Chest pain when breathing in

[kalny]

I’ve been doing pretty good recently. Last night I was woken up though, by intense pain.

I’d say the pain was in or on my lower left lung. It was hurting the more I breathed in. If I breathed in too deeply it hurt so much I had to stop. I’ve had this before but milder a few weeks before and I went away after I stood up.

So I stood up last night but it didn’t go. I started to get really worried and mistakenly took in a huge breath. The pain was pretty mind blowing and then I felt what I can only describe as a ‘pop’ or a ‘slip’ as if two things inside me had been pressing on each other and had forcefully slipped apart. The pain immediately went but then I was overcome with nausea and I felt faint. Not sure if that was anxiety or not... my hands began to tingle. I lay there for five minutes with my wife who was concerned by this point and within another five minutes I was back to normal.

I’m looking for anyone that may have had similar symptoms? Should I see my doctor? I’ve done so well not going to my doctor over the last three months.

[WiseMonkey]

Hi, sounds like a muscle pull, I used to get this when I was younger in the left side of my chest. It became painful then I had to deep breathe and it brought on a kind of click then the whole thing clears.

I used to think it was a heart attack but obviously it wasn't. It only happened occasionally over a few years then disappeared...really weird though! I think the feeling faint and nausea, tingling etc is from anxiety. I didn't get this as it happened when I was in my teens and less prone to anxiety!

Just learned it's called Precordial catch syndrome common among children 6-12 and less common in adults.

[WiseMonkey]

Hi, sounds like a muscle pull, I used to get this when I was younger in the left side of my chest. It became painful then I had to deep breathe and it brought on a kind of click then the whole thing clears.

I used to think it was a heart attack but obviously it wasn't. It only happened occasionally over a few years then disappeared...really weird though! I think the feeling faint and nausea, tingling etc is from anxiety. I didn't get this as it happened when I was in my teens and less prone to anxiety!

Just learned it's called Precordial catch syndrome common among children 6-12 and less common in adults.

This just happened to me tonight in a restaurant! I started breathing in, felt the pain then had to breath in again and more pain then 'click', it cleared and all was well. So strange after posting about this yesterday, I got it today. First time in many years!!

[AnxiousForever]

I've had something similar a few times before. It's on my left side too although it doesn't feel as if it's the whole lung. It's just a sharp pain when you breath in although I rarely got the 'pop' feeling because I was too scared to death in too much so just took smaller breaths until it went away.

[kalny]

Hi everyone - thanks for your responses.

I went and got checked out as it was worrying me. The doctor had a really good look, prod and listen.

Didn't find anything. Said I'm oxygenating my blood well and heart is completely fine. She said that whilst she can't tell me what it is or was she had a few theories.

It could have been precordial catch. She was squishing my ribcage and getting me to breathe to see if she could replicate it but couldn't. It could have been trapped wind under my lower left diaphragm area but that wouldn't explain the popping, slipping sensation. The final theory was that due to my positioning I'd somehow gotten my bowel or stomach wedged behind my diaphragm and standing up taking a deep breath released it. She said I've got practically no fat on me and that usually fat would help prevent that kind of thing?

Regardless of all theories, anything serious was ruled out. She told me that if it was a heart attack the pain would radiate and wouldn't be in just one place. If it was a blood clot, the pain wouldn't have gone away and probably would have led to a heart attack which I would have noticed.

She said if I'm worried about it or if it happens again I can go back for another checkup but she said other doctors are likely to draw the same conclusions. I hope this helps anyone else with this problem!

[AnxiousForever]

Fat sits around your organs so it makes sense a lack of it could cause it I guess. Still I reckon it was a precordial catch. Good to hear it's nothing serious. :)