dull sometimes sharp pain

railslave · Jun 7, 2009

i was wondering if anyone has suffered with this before.

every once in a while i get this dull pain on upper left chest area. feels like i pulled a muscle. sometimes out of the blue it would be sharp for a sec, scaring the shit uut of me. i think i narrowed it down to after i eat. this is been going on for acouple of years, most recently more frequent. (before my cycle of test) ive been to the doctor and had a ekg done with good results. doc says maybe from eating, like hart burn.

anyways my question is has anyone gone thru this (sharp, dull pains in left chest area after eating?) also i am taking prevacid, thanks

railslave · Jun 7, 2009

gyno · Jun 7, 2009

You say the pain is in your upper left pec which means

acid reflux unlikely
angina pectoralis unlikely
pec tear unlikely

Don't know bro...

iprimate · Jun 7, 2009

railslave said:
i was wondering if anyone has suffered with this before.

every once in a while i get this dull pain on upper left chest area. feels like i pulled a muscle. sometimes out of the blue it would be sharp for a sec, scaring the shit uut of me. i think i narrowed it down to after i eat. this is been going on for acouple of years, most recently more frequent. (before my cycle of test) ive been to the doctor and had a ekg done with good results. doc says maybe from eating, like hart burn.

anyways my question is has anyone gone thru this (sharp, dull pains in left chest area after eating?) also i am taking prevacid, thanks

It sounds like gastroesophageal reflux. I have experienced this also. It tends to be exacerbated by anxiety, not chewing food adequately and rushed eating. Digestive enzymes may help.

MAD_SCIENTIST · Jun 7, 2009

See a specialist...

railslave said:
i was wondering if anyone has suffered with this before.

every once in a while i get this dull pain on upper left chest area. feels like i pulled a muscle. sometimes out of the blue it would be sharp for a sec, scaring the shit uut of me. i think i narrowed it down to after i eat. this is been going on for acouple of years, most recently more frequent. (before my cycle of test) ive been to the doctor and had a ekg done with good results. doc says maybe from eating, like hart burn.

anyways my question is has anyone gone thru this (sharp, dull pains in left chest area after eating?) also i am taking prevacid, thanks

Go see a specialist railslave. If the doctor you saw is a GP doctor, go see a cardiologist. Acid reflux is more midline, by the sternum above the navel area.
When I see my patients and my diagnosis lean to a "possible", I refer them to a specialist. I want to rule out anything, and give the patient and myself peace of mind. Take care...

MS

iprimate · Jun 7, 2009

Referred Pain / Vagus Nerve

gyno said:
You say the pain is in your upper left pec which means

acid reflux unlikely
angina pectoralis unlikely
pec tear unlikely

Don't know bro...

You are mistaken. You are assmuming that because the oesophagus runs down the midline of the body that any pain will necessarily also be in the same place. This is untrue. The well-established concept of referred pain is sufficient to refute this idea. Further, the heart and the oesophagus share common neural pathways via the vagus nerve so it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish between cardiac and oesophageal pain.

Refs.
----

Encyclopedia of Gastroenterology Johnson et al
Gastroenterology: AN Illustrated Colour Text Butcher

iprimate · Jun 7, 2009

Plain Wrong

MAD_SCIENTIST said:
Go see a specialist railslave. If the doctor you saw is a GP doctor, go see a cardiologist. Acid reflux is more midline, by the sternum above the navel area.
When I see my patients and my diagnosis lean to a "possible", I refer them to a specialist. I want to rule out anything, and give the patient and myself peace of mind. Take care...
MS

Sorry, but you are incorrect in your understanding of chest pain as it relates to the esophagus. You are repeating a widely believed falsehood.

"Depending on the criteria used, the esophagus has been described as the
cause of chest pain in 20 to 60% of these patients. This may be due to hypersensitivity to acid, motility abnormalities, intralumenal distension, or visceral hypersensitivity. Gastroesophageal refux disease (GERD) has
emerged as perhaps the most common esophageal cause of non-cardiac chest pain. GERD may be present in up to 60% of patients with non-cardiac chest pain. Both acid perfusion studies and prolonged pH monitoring have confirmed that intraesophageal acid may trigger chest pain. Furthermore, anti-secretory therapy is effective in decreasing GERD-associated
chest pain." (p. 296, Encyclopedia of Gastroenterology)

The above quote is from a chapter titled "Chest Pain, Non-Cardiac" from the said encyclopedia.

Gastroenterology: An Illustrated Color Text has a similar chapter: "Gastrointestinal Causes of Chest Pain":

"Occasionally it is impossible to distinguish between oesophageal
and cardiac chest pain (Fig. 1). There are shared neural pathways
via the vagus nerve and oesophageal pain may be described as
tight or crushing in nature. However, pointers towards an
oesophageal cause include nocturnal symptoms wakening
patients from sleep, a relationship to swallowing, particularly hot
or cold foodstuffs, and no exacerbation by exercise." (p. 25).

At a few strokes at the keyboard and with reference to your authority (which is presumably to stifle any criticism) you have re-written fundamental gastroenterology. Sorry but you are wrong. I am quoting from textbooks not journal papers so this is fundamental knowledge. If you are really a doctor I pity your patients and I advise that you hit the books. If you aren't a doctor but instead some fantasist seeking narcissistic supply then the jig is up.

iprimate · Jun 7, 2009

More...

MAD_SCIENTIST said:
Go see a specialist railslave. If the doctor you saw is a GP doctor, go see a cardiologist. Acid reflux is more midline, by the sternum above the navel area.
When I see my patients and my diagnosis lean to a "possible", I refer them to a specialist. I want to rule out anything, and give the patient and myself peace of mind. Take care...
MS

"GERD is the most common esophageal cause of noncardiac chest pain. The pain may be referred to any point on the anterior or posterior chest, with radiation to the neck, arm, or back. It may be indistinguishable from cardiac pain." (Mayo Clinic Gastroenterology and Hepatology Board Review 3rd Ed, pp. 8-9)

MAD_SCIENTIST · Jun 7, 2009

Wow...

Thank you for making that clear iprimate. Take care.

MS

railslave · Jun 7, 2009

i went to a gastro who put me on the prevecid. i guess ill have to just deal with it. i just hope that i dont put off the chest pain as a mild heart attack in the future

iprimate · Jun 8, 2009

railslave said:
i went to a gastro who put me on the prevecid. i guess ill have to just deal with it. i just hope that i dont put off the chest pain as a mild heart attack in the future

Chest pain of a cardiac origin is often effected by physical exertion. You said earlier that the chest pain normally follows a meal -- that is a good thing to know. If on the other hand the pain comes after training or a fast walk and it is relieved by rest then you have reason to suspect a cardiac origin.

gyno · Jun 8, 2009

I was assuming nothing. From his vague description and the lack of proper subjective and objective questioning, I was left rather vague advice, much like you are doing. If you are like me and are in the medical field, you know how silly computer diagnosing truly is.
He bumped asking for a response, I threw him a bone. Also, it's not uncommon for lifters to get slight pectoral "strains", I would bet its far more common the innervation pain caused by GERD. I have seen very FEW patients that complain of upper left chest pain from GERD. Granted, I'm not a continual care doctor, but rather an acute care physician assistant. Maybe they're more common...

violentmessiah · Jun 8, 2009

hard tellin'

could even be a subluxation of a rib (anterior rib subluxations are very annoying)....could be something else. Just hope it's not one of those little aliens that pop and and start singing songs like in the movie "Spaceballs"....