Hi all, sorry to drone on but i would really love to have any feedback to help put my mind at rest.
Ok so it started 3-4 weeks ago, i had really bad chest pains under my left breast, my doctor said it was a pulled muscle, the pain got much worse and moved to the centre of my chest so i went to a&e, my ECG was fine, and all my bloods were fine, Blood pressure slightly high, i got sent home again saying it was a pulled muscle.....day after day i seem to have gotten worse, so back to the doctor i go, they think its acid reflux and depression/anxiety, i wsa prescribed Omerzaprole and Citalopram, i have been taking the Omerzaprole for over a week now and nothing has changed, i havent taken the Citalopram as im pretty sure im not depresseed or anxious, i am happy at the minute and have a lot to look forward too, basically the doctors are saying there is nothing wrong with me apart from being anxious.....but i am not too sure, i think there is something going on in my chest , maybe my lungs? Has anyone been in a similar situation to me? I dont know what to do????? THeres no set time to my pain, even when its not on my mind and im at work, im fine one minute then the next the pain is there, I can be resting or doing something as simple as washing up and i get breathless with the pain,Right now with the pain i feel at my worst, and do feel breathless a lot,should i go to a & e again?? I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday but not sure if i can wait till then. Sorry for going on and on but i really am worried that no one is listening to me and there is something wrong with me, surely anxiety can not cause daily severe pains with breathlessness? Many Thanks
Hi danielle
i am also experiencing the same, do you do a lot of excercise ?i do a lot of yoga Pilates and we do a lot of plank excercise for Ab but I am still convinced not this, I also have acid but had for such a long time and doesn't seem to be same symptoms, I have a dull ache in my breast bone and in my shoulder blades , I have had chest shoulder x ray and I am going to ask for a scan, I do think now it is musclar but until I have had every test I won't be convinced nothing more serious, as I feel so un well, I live a healthy life style don't smoke drink but I do excercise loads , I am 52 but young fit for my age and probably do over do on the excercise but not to get these awful pains in my upper chest shoulder blades. Hope this helps . I am always googling and I have worried myself sick over last few months .
Hi!, I have been battling this for 5 months. There are days tht I am convinced that there is something else horribly wrong with me because I am just not getting better. I have had 2 chest xrays and they have been normal. My pain started very similar to yours. Then it moved to my back and then to the right side of my chest. I take ibuprofen and zanax everyday. Some days the pain is tollerable and others unbearable. I would do anything just to get some relief. Stress does make costochondritis worse and I have had a very stressful few months as caregiver to my husband who had a stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma. I wish I had some advice for you but I am also at a loss. I sympathize with anyone suffering with this!
Yes I have it this evening quite bad , I do think anxeity stress make xostochomdritis worse, did you get diagnosed with that Stevie, how do they diagnose that ? very hard to care for someone you love who is suffering , good for you, I do sympathise with you.keep up the good work also with your costochrondritos
I got diagnosed in august after having bronchitis in July and pulling some muscles in my chest from coughing. The diagnosis came after 2 chest xrays being normal but my ribs on the left side were very tender when touched. Then it just kept getting worse. Some days I cry alot. I have had it! I want to feel back to normal! My chiropractor tells me that this can last for a long time! 
My sympathys , I think by reading your symptoms I have that, I am seeing my Dr Friday so hopefully she will be able to tell me if that is what I have. My symptoms are pain in left rib and shoulder blades very knotted and sometimes pain in arms and in the neck and all I can describe it as , is a gnawing pain through the left breast , when I first had it I was always thinking I had breast cancer but I have had regular checks, but like you some days your mind takes over and you think other things like to do with lung heart, but I know all my vital fine BP bloods and like yourself I had a chest xray but that was normal but did show heightened lungs what ever that means, I will ask her Friday, as when I went for bloods the nurse said xray ok but lungs heightened !!! Helps to go on these forum other sufferes 
You are not alone. I've battled chest pain off and on for 10 years and the last two years has been worse. I've had every test imaginable several times each and all negative. I'm 32 in good health but for the life of me can't figure out why I'm hurting. I've recently been told it's musclar-skeletal and could possibly be coming from my cervical or thoracic spine. Either way, I do have anxiety and I'm on 20mg of Zoloft but the citaphalpram worked better for me 5 years ago. Stress, anxiety and depression can sneak up on you and cause strange physical sensations. I work on deep breathing (inhaling thru nose for 4 secs and exhale thru mouth for 7 secs). It really does work. Go w/ your gut and give yourself peace of mind. Continue to Go to the doc and search for answers if you aren't sure
Danielle,
I've had pain mostly on the left under my breast for about a year and a half. Have been to the Emergency Room so many times. Finally I got a new family doctor about a year ago who was the first doctor to actually give it a name (costo chondritis). I saw a gastroenterologist at Penn Medicine, who put me on Omeprazole 40. Then my family doctor put me on Fluoxitine 10, which is for anxiety. I did not think I had anxiety, but I guess I did. Mostly I feel a lot better. If I get a flare up of pain, I take two Advil. Hope this helps you.
Nancy
This is very helpful nice to know we not alone .
Hi Danielle,
In most of the cases posted under this category, it's likely to be Costocondritis. This is a largely harmless and basically untreatable condition that most often results from a previous respiratory I'll was such as bronchitis where a lot of coughing occurs. While you can relieve some of the pain with over the counter analgesics, it's essentially a matter of just hanging in there whike your body heals itself, much like broken ribs - it hurts like hell for a long while then disappears. I had it for 4 months following a serious chest infection, but awoke one morning and it was gone.
Hang in there, take a moderate dose of analgesics, stay away from Diazepam or similar, and life without pain will return eventually.
Cheers, Rod
Danielle,
I want to add that strenuous exercise and stress make this condition worse. By strenuous exercise, I mean yard work, lifting weights, strenuous swimming. I have done some reading on this and have talked to two doctors, and they don't know what causes costo chondritis. One of the doctors said there is some debate as to whether it is a vitamin deficiency or it is autoimmune. I think that is why the fluoxetine helps me; it is a low dose but just enough to help me relax. Hope this helps.
Nancy
Nancy, I agree with the strenuous exercise making it worse. I am a bank teller and counting money all day really aggravates this condition. My hope is that this goes away soon or at least to a manageable pain level.
Hi Danielle. If you don't feel well then I would go back to a&e. I am still trying to get rid of pain that started five weeks ago after two days at the gym and then getting a nasty virus I've been knocked off my feet for all this time and am still in pain. It has reduced but it still makes me anxious just thinking what might have happened. When I presented in a and e they said there was a lot of activity in the ECG. When I asked what that meant they said it may be a heart attack.
Hi Danielle. If you don't feel well then I would go back to a&e. I am still trying to get rid of pain that started five weeks ago after two days at the gym and then getting a nasty virus I've been knocked off my feet for all this time and am still in pain. I visited a and e five times and was kept in once for further tests. It has reduced but it still makes me anxious just thinking what might have happened. I'm still not feeling at all well. I. Exhausted all the time and feel so uncomfortable. When I presented in a and e they said there was a lot of activity in the ECG. When I asked what that meant they said it may be a heart attack. Why would a doctor say something like this without evidence. Don't they realise that we are human and get scared. They then said it was pericarditis and then they said it was muscular skeletal. Surely muscular skeletal disorders wouldn't affect your heart rate would they. Anyway do not let them make you feel like you are a nuisance. If you are feeling ill and you think it may be your heart you must get it checked. If it isn't then that's great. If it is and they capture the results on a ECG you get a diagnosis and hopefully a treatment plan. I hope it all goes well. Keep in touch.
Hi Caroline, thanks for your message, i have the doctors in the morning so hopefully i will get somewhere, i had an ecg and bloods done 2 weeks ago which were all fine, but i never got an xray which im going to ask for tommorow, im tired more than usual and your right it is very uncomftable, i just truly believe its not anxiety and that is something else hopefully im wrong, a lot of people on here have mentioned it sounds like costocondritis, my pains can be constant or i just get like tweaks of pain mainly in my left chest and occasionally in my back as well as arm, im seeing a diff doctor tommorow so hopefully i can get diagnosed further, surely a pain cant start one night out of the blue then be daily for 3-4 weeks be put down to anxiety?thankyou
Hi danielle I think is worse at night, my shoulder is aching like a gnawing pain through my left breast and round my ribs, I think we all have certain amounts anxeity but can't always put pain down to that , if you get checked out and nothing serious you can then learn to live with it . Good luck at Dr I shall be following next fri I have had 2 xray and blood all fine and next a scan, I am not taking tablets until I know what it is , as I think could mask a problem in the future .
Hi Daniuelle and Joanne, exercise and gym work is the worst possible thing for Costochondritis, which is what this probably is. It is a soft tissue injury betrween the ribs and takes a long time to heal, which means lots of rest and very little physical activity - gym is definitely out. The damage doesn't show up on scans which is why the A&E staff can't properly diagnose it. It will eventually go away, but how long it takes is dependent on how well you rest.
Thanks Joanne hope the scan goes well,please keep me updated:-)
Thanks rodfly , do you think could be yoga Pilates as I do loads of head hand stands in my classes and some real strong poses also loads plank work, thing is being doing for so long how come it's come on now? I think gym work is nothing compared to these strong poses, I am on a break as away for a few days, so I will see if it eases as I can't imagine life without excercise, I don't smoke drink party , I love sport classes and keeping fit ,I hope it is this as I have been thinking all sorts , I do around 6 classes a week and did some double yoga lessons lasting 2 hr 2 nights running. I do hope you are right thanks allot feeling better already
