Chest pain, arm numbness and upper back pain

[laurenissick]

I have been to the hospital 3 times for chest pain, mostly on the left side, left arm pain (sometimes numb, sometimes achey), and sharp pain in my upper back.  They ran an EKG, CT scan (they thought i had a blood clot in my lungs), and a chest x-ray.  Their results where all basically the same, that it was anxiety or indigestion.    Now, I have been on Zoloft for a long time now for anxiety, but when I started having chest pains and numbness in my arm, I began having panic attacks. (Mainly because nobody can figure out what the problem is)  So, I am now on meds for anxiety attacks, which isn't helping because nobody can tell me what is wrong with me. Now I still have numbness/sharp pains in my left arm, which varies in strength.  I have a pain directly to the right of my left shoulder blade and another about 2 inches below my collar bone.  Pain medication temperarily helps. The other thing that really helps is drinking beer, which is very costly.  Sometimes it hurts when I breathe in, but it may just be the expansion of my chest that hurts.  Does anyone know of anyone who has the same sort of thing. This has been going on for 4 months and I just cannot take it anymore. I am basically afraid its my heart since my arm keeps getting numb and my chest hurts.  Help!!! Please! (Oh yeah, Im 26 years old, I smoke, but I am pretty healthy. I am 5'5'' and weigh 124 lbs)

[ETTT]

I have a similar problem.  A few weeks ago I noticed an ache in my left arm.  Sometimes it almost feels numb.  Recently I went to the doctor to have a general check-up.  My blood pressure and cholesterol checked out fine.  

Like you I smoke, but am relatively heathly.  I'm a 29 year old man about 5'11" 200lbs.  

I am a nervous type of person, that always is into something.  So this could be do to anxiety.

[susiew]

Three weeks ago I had a very bad crushing pain in the left side of my chest, I was sent to hospital and they didn't do a heart trace, they assumed it was pain in abdo after having a hysterectomy four months ago.

I was told I had shingles and after a week I was discharged.

The day after I had an awful pain in my left foot, and since then it has been swollen and very puffy.

The pain has come back to day in my chest, and I thought it could be a heart attack?.  I have numbness to my left arm excruciating pain in my chest and pain in my shoulder blades!!
The thing is I have had the pain for hours, I have been sick and I feel so tired and dizzy.  I am afraid that if I was to go to hospital I would be told it is nothing, but when you have pain and you can't sleep, or lie down and it hurts just to sit what do you do? and my foot hurts becouse of the swelling.

I am sorry I don't know what the matter is with you, but it appears odd that people have similiar symptoms and no one knows what the diagnosis is!!.

[Gaianne]

two weeks ago I woke up with severe pain in my right shoulder and down my arm.  I couldn't sit up and laying down was not great either.  After a week flat on my back I was able to go to the doctor.  I had an MRI done and was diagnosed with two protruding disks in my neck.  I still have problems with my arm and now the pain is moving down into my chest.  I am the beginning stages of treatment.  I have to have physical therapy and a surgical consult.  Sounds like you all are kind having the same thing.  I am 39 years old and I do not smoke.  Slipped disks do NOT show up in a regular xray.  I have two numb fingers, my elbow hurts and I swell up when I use the arm too much.  This stinks cause I work in a lab and fine motor movements are part of the job.  I also have three kids the youngest is two.
I hope this helps.

[Shane22]

I want to say that im having acid reflux problems. I dont know now if what im felling is acid reflux
anymore. No one belives me that im having problems. I get this felling in my stomach like a numb felling and it goes up to my head fast and my vision gets blury. So i start to get scared and my heart is raising all the time even when i sitting around. I cant sleep cause i get this numb felling in my chest like i cant breath and there is something rong with my heart. I twitch out of my sleep with this pain it wont stop every time i want to sleep im scared. I dont no what to do and if anyone can help me. I have a 2 year old girl and shes all i think about. I cant work cause im always scared something is going to hapen to me. Plz someone help me.

[Cosmogal]

I would say its definately related to your back. Sounds like a pinched nerve. Have you seen a chiropractor? I have heard amazing results from that. Give it a try! They are relatively inexpensive. It can't hurt to try. Its funny how our backs are connected to almost every part of our body. The numbness really sounds like a pinched nerve. Rarely is it related to your heart at such a young age and the fact that your a woman and those symptoms are not usually like that for a woman.
Also do you work alot with computers and typing cause you could have carpal tunnel syndrome too? Anyway, wish you luck.
Paula

[entityx]

i had way to much pure mdma, 16 pints of beer and loads of jack daniels last friday night. i felt fine after having only two hours sleep. went to work the next day and made three sales in an hour. then i nearly collapsed kept having to force my self to move and breath. then the numb left arm kicked in and chest pains. rushed to hospital i was honest about my exploits. 7 ecg's, and 4 letres of scayline solution later i was sent home and finally i got to order my chicken phile (the hottest available) curry. after all the doctors and nurses done for me for which im grateful. the curry really cleaned up my system, if you know what i mean. im still tight around the chest and cant trust my self to stop drinking. i have no choice but to stop. but im controlled by my alcoholism. any advice im only 27 and have had my liver repair its self once already

[dewlover]

I was up to the hospital recently for chest pain and paralysis and they thought it Subclavian Steal Syndrome.

[amf1711]

I found this page of comments with a Google search because I too am having some very strange pains in my left arm.  It almost like a tightness that becomes so unbearable that it begins to make my hand tingle or go numb and also make me sick to my stomach and unsteady on my feet.  Sometimes I also get chest pains on my left side or neck stiffness as well.  Mine started with what I thought was I pulled muscle I got while exercising on a gazelle.  The pain started on the left side as well at the base of my back and right above my butt cheek.  That pain has become so severe that I am now having difficulty walking, sleeping or sitting.  No amount of repositioning or medications has helped.  The closest I come to any relief is sleeping in a papasan chair.  I became terrified that this was a heart problem, but have been told repeatedly that it is not.  Now the pain has worked it's way across to my other leg as well.  Stress makes it worse and lifting heavy weights makes it unbearable.  I am a 55 year old female who quit smoking cold turkey 7 years ago.  I am admittedly a very anxious type which I know increases chest pains.  It's the arm and leg thing that is making me crazy as I am losing more and more mobility.  From all the stuff I am reading on these forums it seems obvious that the medical profession is becoming more and more useless on a daily basis and that we are nothing more than the doctors lab rats.  I have chosen to try an accupuncturist and will post my results with that treatment.  I will also follow the results you are all having and posting as well.

[latresa]

I found this site and post after I googled numbness, left arm, chest pain.  These are the symptoms I started experiencing a couple of nights ago..left arm sort of numb, chest pain in left part of chest, sometimes felt in my back.  Earlier I noticed other things wrong with only the left side of me.  Ear ache and headache in my left side, also a little numbness in left leg.  I would think it was lower back problems (pinched nerve) except for the pain in my chest, and my blood pressure has been high.  I was thinking it was my heart.  

[cp62]

you may also consider a diagnosis of myofascial pain syndrome which is taught bands of muscles. I had chest pain for 2 years, but after a negative work up for lung and cardiac, I was sent to physical therapy, had myofascial release done. It took 5 months of therapy 2-3 times per week. Now when I get chest pain, I know where to find these tight bands, how to release and stretch them. It is good to go for a "tune up" once and a while by a professional to release some of these "trigger points" or muscle knots when you cannot reach them. A person you can see for this is a physiatrist or rheumatologist.

[breeze411]

Wow..it's almost as if I had written what you wrote. I myself had been in the hospital and doctor numerous occasions. one doctor told me I had a prolapsed heart valve and had to do an ultra sound of my heart to confirm it, but when that came back normal I switched my doctor and I explained my symptoms, which is exactly like yours and he looked at my age, weight, blood pressure and pretty much past history and said that he has no doubt it's Costochondritis. It's the inflammation in the cartilage of your ribs and the pain will rap into your back and into your arm. All it takes is prednisone, a drug that helps all sorts of things, also helps by reducing swelling and redness and by changing the way the immune system works. Hopefully this eases the anxiety. I to was put on xanax for this pain.

BREEZE

[tata33]

I also was told once in the ER that it was costocohndritis but they said to just take motrin and stuff and it would get better and then they said that it wouldn't come back but yet I have these knots that keep showing up in the chest and stomach and then they will go down or not hurt and then they show back up or hurt.  I don't know they only releive I have had has been from steriod packs that I was on when it all first started but they don't like to give that to you very often and then after two days of taking it I have pain in my back where I had two epidurals with my last baby and it feels so real that I jerk cause it feels like the needle is going back in the same spot and I tried the chriopractor but I wanted to cry when they was messing with that spot in my back cause it hurt so bad and its a sharp pain like a needle when anyone rubs or messes with that spot.  I am just tired of the pain and the knots that no one cares about.

[boisegirl1]

I have an 18 year old son, recently he informed me that he has been getting numbness in his left hand and it moves up his arm, he gets light headed and gets muscle twitches as well as chest pain, he said that it feels like his heart is cramping up.  I am going to talk to my doctor on friday.  The first thing that came to mind was anxiety, but i am not sure about the numbness and muscle twitches, anyone have any input or advise?

[Gatsby37]

From what I gather researching this for a while; everyone (including myself) that have these symptoms also admit to worrying and/ or stress relative issues.  I am assuming that your son is graduating from HS soon.  Is he worried about college or post HS?

I do not have the arm numbness, but do have sore muscles and twitching.  For me, it is mostly a tightness in my chest (breastbone mainly) and my throat feels raw, especially if I excercise.  I have been diagnosed with GERD and as of right now am assuming that stress is causing my GERD to act up in turn casuing more acid production which is effecting my esophagus and throat.  Hope this helps.

[sivani]

I googled numbness in left side of the body and chest pain. I went to ER 4 days ago with acute pain in left upper chest behind my collarbone, inability to move my left arm, shoulder pain, and shortness of breath.  The pain was preventing me from breathing.  I was diagnosed with pneumonia and was told something to the effect that the shoulder pain and breathing problem up close to the collarbone was because the erratic action of the diaphragm sometimes trips up spinal nerves and affects the shoulder muscles too.  I was glad to have a diagnosis and after forcing some deeper breaths through the pain, it subsided through the day.  While recovering in the hospital, that same afternoon, and upon being questioned by medical staff about chest pain, I did notice the pain with inhalation  was also slightly around the back of the left ribs, but just more severe up near the original shoulder location.  At home later, during a coughing fit, while rolled up to one side, I ended up with a cramp that caused that area around the back of the ribs to become the new predominant pain location.  It was as if that slightly sensitive area just cramped up and now, I can't take full breaths without feeling that pain and coughing also exacerbates it.  On top of that, I periodically experiencing tingling in my left side yesterday and it went down my legs briefly. It seemed to be mostly gone, but there was a deep ear sensation on the left too.  Just like my whole side is being taken over by this.  I don't read this in any of the pneumonia symptoms and don't have any other severe chest pain. I am having trouble getting follow-up care for the pneumonia, because I don't have a regular GP on my new medical plan since January and nobody in NYC that takes CIGNA that I have called will see me this week. I will continue to make an effort to see an internist. The fever and cough have subsided and antibiotic treatment seems to be working well.  I thought this left side of the body numbness and muscular cramping may be a side-effect of the antibiotic - but that didn't seem likely.  So I am thinking the left side of my body is inflamed by some nerve pinching exacerbated by the diaphragm or the overall weakness from being sick (and not ruling out the antibiotic) and I need a chiropractic adjustment.  I am wondering if anyone out there has experienced such things during pneumonia or even outside of pneumonia - as it seems there is some consensus on this board that such left side issues are mostly pinched nerves.  I am 41 and generally healthy and fit with some musculo-skeletal issues and general susceptibility to recurring left side of the body issues e.g. sciatica, excessive tightness in the left side of my neck (probably chronic).  Chiropractor has diagnosed me with a slight S-scoliosis through X-Rays which can contribute to a lot of my one-side weakness issues and other hip and sacro-iliac problems.  Because the only constant pain factor is the neck tightness, I am also wondering if a lot of this pain is cervical in origin. Would that warrant an MRI? Perhaps treatment will just keep it in check.  I hate to self-diagnose because I am usually up the wrong tree - but don't have any more resources or time for extensive diagnostic treks into the land of "nothing is wrong" as what seems to be the common result from what I see.  If it all boils down to a pinched nerve or even cervical disk problems simple enough: Affording the money and time that the frequency of care of chiropractic demands is also an issue but I will go at least this week.  I am considering just starting my own neck traction at least at home - can that be helpful? And has anyone with cervical spondylosis (if I am spelling that right) benefitted from neck traction? I can create an inversion table and do things with supported yoga poses that can lengthen the space between the neck vertebrae assuming it can't hurt.  

[glysdi]

just want to hear your opinion pls. i do have experienced chest pains for quite sometime. like everybody else in this forum. Problem is when i visit clinic, hospitals for check ups supported with lab results, everything is normal but the chest pains persist. its like stabbing in my left chest and shortness of breath, then will result to left arm numbness. no specific time when the pain attacks. even in my most relax time.  my hubby insist that something is really wrong but why doctors can't diagnose it. Its a relief to know i am not alone with this agony. some people felt the same, even worse than i do.

I am not a smoker nor a drinker. just retired from work for this reason thinking stress contributes the pain,till now, pain persists.

thanks medhelp crew. waiting for your reply. please send to my email add.

glysdi

[Lead]

Im a 22 Year old male, experiencing the same problems that many have listed. (Pain in left arm/tingling/weakness, pain in left leg/numbness, pain in the left side of my chest, also a painless spasm/twitch in my side/rib area, also pain in my side.)

All of these things are happenning to me on a constant basis, somedays worse than others, but often with "severe" shortness of breath. I've been in and out of the ER like 10 times in the past month and a half.

They had me on a 48 hour halter? monitor to monitor my heart, which turned out fine, i've had 6 ECG's run on my heart, all turned out fine. Also had a chest X-ray (no clot or pneumonia) blood work 3 times, no evident problems. Real Stressful!!!

I've been told that there panic attacks, but it doesnt make sense, because these episodes appeared unprovoked, with no real stress in my life at the time.

Of course now I am far more panicked and worried. Its been a few months now and the problems persist. I have an EMG for my left arm tomorrow, but something tells me its circulatory in some way, I'm really hoping that they can find this problem. I'll keep you posted, it calms me down a bit knowing im not alone, thanks everyone.

[Lead]

Oh! Also I have the raspy rawness in my throat as well, it is like a cough, but a non-productive cough feeling really, if that makes sense. Also all my symptoms are whether im active or inactive.

[Lead]

Wow, one of my episodes of shortness of breath and pain happened the morning after a hard night of drinking as well! What is this strange stomach, chest, arm ailment?

This has got me confused, worried and curious.

[guidance_k]

The symptoms you guys are describing could be: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

My brother was in a similar situation as you guys.  Every day he would go to a doctor and tell them "my right arm fells numb and I get severe chest pains."  The doctors kept on telling him that he was just nervous.  He listened to them and accepted their advice until he almost died one day.  His whole arm become purple and his lungs become filled with blood.  We went to the hospital right away, but the doctors were still confused.  After a long period of series of tests they finally figured out that his vein was being blocked and that cause blood clot and release of blood all the way across into the lungs.  He went under surgery right away and the complication has now been solved.

My advice to all of you would be to inform your doctor of your possible condition.  Don't always listen to doctors as if they never make mistakes in diagnoses.  Also try to stay away from anxiety pills, they contain elements that interfere with your nervous system.  It’s an amateur medication which has been tested and proven to complicate the nervous system.

For more information about Thoracic Outlet Syndrome visit the following page:
http://www.drugs.com/enc/thoracic-outlet-syndrome.html

Peace,
---
There is only one true Lord; he is the creator of everything and everything around us.  He is the one who created Buddha, Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus and Muhammad.  To worship any human being or anything that was created by the lord would be a serious error.  Why not worship the lord who created everything and give him his full due, instead of that which he has created.  Our lord exists and loves those who search for the truth, who love one another and who shine the light upon evil.
For more info visit the following page:
http://cdadawah.com/common_questions.php

[john911]

You should also consider doing complete blood panel and getting your hormones checked. Sorry not exactly sure which hormones for women, but this is really important

[puru198]

Hi,

Most important to stay healthy follow following tips:

1. Never eat or drink that is harm to your health
2. Never smoke or quit immediately
3. Do regular exercise, yoga, mediation with first priority
4. Think positive, smile and be happy within
5. Never think or talk negative
6, and
NOTHING IS PERMANENT IN LIFE-"NEITHER GOOD LUCK NOR BAD LUCK"
so, never ever worry

Be kind to ALL AND LOVE ALL

You will be the most healthy and HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD
DOCTORS are good when you have serious problems, accident or SURGERY ETC. not for commod health problems. THE BEST DOCTOR is YOU FOR YOURSELF. But never experiement anything. There is no harm taking consultation from DOCTORS before you take any medicine or never take any medication without proper prespcription.

GOOD LUCK and BE HEALTH FOREVER.....

[Spanky3366]

i swear it was like i wrote this. i to have very similiar problems with chest pain, right below my collar bone on my left side, going down my arm but the pain doesnt go past my elbow. i also get a numbness in my left hand, a tingling.     the pain also stretches across my chest to the right side, right below my collar bone, but i only notice that real bad when i breathe in deep.

the pain usually goes down my chest to the center/left side of my chest, right where my heart is, but after getting and EKG and a stress test, they seemed to have ruled that out. and after a chest xray they seem to believe that my lungs are fine as well. they think its skeletal muscle, but physical therapy doesnt seem to be helping my situation at all.

im at a dead end, and its becoming unbarable, had anyone been through a similiar situation???

[CMather]

Yes.  That is exactly what I am going through.  Same symptoms - EKG, Stress Test, ECHO, etc... going on three months now.  Please let me know if you find out anything.  ***@****