Chest Pain and another trip to er, help anyone???

I have had this chest pain for a year now...I am 30 and have this crushing pressure on my chest...I get rapid heart beat, i get headaches and dizzy..I always feel like I just got done running sprints...
so I went to the er again 5th visit plus doctor visits...
I have had a chest x-ray, ct scan, blood work, and ekg and cardio rhythm test...all negative for cardiac ...
So now what????I take ativan , zanaflex , and ultram...
Anyone know what is going on or have advise.....

...Costachondriasis. A common symptom of FM. It sent me to the ER for the first time as I too felt like I was having a heart attack. Feels like an elephant on your chest - with the muscles pulling on your chest it also pulls on the vessels to your brain and makes you dizzy and light headed. Mine comes and goes now but took about 3 months for that to happen. I started taking Bextra and it has seemed to help as the occurances are few and far between. I am not sure if there is anything else you can do for it...

it must be awful...

having recently been in ER with shortness of breath, faintness and heaviness in my chest I know how scary it can be.

I have no idea about your chest pain and I don't know anything about costochondritis.

but, i wonder with your headaches, rapid heartbeat and dizziness whether one or more of those particular symptoms could be caused by your meds.

Be careful with the ativan. If you have been taking for a while you could have rebound effects and if you try to come off, terrible withdrawal, as I have discovered with my own benzo. In fact, with the withdrawal I experienced rapid heartbeat and dizziness, etc. Do you take your ativan on a regular basis? I know it's one of the shorter acting/half life benzo's so if ppl become dependent on it you could possibly go into withdrawal if you don't take it every 6 hrs or whatever the time frame is.

good luck.

Jen F

this is an earlier post of mine (early july maybe) I took one bottle of boswellia and haven't had the pain since. I did buy 2 from my doctor and have one handy just in case. i think it has been like 3-4 weeks ago that i took the 1st bottle. I think shirl or mikie ordered a bottle so check with them also and see if they took any yet...


Finally after many many months of telling my doc that my chest hurt so bad in the middle by the breatbone she listened to me.. Told her it felt like intense pressure and unbearable pain....like something trying to push my bones apart....or as I think some of you describe it as an elephant sitting on your chest. I described it as something really really big (CRITTER) trying to push my chest apart...

she said oh, that sounds like constoconnitis....didn't ask her for spelling and could not find it on web or in dictionary so I'm sure spelled wrong but sounded something like what I typed above, but she said it is an inflammation in the nerve cells in the ribcage.

She sold me MediHerb Brand (you can get this brand off internet sites also and some good compounding pharmacies)or I'm sure some type of similar composition at the Whole Foods or Herb Mart type store.


Boswellia Complex. 3 tablets per day

has boswellia gum resin 300 mg
celery seed fruit 196.7 mg
Ginger Rhizome 60 mg
Tumeric Rhizome 80 mg

other ingredients: calcium acid phosphate, cellulose, magnesium sterate, etc....

Have been taking 3 x per day (anytime is okay)....
since 7/3 and I haven't had the intense pain (just very very minor now)....

My herb book says that Boswellia is:

a potent anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic and pain reliever w/o side effects. Good for arthritis, osteoarthritis, rehumatoid arthritis. Shows dramatic improvement in 2-4 weeks.

Also: Rejuvenates the skin (dry, chapped, mature skin) by encouraging new cells to develop and helps oil production in dry skin.

Also: Ulcerative colitis: dose of 400 mgs 3 x day works in 4-8 weeks.

Considerations for use: Since stimulates blood circulation do not use during pregnancy. Few side effects other than occasional allergic reaction, such as diarrhea, skin rash or nausea. However, it is not recommended for young children, pregnant or nursing women or those with severe liver or kidney disease.


Well, I know i have been reading that a lot of us have what feels like an elephant sitting on our chest and the hurting and since this has helped me I wanted to pass the info along and thought I'd further assist by researching its uses in my book "Prescription for Herbal Healing" by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC..(a good informative book on herbs by the way)

Hope if any of you try it that it helps you also...

Take care crissy.....

My daughter would have this - the chest pains could be helped by finding the pressure point on the shoulder, nead the armpit. The dizziness and other symtoms were considered to be a panic attack since they came after the chest pains. Once we found out about the pressure points, the other symptoms disappeared because she knew it wasn't her heart. Good luck!

I get this too - extreme pain when applying any sort of pressure to the breast bone, very tender. It comes and goes, but I have not had the feeling of any pressure to speak of.

Marilyn

The first time I had this I ran to the doctor, only to have him tell me that I had costocondritis. My doctor told me that if I applied pressure to my chest and felt pain then it was not my heart, but my muscles. This has been a help to me ever since, for at least twenty years. Hope this helps.

Dear Straders5

I had chest pain and went to the er a full year before I got the diagnosis of FM. I still get palpataions and pain even, and I was so releived to find that I won't die prematurely due to heart problems associated with FM. Like I said, pain still happens, mostly when I have a flair. Doctor gave me anxiety meds, but thats all I can offer.

Wishing you all the best,

Shoshi

Hello Straders5,

What you describe is much like on of my ER trips. They rule out heart attack and will usuall examine you for Costochondritis. I really hurts!! I cut the information below from emedicine.

Hope youa are feeling better...Jan

Background: In contrast to myocardial ischemia or infarction, costochondritis is a benign cause of chest pain and is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis. Although the term costochondritis often is used interchangeably with fibrositis and Tietze syndrome, these are distinct diagnoses.


Pathophysiology: Costochondritis is an inflammatory process of the costochondral or costosternal joints that causes localized pain and tenderness. Any of the 7 costochondral junctions may be affected, and more than 1 site is affected in 90% of cases. The second to fifth costochondral junctions most commonly are involved.


Frequency:
In the US: Exact prevalence of a musculoskeletal etiology for chest pain is not known, although overall prevalence of a musculoskeletal etiology for chest pain was approximately 10% in one study. In a 1994 ED study, 30% of patients with chest pain had costochondritis.
Mortality/Morbidity: The condition's course generally is self-limited, but the patient often experiences recurrent or persistent symptoms.

Sex: In Disla's costochondritis study, women comprised 69% of patients with costochondritis versus 31% in the control group.

Many FMers systems are magnesium-deficient. Being magnesium deficient leads to anxiety, chest pain, heart palps, racing pulse and more. We are magnesium deficient because of our processed foods diets. All the good vitamins and minerals are processed right out of the food before it's put on the shelves. Adding 600 mg of mag to your daily diet, split into 3 doses, will relieve these troublesome symptoms for many, sometimes as quickly as 3 weeks.

Marilyn

Marilyn is correct, we do need magnesium, big time.

It did not stop all of my chest pain, but I do not get it as often anymore. I usually set it 'off' myself with too much stretching those chest muscles , sweeping, mopping, pushing a vacuum, reaching up, etc.

The magnesium has also cut back on those palps, and also on the length and duration of the FM flares.

Shalom, Shirl