chest pains very worried! - Heart Disorders Message Board

mishl33 · 01-30-2003, 08:55 AM

i am 27yrs old and i have some sort of undiagnosed illness i have been suffering from for the past two and a half yrs but during the past two months, i have been experiencing bad chest pains but there are two different types of pains i am experiencing. one pain that comes and goes is a sudden very sharp stabbing pain that hurts more when i breathe in but this usually only lasts a minute or so. the other pain i get is a real long deep ache and this can go on for hours sometimes, i also recently have restricted movement in my right shoulder and it has been quite sore lately for no apparent reason. i have also had a dry cough which hurts my chest and i usually cough up some white phlem. i am a smoker which i am sure does not help matters. i also have vasculitis.
please if anyone has any idea if this is serious or any information would be greatly appreciated. i have told my doctors and specialist about the chest pain which is getting more frequent and painful but i am on a nine month waiting list to go into hospital to get an endoscopy to see what the problem is but i am getting real worried.

northernlights · 01-30-2003, 09:22 AM

i had something similar - and i still do off and on. the sharp pain where it literally takes your breath away. i hold my breath, or breathe VERY intentional until the pain subsides. usually it takes a couple to four breaths before it disappears completely. right there under the rib cage. the dull aching is something i get also, but neither are as frequent as before. i always thought those were from "muscle spasms". that's what i told myself anyways. they come and go - always thankful when they go!!

i use to be a 2 pack a day smoker, and i remember coughing up the awful stuff. i was told when i was 20 years old that i had lungs of a 60 year old. i quit smoking 6 years later. back when i smoked, my lungs were filled with icky's. when i got a cold, it always turned into bronchitis. now i'm prone to bronchitis and pneumonia, which isn't fun at all. i rarely just get the "common cold". i know i did myself more harm than good with smoking.

to me, and trust me, i'm no professional, it sounds like the cigs are getting the better of you. they're trying to tell you something. i had the shortness of breath also - i had lack of oxygen going to my brain due to the heavy smoking. always tired. my skin was pale. i woke up one morning and was so tired of feeling like #(@* that i quit cold turkey after smoking for 13 years. it was the best thing i did for myself. sure, i gained weight, but i gained a life too!!

i know you were probably hoping to get some "advice", and i'm sure someone will come on and help you out, but i just wanted to write and let you know that you're not alone. i think the not knowing is the scariest thing of all. i hope everything turns out for you.

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by Chance: SMILE!!

sonny2135 · 01-30-2003, 10:59 AM

Michl,
I don't know much about how the medical community works in Austrailia, but it seems to me that you have a couple of problems that I had recently. First of all, does your chest pain come on with exertion and subside with rest? If so it would sound like unstable angina to me and I would run to the nearest hospital and tell them that you think you are having a heart attack, that should get you a thorough exam. As for the rest you may have COPD, chronic onset pulmonary disease (go to google type in COPD). If it were me, I would not wait 9 months, I would go to the nearest hospital and swear I was having a heart attack. Sometimes you have to embelish things a bit to get the attention you need. In any case, find a way to get checked NOW!!!
Sonny

sekharp · 01-30-2003, 08:45 PM

Hello. I, too, have had chest pain so bad in that same area that you literally cannot breathe. It lasts a few seconds, maybe 10 or 15 at the most, and then it's gone. I don't get it too often. But I have never picked up a cigarette in my life, and I do not drink alcohol. So who knows? I have had a stress echocardiogram and several electrocardiograms, so I feel fairly certain the problem is not cardiac in origin. Of course, I could be wrong. My bigger problem has been seizures. My advice is to not ignore your pain. If you have to go to the emergency room or urgent care clinic, then do so. As much as folks might say it's nothing, you don't want to be wrong one of these days and then wait too late to do something. Trust your body.

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All of us has an angel, if only we know where to look.

mishl33 · 01-31-2003, 10:09 AM

thanx everyone. i am seeing my immunologist early next week and i am going to insist that something be done right now as i would rather be safe than sorry. thanx so much for your advise and suggestions and i will definately let you all know what the outcome is.
thanx again, i really appreciate it!