chest pain for 2years and they dont know what it is, can anyone help??

Costro is a demon man i comes and goes even when your doing nothing and create illilusions of heart attacks causing massive painc attacks all the time, BELIEVE me ive been there several times. but i can tell you some pointers i have picked up over the years. My Costrochondritis journey started in 2008 went to the Emergency room on base they told me it was most likely acid reflux, so they gave me a gi cocktail and called it a night. That was the tip of the ice berg I was back in the er within 5 hours telling them it damn sure was not “acid reflux” even though I currently have a medium hiatal hernia I know what heartburn feels like and having a new stabbing chest pain. After months of pleading with dr.s in the navy (All military Docs treat every known illness with Ibuprofen) to try a different path it was time for my discharge to reserve duty since then I’d bet I’ve been in the ER 20 times since 2012 for excruciating chest pain. Finally after all the gastologist and  5 different cardiologists clearing me of heart problems and countless other test the DR’s ran out of ideas so like most of yall I took matters into my own hands and resorted to Google and self diagnosed myself with extreme costrochondritis and chest pain. After I brought this condition up with Dr’s they were like well that seems to make the most sense and It took all those er trips and countless docs and I’m the person to bust the mystery. I can tell yall what has and has not worked for me. I have been fighting costro for years it seems to come alive when winter rolls around but this winter it was worse than ever spent 3 days inpatient in va hospital and they sent me home with extreme pain pills. Once again took matters into my own hands and the only person besides a witch Dr I hadn’t consulted was a Chiropractor and pain management specialist, after a brief bio of me they noticed my t6 rim from my thoracic area was out of place a little, that rib sublexation from it being out causes that rib meeting in the sternum to cause costro to increase 20X, once they popped it back in it was like heaven but very short lived. Then we began a pain regimen and routine chiro visits for the ribs and sternum.

1.Anything warm “Sauna,Steam room, Heating pad, shower aimed directly at sternum

2. Loose clothing don’t wear tight clothes that naturally pull your shoulders forward . Posture is a very big deal with costro when you slouch forward at a computer chair or watching tv you tend to pull your shoulders forward and more pressure on the sternum, plus that extra strain pulls on those thoracic ribs that connect to the sternum ( So try your hardest to correct yourself or buy a brace online)

3. Voltagren gel is a good anti inflammatory gel and Blue emu gel has worked for me when applied regulary and neither one of them stink. Havent had much luck at all with the menthol gels like icy hot and Biofreeze.

4. Gabapentin and Amytriptiline , Etolac, Naproxen, and Hydrocodone with Tylenol, have not worked one bit for myself

5. Meloxicam and other stronger anti inflam drugs such as celebrex work best in my opinion that way you don’t have to rely on narcotics for pain.

6. Best of all consult a chiropractor and see how bad you are mis aligned all this pain could be from a out of place rib. The pain management specialist can insert corticoid steroids like prednisone or synthetic stronger versions of it into the intercostal region in sternum and usually helps me for weeks at a time and if you choose they can do cortisone in the sternum as well.

Hope this has really helped a few of you, especially the ones that know there is something wrong with your body causing all the extreme pain and anxiety telling yourself it’s a dang heart attack! You just have to try and relax and find a good regimine and learn to live with it. Try and stay warm 

Beth and others I feel for everyone !!!! I started to get chest pain 5-6 years ago very long story I'll make as short as I can ended up in E R with what was said to be a panic attack which I had never had one before !!! The first time is the worst .. This happend after I had an x ray from my doctor saying my lungs and heart were fine .. They did an ekg blood work and chest x ray at the hospital Which all came back normal as can Be.... They asked me to follow up with my dr as it could be anxiety or muscular at the time I agree it was anxiety .. I was fine for about 2 months , I started to get chest pain again worse but not awful .. But my anxiety kept rising , he said I lnow nothing is wrong w your heart but let's send you for a c t scan of the heart w dye to put my mind at ease.. Came back healthy as can be he said .. That was all 5 years ago .. I do have anxiety which xanax does help me when it's bad but lately bc of my chest pain being worse my anxiety has been worse . Making my life non enjoyable .. It always helped when I had a friend crack my back , and go to the chiro but it's short lived .. I have found a great Massage therapist who says its chostro and does bring the most relief but that only lasts a few days and then it's back to being painful and I see him every month .. I still was doubtful it was costro but recently it hurts to press on the area hurts to move my shoulders I get arm pain neck pain which are all symptoms on the left side ! Bc of the pain my anxiety has been off the walls lately even though I believe i know what it is .. Like someone started wearing shorts or hoodies or a seat belt bothers me bc any movement I feel pain which makes me think it's my heart it's a viscous cycle ... I did also start bio feed back which helps control my breathing and helps if you don't know anything about that look it up I was very skeptic about it but it's great ..... Heat does help as well ! Try and live to the fullest and I hope we all can feel better

Being a professional , I can say  if your pain is not excertional , your ECG , echo and Angio  are normal  then it can't be a Cardiac chest pain. There is not even a need for Perfusion scan of heart . Be relax !  As you may know Mvp or MR can give mysterious chest pains , but they are often mild and a simple echocardio can rule out them. 

There are some other rare causes such as Cardiac X syndrome and or coronary spasm syndrome  and  Prinsmetal Angina . These must be excluded by an exprienced Cardiologist.  There is also something called MVD (micro vascular angina) means the capillary network of heart is involved. 

Another common undiagnosed chest pain is called  " left sided psychogenic pain". It's very tricky and often the patient himself has no insight about it.

if the pain is positional , its more likely to be a musclo skeletal problem including costocondrit or thorasic outlet syndrome. Some people have seventh rib syndrome and this can be the origin of the pain ,too.

there is another thing called  " visceral chest pain" . This is in some individuals who their somatic-viseral sensation is  not in normal range.

there are also " chest wall pain " syndromes , Pleurisy and so on.... The list is endless ! And every 7-10 years a new disorder will be found and add to the list. 

The good news is that with new tools and methods developing , and more expert brains involving  in this field , no one should suffer from chest pain now a days. 

Sincerely

Dr. Aidin