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12/25/11 8:29 P

My rheumatologist has given me the answer to our chest pain. She says it is called costochondritis. It can be imitated by pushing on the chest (at least mine can) It is inflammation of the cartilage in the ar ea of the breast bone. The more we do when we get this the more the pain moves and imitates a heart attack. It's like the hemiplegic migraines I get now, also related to fibro and Sjogrens. These headaches imitate the symptoms of a stroke. My mouth will draw to one side and I will have slurred words along with weakness on one side. They are scary as well.

Well at least we have a name for this pain and I'm sorry that I jumped subjects to the migraines.

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12/13/11 5:18 P

I too have went to the the ER with chest pains a few times, when through a lot of tests and everything came back negative. It is very scary.

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6/28/11 10:22 P

I have had occasional chest pain (for what I thought was no reason) for the last five years. It comes on out of no where...it feels like an electrical shock and scared me when it first started. Being a nurse I would automatically run down the list of heart attack symptoms and have actually gone to the ER a couple of times. Of course, the physicians found nothing and chalked it up to heart burn (which I did not have). It was recent that I linked the fibro and chest pains together. Honestly, I actually felt relief. At least I had a reason and not a unidentified heart problem.

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6/16/11 5:18 P

I loved the way you described your pains. I really needed that laugh. I know that its no laughing matter when we experience it. I have learned to deal with it and just go on about my day. I do stop to decide if they are the pains I normally have and if they are I just put them in the back of my mind and keep on going. If not then I take my BP then decide if its time to call 911. Maybe someday the medical profession will be able to tell us what they are from and how to stop them.

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6/16/11 6:14 A

I had a really bad episode of severe chest wall pain like that about 10 years ago, I thought I was dying but convinced myself it was probably the "connective tissue arthritis in your ribs" that a Dr at the time explained it as when it first showed up milder. If I'd have been smart I'd have gone to the emergency room. I'd never heard of FMS yet. My pains have changed and I don't get that type of chest pain anymore, instead I get zapping electric sharp pains just under the outside edge of each breast in my ribs. I described those to hubby as "ninja bees with tazers" so he could understand it better.
I have no idea why or how my chest pains changed from being more like yours to the ones I have now. I hope you can find something that helps you with them!

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5/20/11 6:51 P

Your Welcome

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5/19/11 9:28 P

Thanks everyone for the great responses.

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5/19/11 6:02 P

Yes I have had it, but you should always get it checked out especially when it gets bad and you have no relief.

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5/19/11 6:01 P

I personally don't have the chest pain with Fibro but I have a friend that does. She has had an actual heart attack several yrs. ago and had several trips back to the ED/DR. with angina (chest pain). None of the trips had any heart involvement & her Dr. finally said it is the Fibro. She still has it but is followed fairly close due to her one heart attack. She really can't tell the difference herself.

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5/19/11 4:30 P

That explains so much. I have even had an angio procedure trying to figure out why the chest pressure.

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5/19/11 2:16 P

Thank you so much for the info. Yes it is pressure like the elephant. It is there all the time and never goes away. I am relieved that I am not the only one with this pain.

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5/19/11 2:05 P

If it is just a general pressure, I get that all the time with my fibro. Most of my fibro pain is centralized in my torso area anyway. But I call it my "really bad days" when I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest after hitting me with a baseball bat in my ribs a few hundred times. So if it is "just" that kind of pressure, it is totally normal for me and my fibro.
However, just this past Christmas, I was having severe chest pains every time I took a breath. My doctor sent me to the emergency room, where they ran the same battery of tests as you. They just shrugged and said "I don't know; you don't have a clot". Then I went to a family friend who was the head of the Radiology Dept for Univ. of MD, whose specialty was chest. He looked at all of my tests for me, didn't find the inflammation or anything out of the ordinary either. However, he did ask if I had had the cyst checked out. Turns out I had a tumor in my breast, benign luckily. This wasn't necessarily related to the pains, but I believe that those chest pains are the only reason I found out about that tumor and can now get quarterly mammos/ultrasounds to keep an eye on it. You NEVER know what the reason for things are, and as I am learning all the time with this fibro is you never know what is connected in your body. I would request copies of all of those tests from the hospital and keep seeing specialists (hopefully you have a good open access health plan).
Good luck and your in my prayers!

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5/19/11 1:43 P

Yes I have. Went through all the same check-ups you listed. Was told I had a "beautiful" heart. Diagnosed with pectorial chest wall pain. The other day I was reading about another painful condition some people with autoimmune/fms pain may have.......has to do with inflamed joints along the ribs/sternum. They symptoms were very much identical to those with chest wall pain. Can't say they are related, I have no idea but they sure did sound the same. I guess it has to do with whether there is inflammation present or not.

I am also fairly large busted and that was blamed for much of my chest wall pain, so wear lots of sports bras to help pressure.

Hope you're feeling better soon. Did they take a look at your arteries also? I would definately rule out any blockages, especially in the arteries in the neck or lungs. If those are fine, it may for sure just be chest wall pain.

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5/19/11 10:09 A

I never have.

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5/19/11 8:50 A

Has anyone experienced this and what if anything did the Dr say to you about it?

I was in the hospital from Saturday until Tuesday night. It felt as is a very heavy person was sitting on my chest. I went through a CT scan, EKG, ECG, Heart Catherization, and numerous blood work. My thyroid is finally normal after 5 yrs. The doctors discharged me with the diagnosis of fibro related chest pain.

NEEDLESS TO SAY I STILL DON'T FEEL ANY BETTER

Edited by: MICHELLE311106 at: 5/19/2011 (08:50)

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