23 year old nephew unwell

[miiiiiiiiisy]

my nephew who is 23 years old and living with myself and husband, has been complaining with a number of symptoms since last christmas, he has a dull, achy feeling in the centre of his chest and upper back and neck which he says is constant and never relievd of, his his upper back is stiff and hurts when he takes in deep breaths of air, this has also impacted upon his ability to do exercise and is generally fatigued and has problems concentrating, these symptoms appeared suddenly one morning and he really hasn't been himelf since, doctors have done an ecg and had him wear a holter monitor for 48 hour monitor and shows no problems, anyone have any idea on what it could be? are any other tests necessary? and if so which ones? or are the tests already done by the doctors sufficient? thanks

[doctornee medical]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
Well, the symptoms could be due to GERD or gastric reflux. Omeprazole is a good drug to combat this. Along with it your nephew can try over the counter antacids. However I would recommend you see a doctor and take medication under a doctor’s supervision. Avoid heavy meals. Avoid too much of caffeine, tea, fried food and drinks both alcoholic and non alcoholic fuzzy ones. Avoid heavy exercises within 4 hours of a heavy meal. Raise the head end of the bed by pillows to 30 degrees. Go to bed at least 2 hours after food.

Another possibility it is costochondritis (inflammation of the joint between rib and sternum. The inflammation around the joint area gives sharp pain on taking a breath. This can also cause tenderness on pressing the area which pains. An orthopedic doctor can diagnose this for you. Pleuritis and Pulmonary embolism are other possibilities causing shortness of breath with chest pain. A CT scan of the chest can rule out both.

There is a chance that there is compression of the spinal nerves in the lower cervical or upper thoracic spine region. This can happen due to overuse of computers, work involving straining of neck, canal stenosis, bone disease, spondylosis, poor posture etc. Please consult an orthopedic specialist or a neurologist.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!