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Thoracic spine problem or something else?

Posted , 6 users are following.

dean30360
dean30360

Hi has anyone experienced anything like this?..

I have had aching in the thoracic region of my spine up to my neck for 7 years but the past few months have been hell. I had four weeks of what my physio has called thoracic spinal stiffness with sympathetic nervous system irritation. I have had strange sensations in my thoracic region accompanied by dizziness a sense of doom and adrenaline rushes. I have had episodes of numbness in my hands and tingling in my left hand. I have experienced chest pain, left sided rib pain, muscle spasms in my back and on the inside of my left ribcage and upper left chest. I have a feeling of not being able to get a satisfying breath in my left lung. 

When all these frightening symptoms kicked off I immediatley thought I was having a heart attack and went to hospital. This has happened 4 or 5 times and each time I have gone to hospital for them to find nothing and send me home. I was referred to cardiology and I have had a holter monitor ( found minor sinus tachycardia but no significant arrythmia) an ultra sound heart scan (come back normal) and several blood tests and ECGs that have found nothing at all. I went to see the musculoskeletal department and they have said I have significant thoracic spinal stiffness on the left side of my spine and think this is the cause of my problems. They gave me some hands on treatment last wednesday and sent me away with exercises to do at home.

The day after my session with physio I developed nausea that has resulted in vomiting for three days straight and all kinds of pains and twinges throughout my upper body. I have lost my appetite and cant eat until after midday, a week has now passed and I am concerned as I am also experiencing light headedness, some abdominal pain and my chest and the muscle under my chin has aches and pains. again I have been to the emergency room and both EKG and bloods are normal. Im still not convinced this isnt a heart problem and would appreciate anybody who has experienced similar and what the outcome was.

Thanks

Dean

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • steven12310
    steven12310 dean30360

    Posted

    Dean,

    Following an incident when I was a soldier I had similar problems due to some crushed vertibrae it wasnt until 14 years later I had an operation to free several trapped nerves but because it had taken so long to get an op the nerves were permantly damaged. You probably need some good xrays to see if you have this, have you been in any accidents no matter how long ago?

    • dean30360
      dean30360 steven12310

      Posted

      Hi steven,

      Thanks for your reply. I fell off a 20 ft bridge as a young teenager but they said no fractures were found at the time. Im now 37 but ive had aching in the middle of my back for years. Following the accident i had twisted the muscles in my back and my left leg. Maybe this has played a part. I also work in drainage so for the past 14 years ive been lifting heavy manhole covers, hunching over a steering wheel and a computer for long hours. Ive developed a breathing problem as i mentioned and the pressure in my chest along with the recent nausea has had me running for a and e convinced im having a heart attack. a session consulting doctor google does nothing to reassure me either!! Google my symptoms and Youll convince yourself your doomed.. I suppose the most distressing symptom is the weird kind of like surges of doom and a kind of dizzy rush that can come out of nowhere. I had one today in the middle lane of the M61. Not a pleasant experience. Cardiologists have assured me its not my heart but its hard to think its anything else when it all kicks off. Its not like its accompanied by excruciating back pain it isnt. I do get muscle spasms in the middle of my back but the pain seems to be mainly refered to other parts like my shoulder, chest, abdomen and arm. Very strange. I spose I just feel like im the only person experiencing this and needed to hear that im not the only one as daft as that may sound..

    • steven12310
      steven12310 dean30360

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply Dean and you can be assured you are not alone here. There are so many things that can cause your symptoms and it is always helpful when you see someone else that has the same problems. Some years after my incident I got dx with MS and many doctors say this is caused my some trauma or other in the past. Most of the things you are experiencing can be caused by trapped nerves in the spinal column which can better seen in an MRI than an xray. Just keep hounding your GP until you get the right specialist to dx you. Dont let it get you down mate. Just fight it all the time
  • Lulu1979
    Lulu1979 dean30360

    Posted

    Hi Dean,

    I know your post was 4 years ago but I was wondering if you managed to find out what was wrong and if you are better now? I have experienced all of the symptoms you mentioned and more for the past 3 years and I have had some really awful days feeling like I'm having a heart attack. I suspect mine has occurred from bad posture when breastfeeding my son hunched over but yet none of the MRIs have found anything significant. My nervous system is terrible due to this as even the tiniest amount of stress sets off a series of awful symptoms throughout my thoracic area. It really has been a nightmare and I have tried so many different healing modalities but it keeps coming back. Would love to see where you are at with this now.

    Thanks!

    • brendan81070
      brendan81070 Lulu1979

      Posted

      Hi Dean/Lulu, I know your posts are years old now, but I have also been suffering from thoracic spine pain and pain in my right shoulder blade, along with neck stiffness and pain in the base of my skull. I would not describe the pain as an aching pain, it more like nerve pain and random pain spikes. It does not affect my movement or my ability to exercise and has been on going for just over three years.

      I too have experienced random adrenalin rushes, and an impending sense of doom.

      I have also experience occasional heavyness in my left arm and have attended A & E twice due to associated chest pain, thinking it was a heart attack.

      Ive had x-rays, blood tests, ECGs and they have found nothing wrong.

      As these worrying symptons are persisting, I have now arranged to have an MRI to see of this can identify the problem.

      I was wondering/hoping that you may have received a diagnosis, or whether your symptoms have now resided?

      Best regards

    • Lulu1979
      Lulu1979 brendan81070

      Posted

      Hi there! Sorry to hear you've had similar symptoms to me, it can be debilitating. It's been over 5 years since mine started and I saw everyone under the sun to help me! I'm not sure of how yours initially started, but for me mine was a combination of posture (hunched over feeding my baby) and nervous system (I didn't get a consecutive 2hrs sleep in 18 months feeding my son and my nervous system more or less shut down) So if you have had any stress in your life that might have caused your nervous system to dysregulate, this might be something to look into. For me, a neurologist told me that he thought I had 'central sensitisation' - this is when your nervous system becomes hyper-sensitive. So he described it like this - if you put your hand on a hot kettle, you immediately take it off. He said I had my hand on that kettle for 18 months when my baby wouldn't sleep! it then made my whole nervous system turn hypersensitive. Even 1% of stress in my body would feel like 100% stress and I felt it ALL in my thoracic area... like electricity was going through it with impending sense of doom. I literally thought i was going to due every single day for over a year!! The things that helped me were - yoga (calmed my nerves down), chiropractor to release that upper spine and neck area (I see my chiro regularly to this day), massages to keep that area loose, acupuncture / Chinese medicine. There is an amazing book that was recommended to me by my chiro called 'The SD Protocol' which stands for 'sympathetic dominance' - have a look at it - helped me so much on my journey! felt like it was written about me! Anyway, message me back with any questions you have. Leanne

    • brendan81070
      brendan81070 Lulu1979

      Posted

      Hi Leanne, thank you for replying so quickly. It sounds like you have taken lots of positive steps to help relieve your condition. As you say its very debilitating, and I've spent a long time feeling sorry for myself, not really wanting to try and help myself, until now and have started taking my own positive steps. It's interesting what you say about a stressful event having started it, as for me it all started when I thought I was having a heart attack just over 4 years ago. Thankfully, it wasn't but it was almost like I had PTSD afterwards, having severe anxiety attacks every night around the same time as the initial episode. I have done office work for the past 20 years, and I have poor posture as a result, which doesn't help. Thanks for the book recommendation, I will definitely look this up! Take care, Brendan.

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