Chest pains

Hi everyone. I'm 28, female and slightly overweight although I've lost 30lbs in the last 6 months.. I've been having chest discomfort for about a week,largely on my left side but the past few days I've noticed some of my bones are sore to the touch (I think). I had a similar issue a little over a year ago and I was told it was costocondritis and it did go away, but the doctor also didn't do any tests on me, just diagnosed me by whatever I said. It almost feels like I've pulled muscles but I've done nothing to have pulled anything. I have also developed a sore place in my back that also feels like a pulled muscle but again, I don't know how I would have done that. My back also just hurts a bit and I have some jaw discomfort from time to time.

I don't have health insurance but I today I decided to suck it up and go to an urgent care clinic. (And spent $200+ we didn't have) I had an ekg and my bp taken and they said it was normal but that if I am still concerned I should go to my pcp (which I don't have) and get a referral to a cardiologist. I was hoping it would put my mind at ease but it almost made me feel worse. They didn't offer blood work which would have made me feel better.

I am sure anxiety is causing some of this, it's definilty causing me to stress out over every single twinge and pain I might have. My husband started a new job last week and that's the only thing I can think of that would have caused this anxiety in me. Does anyone have any helpful insight? I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything else. I really hate worrying constantly about the pains and even about needing to go to the doctor when we don't have any money for it. My husband is offered insurance but not until after 30 days so it'll be weeks before we can even look into getting it.

Post Edited (Samt0123) : 8/6/2017 8:55:39 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Sam,

Sorry to hear of your troubles. It can be scary having symptoms and not having health insurance. For what it's worth, I had costochronditis some years back and I can relate to your symptoms of pain when touching, and feeling pain in the chest and in the back. I was lucky, my costo resolved itself, although it seemed to take forever, it was probably 6 weeks to 2 months. Those connecting tissues are thin, I think, and so it takes a while to regenerate.

I would second what Scaredy Cat said about anxiety help. I have had to learn how to breathe to alleviate anxiety. There are many good tips on the internet to help with anxiety. One thing that has helped me is affirmations. They feel silly at first, but definitely work.

I wish you all the best!

This sounds so much like myself. I feel for you, hun. It's so scary to think something major is wrong, especially with something like our hearts.

I'm 28, female, and a bit overweight but losing. I started having chest pains/discomfort early this year. Almost exactly as you explain. Was convinced it was my heart/heart attack. I couldn't tell you how many times I went to the ER. Thankfully for me, I do have health insurance and went to my PCP and got a total cardio workup from a cardiologist. EKG, chest X-ray, blood tests, a treadmill stress EKG and two echocardiograms.

My heart was (is) fine. I likely pulled a chest muscle/Costo/or had a pinched nerve. And my anxiety just made everything SO much worse. So I focused on that. I got put on an anxiety med, started self help measures, and started seeing a therapist. Things slowly got better. And the best thing was the self help, and that's free!

I will say I still get twinges in my chest. Just random sharp pains that last only a second and don't happen every day. That makes me think maybe it is a pinched nerve.

What I'm sharing is, with your clean ekg and good BP, it's likely something benign and your anxiety is blowing it out of proportion. Take steps to get your anxiety under control and perhaps try an over the counter med like Advil for the pain. It helped with my pain.

Best of luck and I hope you find peace soon!

Hi sam,

I am glad to hear you are feeling better today! This is great news...may it continue! 😊

Yes, continue with the coping skills...follow up with your doctor when you can...

...and keep us updated...we'll keep you cheered on!

S.C.