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View Full Version : Chest Pain ALL DAY



RetailMoth
22-09-17, 03:40
Last night, before I went to bed, my chest felt tight out of nowhere. I assumed it was because I was tired and went to bed, but no matter how I positioned myself, the tightness was still there. This morning I woke up and my chest was still tight and had a dull ache in the center. I found it got worse if I exerted myself too much, bent over, crouched down, etc.

I sat down with a pillow on my back, as the pain had begun to hit the middle of my upper back too, and it helped the back pain but not the chest. I also noticed that it spread to my left underarm, worsening when I lifted that arm.

I've taken some ibuprofen now, have a heating pad on my shoulder, and it's been about nineteen hours and no change. It's not WORSE but it's not better either. Usually if any pain gets better, it'll be my shoulder (after a point most of the pain seemed to come from the back of my left shoulder) or my back, but my chest continues to ache. I notice it feels tighter if I speak excessively or move too much - I'm trying not to be too worried, since the ache is dull and mild, like muscle strain, and I reasoned that if it were a heart attack I wouldn't be typing right now. Again, it's been going for about nineteen hours now and nothing else has happened.

My girlfriend commented that I've been tossing and turning a lot in my sleep these past few days, and I was curled up in my computer chair when the pain first hit, so did I maybe pull a muscle or strain something? I don't want to see ER unless necessary, and I hear heart attack pain is far worse than what I'm actually feeling.

Does this sound like something anyone's had before?

PanickyGuy
22-09-17, 04:49
If you've never been to a doctor about it before, then the best thing is to see a doctor about it ASAP. You didn't mention anything about having a hard time breathing or excessive sweating, but that's not 100% proof that it couldn't be heart trouble either.

There are also a number of other things that can cause what you're describing, besides anxiety, muscle strain or heart trouble. So it's really best to see a Doc ASAP.

girlrock
22-09-17, 19:19
I agree that you should see a doctor just to get checked out. But I will say that I just had this exact same kind of thing going on for quite a while over the summer. I had chest pressure and tightness, occasional chest pain, and heart palpitations. I did go to the doctor and had testing done which all turned out fine. I was SO convinced that it wasn't anxiety because it never went away. Even when I took Ativan I still felt like it was slightly there in the background. But as soon as I got busy packing for a vacation and then took the vacation, it all went away. It's absolutely crazy how our bodies and minds can trick us!

RetailMoth
22-09-17, 23:30
Hi, just giving an update on the situation.

Fell asleep on my back after trying to sleep on my side and immediately feeling pain. Work up still on my back and mostly pain-free. I can also take deep breaths without pain again.
I went about making breakfast and noticed that while my chest still felt slightly tight, it was much better than before, and when I moved my left arm I felt a tension in my shoulder and underarm.
Reclining or putting a pillow on my back makes it better, I notice that if I stand straight up for too long my upper-middle back aches...

So it sounds like it could have been a strained muscle or a spine thing?

Re: my heart, I had been checking my pulse all day yesterday - no acceleration or palpitations.