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)

[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.