On January 1 I began having shortness of breath. I just figured it was the season, cold, flu, bronchitus, it would get better. I kept this up for 10 days. The only real pain I had was a pain in the middle of my back between my shoulder blades and the shortness of breath, SOB. I just assumed that was a muscle strain of some sort. By the time I went to the hospital I was near passing out at various points during the day. I was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and massive Pulmonary Embolus (PE). I found out that day how serious these are and how common they are. The initial test for this is a d-dimer, a simple blood test. It may be enough to get the ball rolling.
Please get this checked out. Take Care, Tiff
Like the doctor says, you definately want to rule out any serious health issue. Make sure you insist on the EKG as heart disease in women doesn't get the attention it deserves.
I also wanted to add that your kidneys lie under the base of your rib cage, and might be a source of pain. As well, fluid retention could cause shortness of breath.
If the doc gives you the all clear sign, use this as a wake up call to educate yourself on building your health. The free online resource Heart Failure Solutions is all about building vitality. We will often be discussing fluid retention, as well as stress management. I hope you will join us.
Many blessings,
Carrie
The pain you describe could be from arthritis of the spine, a collapsed lung or some other lung problem. This is serious enough so that you should see a doctor for sure to get a chest x-ray and an electrocardiogram (EKG). Do not delay.
Yes catie207, you hit the nail right on the head. But you know it's funny, it's gone now.
Thanks
daystar1