# Chest pains.....a weird one this.



## Dave7 (10 Jul 2022)

About 10 days ago I developed chest pains which tbh frightened me.
I soon realised they were not "inside" but on and below the surface.
They are very specific to the chest area. 
I have never had shingles but this is what I imagine it to be like ie the nerve ends are on fire and even a light touch hurts, a lot. No rash of any sort.
Its a lot better/less painful today.
Anyone got any ideas.


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## Ming the Merciless (10 Jul 2022)

Speak to a doctor


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## Slick (10 Jul 2022)

Defo speak to a doctor preferably as soon as possible.

That said, I did and still have chest pains that did frighten me as I have a huge family history of issues, but it turned out to be costochondritis which is basically the joints in the rib cage swelling. I've had back pain most of my working life and this is just an extension of that. It was supposed to get better over time, but never really went away. 

Obviously that was my experience, the liklihood is, you will be very different.


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## vickster (10 Jul 2022)

As above, Dr in the morning 
With shingles you can get pain without the rash, if it is shingles, 10 days in you may be too late for anti virals to have much effect


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## Dave7 (10 Jul 2022)

Slick said:


> Defo speak to a doctor preferably as soon as possible.
> 
> That said, I did and still have chest pains that did frighten me as I have a huge family history of issues, but it turned out to be costochondritis which is basically the joints in the rib cage swelling. I've had back pain most of my working life and this is just an extension of that. It was supposed to get better over time, but never really went away.
> 
> Obviously that was my experience, the liklihood is, you will be very different.



I was diagnosed with costochronditus about 6 years ago. Lasted about 6 months. Still have the big lump/swelling in the middle of my chest.


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## Dave7 (10 Jul 2022)

vickster said:


> As above, Dr in the morning
> With shingles you can get pain without the rash, if it is shingles, 10 days in you may be too late for anti virals to have much effect



The pain now seems to be subsiding by the hour. Can shingles go after just 10 days? I have no idea.
Getting to see our Doctor is like winning the lottery.


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## midlife (10 Jul 2022)

Loads of things so best see Dr, Bornholm pleurodynia sprang to mind but the last time I was on a chest ward was 1979!


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## Ming the Merciless (10 Jul 2022)

midlife said:


> Loads of things so best see Dr, Bornholm pleurodynia sprang to mind but the last time I was on a chest ward was 1979!



Misread that as Dr Bornholm Pleurodynia, and wondered if he was a famous chest specialist


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## vickster (11 Jul 2022)

Dave7 said:


> The pain now seems to be subsiding by the hour. Can shingles go after just 10 days? I have no idea.
> Getting to see our Doctor is like winning the lottery.



If you call and mention chest pains, given your age, I expect they’ll at least offer an urgent phone call


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## dave r (11 Jul 2022)

As others have said, see the doctor, and as Vickster has said mention you're age. A few years ago I had chest and shoulder pain, thought I'd pulled a muscle, turned out I'd had a mild heart attack, get it checked out, it'll probably be nothing serious but check it out just in case.


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## glasgowcyclist (11 Jul 2022)

I’ll repeat: see a doctor. At the very least, call 111 now.


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## dave r (11 Jul 2022)

glasgowcyclist said:


> I’ll repeat: see a doctor. At the very least, call 111 now.



https://111.nhs.uk/


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## presta (11 Jul 2022)

dave r said:


> I had chest and shoulder pain, thought I'd pulled a muscle, turned out I'd had a mild heart attack


In ~1986 I had a violent chest pain like a bolt of lightning whilst I was swimming, and just managed to grab the hand rail before I went under. The Dr said it was a pulled muscle, but there was no pain whilst twisting or moving my chest, only whilst walking. Fast forward 26 years, and I had a perfusion scan after I was diagnosed with AF in 2012. They told me the result of that was all clear, but my medical records say _"?previous infarction"_.


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## KnittyNorah (11 Jul 2022)

Dave7 said:


> About 10 days ago I developed chest pains which tbh frightened me.
> I soon realised they were not "inside" but on and below the surface.
> They are very specific to the chest area.
> I have never had shingles but this is what I imagine it to be like ie the nerve ends are on fire and even a light touch hurts, a lot. No rash of any sort.
> ...



As everyone else has said, get medical advice urgently. Call NHS 111 and _they_ can get you an urgent appointment with your GP, or advise you to go to a walk-in centre or whatever is most appropriate.

If you've not developed a rash by now, then it might well _not_ be shingles - although shingles _without a rash at all _is thought to be much more common than anyone ever realises, as it is the rash which is (largely) diagnostic for shingles. 

However, it will be easy enough to see if there has been a recent cardiac event.

I had atypical shingles back in April - in my thigh for goodness sake, so initially thought it was severe cramp - but calling NHS111 got me an urgent appt with my GP. The rash popped out just over a week later and took all the pressure and concern off, as I was waiting for urgent - but not emergency - scans, which request could then be cancelled.


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## ColinJ (11 Jul 2022)

presta said:


> In ~1986 I had a violent chest pain like a bolt of lightning whilst I was swimming, and just managed to grab the hand rail before I went under. The Dr said it was a pulled muscle, but there was no pain whilst twisting or moving my chest, only whilst walking. Fast forward 26 years, and I had a perfusion scan after I was diagnosed with AF in 2012. They told me the result of that was all clear, but my medical records say _"?previous infarction"_.



I had the same thing with my first pulmonary embolism. I read somewhere at the time that the pain was probably caused by the clots which had broken free from my DVT being swept up through the heart before getting stuck on the other side.


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## vickster (11 Jul 2022)

Have you called your GP or 111 yet @Dave7 ?


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## Dave7 (11 Jul 2022)

vickster said:


> Have you called your GP or 111 yet @Dave7 ?



No I haven't Vickster.
I am certainly no expert but feel certain its not cardio related.
As I said, its on and just below the surface and covered the whole chest area.
It has lasted 10 days but diminishing by the day.
I do thank you for your input......along with that of others.


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## vickster (11 Jul 2022)

Dave7 said:


> No I haven't Vickster.
> I am certainly no expert but feel certain its not cardio related.
> As I said, its on and just below the surface and covered the whole chest area.
> It has lasted 10 days but diminishing by the day.
> I do thank you for your input......along with that of others.



It still something though even if not your heart


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## rualexander (11 Jul 2022)

Dave7 said:


> As I said, its on and just below the surface and covered the whole chest area.



That's maybe how it feels to you, but it doesn't necessarily follow that that is where the problem is, could be referred pain.


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## rualexander (11 Jul 2022)

ColinJ said:


> I had the same thing with my first pulmonary embolism. I read somewhere at the time that the pain was probably caused by the clots which had broken free from my DVT being swept up through the heart before getting stuck on the other side.


I don't think this theory adds up.
Blood (and any clots) will go into the right atrium, then the right ventricle, then off to the lungs.
There will be no (under normal circumstances) chance of anything getting caught up in the coronary arteries.


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## Dave7 (11 Jul 2022)

vickster said:


> It still something though even if not your heart



If it still concerns me tomorrow I Will go to the pharmacist. They are very knowledgeable.


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## Bonefish Blues (11 Jul 2022)

Dave. You're a nice bloke, we like you around on the Forum. Don't mess with chest pains*, go and get checked up please 😊

* My old doctor, verbatim


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## teeonethousand (11 Jul 2022)

This^^^


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## ColinJ (11 Jul 2022)

rualexander said:


> I don't think this theory adds up.
> Blood (and any clots) will go into the right atrium, then the right ventricle, then off to the lungs.
> There will be no (under normal circumstances) chance of anything getting caught up in the coronary arteries.



That's not what I was getting at - I was just commenting that I had sudden severe chest pains which were _NOT _due to a heart attack!


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## steveindenmark (11 Jul 2022)

I cannot index gears and you want me to diagnose your chest pains? More fool you


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## CXRAndy (11 Jul 2022)

You're having a laugh Dave. Pain in arm or neck/shoulder can be heart related. Stop Pissing messing about, ring the out of hours doctor tonight. 

Sorry for plain speak


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## vickster (13 Jul 2022)

Dave7 said:


> If it still concerns me tomorrow I Will go to the pharmacist. They are very knowledgeable.



What did the pharmacist say… ?


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## cougie uk (13 Jul 2022)

I mean I know us men can be dumb and stubborn but why wouldn't you just dial 111. 

Don't mess around with your heart. Good luck Dave.


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## Ming the Merciless (13 Jul 2022)

Dave why do you have a fear of the doctor? I really do not understand your reluctance to contact them.


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## vickster (13 Jul 2022)

cougie uk said:


> I mean I know us men can be dumb and stubborn but why wouldn't you just dial 111.
> 
> Don't mess around with your heart. Good luck Dave.



Thinks he’s wasting their time…even though the medical profession and allied services ultimately exist to treat people with health issues 
(I don’t get it either, especially after a couple of weeks and clear concern, otherwise why ask a bunch of strangers on t’internet?)


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## KnittyNorah (13 Jul 2022)

vickster said:


> Thinks he’s wasting their time…even though the medical profession and allied services ultimately exist to treat people with health issues
> (I don’t get it either, especially after a couple of weeks and clear concern, otherwise why ask a bunch of strangers on t’internet?)



SO MANY people think they're 'wasting our time'. I spent most of my career in oncology for heavens sake, and people have _said to my face _that they are sorry for wasting my time. I would sometimes get quite cross with them (in the nicest possible way!) to try to make it perfectly clear that NO they were NOT wasting my or anyone else's time. To throw that notion right away and to not allow anyone they know, family or friends, to hold that notion either. 

One day I bluntly told someone that the sad truth was that _her_ illness and its treatment gave _us_ job security so there was not and never could be, any time-wasting involved.


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## Dave7 (13 Jul 2022)

vickster said:


> What did the pharmacist say… ?



Just got back from there.
She is confident it is/was a temporary blip with the nerve endings around the chest.
She has ruled out shingles or actual heart problems.
The pain is still getting less by the day.
Again, thanks for all the kind thoughts.


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## presta (13 Jul 2022)

KnittyNorah said:


> I would sometimes get quite cross with them (in the nicest possible way!) to try to make it perfectly clear that NO they were NOT wasting my or anyone else's time


On the day my heart arrhythmia first made it's presence known I crawled around the house on my hands and knees for ~9 hours until it went away. I knew I needed an ambulance, but I didn't want the risk of it going away before the ambulance arrived, and being seen as a time waster. I didn't know I was at risk of a stroke.

One the second occasion two years later I did the same again, only this time it didn't go away, but rather than dial 999 I called the GP, and he immediately sent an ambulance. When I got to A&E the consultant in resus ticked me off for not calling sooner, so after that I called within 15-20 mins as advised.

That was fine at first, but on the 6th occasion I was witheringly told I was a 'frequent flyer' by the doctor, so next time I called the GP again. Unlike the first time, there was no call back in 2 mins, it took about 2-3 hours, but when I spoke to her she told me to call an ambulance. The paramedics were fine (as they always are) but when I got to A&E I was told to stop keep calling ambulances, and sent home with an untreated arrhythmia, so I had to call another ambulance later the same day after I took a turn for the worse.

The paramedics were a little surprised to say the least, but when they took me back to hospital I was just put in a room and left to 'calm down' by doctors who thought I was just having a panic attack. _"You're not having a heart attack"_, - something I already knew, thanks. It took until the end of the following day before a doctor who wasn't blinded by his prejudice recognised atrial flutter, and sent me for a DCCV. There's a 48 hour time limit for DCCVs, so I was only just in time.

Within a couple of months my heart was off on one again, but in view of the pantomime last time I went back to waiting and doing nothing, this time for several days, but by the time I got to the point where I couldn't stand up I had to call 999 again. Nothing was said this time, but as I had missed the 48 hour limit I ended up in hospital for a week instead of just overnight.

I'm not in any doubt whatsoever that I'm a timewaster.


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