Allergies/stress or more?

I am a 28 yo male with a "normal" medical history.  About 5 months ago, I went to the ER with chest pain radiating into my left arm.  All tests were normal with no evidence of cardiac distress or disfunction.  A follow up with PCP revealed no diagnosis, save stress.  After doing some research, the symptoms seemed to present very similar to chondritis, so I began taking Motrin.  The symptoms went away and when they began to return a few doses of Motrin seemed to help; they never returned to the original intensity.  
Approx 3 months ago, I had what seemed to be an allergice reaction (no allergic history at all) in which I had dizziness and numbness of face and neck.  It subsided after approx 2 hours.  A visit to an allergist revealed that I have developed some allergies, but nothing out of the ordinary (trees, molds, etc.).  
I have had several smaller experiences like that in increasing frequency.  Notabley, the past several days I have been experienceing periods of slight numbness in my anterior lower neck.  It seems to only be "skin deep."  This has been accompanied by slight pain in anterior shoulders and minor light-headedness.  The chest pain has also returned.

Are these two sets of symptoms unrelated or connected?  If unrelated, am I looking at allergies or something more serious.  Thanks.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I cannot say whether these symptoms are related without examination.  

Regarding the numbness in the neck.  You may want to consider some kind of nerve impingement or herniated disk.  This can be evaluated with a cervical MRI.  If negative, you can consider a referral to a neurologist to look for causes of peripheral neuropathy.  

Regarding the chest pain.  You may want to rule out cardiac causes first before settling on a diagnosis of muscle-related pain.  At your age, coronary artery disease is less likely, but you may want to consider things like pericarditis or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  An echocardiogram would be a reasonable test to take to eliminate a cardiac cause.

You can discuss these options with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
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