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Pinching on left side of chest.

Posted , 23 users are following.

emilia47047
emilia47047

Let me start by saying that I am 23 years old, 5'2 and weigh 100lbs. I am slightly underweight and really out of shape, I don't work out at all. I suffer from panic and anxiety and depression. 

With that being said, I've been having this horrible pinching on the left side of my chest. It will be really bad for about 5 mins, w a pinch every like 30 seconds, then go off and come back in half hour or sooner or later. This started yesterday around 3pm then was off until later that night maybe 1am. That's when it got really bad so I went to sleep to avoid this horrible feeling. Today it's been off and on all day long. I'm really scared that this may be something life threatening. I've had an EKG, echo, holter for 24 hrs, chesst xray about 3 months ago when my anxiety was really bad and all was normal. I failed to complete the stress test however bc I started to panic and felt out of breathe. As far as other symptoms, I do feel a bit out of it sometimes when I get the pinching, this can be due to me panicking over it though. 

Thoughts? Should I go back to the doctors? 

1 like, 36 replies

36 Replies

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  • morten13561
    morten13561 emilia47047

    Posted

    My symptoms started like that. I would advice you to go to a cardiologist if it continues. Sharp short pains are usually benign according to the doctors, but Im in doubt if anxiety alone could make this happen. Dont procrasinate with your heart, youre doing the righ thing.
    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 morten13561

      Posted

      I used to get this pain about 2 years or so ago when i "tried" to exercise. I gave up on any chores bc my anxiety was so bad (went to ER twice bc i thought i couldnt breathe.) But yesterday I did a small chore and my arms where exhausted right away. 

      What is your diagnosis by the way?

       

  • morten13561
    morten13561 emilia47047

    Posted

    I have ectopic beats(skipped beats), high BP, fast heart rate. No dangerous arytmia so far. Also had chest pain at one point(the serious kind) and trouble breathing.

    I think you should get this checked out, since you cant excercise(which you should). For me it started with a series of sharp pains like yourself over the course of months.

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 morten13561

      Posted

      My BP is normal, Heart rate normal, oxygen normal. (i can check this at home) And I did my checkups 3 months ago. I've had an EKG, echo, holter for 24 hrs, chesst xray about 3 months ago and all was normal. My doc told me not  to worry. sad Could something have changed?

      Ty for your help. 

    • veinish24
      veinish24 morten13561

      Posted

      Hi morten13561 and Emilia47047, just wanna share though and I am 24 y/o and I experienced left arm pain it's like a dull pain but it goes within a mins and chest pain and tingling in my body, and shortness of breath and extra beat in my heart. I had a bad ecg last last month but my cardiologists said it is muscle and nerve pain, but until now I am still experiencing it, sometimes it goes within 4 days and backs to normal. and also I am panicking when I am having an attack.

  • kathy80717
    kathy80717 emilia47047

    Posted

    Hi Emilia

    if all the tests you have had have proved negative you could be low on magnesium. Women very often are. Magnesium is an amazing mineral that has many benefits. Might be worth you looking into it for yourself. It could be that you are feeling muscle spasms in your heart area which magnesium would correct.

    I wish you well xx

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 kathy80717

      Posted

      Thank you Kathy, 

      I have magnesium supplement at home (this helps with anxiety too). Im in school atm when I get home I'll take it. 

  • emilia47047
    emilia47047

    Posted

    The pain seems to be mostly gone now. I do feel a stab like pain (which is different from that of the initial pinch) every so often during the day. It's usually if I sit in a awkward position or if I move my left arm in a bad way. Does this sound muscle related to you guys? I'm trying not to get anxious about it. sad

  • kathy80717
    kathy80717 emilia47047

    Posted

    Hi emilia

    Good news that you feel it's improving. I would keep taking the magnesium it seems to be helping on both counts. You could even have a pinched nerve in your back that is causing the pain you are feeling now which does radiate to your arm and chest. This is nothing to worry about though as it will ease off. Magnesium!

    Enjoy your weekend.

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 kathy80717

      Posted

      Ty for your reply.

      I suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks and trying to keep myself calm for this but it's hard. Do you really think this is just a hurt muscle? Also I forgot to mention it gets a little more frequent at night.

    • kathy80717
      kathy80717 emilia47047

      Posted

      Hi emilia

      muscles can hurt at night which gives you disturbed sleep which isnt helpful to you.

      I had a book recommended which you might be interested to look at.

      Best of luck to you xx

      Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the product name as we do not allow repeated posting of these in the forums. If users wish to exchange these details please use the Private Message service.

      http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 kathy80717

      Posted

      Thank you again. I seem to be ok when I'm resting in bed and sleep just fine, but prior to that if I stay up late is when the pain starts. Guess I'm overworking my body. The mods edited your reply, mind private messaging me that books name and/or a link?
  • emilia47047
    emilia47047

    Posted

    Quick update. After the pain got worse and worse I had a coronary CTA and it came back all clear. The chest pain is almost dissapeared too. 

    ​Good luck to everyone. Get yourself checked up! 

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