I know this might sound silly but has anyone ever experienced cyclical chest pains? I have noticed that (with increasing intensity) I get a tight/heavy feeling in my chest/rib area. It's not constant and comes in waves of mild/moderate pain from just before ovulation through to when I have my period.
I wondered if it might be where some endo is pressing on nerves or something because I have always really suffered with hips and legs pain, but this is a new one for me!
(sorry, should have said I was d/x endo a few years ago and currently not on any hormonal treatment)
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Cloudyrain
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I am very interested to read any answers if you get any. I started getting chest pains last month before my period but just thought my asthma was playing up then the same happened this month. How interesting. I also get bad hip and leg pains, is that to do with the endo? Xx
Yes, my leg & hip pain is endo related. It kind of feels like I want to rip my thighs off if that makes sense! It's really hard to describe all these pains isn't it!x
I would take this very seriously and bring up with your gyne or doc asap.. here's a link to some info from here. You can get endo in your lungs, although very rare, but any chest pain should always be checked up asap in case it is something serious.
Thank you for the link, I'm going to discuss it with my GP/Consultant as I have had suspected endo lumps in other weird locations so it wouldn't surprise me. Also, I fracture my breast bone years ago so wonder if that may be a site when (in theory) endo could occur because of the scar tissue x
Hi guys, yeah it is possible we could all be experiencing the endo on our lungs but then again perhaps not as the main symptom is coughing up blood as it has to go somewhere. I am seeing my gynae on 25th April and will ask then as she is doing a second lap for me and hopefully will find out. I'll keep people posted and if anyone gets any info in the meantime then please pm me or put it on this post and I can have a look as I have had the chest pains with my endo for just over 2 months now on/off. Thanks for highlighting this and hope everyone gets some help in the very very near future.
Good luck at your appointment! I'm wondering if it's pushing on nerves and that the nerves push on the chest rather than it being the lungs themselves, especially because so many of us seem to have this pain. Let us know what your gynie says x
I'm hoping at this point you ladies have at least had chest x-rays done, because there is a condition that presents with chest pains during your monthly cycle and is usually due to "endo tissue" causing a collapsed lung. Not to alarm anyone but it's extremely rare. It's called "catamenial pneumothorax" of which there are at least 10 of us ladies on this site suffering from it.
Wow, I didn't even think of that! I actually haven't had any investigations still as she refused to do anything for me, and I found out she wasn't a gynae anyway, she was a pain specialist. I will look into this though, thanks
I'm still waiting to be diagnosed after a lap happens, and my pains are now all around my lower back rising, hip/lep/bum, but I'd assumed my chest pains - like a popping sensation or just a fairly sharp ache and pain which comes and goes was because I've been bloating so much that it was connected to my bra line/bloating so I'd be interested in hearing any feedback you get.
Good luck with your diagnosis honey, try and write the pain and your descriptions down, it with help your Dr work out the best way to treat you. I do get that uncomfortable bloating feeling sometimes, but not at the same time as these chest pains x
Ladies if you still have your gall bladders, then it is much more likely to be a gallstone attack or biliary colic than endo on the lungs which is exceedingly rare. Women of the age to be having problems with endo are also the same age to be afflicted with gall stones. Most of us have gall stones. Usually they rattle around and don't cause anyone any problems. Right before a period yout body retains bloat /fluid putting added pressure in your tummy and that is where the gall bladder lives, just under the Liver on the right hand side. So more likely to be having this happen after ovulation when your gynae bits are actively building up ready for a period.
My weight would go up half a stone in the two weeks before a period, just from fluid retention.
However , despite the gallbladder being located to one side the pain is felt right in the middle behind the lower part of the breastbone and radiates out from there.
Attacks can be rare, once or twice a year, all the way through to almost every day for some people. They usually happen after a big meal, which usually means supper as that for most is the main meal of the day. So the pain worsens in the evening and can keep you up for several hours at night till the bunged up gallbladder has leaked out enough bile to calm down.
Many people put this down to indigestion or stomach ulcers, when infact it's just a gall stone blocking the exit from the gall bladder which fills up with bile from the Liver and it can't empty out properly like it is supposed to. It can be very painful and distressing as no painkillers will help, nor will indigestion remedies and ant-acids.
Easy to fix for good, though very long waiting list for ops.
Lap op to have gallbladder removed and that puts an end to such attacks.
You don't need your gall bladder, it's rather obsolete like an appendix.
50 thousand gallstone ops carried out in the UK each year. it is the most common reason for stomach pain causing hospital admissions. Though I'd say it is more of a chest pain than a stomach one.
If you have had your gallbladder removed already then consider other possibilities like endo, but if you still have your gall bladder then with twice as many women to men getting gall stone attacks, and 50% of women having gall stones in their lives, it has to be much more likely than anything else, even heart problems.
Thanks for your detailed reply Impatient, I think it's probably not this for me as it's higher up. I think its possibly just where endo is pushing a nerve or something. I fractured my breast bone years ago (I had forgotten until my mum mentioned it the other day!) and it's where loads of nerves that run through the body meet. The other things I think it might be is inflamed joints (tietzes I think it's called) and I wonder if that could be linked to periods. Think I will just have to go to the Dr and rule out endo attacking the fracture scar tissue!
I think there is probably so much about Endo the scientists have never even bothered to investigate I don't think it will never be properly understood!
It can be referred pain caused by diaphragmatic endo, which doesn't necessarily mean it's on your lungs. Thoracic/diaphragmatic endo is not rare. It could also be a liver endometrioma expanding and pushing on to the diaphragm, or endo on the liver.
I can't see gallbladder pain being connected to cycles; from what I've researched, which is a lot as they thought I had gallstones two years ago.
I know this thread is very old but I had to reply, as I have chest, lower rib, shoulder blade pain etc before my period and also have severe pelvic endo. They say that duaphragmatic and pelvic endo go hand in hand.
Hi - I suffered bouts of chest pain intermittently last year. As it happens I did previously have endo on the diaphragm which was removed. I went to my doctor as it was the symptoms of a heart attack with constrictions and radiating pain. A second time I ended up at A&E as it happened on the train home from work. I had an ecg and was told the tracers were fine and it was put down to stress and not breathing deeply enough. I had been having particularly stressful months work-wise. Now that you mention your cycle, I don't now recall where I was in my cycle to see if it was in any way connected to this. peri-menopausal now so I am not regular. I wonder if the stress of dealing with endo and the pain could be contributing to your chest pain. You certainly should get any sudden chest pain checked out.
I wish you well re your GP visit and hope you find an answer.
I get chest pains and shoulder pains leading up to ovulation and then during my period. I have diaphragmatic endo. The chest pains I get are in my side and the middle of my back. The first time I got the pain in my side it was painful to laugh, and I felt like I was short of breath, but coudn't breath in enough to get over that feeling. An asthma inhaler did not help at all. At that time I was on the pill and the pain was much worse than it is now I'm not on the pill. Now it feels a bit like a stitch, and is sometimes quite uncomfortable to move, particularly rolling over in bed. Diaphragmatic endo is quite rare, but is probably more likely than it being in your lungs if you are not coughing up blood.
Hi min-go, sorry to message on such an old post, but I have exactly the same symptoms has you have described. Gets so bad that I can't sleep. Could you tell me how you were diagnosed with diaphragmatic endo ?
And if you have found any pain relive that works ?
So sorry to hear you have diaphragmatic endo symptoms. I had had symptoms for a couple of years before I went to the doctor. I had had the pain for several months before I went to the and it was obviously related to my monthly cycle. At the time I was not the pill so it start on day one of my period and last 2-3 days. So when I went to the doctor it was quite clear to her what it was. She did however first refer me to a shoulder specialist (at the time I only had pain in my shoulder), he didn't have a clue what it was and referred me to a rheumatologist and for an ultra sound on my shoulder. The rheumatologist was also not sure what it was, but the guy who did the ultra sound told me he had seen another patient with the same symptoms and it was her diaphragm that was the problem. The rheumatologist decided to refer me to a gynecologist and sent me for an MRI scan. They scanned my shoulder and my diaphragm. It was then suggested I go the pill that you can take continually to stop my periods and that stop the pain, and that worked. I have since seen a good specialist in York (not sure where you are based), she operated on my pelvic endo, but would not operate on my diagphragm. She would have referred me to a specialist in Leeds though if I wanted it operating on. In terms of pain relief I found paracetamol and ibuprofen sometimes worked, but often didn't. Over the counter co codamol often worked for me, but I had prescription strength co codamol too in case it got too bad. In terms of sleeping I used to think sleeping on my left side would make my right shoulder hurt less, but I have seen realised that would then contract my diaphragm more and probably had the opposite affect. I think my preferred sleeping position would be sat up more, keeping my diaphragm as stretched as possible.
I hope this helps and if you have any further queries let me know and I will try my best to help out. Hope you get something sorted
Absolutely...yes. You are definitely not alone.Not to scare you. But hopefully you have had at least a chest x-ray at this point. I along with at least 10 others on this site have "endo" in our lungs (first symptoms were chest pains). It's a very rare condition called "catamenial pneumothorax" or collapsed lungs from endo implants.
Hi all 😊 ive been suffering from Endometriosis for about 3 year's now, I'm on the pro stap injections every 3weeks, but my pains are getting worse, and now getting bad pains in my chest on the left side and fluttering to my heart. I now cant put my bra on as it hurts so much? Has anyone had or got these pains.
I have had endometriosis for atleast 2 years, been diagnosed for 1 year. I had my first surgery in February of last year, and I am going into my second sugary next week.
I have had extreme chest pains literally right over my heart area. I have made 5 ER trips and been assigned to a cardiologist. After all the Ultrasounds, and Chest X-rays, they cannot find anything.... Does anyone have any suggestions or advice?
Does anyone have a similar story?
Does anyone think I may have endometriosis around that area? Or nerves damaged?.. Needing advice. ❤️
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