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Strange Pains

dionnek

By dionnek
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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dionnek Enthusiast
dionnek
Posted

This is a strange question, but I didn't know who to ask so figured you guys could probably help :)

I've been having sharp pains in my chest, right under my breasts for the past week or so. I don't know if this could be heartburn (never had it before), but it isn't after I eat so I didn't think it was heartburn related. It happens usually after I exercise or sometimes just randomly in the middle of the day or evening. I also get the same kind of pains (sharp jabbing pain) in my left side right under my rib cage. Very wierd - sometimes I think I"m having a heart attack!

Oops, forgot to finish!

So my question would be, should I take heartburn meds (if so, what kind?) to see if it goes away, or should I go to (yet) another dr.? History: I was dx celiac in April this year; previously hypothyroid which turned to hyper since going gluten-free; have had an echocardiograph b/c one doc thought I had an irregular heartbeat. I am (appearance wise) healthy, not overweight, and exercise 5 days a week, and am only 33, so doubt I'm actually having a heart attack, but these pains are so wierd!

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
This is a strange question, but I didn't know who to ask so figured you guys could probably help :)

I've been having sharp pains in my chest, right under my breasts for the past week or so. I don't know if this could be heartburn (never had it before), but it isn't after I eat so I didn't think it was heartburn related. It happens usually after I exercise or sometimes just randomly in the middle of the day or evening. I also get the same kind of pains (sharp jabbing pain) in my left side right under my rib cage. Very wierd - sometimes I think I"m having a heart attack!

Oops, forgot to finish!

So my question would be, should I take heartburn meds (if so, what kind?) to see if it goes away, or should I go to (yet) another dr.? History: I was dx celiac in April this year; previously hypothyroid which turned to hyper since going gluten-free; have had an echocardiograph b/c one doc thought I had an irregular heartbeat. I am (appearance wise) healthy, not overweight, and exercise 5 days a week, and am only 33, so doubt I'm actually having a heart attack, but these pains are so wierd!

You may want to try some good old pepto bismal. When I get glutened I get stomach pain and it really seems to help. If pepto doesn't work you should consider checking with your doctor, especially if you don't have any of the other symptoms that you normally see when your glutened. If it is heartburn related to accidental ingestion of gluten the pains might not show up immediately after eating.

Guest ~jules~
Guest ~jules~
Posted
I had all sorts of strange symptoms like that, when I was mid 30's, before going completely gluten-free for some length of time. Went through a battery of tests prior to going gluten-free, for the apparent cardio pain and other weird symptoms, only to be told everything was normal from that perspective (thankfully).

I agree that you are most likely not having a heart attack. It could be something as simple as pinched nerves somewhere, costa chondritis, or a result of your thyroid issues and out of balance endocrine system. If your mineral and electrolyte balances are off, that could cause strange pains like that too (I am guessing much of my heart-attack-feeling type pain was from low iron count, low magnesium, and other things).

Hope that is of some comfort. Your low age (33) should be of comfort here - that greatly lowers any chance of heart attack. It if persists, or you really feel out of it when the pain occurs, go in to the hospital or something and have it checked out just in case. Some other conditions, like mitral valve prolapse can give you such a feeling I think, and that is pretty much a non-life-threatening thing. In fact, there are probably a lot more non-life-threatening possibilities than otherwise. Let us know how things progress.

I had costochondritis, from doing chest flys. That hurts! And it does feel like a heart attack. I have all kinds of pains in my upper abdomen, lower rib cage area, but they are better now that I have gone gluten-free, actually they are non-existant now. I've also suffered from acid reflux for a few years now, I never had any sharp pains from it, just alot of burning, dull ache. I hope you get it figured out, and start to feel better....

dionnek Enthusiast
dionnek
Posted
  • Author

Yeah, it's not like a burning, which I figured heartburn would be. Could be accidental glutening, since I haven't started feeling any better yet (still have all my old symptoms plus new ones!). I"ll try the pepto and see if that works. I think I"ll definitely mention it to my doc when I go back for my 6 month checkup, but sounds like it's not life threatening or anything :)

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