Wibu to call the ambulance back?

[Lemononachair]

Been having bad chest pain on and off since yesterday morning. Woke up around 3am with severe pain that has been constant ever since. Pain is intense and like a heavy crushing weight on the left side under my breast.

Ended up calling 111 for advice and they sent an ambulance, who checked me over and said all their tests came back ok (ECG, etc) but that to rule out heart problems I would need a blood test. I felt that given the current situation with coronavirus that avoiding a hospital visit would be best, they said I can have the test done by a GP but would take a few days for the results.

Since then I have tried to take painkillers and sleep until I felt well enough to call the GP but the pain is so awful. I can't sleep more than an hour or so at a time until it wakes me up again. Painkillers help a little at first but wear off quickly and never actually stop the pain. I keep retching and am very nauseous and dizzy.

I can't get to the GP as I can't get public transport or drive myself. I don't have anyone who can give me a lift, and I can't even get myself to the nearest shop to get more painkillers!

Paramedics did say I could change my mind and ring them back to get taken to hospital but should I? Am I just being a baby? Is it a good idea to go to hospital for a blood test and pain relief when it may have lots of people with coronavirus there? Don't know what to do, feel like I'm making a fuss over nothing but it hurts so bad 😞

You definitely weren’t wasting anyone’s time OP. I’m glad they’ve ruled out serious causes. Best case, it could just be muscular pain, I’ve seen a few patients like this and the pain goes away given time, but they still obviously needed the tests to rule out anything more sinister.
If you’re still struggling with the pain, I’d see if you can be prescribed something stronger (codeine, oramorph etc.) maybe through your GP? But if it’s getting worse, definitely head back again
Best of luck in getting it sorted xx

Oh bless you.
So sorry they couldn’t find anything.
It must be something so keep badgering your GP
Get pain killers from then as well.
Hoping you get a resolution soon.

It sounds terrifying for you.

I had something that sounds almost identical to what you had OP. I went into A&E and had all the same checks, ruling out anything serious but they weren't able to say exactly what it was.

I've mini bouts of the chest pain through most of my life but they've always gone away after a few minutes, until a couple of weeks ago. Which was why I went to hospital as the pain was so intense and lasted hours.

OP try googling Costochondritus, which is inflammation of the rib cartilage. My mother has this, and I'm 99% sure it's what I have too.

If it does sound like what you have maybe speak to your GP and see about getting something like Naproxen which is a stronger anti-inflammatory drug. I find it helps me much more than Ibuprofen etc.

It really was (and still is) scary! To be in that much pain is always a worry and with chest stuff you always kind of assume heart related and therefore serious.

Costochondritis does sound very similar to what's going on with me. Not that I'm in a position to self diagnose but the symptoms do seem to match!

I did go to hospital, they gave me morphine and They didn't give me any pain relief

Are you ok OP because that is sounding a bit jumbled, please do go back. Costochondritis pain is constant... and in your sternum.

Sorry, I was just responding to a PP who asked if they'd given me pain relief to take home from hospital, which they didn't. They gave me morphine in hospital but I didn't get given anything to take away with me.

The pain is constant. It's not really worse when breathing but heat helps and being propped up, I can't lay down. I'm finding it hard to eat as that seems to make the pain worse although feeling sick doesn't help. All I can manage is toast 😞

Most people suffering biliary colic (gallstone attack) feel like they’re having a heart attack the first time it happens...Did they do the Murphy yest?

This sounds awful for you. Even though you've been to A&E, can you ask your doctor to refer you for an ultrasound scan?. I had gallstones about ten years ago and the pain was the worst I've ever experienced. Constant nausea and vomiting, I couldn't explain just how debilitating it was. My GP suspected gallstones and arranged for an urgent scan. It was correct, the radiographer explained that the pain is a gallstone on the move through a a tiny tube.
Had to wait six months for an operation but it was the best thing ever. And I lost nearly forty pounds in weight by cutting down on fats and anything with a raising agent such as bread or cakes as they seemed to act as a trigger.
Good Luck!

No they didn't do that, but if I poke and prod that area myself (admittedly I'm not an expert!) it doesn't do anything, just makes me feel a bit sick.

Ah my confusion then. Sorry.

Have you talked to your GP? This sounds really, really awful.

Arnica / ibrofrufen helps with chostcondritis.

Have you got support near you to help?

Did they do a D Dimer test do you know?

Good that they've ruled out some nasties, but annoying that you still don't know what it is. Did they say to go back if it persists? If it does, push for an MRI or CT scan.

I was in and out of A & E/assessment ward for around 5 months OP until seeing a different GP who diagnosed costochondritis as soon as he pressed on my sternum and I screamed.

It's horribly frightening to have so much pain in your chest, and you can't believe that it isn't your heart. I had lots of tests on my heart including a nuclear scan, chest x rays and repeated ECGS which all came back clear - they were initially convinced it was angina.

The best cure for the pain has been patches from my GP - they're lidocaine (local anaesthetic) and you can wear them for 12 hours at a time. Far better than any opiates or long term anti-inflammatories that my body really didn't like.

Try buscopan. I had a gallstone attack that sounds really similar to what your describing and it got rid of the pain almost immediately x

Costochondroitis is agonising. I was sent to A&E with a suspected pulmonary embolism which turned out to be costo, three days on a trolley in a corridor, and they sent me home with whopper painkillers, and anti-inflammatories and it still took a good ten days to even start to feel human again. I still get occasional flare ups, but now I know what it is, it's much easier to manage.

So glad you went in and that it isn't anything sinister.

I think your having a gallbladder attack

Sorry, did you say they did an abdominal scan?

No, no abdominal scans. The GP has given me a prescription for something to do with acid reflux but it's done absolutely nothing (as I suspected it would).

I'm not sure it is costo after all thinking about it, it doesn't hurt when I press on my chest :/