Chest pain

[Olibop]

I wondered if anyone else suffers with chest pain and tightness ? Mine is driving me mad at the mo'!!! Been such a busy time and now I feel so ill I don't know what to do with myself . I can hardly move !!! And feel so down and sick of it , my specialist is so good to me but always seems in a rush, my gp is understanding but gives me the impression he doesn't know what to do with me !!!! So sorry for the moaning but just know people on here will understand just needed to talk to someone that does understand !!!! Love to all the lupus sufferers out there !!!!! Xxxxx

[daisyd]

Chest pain ? If you think you could be having a heart attack you should phone an ambulance,

Not sure if you are in England phone out of hours doctor, if you are concerned but don't forget Ambulances are there if you need one

Karen

[Petrof]

In my case it is very tight chest, something between pressure and pain, hard to explain. Have had it on and off for a few weeks. Helps a little acupressure on the breastbone and between the ribs and between shoulders. Also slow abdominal breathing seems to help release the tightness of the chest. Have a go if it helps.

[luppychick]

I have been hospitalised on three occasions from chest pain. Each time they've hospitalised me I've had to stay in over two days and then they have finished there test they put it down to

Lupus pain. Now I'm scared every time i have an atack of chest pains I'm scared that at 47 with lupus and diabetes that these pains might turn into a heart attack my doctors told me any time I get the pain I need to go straightaway to hospital even if it's nothing, so please if you're feeling like this please go to your accident and emergency department straightaway do not ignore chest pain.

Even if it turns out that it's just lupus like with me, please please go to AE

Luppychick

[Sher78]

Get chest pain & tightening quite a lot, more so when it's cold & can't catch my breath. In my case it's a reoccurring problem with the lupus (generally if I'm walking up hill or trying 2 walk a little too quickly). Just serves 2 remind me 2 take it easy :0/

[Davidj]

I have had two heart attacks due to blood lots , not trying to scare you but I would see a cardiologist , with that being said, also have had costinitits that is inflammation around rib cage that is very painful , and now with those two things being afraid one of those were hsppening again , rushed back to the doc, this time he told me it was my nerves , made me feel better that given my history to have it checked, the anti anxiety meds that I refused to take at first, because I was desperate ) really worked . Never ever believed him when he said that , thought he was giving up on me, but it treslly did help. If you don't believe in your fob or believe there not doing the best for you , throw them to the curb n get a new one, if you can't find one , go to the ER, tell them of your pain and they will assign you one .

Hope this helps,

A relating lupie in Florida US

David

[Purpletop]

Chest pain can be caused by many things. I would firstly eliminate heart and lungs as potential issues, so see a cardiologist and lung specialist and do all necessary tests to be sure. Then you need to consider gastro reasons as many of the medication we take may cause acid reflux that can manifest as a chest pain. If that is the case, there is medication to resolve that. If none of these apply, then check whether there is a thing called costochondritis, I.e inflammation of the joints between the ribs and the breast bone. If that is not the case, consider the possibility of fibromyalgia, that sometimes affects the chest muscles.

Having said all that, I sometimes get chest pains and shortness of breath without any of the things above applying. The doctor doesn't know what it is and what causes it but it comes out of the blue, stays with me for 10 days or so, then improves for about a week, then the cycle continues. I'm hoping the Plaquenil will help in the long run, in the mean time I just use hot water bottle and no activity until it passes.

But a you need to eliminate the major reasons first, then take a view - everyone will tell you that for the slightest chest pain or arm numbness you need to rush to a&e but i have spent many hours in A&E only to be told my heart is fine and my lungs are fine. So now I'm taking a view each time, check what other symptoms I have that could suggest something critical and decide. It is a worrying symptom, I agree.

[Hidden]

Yes I get chest pain, short of breath, tightness, awful palpitations. I'm told it is down to the disease and nothing they can do. It is a horrible feeling though not being able to breath properly, acupuncture helps relax me and Chinese massage helps with the tightness for me. Hope you feel much better soon.

[ebril]

Yes terrible I'm waiting to see a cardiologist and been given spray to help ease it

[Marley]

I have experienced severe chest pain too. Initially it was assumed to be severe indigestion

( this was years ago it has to be said). However on investigation it was found to be pericarditis which is inflammation of the lining of the heart. It does not damage the heart itself but it was sometimes so bad it was hard to believe I wasn't having a heart attack! The treatment was anti- inflammatories although it took a while to find one that worked - I was in hospital at the time. I agree with others that chest pain should always be carefully investigated. It probably feels worse than it is but you must not take chances.

[Flippityfish]

I had chest pains before they got my medication right, and my lupus nurse said to always go to A&E if you get chest pains because it is 10x better to be safe than to be sorry.

But it turned out my chest pains were due to the muscles around the ribs being inflamed after checking out my heart and lungs for blood clots.

And (this part sounds very strange) I just had a gut feeling that if I doubled the dosage of plaquenil from 200mg a day to 200mg twice a day i would feel better, because the chest pain always happened the latter half of the day when i took plaquenil in the morning.

so i asked my consultant if i could try 200mg twice a day and we tried it and since that day no more chest pains!

So just think about what your body is feeling and don't take any chances!

[brave]

i get chest pain ,have done for years,i alo have irregular heart beats ,cardiologist is so laid back says not much to worry about ,lol!because i get so much pain and tightness with the tendons and muscles i also beleive that to be a factor ,take care

[MaximumRide]

I'm the same as Sher78. I get chest pains and short of breath very easily. I am currently being treated for pneumonia and they say it is that but I'm not so sure. I cannot get to the top of the stairs with out being out of breath. I feel like I'm 60 and need a chair lift :(. But from the comments here it appears to be quite common. I will still get it thoroughly investigated just in case.

[Voutton]

Hi there I completely understand what you are going through I experienced the same pains and was diagnosed with angina and put on the spray which I must say helped unfortunately the pain was getting more frequent so had to have tests done , thevupshotvof it all was that although my pains were like angina my arteries were totally clear not clogged up in the least The specialist came to the conclusion that the muscles around the heart were contracting and causing angina type pain and symptoms He put it down to the Lupus but advised that I continue carrying my spray and use it when the pain did not subside when sitting down taking this as a precautionary route. I do still have to use my spray though am more aware now . I started exercise classes after doing the rivers programme and found that the pain was more evident so they gave me a tablet to take before these classes I believe that prevention is better than cure and am happy with the knowledge that i have clear arteries but my lupus is playing havoc with me .I don't know if this helps any but I do appreciate the scary feelings you must be having .So ask for more tests. I am in a fortunate position that my husbands company gives us the added benefit of health insurance so I had these tests done when I was experiencing a lot of pain and pins and needles down my arm I hope that all goes well for you please keep me posted Good health and happiness

[vonnyrad]

I suffer varying types of chest pain and also frequent bouts of prolonged palpitations, particularly when I am fatigued. Sometimes I know it's in the bones or muscle of my chest wall,and due to inflammation, other times it seems deeper, and I'm never sure whether to ignore it or call 999!Things are complicated for me as I have long-standing renal failure which can affect the heart in many ways.However, I have had tests in the past to show no major problems with my heart so although I am conscious of the pain I try not to worry too much as I think that makes it worse.Having said all that, my first experience of chest pain proved quite significant.It was 30 years ago and I was having my first major flare(but didn't understand what was happening)and was generally very unwell, very weak and out of breath,aches and pains and that horrible 'general malaise' we all know so well.I awoke one morning(it was actually Boxing Day 1982)with the most horrendous chest pain which made it almost impossible to breathe, and was worse if I lay flat or sat upright, I had to lie somewhere in-between. I was reluctant to call the doctor, partly because it was Boxing Day and partly because I'd had a bout of severe chest pain earlier in the year, which was so bad my mum thought I was having a heart attack and called the out of hours doctor (a locum)who came, did a quick exam and said there it would be highly unlikely that a 21 year old female would be having a heart attack, putting the pain down to 'stress ' as I was in my last year of university, which made me feel a bit foolish.The pain did subside on that first occasion, but this time it worsened as the day went on and by midday I really had to ring the doctor, who said he could hear a murmur, listened as I explained I'd had a diagnosis of renal disease "of indeterminate cause", and admitted me to the local cardiac ward.After a couple of days of tests and a visit from my renal consultant I was diagnosed with pericarditis, along with severe haemolytic anaemia, which accounted for the pain and breathlessness, and subsequently was diagnosed with polyarteritis/lupus.By this time I only had 30% kidney function left, and had to start taking high dose Prednisolone and Azathioprine(which I still take, 30 years later!)which did help with all the inflammation and pain.I obviously had been ill for some time without really understanding it, but I think the real stress of my mum dying suddenly the day before I graduated in the July had exacerbated everything and caused a massive flare up which took months to settle and caused long term damage to my kidneys.Perhaps that first episode of chest pain, had it been taken seriously and investigated, might have led to an earlier diagnosis?At any rate, I think with chest pain that is new to you or if you have not been investigated for heart problems previously, you should either see your G.P. or go to A&E, depending on the severity of the symptoms.It might be nothing serious, it may mean several hours out of your life sitting around waiting to be seen, but it also might be very significant, it's just not worth taking a chance.Take care.

[lemonface]

Oh Yeh! Had chest pain since before diagnosis 21 years ago. I still get it. At first it was scary as you instantly think its a heart attack. I discovered years later that it was intercostal pain caused by immflamation. I just give myself a wee massage and don`t worry about it anymore. Sometimes get odd stabbing pain around chest and back too as if someone has snuck up behind me and stuck a sharp needle in. Another joy of living with Lupus. But hey am I down hearted ..... No It ain`t ruling` my life.... If youve had your heart checked and its ok. Don`t worry about it cos that will only make it worse......

[Hidden]

Hi, I have this on and off every couple of months and has always turned out to be severe chostochondritis, so you have my sympathy it is awful. However I have been told that I must go to the Drs or accident and emergency just incase it is something more sinister. It is a nuisance doing this but it is better to be safe than sorry.

I hope youo feel better soon

x

[charlie007]

I had tightness in my chest,difficulty breathing had to sleep on 3 pillows,racing heart beat,and a strange sensation right through my body,lasted a couple of hours but exhausted for days.I know now I should have gone to a doctor,would anyone have idea what was causing this,it has left me scared!