Chest pain - not cardiac

[Dariada]

Wondering if anyone has had weird chest pains that aren’t related to anything cardiac? I’m exactly 3 months post ULL and have been having really weird pain intermittently in the center of my chest. I’ve already told the dr, had to go to the ER last week got all sorts of test to rule out blood clot and/heart issue. I’m scheduled for an angiogram on Thursday because my cardiologist wants to be absolutely sure there’s no blockage, there’s no indication there anything wrong with my heart but I keep having these pains. I also had a CT scan with contrast, nothing wrong showed up on that.

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer]

It takes the body much longer to adjust and heal than we guess. Nature abhors a vacuum. Your organs are in the process of shifting and adjusting. I wonder if that might have something to do with it.

Your remaining lobes expand a bit to compensate for the loss of the ULL. It’s quite likely your heart has shifted quite a bit as well and the muscles that support the internal organs are under a new kind of stress because of that.

Recently I saw a new oncologist for a second opinion on some GGOs. He asked me about back pain. He went on to explain that my heart had shifted from left of center to being completely laying across my ULL. Apparently everything is being pulled to my left.

My LLL had been radiated so heavily that it has shrunk up quite a bit. The ULL shifted downward and the heart moved into the void. He went on to explain the thing about the muscles being pulled to the left to compensate for that. It even affects my posture.

So that’s one thing that might be contributing to your discomfort. Another maybe that it’s the nerve endings that were damaged during the surgical process. I’m grateful to read that you are pursuing this with your cardiologist. Please let us know what you learn. After all, pain is nature’s way of saying there’s a problem.

[Dariada in reply to Denzie]

Thank you so much Denzie, this makes a lot of sense. I hate the thought of going fir an angiogram but I think it’s prudent to really rule out any type of problem with my heart. The feeling I have is best described as a painful flutter. It’s in the center of my chest so I can imagine this could be caused by the shifting and expanding of organs. I also have been reading about costcondritis which sounds a lot like what I’m experiencing. I will definitely report back whatever I find out. Thank you again fir your response.

[JanetteR57]

Are you on any medication including an inhaler at the moment? I had an ULL in Dec 2010 but in Jan 2019 was isolated in hospital with RSV and given an inhaler Fostair. I had difficulties breathing, chest pain and irregular as you describe 'fluttering' heartbeat. I was barely to walk a few yards but assumed it was related to the virus I'd had. By Easter I was unable to walk very far at all and was completely wiped out after just getting up, showering and getting dressed. went back to the doctors who sent me for chest x-ray where they said my heart was enlarged - so I was sent for an echocardiogram. Although slightly off, it was in the 'normal' range so when I saw GP again, I said I had come to the conclusion that it might be the inhaler as that was the only other thing that had happened in the January and I'd been taking 2 puffs of it morning and night ever since. I'd looked at the leaflet of side effects and googled the brandname to find other people experiencing similar heart issues. I told my GP I would be laying off it as I was due to see the respiratory consultant 3 weeks later and would have salbutamol if I had any breathing difficulties. When I saw the consultant he put me back on my previous inhaler Symbicort and a few months later the pain and irregular rhythm had resolved. as you rightly state not all chest pain is heart related in the same way not all breathlessness is respiratory related so worth getting checked out. Anxiety, upper GI/indigestion and other causes can also contribute to chest pain. Are you keeping mobile and as active as you can? I walked after my open surgery but my usual exercise is swimming and 3 months post surgery when the surgeon asked how my swimming was going, I told him I was waiting for his permission to go to which he replied I could have swum sooner and it would be painful due to nerve/muscles having been cut/disturbed. I went onto swim much further by a long way than I ever had before surgery and believe the stretching and being supported by water (i.e. unable to strain anything) helped my recovery in terms of pain legacy. good luck. hope you get some answers soon.