unsure if muscle strain or something more sinister...

[RetailMoth]

A few days ago, I was checking out customers, bagging their items, etc. As I reached across the belt to hand a customer his bag, I felt a sharp pain in my left breast that quickly faded. I assumed it was gas and kept going. Over the course of a half hour I felt it several more times, only it moved to my ribs below the left breast.
That same evening I turned over and felt the pain again, scaring me and nearly sending me into a panic attack.

The next day I saw a doctor (it was happening less frequently, but did happen if I spoke too much/too fast or moved in a certain way). She said it could either be acid reflux or a pulled muscle and gave me omeprazole. The medicine made me feel AWFUL and ready to die, so I only took it once.

Anyway, over the course of several days of doing nothing (the note she gave me allowed me a leave of absence) the pain mostly went away. I noticed it happen once after eating certain foods, but the pain wasn't as bad, so I ignored it.

....except JUST NOW I was changing into pajamas and I stretched myself. As I stretched my arms over my head, the pain came back as strong as it'd been the first time. Now when I take a deep breath, I feel it again.

Could it be a pulled/strained muscle that I pulled again? Is there gas that won't go away? Or maybe it's something way more serious? It's been roughly three days since it first happened.

[Sam Winter]

It's hard to tell because I'm torn between a pulled muscle and heartburn but it definitely doesn't feel like anything sinister especially as the doctor said it wasn't x

[EKB]

Shoulder/rib/chest muscle pulls are notoriously easy to reinjure - especially if you are already tense from anxiety. I had a pulled muscle around my ribs once that I reinjured twice before it got better.

Whether it's a pulled muscle or reflux, bottom line is reducing your anxiety is going to be the main solution to feeling better. Easier said than done, but true.

If you still think it's reflux and the omeprazole made you feel awful maybe see if they can put you on a different PPI. I've been on a few over the years and sometimes it takes some tweaking to find one that agrees with you.

But yeah, like Sam says it doesn't sound like anything more sinister than reflux or a pulled muscle is going on. So just keep working with your GP to feel better. :)