heart burn but was actually heart problems and she ended up dying at the ripe old age of 35.

Most doctors dont look too deeply into their patients, if their patient says "I think its heart burn" most doctors will accept that as fact and give you something for heartburn. Considering the fact that the medication you are taking has not resolved it, I would suggest going back to the doctor and saying "I think its something other than heart burn, can I get checked for heart disease etc?"

While its scary to think you might have heart disease, and you dont want to even admit the possibility by getting it checked out, your much much better off in the long run by getting a test that says positive than no test at all, because at least then you can start taking steps to try to alleviate or cure it. And hey, it could be negative too.

Technicality

Nakatomi2010 wrote: »

Technicality wrote:

any point you want me to share what works for me, just ask.

Do share... anything that helps me feel like I'm not going to die is greatly appreciated....

I did a lot of reading on things that help. A lot of them didn't work for me, but some of them did so its worth getting a range of tips and trying stuff to see what works for you. My symptoms weren't quite the same as yours (I also tended to get nauseated when it hurt a lot).

Stuff that definitely helped for me:

- Learning to sleep comfortably with a slightly raised chest & head (to the point where I wouldn't shift about when asleep till I was flat again). My approach involved forming a formidable pillow collection.
- Eating and drinking more bland things when it gets bad. Porridge in particular worked well for me.
- Antacid tablets in moderation. After meals and before it starts to hurt, as for me there was gap between cause and effect.
- Eating smaller meals more frequently. Drinking smaller quantities of fluids more frequently.
- Having meals in a peaceful environment, and giving them time to settle before rushing off to do something.
- Mindfulness meditation. This helped me analyse, and hence predict and control the pain.
- More exercise and improving posture.

azstrider

Sounds like Texidor's Twinge, a completely benign but at times annoying sensation

WikiPedia article

Nova_C

Yeah, get this checked out. Also, look for common triggers: I get faint chest pain if I consume caffeine late in the day (Yes, I've been to the ER over this and although I was a little freaked out with a heart rate of 140, they didn't actually find anything wrong). Also, greasy foods can have a similar effect.

But yeah, hospitals take chest pain seriously and for good reason. I dunno what it's like where you are, but going to the ER didn't cost me anything and if it isn't going to cost you anything, then go. When it comes to your heart, the worst it could be is pretty goddamn bad.

Jerm

Do you smoke? i know it's kind of obvious but if you smoke and don't get a lot of exercise you get the chest pains, most of the time (for me) they're in the center but they range all over from people I've talked to. especially marijuana smoke btw

also, not to discount the possible medical problems, but it's common for people to become anxious about chest pains and that sometimes gives you that feeling that it's going to "get" you.

Nakatomi2010

I don't smoke....

They've also done an EKG and ruled out my heart as a problem...

Rotting Meat

Maybe a little left field, but I'd recommend sleeping for a few nights on a different mattress. I know when I sleep poorly (on a futon for example) I can get major side pains that can occasionally migrate into my chest when I move. You may just be experiencing a culmination of multiple symptoms. Your bed may be deteriorating or developing sleep lines and not giving you the support you need.