Persisting chest pain after infection

[A.B.]

I had an infection last December. Nothing serious, though lungs were apparently somewhat affected judging by clear mucus I coughed up.

Since around that time I've had constant chest pain, which is better in the morning and worse in the evening and at night. It feels like pressure and mild inflammation, and weakness. At night I also feel like I'm not getting all the oxygen I need.

Last night I had multiple events which I think are called panic attacks related to the chest pain. I've never had these before. They felt exactly like a synacthen stimulation test (sense of impending doom, tachycardia, sweating, warmth).

Should I be worried? My GP doesn't think so. He offered a chest xray which he says will return normal, and a prescription for Xanax.

 

[Martial]

Chostochondritis, GERD, or something with the eosphogus? There are a lot of benign things that are usually the cause so not too much to worry about. Of course just follow up with your doctor and get some testing done to be sure.

 

[Sherlock]

Considering chest pain & tachycardia & possible fever following a lung infection, was pericarditis ruled out?

 

[A.B.]

Considering chest pain & tachycardia & possible fever following a lung infection, was pericarditis ruled out?

No. I don't have fever by the way. I suspect I have constant mildly elevated heart rate.

 

[minkeygirl]

I have that feeling like I can't get air into my lungs. I haven't figured it out. I don't worry too much about it.


Sometimes it's just part of the disease and once you accept that you can relax. Worry about a bunch of other pulmonary and cardiac issues will stress you out even more.

If you want a chest X-ray to make you feel better do it. Then you can stop the the anxiety.

Do not start Xanax for this. Imo That'll end you up in a worse mess.

Id be insane if I worried about every crazy symptom I have.

 

[Sidereal]

I would throw the Xanax script in the trash.

 

[barbc56]

What tests have you had? Even with the infection, any chest pain needs to be investigated. If your doctor says you don't need the tests, you might want to get a second opinion.

Have you had a sleep study to rule out sleep apnea?

As far as the Xanax, you could try it for a couple of days to see if that helps your symptoms but in my opinion you still need to rule out other causes for your symptoms.

Further testing, if you already haven't, might give you some peace of mind. Chest pain can be scary

Good luck.

Barb

 

[AkeBono]

Hypothesis:
You might want to look at mast cell activation and reducing inflammation continuously. it happens very often by a lung infection. search the net.

Did your infection been treated? it could be still there or the mast cell/inflammation thing.

I had similar infection years ago but very badly and had these symptoms for one year. Including panic attacks. And yes other doctors send me to psychiatric drugs cause they dont know the whole phenomena. Might sounds weird but an old cardiologist helped me figure it out. she told me about mast cell activation and histamine and inflammation.

You might wanna try antiinflamatory supplement or (if the case) antihistaminic.
helped me then ketottifen, essential oils, omega3 and cordiceps + royal jelly.

 

[A.B.]

I went to get a second opinion and the doc said he heard something unusual in the lung. Tachycardia was confirmed. The problem will now be investigated.

 

[Sherlock]

Good luck, A.B. On the plus side, if it is pericarditis, that isn't as serious as myocarditis. You might just wait it out until better on its own. But you probably should play it safe and not run any marathons today

Does it hurt more when you take very deep breaths? (i.e., from the inflamed heart sac rubbing inside the ribs)

 

[A.B.]

Does it hurt more when you take very deep breaths? (i.e., from the inflamed heart sac rubbing inside the ribs)

It was worse after deeply breathing for two minutes during the lung examination.

 

[Sherlock]

It was worse after deeply breathing for two minutes during the lung examination.

Maybe that rubbing sound was what the doc had heard, rather than a lung sound?

IIRC, there's also something about getting relief when sitting forward, or vice versa... I'll see if I can find that quickly.

 

[Sherlock]

Here we go:

What are the symptoms of pericarditis?
Chest pain symptoms associated with pericarditis can be described as:

• Sharp and stabbing (caused by the heart rubbing against the pericardium)
• May increase with coughing, swallowing, deep breathing or lying flat
• Can be relieved by sitting up and leaning forward
• You also may feel the need to bend over or hold your chest to breathe more comfortably.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/disorders/pericarditis


Btw, just to quickly rule out a Pulmonary Embolism, you didn't have any pain, redness, swelling in a single leg, right? Sorry, I don't mean to be alarmist but if you are sedentary then that should at least be given a quick minute - to dispose of the possibility.

 

[A.B.]

Btw, just to quickly rule out a Pulmonary Embolism, you didn't have any pain, redness, swelling in a single leg, right?

No.

 

[A.B.]

Thanks for the tip about sitting up and leaning forward. The pain nearly disappears when spending some time in this position.

 

[Gingergrrl]

I went to get a second opinion and the doc said he heard something unusual in the lung. Tachycardia was confirmed. The problem will now be investigated.

@A.B. Good for you for getting a second opinion and dismissing whatever doctor tried to offer xanax as the solution for a cardiac problem. I am really glad you did that!

Thanks for the tip about sitting up and leaning forward. The pain nearly disappears when spending some time in this position.

Glad you are getting some temporary relief and hopefully the tests will soon reveal what is going on.

 

[A.B.]

I suppose people will be interested in how it went. The cardiologist heard something unusual in the heart, but not the lung (unlike the other doctor which heard nothing unusual in the heart, but something unusual in the lung). The cardiologist said the pain had no organic origin. The unusual sound is probably a mitral valve prolapse, which is harmless.

The pain was a lot better the two previous days, today it's back but not nearly as bad as during the weekend. I'm feeling weak in a different way than usual. It does seem to be getting better overall which is nice.

I suspect the problem is indeed in the lung (the pain says "inflammation" to me) and that the cardiologist did not hear anything unusual because he spent little time on the lung during examination. He seemed to be more interested in heart issues and my patient history of fatigue.

I'm waiting for the results of the chest xray.

PS: I did not take any Xanax.