Chest Pain

[energizer622]

Has anyone out there experienced achey pain around your breastbone where your ribs attach? I have this intense ache,int the middle of my chest, up high,and it sometimes hurts to exhale. It feels like I injured it, but didn't, unless riding has irritated something this year. My bike hours have dramatically declined over the last mmonth, but this "PAIN" has not. Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks,
Marcia

[Mia]

I would think you should make a doctor appointment asap! Something is obviously wrong, I would be a little worried about bronchitis or pneumonia, or something along those lines. Not sure if you have any other symptoms, but chest pain of any kind is not something you should ignore. If it's getting in the way of your enjoyment of riding, no matter what it is, something needs to be checked out. Good Luck, hope you are feeling better soon.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I don't have any similar experiences to share with you - but please tell us that you have seen your doctor! And if you haven't, I'd recommend making an appointment as soon as possible.

[energizer622]

Thank you so much! I am going to see my OB Dr. on Thurs., and also scheduled a mammogram, but my gut feeling is that it is some how related to so many hours riding. We'll see what they say, and then maybe Orthopedic? It's become progressively worse over the past couple of months, so I do need to figure it out. Again, Thank You!
Marcia

[DeniseGoldberg]

Thank you so much! I am going to see my OB Dr. on Thurs., and also scheduled a mammogram, but my gut feeling is that it is some how related to so many hours riding.

It sounds to me like you an appointment with an internal medicine doc would be a better place to start than with your OB. Good luck, and keep us posted!

[doc]

Could be costochondritis. An inflammation of the joint where the rib connects to the sternum (breastbone). Treated with plain ole' motrin. Hopefully it's something simple like that.

[kmoty]

Don't know how old you are, but heart disease is hugely under-diagnosed in us women. Research says OB-GYN's are woeful when it comes to referring patients for follow-up for chest pain. I'm with others-- it's +probably nothing serious,* and good for you for making a doctor's appointment. Be assertive if you can. Ask for an EKG and stress test, and follow up beyond your OB. Lots of good thoughts your way. What an amazing community this is, and how extraordinary women are.

K

[energizer622]

Thank you all so much! I surfed and read about costochondritis. That's got to be it. It describes my symptoms to a tee. I will still go to the Dr., but I'll take some anti-inflammatories and see if that helps. I'm in the process of ordering a new custom bike which should alleviate fit problems, if that by chance started this whole thing.
Sincerely,
Marcia
43 years old, or young, or somewhere inbetween!

[LBTC]

Hi, energizer! I *have* experienced that, occasionally, not as chronically as it seems you are, but it was one of the many recurring symptoms I experienced this spring. I've had some of the basic heart tests, and a whole schwack of other tests, which found nothing unusual. At some point this spring, I determined I was allergic to ginger and I believe I was developing a stomach ulcer because of ingesting an allergy. Since then, the most common pain I experience seems to be coming from my stomach (which seems to be a lot higher than I would have thought!)... just another avenue for you to investigate... oh, and I found that DGL (a chewable licorice root tablet) is extremely helpful with this kind of stomach ailment.

Good luck with your search, but by all means, don't stop looking until you figure something out!! Let us know what you find out, too. (the info on costochondritis is pretty compelling too, if/when the pain occurs again I'll check it out myself)

It's unfortunate, but we have to be our own advocates for a thorough diagnosis. I guess it's not that bad, after all, we are our own warranty on these bodies, so we might as well do the best job!

Namaste,
~T~