Chest pain off and on

Hi.  I am a 39-year-old woman.  I have been getting pain in the left leg around the calf and below for some time now with slight edema, generally associated with my periods.  For the past 10 days, the pain has been excruciating.  The pain in the chest started one evening last week while I was sitting and working on my computer.  (I am a medical transcriptionist and work long hours on the computer).   Throat was irritating and causing me to cough.  No other symptom of any infection.  Whenever I coughed, I got a sharp pain to the left of the center of my chest.  That night and for a couple of nights more, I could feel my heart beating heavily and then a pulse of pain in the leg.  This was then followed by pain in the chest which also went into my left arm right down to the fingertips.  This happened in pulses of pain which went away after a minute or so and then reoccured for about an hour or so in intervals not allowing me to sleep.  Now, I am getting pain on and off in my chest randomly and also when I sit to work on the computer or strain heavily.  I walked quite a bit today and now I have again developed leg pain.  Whenever the leg pulses with pain, I am getting pain in the chest...not always, but many a times.  Today, the chest pain seems to be in the middle of the chest.  What could this be?  Any ideas?

[shell1925]

I have been experiencing similiar pain like this for about 2 months now.  I went to my PCP last Monday because my left arm actually swelled from the elbow down to my fingertips.  My dr. seems to think my problem is either a pinched nerve in my back or possibly some type of autoimmune disorder since my ANA levels tested high.  She put me on Medrol which is a corticosteroid, which did help but since I took my last dose yesterday the pain is back.  I don't see a rheumatologist for 2 weeks and she doesn't want to give me anymore meds until I see him.

I have had numerous tests done on my heart, with nothing showing up.  I am not a dr. but I am guessing maybe you have a pinched nerve of some type since you are on the computer all day.  All my docs seem to think that since the pain is completely on my left side (jaw all the way down to my toes) that is in my back.  I wish you luck with everything.

[sudhu]

Thanks Shell.  I am planning on seeing a doc tomorrow.  if he says anything, i will update it here.  hope you are able to get a cure soon for yourself.

[sudhu]

my doc says my problem could be what he calls a deep venous thrombosis in the leg and he has asked me to get a scan of both my legs of both arteries and veins! painful is not the word and my leg is going chill now....

[radiculopathy]

Your Doctor sounds correct, but I am surprised that he did not send you for that test directly.  DVT is deadly and affects people who sit for long periods.  If blood clots break loose, they can lodge in your lungs causing pulmonary embolism or enter the arteries of your heart, causing an MI - or the Brain causing a cerebral stroke.

The scan is simple and takes just a few minutes.  I had this done using ultrasound (my test was negative and I knew it would be, but my Cardiologist did not want to take any chances).  My pain is due to severe nerve impingement in my spine.

If you have not had this done yet, I would do all I could to have it done ASAP.  The problem with doing it when it's TOO LATE is pretty obvious, and it is unfortunate that you do not know when that will be.  

The "swelling" during menstrual cycle can be coincidence or a sign your heart is having difficulty pumping blood sufficiently.   If you are suffering from CHF, coughing can be a sign of pulmonary edema (lungs filling up with fluid)  -  When you cough, check your sputum when this occurs.  Cough up and spit out what you can - check to see if your sputum is translucent pinkish and thick.  If so, head for the hospital to get checked.   This can be mild - but when it gets severe, it can get severe faster than you would like - I went from feeling good to wheezing (I never wheezed in my life) to actually feeling my lungs fill up within less than a minute.   I went into my bathroom as I began coughing this stuff up - as quick as I coughed it up, it filled back up.  My wife drove me to the ER and when I walked in, just looking at me they knew - my skin tone had turned gray, blue lips, sweating and barely walking.    

So remember, bad things can happen quick.  Take care of this and   Good Luck

Peace . . .

[radiculopathy]

I forgot to mention that once you eliminate the danger of DVT, it does sound possible that you may have an injury in your thoracic spine.

This would explain the symptoms coming on when you lie down.

You reposition your spine and place different pressures on it during sleep.  I too have this problems with my heart when I lay down and the pain in my legs can get bad at times.  Injuries are not the only cause for this, and unfortunately none of the causes are good when it comes to the spinal cord.  If you get cleared and do not have DVT - a spine MRI should be performed and do not let them just tell you, you have FM.  

That is always a doctors quick analysis and answer to everything when a case becomes too difficult for them to diagnose - and I am not saying FM is not real, it's just not always diagnosed correctly. (That was an original diagnoses for my pain syndrome before I had the MRI's to prove otherwise - actually, they then blamed it on my diabetes and then a year later did the MRI's).

Good Luck

Peace . . .

[sudhu]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I am in fact getting my scan done today.  i had another severe episode of palpitations and sharp shooting pain in the chest with pain radiating to the arm with arm swelling and cooling of both my left hand and leg..i mean it became really chilled.  let me see what the scan shows up today  

god bless you.

[radiculopathy]

sudhu

I was hoping to find out what they found?  I hope you have answers that can lead to resolving your problem.

I'm still searching for answers. . .

Take care

[Pointman]

have yuo allso had a EKG, and was tyuo told when the results would be in?
I would call my DR. and ask if they have  them .The DR. if he or se hasnt goten the results cam al ot of times call and get them jsut a point of ifo.

hope your test coem back normal.

[sudhu]

I got my results back.  it was absolutely normal.  the doctor is totally baffled as to what is happening. my hands and feet are still very chilled and swollen.  the veins are very prominent and yesterday night it so happened that the fingers in my left hand turned blue....so no idea what is happening...only thing is i am suffering.  none of the medicines they are prescribing me seem to help.  ekg was checked and was normal.  so if anyone has any ideas what it could be it would be absolutely great.  !!!!!!!

[lefty412]

I TAKE A LOW DOSE OE ASPRIN EVERY DAY AS A BLOOD THINNER.  YOU COULD HAVE CIRCULATION PROBLEMS.

[lazydog]

Have you had your thyroid checked?  This causes edema, cough, heart pounding, palpitations, pain from cells that are holding fluid - heels, legs etc., fingertips blue from associated Raynauds...  Thyroid problems affect your whole body - get copy of your test results for yourself and check them out....many labs have ranges way out and they tell you you're "normal" for years.  Any TSH over 2.5 suspect!  Also get thyroid antibodies checked as well as FT3 and FT4.  39 is when it all started with me!  My legs ached for years and had them up on a pillow every night!!!  
Good luck.
...Julia

[sudhu]

I did get my TSH checked.  It was in the upper limits of normal actually...borderline hypothyroid.  The doc put me on medication at the lowest dose.  i am a person who has a lot of intolerance to most medications. in fact this was the start of my palpitations.  until then i had never had any palpitations.  i am so fed up of going to doctors over and over again.  i have more or less decided to just live with the symptoms. if anything acute i will land up in a hospital anyway like i did last june when i suddenly lost more than 20 pounds of weight in a week for no reason. i too prop my legs up on a pillow every night. helps a little. at least the swelling goes down a bit.

[shell1925]

I am glad to hear your tests went well!  I know it is frustrating though because you still don't know what it wrong!  My thyroid levels have always been borderline for hyperthyroidism, but every doctor has said that they don't think that is the problem.  I went to my new cardiologist on Friday, and she already scheduled me for another stress test and lots of bloodwork.  She doesn't think it is heart related because my symptoms seem atypical and because of my age, but she definetly thinks there is something going on and she is determined to get to the bottom of it!  I am really excited about my new cardiologist, I think mostly because she is a woman and she said she can relate to me.  I am going tomorrow for my bloodwork and my stress test is scheduled for Wednesday.  After my stress test I have another appt. with her to go over the results and bloodwork.  I can't believe they actually schedule an appt. right after to go over the results.  I am thrilled!  I really hope you can get to the bottom of your problems.  I wish you luck!

Shell

[lazydog]

My antenna has come up when you say you were borderline!!!  Do u know the actual result?  I was told I was borderline when in fact it was an old range the lab was using and had to wait another 6 years before diagnosed....and by then I was a mess and so was the family, work etc etc.  Ask for a copy and check for yourself.  Look at stopthethyroidmadness.com and other web sites for correct ranges.  I was hypo and had heart palps but usually these are hyperT symptoms...which I'm not exactly sure of the ranges.  And especially if you lost weight....you may well be hyperT.  I would get a copy of your results and have another look.
...Julia

[sudhu]

My thyroid level was around 4.5 or something like that.  i forget the exact number.  i got all the cardiac tests done and they all turned out normal.  some docs think that it is due to being perimenopausal and the hormone imbalance is causing all this aggrravation.  lord only knows what is going on.  i am so tired of being tired all the time!!!! there are days when even the simplest things take enormous amount of effort.  i am going to see how i fare without any treatment and then take it from there.

[lazydog]

If you are saying your TSH level was 4.5 then you have are very much hypothyroid - you are not borderline!!!!  The world standard range is now 0.3-3.0!!!  I was 4.5 when I was 39 and the range then was up to 6.0 and the doctors regularly don't recognise hypothyroid symptoms!!  By the time I was diagnosed 6 years later I was at 8.5 and a basket case!!  Do not let this happen to you.  If your TSH is 4.5 then you need thyroid hormone NOW!  My daughter has this also and I recognised the symptoms and her specialist treats anyone with a TSH of 2.5 and over.  
You also need to be tested to see if you have thyroid antibodies which would then indicate whether or not it is autoimmune hypothyroid disease called Hashimoto's - which is the more common hypoT - but which also means you should be on the lookout for other autoimmune diseases such as Celiac Disease, Lupus etc.  You should also get your thyroid FT4 and FT3 levels checked.  Also get B12 checked as this is commonly low in people who are hypothyroid.  
I imagine you're shedding hair, have insomnia, wake up feeling like a wreck, get headaches, have heel pain, strange eye pains, have put on a bit of weight???  All these strange things just come and go and the doctors don't look at the whole scenario.  Good luck finding a doctor who will understand - they are rare but you DO have to get some medication into you now.  (Also another tip - T4-only medication only works for a few people.  You may need to add T3 to feel good or maybe get some natural thyroid hormone which has all 4 hormones T1,T2,T3&T4 if it's available in your country.)  Let me know how you go!
...Julia

[lazydog]

I see you actually lost some weight...you could also have possible adrenal fatigue which also goes hand in hand with hypothyroidism.  Have a look at Addison's disease or just adrenal fatigue and maybe you should get this tested too.
If you are so fatigued now and have difficulty doing even the slightest thing - this is very common with hypothyroidism and if yours if of the autoimmune variety then the attack on your thyroid will just continue.  Seeing how you fare without medication - thyroid hormone - will just see you getting worse.  You need to get treated to stop the attack against your thyroid and get the antibodies down.
The coughing will be from your inflamed thyroid is my bet.  I used to go to the doctor thinking it was my heart too!  I even once thought I had something stuck in my throat and was sent for an xray which is about the worst thing you can do to your thyroid!!

Shell,my daughter has very high ANA and she has both Lupus SLE and Hashimoto's Disease.  I read the signs when she was 12 and had her tested.  Happily she will not have to drag herself around like we have had to do and be treated as a hypocondriac.


...Julia

[sudhu]

I do have all symptoms "shedding hair, have insomnia, wake up feeling like a wreck, get headaches, have heel pain, strange eye pains, have put on a bit of weight" that you have mentioned except the weight gain...i have lost weight...but the rest are all there all the time...my problem is i am not able to tolerate even the lowest dose of  thyroxine...my doc did try me on this and that is when i developed severe palpitations.  i have always been unable to tolerate any hormonal medications including even low dose birth control pills.  that happens to be my main problem...intolerance to most medications. i will still talk to my doc abt this the next time i see him. i plan on seeing him in about a weeks time.  thanks julia.

[lazydog]

Even although I am hypothyroid I've always had heart palpitations - and they got very bad when my TSH was at 8.5 when I was finally diagnosed.  And heart palps are supposedly a hyperthyroid symptom.  Look at Hashitoxicosis which could explain the heart palps - i.e. they are not being caused by too much thyroid hormone which is causing hyper symptoms but your thyroid is just trying to splutter back to life.  

Another BIG possibility is low B12.  Hypothyroid people usually have low B12.  A blood test will determine this.  The range is usually very broad so check it out for yourself.  most people only feel ok at the top of the range.

You could also take some magnesium...but really I think the former reasons are probably what's going on.

You NEED to be taking thyroid hormone.  I still had palpitations on T4 meds only.  As soon as I took T4/T3 combination things improved for me.  Here in Australia T3 is expensive but the doctors ring up for an authorisation and then we get it cheaper.  

There is also natural thyroid hormone which has all the hormones T1,2,3&4 - but I haven't tried that yet....but loads of people swear by this NTH medication.  They also say they have better weight loss on it.

I found with the T3 all the head stuff disappeared too - depression, vertigo, brain fog, concentration problems, anxiety.....  

Can u be referred to an endocrinologist regarding your weight loss.  I would think you need to have your adrenal function tested.

Best wishes.  Let me know how you go.  But don't do nothing....you'll just get worse.  I know it's hard to be proactive when you feel like you do.

...Julia

[lazydog]

PS.  You must also get antibodies tested ... I'm guessing yours will be autoimmune thyroiditis.


along with FT3 & FT4, B12, cortisol etc etc.. ...Julia

[lazydog]

re the pinched nerve in my back and neck.  I complained of that too and was told it was a pinched nerve!!!  NOT...it was thyroid disease!!!!
...Julia

[lazydog]

I have just been thinking you may have antithyroglobulin antibodies as well.  There are 2 lots of abs they test for.  Most people have the anti-TPO.

The people with the former abs don't tolerate or absorb the thyroid hormone medication I believe.  You may be in this lot if you have trouble with meds.  Best get them checked and go on the thyroid sites to see what medication these people take.

..Julia

[lazydog]

If B12 a problem you would have heart palps, swollen tongue, tingling extremities, breathing difficulties amongst other things...

...Julia

[sudhu]

Julia, i will talk to my doc about the B12 and anti-thyroid antibodies stuff when i meet him hopefully next week.  things are going to be tough for me as i will mostly be starting a new job come wednesday. i dont know how i am going to find the time to get to a doc with all my other commitments at present but i will as soon as possible.  thanks a million for your input. i will definitely keep you updated as and when things happen.  once again, thanks.

[shell1925]

Thank you for all your comments!!  I got my TSH level checked last week and it was .51, borderline for hyper (which I have been for the past 6 years) so my dr. is checking my free T3 and free T4 to see what is going on there.  Is it possible that this is a thyroid problem and that is causing all my pain?  I have chronic pain in my jaw and in my left arm along with chest pressure.  I have been to a couple cardiac docs and had a slew of tests on my heart and I was told not heart related.  I do have a hiatal hernia and GERD but I can't see how that can cause this much pain.  Thank you again for your comments.....I do really appreciate it.  

I go back to my rheumatologist on Wednesday, I had oodles of bloodwork done and a total body scan done to r/o any causes of joint pain.  I guess we'll see.....

Shell