Reply to Bouts of terrible chest and back pain every few weeks (ruled out heart issues)

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[quote=Anonymous]This sounds somewhat similar to a medical mystery I’ve been dealing with.  A few months ago, I woke up in the middle of the night to a stabbing (not squeezing—definitely stabbing) pain that felt like it was radiating from my right breastbone through to my back.  When I shifted in bed, it felt like it was traveling from the back to front.  Every breath was excruciating, and felt a lot like when I had pleurisy a few years ago. While debating a trip to the ER, I realized if I contorted my body just so, there was no pain.  After googling “what feels like pleurisy”, I decided I was having a back spasm, though the intense pain lasted for a week and was only bearable with the max dosage of Motrin.

My PCP, after yelling at me for not going straight to the ER given my history of blood clots and pulmonary emboli, ordered a CT scan and also X-rays of my spine, given a family history of ankylosing spondylitis and spinal stenosis.  All that those tests showed was mild osteoarthritis in a few parts of my spine. Neither she nor the rheumatologist had much interest in diagnosing the problem once the serious things were ruled out.

I still have a mild version of the pain in my back and sternum when I breathe deeply or sneeze.  I’m thinking it may be costochondritis.  When you meet with your PCP, I’d recommend you ask:

Whether a gallbladder scan makes sense given the family history
Whether it makes sense to get a complete cardiac work up
Whether the symptoms could be from a compressed nerve, back spasms, esophageal spasms, or costochondritis
Whether the symptoms could be related to inflammatory arthritis of the spine
What else the PCP thinks could be causing the pain

If you have been having reflux symptoms, then it probably makes sense to see a gastroenterologist and possibly get an endoscopy.  GERD can definitely cause symptoms that feel like chest pain.

Good luck, and let us know if you get a diagnosis!

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