Fibromyalgia Support Group

Hi..
Have you had the chest pains checked out by your doc. to make sure is not something else besides FM as the cause? I do get chest pain that seem to stem from the back to the front scared me back when was younger thought was having a heart attack. My doc. has not felt it was heart related. I just feel it is important to always get chest pains checked out to be sure. Hope you feel better soon. Lots of things can cause chest pains.

Take care gentle hugs

I am ASSuming you have been Tested to be sure that is what is going on ?

I Too have suffered chest wall pain, Most of mine actually stems from my neck, but I Feel it in my Shoulder blades, and IF left untreated it will go thru to my breasts...up under my arms...almost Always on my left side..which FREAKS me out..

also Digestive Concerns Can in fact cause alot of Pain thru your chest wall...Like Muscles spasms...dull achiness...shooting Pings of Pain..I just recently found alot of that out as Severe digestive issues put me in the Hospital, and as I got THAT Cleared up, away went the pain in the area up under my left breast and left arm pit...and My issue was ALL the way down near my pelvic Bone !!

We are Intensely Pain Sensitive !! Our Nerves are like Hyper active in responce time, and Over response...NERVE Racking I KNOW !!

But as Long as you HAVE Had tests run, ruled out Heart, Lung, Digestive..then Consider warm Moist Wraps, followed up by Theraputic Massage, and I Know this Massage does not Feel Good, and I also know that the Massage may make you Feel sick for a day after...but then it is Like WoW !! I feel Fabulous !! Drink Plenty of water to help Flush out the Toxins..

Dr.s simply Will Not tell you of these Tips & tricks that Will make Life easier...I have NO idea Why, you would Think their TOP priority would be to get us Healthy !!

do you have Inflammation ? I used to have some, but that has Dropped way back with some natural supplements, OMEGA 3...Very Good stuff, alot of Dr.s Do actually recommend that one...very Good for your Whole self !! Plus I eat alot of salmon & Talapia...Yummy !! {Not farm raised Fish tho}...make sure if you buy fish to buy "Wild Caught" !!

Look under Foods to help ease Inflammations...alot of good foods out there..that will naturally lower those levels !!

I Hope we can help you with some of this...I Know how Debilitating and how scary this stuff can be, Especially when Near a VITAL Organ !!

Oh yes. I've had my heart checked out real well. Infact the firt doc I went to was a cardio.. becuase I also have panic disorder and had some Sinus Tachycardia. You have no idea how many tests I've had. 2 echos, 2 treadmills.. one nuclear, about 25 EKG's, blood work, a 24 hour holter, and a 6 week 24/7 monitor that I wore per a special cardio doc that looks at the electical system of your heart. Oh also a tilt table. I was told my heart looks great. These tests were all over the past 18 months the sinus tach is part of my panic. The holter caught a few palps.. but my cardio feels they are from anxeity and peri-meno. My lungs are good except after having a CT a couple years back they found a tiny 6 mm nodule. It has been followed for about 2 years now.. and it's not growing.. so my pulmonary doc is pretty sure it's nothing to worry about. sorry for the rant there but I've been through the works. Even had an upper GI and no reflux. All CBC's and every other drop of blood work perfect. Tow MRI's and one MRA.. neagtive. So, after all these docs and still pain it lead me to my rheumy.. would did the tigger point test on me.. and after the test he told me he really feels it's Fibro. This whole things has been a nightmare.

It IS a Nightmare... I Agree...who woulda THUNK a person could suffer this way, and have NOTHING Wrong ??

I Hope ya get some serious relief, I Hope something on here Helps you !!

we are a good group here..Hope ya stick with us !!

I almost feel guilty posting this as it's about all I say, but I bet your problem is myofascial pain.

My sister who also has fibro experienced severe chest pain but couldn't go to the hospital as she didn't have insurance. Later, she mentioned to an ER doctor friend of hers what had happened and he told her she'd had a heart attack. This happened several times, the last few after she got insurance. She had extensive cardiac workups that showed a slight heart abnormality but that she hadn't had a heart attack. Turns out it was all myofascial pain.

I also have lots of problems caused by myofascial pain in my chest, namely being diagnosed with asthma, put on hard-core meds to no avail. My doctor finally did a breathing test to see how my lungs were functioning and when I passed that with flying colors, he told me it was spasms in the chest wall and to 'take a klonopin.' Since I didn't want to be on more meds than necessary, I started researching alternative treatments and learned about all the ways myofascial pain can manifest itself. I located the offending trigger points [knots in the muscles that refer pain elsewhere], massaged them and was able to breathe with no problem.

Here's an article with diagrams on arm/chest and shoulder pain. Also, if you haven't checked out triggerpointbook.com, do so. This book made my life bearable as 95% of my fibro pain is really myofascial pain.

The pain in your buttocks and arms are most likely also myofascial pain. I have it absolutely everywhere but am relatively pain-free since learning to do trigger point massage.

Thanks Dakota and Seq.. Your information is very helpful. This seems like a caring site and I'm glad a friend of mine told me about it. The chest thing is odd. I take xanax 3 times per day very low does have been for 18 motnhs.. this does not really help with the pain, but it relieve's the anxeity of thinking it's a heart attack. LOL. It's so odd. It's like in my breast tissue and sternum.. and it hurts when I press on my strenum. Infact some days I'm still not convinced it's not my heart or lungs.. but What can I do. When the Cardio and Pulmonary docs says NO. Not your heart.. not your lungs. OMG.. ugh. Some days I think I'm going crazy. I've many many trips to the ER over this!! I was asked to try an anti-D.. so I just might give in and do that. I don't like feeling this way. The symptoms and pains feed my anxeity and I've turned into a hypocondriac. :( I've always had good health and I'm in very good shape after having 3 kids. I guess most days I'm afraid.. and a little depressed. Thanks for your support.

the chest wall pain, I know it well! I too thought I was having a heart attack. I found that the pain was indeed myofascial pain. Breaking the pain cycle to the point you can get it under control was the hardest thing for me to learn. Relaxation, learning where the trigger points are and applying pressure have helped me to control my pain. Oh, I also believe the use of pain pills allowed my body to rest from the pain.

Sorry you've had to suffer imcelia. I'm glad you have found ways to work through it. Mine tends to flare more around my menses.. but it's not every month. One month I'll have headaches.. and the next this chest wall thing.Then sometimes this buring upper back pain. Infact I saw a chiro for the back and it made the whole thing worse. Also, when I have a massage.. I can feel my sternum hurt when they press hard on my back. Even yoga made my symptoms worse. what does help is, massaging it myself, heat, and hot baths. Someone told me to try accupunture.. I just might do that. Muscle rub can help somewhat to. The pain feels buring in nature. I won't use pain pills, but i'm hoping perhaps an anti-d will help. I've heard that sometimes for firbo peeps it helps. It's not like i'm in serious pain.. but any pain around my heart area worries me so.I'm sort of caught in a cycle here. :( Oh and to top it off my trouble arm is the left one. I have bursistis that comes and goes in my left shoulder and that trigers pain down my arm.. so beign on my left side again makes me feel worried about my heart.. UGH... lol

Yup....I thought I felt mine coming on earlier yesterday...but I ignored it.
Now it's in full flare! YUCK! Front and back chest! UGH!

I hate to say this wonder .. but thank god I'm not alone. Does yours hurt all around the front and your upper back? I'm just curious as to what your pain feels like? I hate having it near my heart.. it freaks me out. What helps yours feel better? How long does your pain last? Does it come and go? Sorry for the 20 questions. :(