What is this stabbing pain in my chest?

[ash6605]

For the past 3 days(but getting worse each day) I've had this awful stabbing pain in the whole of my chest area including under my ribs and in my upper back.when I breathe it feels like I have glass in my airways.(sounds ridiculous but it's the only way I can describe it)It's worse on exhaling and coughing has me in agony.When I exercise or try to have a conversation I find it difficult to catch my breath.

I'm not chesty or coughing up phlegm as I'd expect with a chest infection and my cough is 'dry' not rattly or anything.

Has anyone experienced these symptoms before as it's really worrying me and the pain is getting quite bad,not 999 type bad but I know I will need to see a doctor first thing Monday if I'm no better.

pneumothorax???? I would see a dr tbh

Now thats got me worried!!
Dh is at work and dcs in bed so dr not possible tonight.
Please someone tell me I just have a mild infection or mild asthma!!

No-one can tell you that, even if we wanted to.

You need to see the GP - I would suggest that you probably ought to see someone earlier than Monday. Out of hours service or even (sorry) A&E. Chest pain should always be checked out as a matter of urgency.

costal chondritis ?

Well I would phone nhs direct,when does your dh get home?

The pain doesn't really sound like chest infection or asthma .

Dh finishes at 1am so about 2 by the time he's home.I hope to be asleep by then but really can't get comfortable.Problem is we have no family or anyone close by to ask to have children so it would mean taking them to hosp.

ohine nhs direct anyway ,see what they suggest

www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_the_doctor/costochondritis.shtml

I get awful chest pains if I get stressed and feel it's hard to breathe.

I have had stress related anxiety attacks before but not for over a year and am not stressed right now.The pain is similar to that but much worse and is in the back too which I never had with panic attacks.Also it's really painful to cough or sneeze so it does seem more than a stress thing.

Really jajas? How were you treated?
I always thought with pneumonia you would have a chesty cough and phlegm.

Have you been digging the garden? My mother once had pains like this, went to doc, and was more or less forced by doc at gunpoint to go to hospital with a suspected heart attack. Turned out to be pulled muscles from digging.

Sounds like it really is something that needs checking out though.

Is it chest wall pain. I went to docs convinced I was hving a heart attack with stabbing pains in my chest.

I had had a virus, and that inflamed the muscles which join the chest wall together.It's very common, particularly in women for some reason Hurts to cough as well

Thanks everyone.I decided to give it another day to see how I was feeling and go to the docs first thing monday.

JAJAS I'm no better but no worse either or I think my dh would have marched me off to the hospital.He went to give me a cuddle earlier and the pain in my chest-particularly under my left breast was awful and I've struggled when bending,lifting etc so am now officially on strike until I'm better.

THREADWORM- Nope I don't do digging,in fact I don't do gardening full stop! I have racked my brains to think of what I may have done to pull a muscle or even crack a rib but I haven't done anything out of the ordinary just the usual housework so I'd be very surprised if it was that.

I feel quite drained but I think that's just because the pain is really bugging me now and it's a struggle to breath comfortably.No temperature though.

Just an update,I saw my G.P who listened to my chest and said it sounded clear.He also checked my blood pressure which was fine.

He concluded that it must be a muscular pain and just to take paracetamol but return in 2weeks if it doesn't get better.

So at the moment I am just trying to grin and bear it but the pain was so bad yesterday I was in bed by 6pm and the pain now seems to be in my abdomen too and I can't eat anything without feeling like I'm going to throw up so I hope this pain doesn't go on for much longer.

ash, any update?

If your still no better go back to the gp's. I had a phemothorax which felt as you described and the fist gp said it was a chest infection. It was 2 months later that I went back to the gps because I was still in pain and found out that my lung had been collapsed the whole time!! the first gp was wrong.