GERD or Costchrondritis? Or something else?

Chest and lungs
1

I have seen a few doctors and they have given me varied prescriptions for the same drugs and said that it is GERD. It started with a heartburn type pain which I felt mainly when I laid down. Then it started to escalate and be more frequent. Now it is more of a chest tightness mostly in my upper right side but it moves around. I feel this consistently throughout the day but I feel relief when I am resting/first wake up (though I have trouble sleeping). I feel a physical hotness / slight soreness in my breasts/breastbone area as well as in my upper arms/back/shoulder which moves around. My joints have felt really tense and especially the back/shoulders. I don't feel like the drugs they have given have made much of any difference. I have also been extremely anxious about this and feel like anxiety and lack of sleep are making this worse. It is all that I can think about. I am convinced this is not GERD because it doesn't feel related to eating habits. I do have some symptoms such as hoarseness/throat tightness though. I don't know whether I should continue on this prescription (it has been 10 days now) or whether it is something else. I am 23 and have been traveling so it is not easy to see doctors or have consistency in my life. I will be back home in a week and can hopefully see a doctor then but this has been the only thing I can think about lately and is making me miserable. I have never had acid reflux before and am generally pretty healthy but I had pharyngitis for 2 weeks prior to this and was on antibiotics for that.

Any insight is appreciated.

2

Hi, I am 23 and have had similar pain in my chest just to the left of breastbone. I have it constantly other than when I first wake up. Feels like a direct pain and sometimes spread towards collar bone and shoulder when I run - this tend to feel more of a muscular surface pain. I can also relate to the sort of warm feeling in my chest and sometimes feels like it is right above my breast or my shoulder blade. It is difficult to explain because it's all over the place! I have seen many doctors and all have been stumped and I have only recently been prescribed drugs for gastro type problems and neuralgia nerve pain. I don't think it is gastro related as I can't relate it to eating either it's just something that is always there. Although I have been reassured it is not a serious medical problem I still get very anxious because it is in my chest and because I travel and feel nervous about feeling this pain while I am away. I would say continue taking the medication until another professional tells you otherwise, it can take different amounts of time for people to react to different medications! Although I still don't seem to be able to take my own advice here.. try not to worry I am sure we are not the only ones with this type of chest pain!

3

I should also note that I am generally very healthy and have had an ECG that was completely clear although no blood tests or other tests.