Mild chest pain, tightness?

As most of you know, I'm usually all business here, but I just wanted to see if anyone else went through this before I go to the doc.

You could be having very mild heart attacks, my mom used to get chest pains a while back and ended up having to have open heart surgery, quadrupal bipass!

I'd just go to the doc, its always nice to hear someone say "oh yea i get that all the time its not that bad, its just gas" or something equivalent... shit, it may even help you procrastinate even further.

so i'll say this to light a fire under your ass

ur gonna die

hit the doc!

I'm obese, don't smoke or drink alcohol so I'm pretty good in that dept. About three years ago I started sweating profusely and started having left arm/shoulder pains. They would be very random... kinda like somebody pinching very hard, and letting go, to full blown ravaging pain. My chest starting hurting as well. I went to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack... the doc thought I was pretty crazy because of my age (as twenty at the time) but because of my weight they did all the standard tests and what not (ekg, the blood test to see if you have any cardiac enzymes from heart attack). Thankfully it came back I wasn't having a heart attack... he says I have acid reflux disease which could be triggering these symptoms.

However, this wasn't the last of my troubles with this shit. I now constantly get these symptoms, especially at around 7-9AM (when I go to sleep/lay down). I think I suffer from panic attacks, but I thought it was fairly unusual to start having them at twenty. It's been three years since and I still have the same symptoms randomly as that day I thought I was having the heart attack.

You should stop smoking asap... that will improve things A LOT for you .

I have to laugh when people who smoke start crying about chest pains, what do you expect when you are killing yourself and others around you who dont smoke, i have no Sympathy for anyone that smokes and that has chest pains, you are writing your own death certificate.

That's easy... quit smoking and your problem is solved.

go and check it out mate

even the most severe acid reflux is very treatable..

i have had it for a long time.

stop eating before you go to bed.

avoid citrus drinks. dont drink so much milk.

take prilosec or nexium (both RX, available online or through your doc) daily to prevent it. if you still get it, eat a rolaids softchew

Yup, I get them while lying down for bed, or (a lot) in the shower.

Popping 0.25mg of Xanax clears it up 100%, so how bad could it be? I had the EKG, etc, too. Turns out I *do* have a heart defect, but the panic is what causes the symptoms .. xanax fixes it.

watch out for shortness of breath. That is the ticker question.

Can be everything. I have it as well sometimes. And when you take a deep breath it hurts more, and after that it goes away...

But like alreay stated, goto a doctor, might be everything, or nothing Looks like it worries you enough to post it on GFY, so make an appointment NOW

True, but panic attacks have this, too. Panic can also cause lip and arm numbness.

It's all nearly identical. The main symtop of a heart attack versus panic is that you die from the heart attack -- so if you die, remember that for next time.

I think i'm due a heart attack.

Just a felling...

see a doc asap

Okay, on this unfortunately, I'm something of an expert.

I have angina, the primary symptom of which is paralyzing chest pain. I'm not suggesting that you or the thread starter have that (since you have been to a doctor, I seriously doubt he would have missed a relatively easy diagnosis), but what we have in common is I discovered a long time ago that I can trigger attacks myself. One of the hardest times to avoid doing so, is as you describe, when I'm going to bed. I imagine it is perfectly possible to act the same way with other conditions.

The mechanism is simple enough. You come to recognize situations which are most likely to trigger your problem and then ahead of such situations you start to stress about the possibility of an attack. That stress induces or at least facilitates an attack. The more "predictable" attacks you have, the more you stress ahead of the circumstances in which they occur, the more attacks you have, etc.

It's a vicious circle and one I wouldn't wish on anyone, particularly if you get trapped in it at bedtime. I can be dog tired, yet an attack can make it impossible to sleep for a couple of hours after and loss of sleep does nothing to improve my general condition.

For my particular condition, I do have nitro-glycerin spray. But since it gives me a thumping headache whenever I use it, I try to do so as little as possible. So first, before you do something which might cause your pain, try to sit for a couple of moments, relax, breath deeply and slowly and mentally check yourself out. If you feel any tightness or pain at all, don't do whatever it is you were about to do. Stay relaxed, let yourself go as loose as possible, keep breathing slowly. If you aren't feeling fine after a couple of minutes, the safest thing is just to postpone (briefly) whatever you were about to do.

Let's say that despite the precautions, you get into bed and the pain starts. Usually for me it is enough simply to sit on the edge of the bed and go through the routine I just described. I do so at the very first hint of tightness because I learned it never ever backs off on its own, and it may take anything from 5 to 15 minutes (I read a book). I don't lie down again until all the tightness has gone.

BTW if your pains are digestion related, drink some soda or, more effectively, take a couple of Alka Seltzers and after a few minutes gulp in air until you can burp at length. Anyway always try the sit and relax thing. Never scrunched up on a low chair. Sit upright on a dining room chair, looking straight ahead, very still, hands in your lap. For me, sitting right in front of an air-conditioner is very effective.

One last thing which has helped me a lot is acupressure. Of the three spots on the body which affect the type of pain I have, unfortunately the most effective is on my back. The one I can reach myself is the second space up from the bottom between the ribs on my right side. If I apply sustained pressure there with my thumb on a spot directly below where my arm begins, that often provides a lot of relief. The spots are very specific and relate directly to your condition, so if you want to try this, you might need to visit someone who can identify the right pressure point(s) for you.

Finally, I have never been able to get into the meditative aspects of yoga, but these these last few years I have learned the basics of tai-chi and that has been very useful for helping me relax a lot more than most of us usually manage.

A few years ago I was as fit as a fiddle, worked out 5 times a week, ate well and did cardio every 2nd day. One day on a vertical bench press machine I felt an enormous crushing chect pain that radiated to my shoulders, up into my neck and down to my fingertips.
10 mins later I was at the hospital hooked up to an ECG, had blood taken and was getting oxygen pumped into me. 2 hours later I was feeling fine aside from the jitters from the shock of thinking I was going to die.
A week later I did a heart stress test which I passed aside from having cholesterol a little on the high side.
Turns out I have this: http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/spra...chondritis.htm
I still get it now and again, though only once in the past 3 years as bad as the first time. Ibuprofen usually works wonders with it. 2 or 3 200mg tabs ease it in 20 mins or so.
All the same, chest pain is indicative of there being something wrong.
GO GET IT CHECKED!

Good advice.

Like you, I had no warning and although I wasn't quite as fit as you sound, I wasn't someone at obvious risk. So I doubt anyone will take this advice because until something happens (and especially when we are young) we feel invincible, but a thorough annual checkup is a really good idea.

In the UK, full BUPA coverage used to include a complete annual physical. Even if you cannot get such a checkup on your insurance, I would recommend them to anyone over 25. Some conditions can be headed off at the pass quite easily, but if they are not checked in time, your life changes completely afterward.

chest pain is not something to mess around with. Many men die because they delay going to the hospital because they don't think it's serious and don't want to trouble people.

Keep your appointment, and expect the lecture on weight and smoking!

the last guy that said that died shortly if i remember correctly . . this is no joke . .

Best bet is to just get your butt to a doc and let them check you out. Better safe than sorry, man.

Those symptons can be caused by depression and anxiety.

Get to the doc and get it checked out man... and quit smoking, I've gone a month now without a smoke and I use to smoke 2 packs a day so it's possible to quit, just got to put your mind to it, best I've felt in years

BTW thats why I quit, the chests pains scared the fuck out of me!

This thread scares the shit out of me.. damn, I'm surprised I didn't start feeling chest pains just from reading it.

Has everyone forgotten bjjb already?

When in doubt, see a doctor.

That's just what I was about to add. The last time someone spoke of this, they were soon gone.

I was just going to post that.

Its best to get checked the hell with this board when it comes to medical issues.

... Or masks it.

Definitly get to the doctor. Bjjb said the same thing, delayed a doc visit and was dead the next day. We don't want to see you go too.

Sleep on your back. This should relieve the pressure a bit.

fortunately there really are doctors @ GFY

Its a mild stroke. I have had at least 50 of them. You are ok. It's when your arm goes numb for a 1/2 a day you need to get worried. Go get a 1hr hard massage and soak in a hottub.

Its a mild stroke. I have had at least 50 of them. You are ok. It's when your arm goes numb for a 1/2 a day you need to get worried. Go get a 1hr hard massage and soak in a hottub.

Same here, I would get pains in my sides, my chest, etc. Doctor said I'm young, my heart sounds great, etc, then i payed attention and noticed that I was getting it mainly when I was hungry -- sup gas. I fart a lot now.

GFY is not the best place to get precise medical advice.

You've got a health problem. Go get professional diagnosis.

not the best place to get some advise, id say hit the road and get some medical help asap. the last time i heard someone posting similar thread here ended up dead after a couple of days

trust me and thank me later

Always good to hear a doctor tell you it isn't something serious. What sucks is nearly every symptom can be caused by gas, so it's hard to tell what's going on.

full check up at docs is only thing that will put your mind at rest....go soon!