I'm suffering from incredibly painful chest pain... what's wrong?

[Anonymous]

Since about Sunday, I've been suffering from horrendous chest pain. On Sunday, it was minor, and right in the middle of my ribs, so I thought it as nothing.

Today, it started minor, and then evolved into a huge pain. It's now situated on the left side of my chest, right above my breast. It hurts to breathe in, and to cough and burp

I'm going in tomorrow, but does anyone have any ideas to what's happening to me?

[Roarke]

i can't be as technical as the last poster, but what i hear you saying is how to deal with all the 'what ifs' until tomorrow.

Given your age, odds are it's not heart. Also per age, probably not shingles, a latent virus that strikes adults starting around their late thirties. In my time i've had rib pulls that had unknown causes but made me wish i was dead. In the treatment of ribs, there is little anyone can do but tell you to wait it out.

There is such a thing as radiating pain, some disturbance elsewhere in your torso that signals itself above your left breast.

I'm not going to be overly comforting, but i will say that if you are 18-24 you're likely to go through a lot of minor conditions that nonetheless make you think you hear the angels calling.

Good that you're going in, and yes there are never guarantees, but just suck it up best you can and wait for that eternity that is now versus when you walk out of the doctor's office.

And as you said if you feel as though you are in critical pain, head to the ER.

[Asker]

I did go into the ER, they gave me a. Motrin, said take it easy, and sent me home

[Roarke]

Assuming they did some diagnostic, such as an x-ray, that sounds fairly conventional. Even grasping you around your torso while you breathed might have been sufficient. Again, doctors play the odds. At your age pain without a clearly identifiable cause is rarely serious.
Just to be safe, though, if this pain persist, say, more than 5-7 days i'd at least give some doctor somewhere a call.

[jmr2191]

Chest pain has a very wide diagnostic differential. There are a lot of possible factors and may contribute to the type of specialist you are referred to. Factors can include: diet, exercise regimen, age, family history, cholesterol level, sexual activity, drug use, pre-existing conditions, etc. Possible causes include, but are not limited to: costochondritis, esophageal ulcers, cardiomegaly, antiphospholipid syndrome, allergic reaction... if anything changes before your appointment, go to your nearest emergency room. Possible specialists include: pulmonologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, hematologist, geneticist, etc.

[still_waiting]

My friend had similar symptoms and had this
www.mayoclinic.org/.../con-20024454

[good_dog]

I'm glad to hear you are going in to have someone take a look. Chest pains are nothing to mess around with. However, I have had pains similar to this too where I got stabbing pains when I tried to breath deeply. It has always been gas that goes away after a little while, but don't let that stop you from getting checked out!

[Asker]

If my pain gets any worse, I'm going into the hospital tonight. I kinda few like I'm being stabbed