Pain which seems to be brought on by rest??

[sprocket00]

Has anyone else experienced pain which seems to happen when resting? strange i know but i experience it every time i am sitting down or driving, very rarely does the pain come on whilst physically active. Once the pain has started it will stay with me for the rest of the day and pain killers or gtn spray do not relieve it. Once it starts it is severe enough to stop me doing anything.

The pain is in my chest, arm, neck and shoulder on the left. After numerous visits to A&E the diagnosis is always its not another heart attack we think its angina, several tests by cardiology have ruled out angina as angiogram says my stents are still fine and there is no restrictions in the other than a blocked RCA which they are aware of and say there is no point in unblocking/stenting or bypass.

I am only 47 so not ready to give in to this but seems none of the doctors at my local gp practice nor cardiology seem to have any ideas.

has anyone else experienced/suffered from this seemingly unusual problem? if so any advice or ideas that may be of help please?

[Forestdweller]

Sorry you feel like that, I understand as i also seem to get pains (turns out mine are not my heart but the damn clopidogrel I’m on ruining my stomach! ) thankfully I just been given the all clear to stop taking them at the end of the month 😊, mine were like low level dull angina pains. And once it started stayed with me for the rest of the day, what medication are you on are you sure it’s not a side affect?

[sprocket00 in reply to Forestdweller]

Hi,

thankyou for your reply,

When the pains started the gp's tried stopping different medications to see if anything helped, since then they have basically been the same for last two years, the pains have got worse in that time and i have been prescribed pregablin which i believe is aimed at nerve pain but this hasnt given me much relief. I have always suspected medication as the cause but the only one which remains unchanged in three years is aspirin. I feel because the doctors think i'm imagining it all because there is no significant triggers. Cardiology dont think its heart related and the gp's dont know so i feel there is little hope.

I am pleased you have found a possible cause for your pains. I have not heard of clopidogrel,

but i truly hope stopping it gives you some relief.

[Forestdweller in reply to sprocket00]

Thank you, well aspirin of course can ruin your stomach, so it could be the most obvious. Have you had your stomach checked to rule out any issues, clopidogrel is anti platelet, take it with aspirin, prescribed after my stent to stop clots. I hope you find an answer to your pain problem x

[sprocket00 in reply to Forestdweller]

I have not had any investigations into if it is my stomach, i have asked but seems to not be a concern to the gp's. I am changing doctors and have a consultation next week by phone with a new doctor hoping new eyes and new ideas. did you have any warning signs before you found out your RCA was occluded ?

[Forestdweller]

Also why have they said they won’t do anything with the RCA, mine was severely blocked and it’s been stented!

[sprocket00 in reply to Forestdweller]

Because the RCA is totally occluded i have grown a support vein and they think it is sufficient, there is scaring to the bottom right of my heart from my heart attack and so they cant see it would help. I did complete a treadmill test after my heart attack but this was before the pains started.

[Prada47 in reply to Forestdweller]

Hi

I also have a 100% blocked RCA it appears a lot of Risk with little Reward to try to unblock it !!

Hands Face Space

[sprocket00 in reply to Prada47]

Hi, How long have you had your blocked RCA? Do you suffer with pains as a result?

[Shar28]

Hello. Could it be that it’s not cardiac related? Have you been checked for any musculoskeletal issues? I’m no expert but just wonder if you’ve been checked by your cardiologist and they can’t find anything then it’s worth widening the investigation.

Good luck with getting sorted out.

[sprocket00 in reply to Shar28]

Hi thankyou for your suggestion, I was referred for an mri to check my spine as it was thought maybe c6 vertebrae could give the same symptoms but given the all clear from the neck and back pain clinic. Still can't rule out a muscle or nerve problem so thankyou for your thoughts any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thankyou

[Quintuplebypass]

It may be a long shot but have you looked into tightness in the muscle across each buttock (piriformis syndrome), which causes shooting pains down leg due to pinching the sciatic nerve?

Two months after bypass i was having very severe pains in non-donor leg which were worse at night or when sitting down. I got no sleep and was at my wit's wnd, eating max dose of paracetomol and pacing up and down for hours. I have metal plates in that leg from previous broken leg. So my research suggested pain could have been due to (1) 80 mg dose of atorvastatin, or (2) arthritis from metal plates made worse by damp weather, or (3) piriformis syndrome due to being mostly in bed in hospital for several weeks for bypass, or by time spent on operating table.

I got GP to reduce statin dose by half, also started doing at least one hour walk each day followed by piriformis stretching exercises afterwards for half hour. Plus i took soluble co-codamol at bedtime to get some rest.

After a couple of weeks pain is now almost gone away. I feel the stretching exercises were the reason. They look a bit like yoga but are shown by physiotherapists on YouTube (search for piriformis sciatica).

I'm grateful that a post on here pointed me in that direction, as the person got some muscle damage probably on operating table and a sports injury physiotherapist (or osteopath?) solved it for them by piriformis massage. I took the DIY YouTube route. Self-massage by sitting the piriformus muscle in the buttock on a tennis ball or massage roller and moving around can also help, according to the YouTube physiotherapists...😊

I hope you find a solution.

Best of luck.

[sprocket00 in reply to Quintuplebypass]

Hi, Thankyou for your thoughts, i'm sorry to hear you've been suffering, i should count myself lucky i didnt have to go through a bypass like your self. My pain is in my upper body so i dont think its the same as you are suffering with, i am glad to read you have found a little relief from your pains.

[Quintuplebypass in reply to sprocket00]

Thanks for your kind reply - sorry I overlooked that you did say the location of your pain was in your upper body. I'm still a bit foggy in the brain area!