Chest pains now!

[Tracylux]

Hi all, I'm back again (sorry!) I seem to be falling apart all of a sudden. I now have a chest pain (for about 2weeks) on left hand side of chest. Constant pain and if I breathe in it really hurts. I have googled and seen this too can be a side effect of RA - when the joint connecting rib to sternum becomes inflamed. Just wondered if anti had any experience if this ? (No breathlessness at all.) Thanks.

[jane1976]

I once had pleurisy with similar symptoms?

[scorpiojack]

Hi.. Yes I have had the same a couple of times over the last year. It seems to last 12 to 24 hours and then goes, so I don't get alarmed now. It is a very strange disease!!

[wishbone]

I've had varying degrees of chest pain from not long after the onset of my RA about 13 years ago. It's rarely absent and I usually have it in the area of my upper breast bone extending across to my shoulders. During bad flares, which thankfully don't occur very often, it can spread down my left rib cage and can be painful when I breath.

[sylvi]

Go to your dr and get them to look at you and also speak to your rheumy darling.xxx

[Aureliabert]

Hi I had a lot of cest pain , on my right side of my cest I went to the hospital to, they could find nothing really allarming my Reumy told me thet can be RA related or another form of arthrites, I have copd

A mild case ,and fibrosis in my lung , that can be a couse of pain, also can be an inlfammation of the sack around the lungs

Pleurisy or bronchitis , check whit your doctor ,you want to make sure is nothing wrong whit your hearth no blockage, that the reason why I went to the ER they did any imaginable test in 24 hours . I was very Very worry I do have RA the classical case

Take care

[helixhelix]

May well be costochondritis, which is fairly common thing in people with RA. it's inflammation of the ribs, as you say the joints attached to the sternum. Very painful, and also tender if you touch your sternum. It does go away again once inflammation controlled.

However, anything to do with lungs is always worth getting checked out just in case it is something else.

[Hidden]

Pain in the chest area is very scary and should be checked out by a doctor. I was having chest pains with a rapid heart beat and I knew I was having a heart attack..My hubby rushed me to the ER. I was so scared...after all the exams and blood work it turned out I was having severe panic attack...too make a long story short, Please go see a doctor to see what is happening to you.

All the best

sue

[Sanbanan]

Hi Tracy.

Please get checked with your doctor to be on safe side.

I had similar and went to GP last week and it was in fact an infection in left lung. Got antibiotics and pain cleared in a couple of days.

Wishing you better x

[caroline777]

I get costochondritis most of the time and although it sounds like it, I would strongly advise you to talk to your GP. I can barely turn over in bed when mine is bad so it can be very painful. Mine is also one sided at times but I get it on the left which scared me to start with! Take care. Caroline xxxxx

[Tialucas]

Hi Tracy I get frequent pains in my chest the same as yours mine is always down to chest infections when I'm checked out by my doctor , I've never had so many antibiotics in my life as I have since getting RA five years ago, at present I've a pain running down my chest between my boobs ,been told there's inflammation there due to all the coughing and it will settle, my Dr has said I have to go to surgery whenever I feel I've an infection on the chest straight away, which as you know it's difficult getting past the receptionist, the trick is tell them you have RA and dr says you have to get straight in. Please go and see your dr especially if your prone to infections, I didn't once and passed out long enough to fall and break my left hip due to having walking pneumonia ,

[Denise64]

Hi

Yes I've had this a few times when I'm in a flair up. It does ease off, I tend to put a wheat pack on my ribs and on front of my chest, I found that helps. My doctor also said I can put those anti inflammatory Creams on , but to be honest I'm not going to try that as don't fancy that .But do check with your doctor as if you've had a cough or cold it could be an infection , always best to check. Don't panic though as if it is the RA , it will pass .

Love

Dee x

[Kariss]

Hi, I too have had pains like these from around the time I was diagnosed. Mine were also nearly always left sided and across the lower ribs and felt like I'd been run over by a truck -tender to touch and making wearing a bra impossible! They usually would come on in the evening and last all night and sometimes up to 24 hours. Sleeping was scarey and only possible lying on my back with a lightweight heat bag on my ribs. Every time I saw the doctor about this I was given an ecg, which was always normal. Then one doctor asked if it was always after I'd eaten and put me on daily Omeprazole, (a protein pump inhibitor) as she said she thought I may be leaking stomach acids into the muscles ? between my ribs. I already had Omeprazole to protect my stomach (from steroids) but had been told to take it only when needed. Since being on it daily I have only had a couple of mild attacks of this pain so I'm hoping the doctor was right. But please do get your chest pains checked out because it may be something totally different. Best wishes.

[Sheila_G]

I also had pleurisy with similar symptoms

[gudgen]

I had bad pain under the left rib cage and sometimes the right. This went on for 5 months during which time I ended up in hospital several times. I,ve been on nexeum for several years and Humira for 6 months prior to this event. In hospital, the gastrologist did every test she could as well as having an exploratory laparoscopy done. Everything showed no problems. After all this a dietitian got me to try a fodmap diet. After just 3 days the difference was amazing. As I slowly reintroduced food groups I found that it was wheat,garlic and onions that were the problem. The gastrologist the dietitian and myself had little hope for the diet. Another interesting point is that if I try wheat bread even after Month off, I'll get gut pain and my ankylosing spondylitis pain will flare up. If I'm allowed to give a plug for a good book, please go out and buy the book GUT by G Enders. It explains a lot about the relationship between the gut and immune system, depression. It's written in every day language.