Chest and back pain

[Ttc2024xo]

So I'm 28 weeks, as of the day before yesterday I have been experiencing horrendous chest pains that radiate towards my back and left upper arm, as well as shortness of breath and difficulty catching my breath.

I went to A&E yesterday, spent 8 hours there after a blood test and ECG and was told everything came back normal, no concerns and that it's just due to pressure and everything having not a lot of room now. They also suggested that it could be being caused by heartburn, I was given tablets for heartburn and also some other pain medication. (None of these are doing anything for me)

I am aware everything is growing and there's not a lot of room but something still feels off 😭 I'm ok when I get to sleep but it's such a struggle to drift off! I personally don't think it's a clot or pre eclampsia.

Anyone else suffer with this really bad? And what can I do to relieve it? My mental health right now is just plummeting to be honest! And I know I sound really terrible saying it because it's still VERY early, but I can't wait to get this baby out. It's my first pregnancy and it really hasn't been enjoyable. I had HG at the beginning, and I have been suffering terribly with aches and pains, I've honestly just had enough! I can't stop crying 😭

From experience (during pregnancy too!), this sounds like the symptoms of gallstones. Had mine removed when baby was six weeks old.

Oh bless you, OP. I've had times feeling like this too where I'm just wondering how much more I can take.
I'm 38 weeks now and so over pregnancy.....my sickness has lasted the entire pregnancy and I'm in a lot of pain and discomfort now with SPD.

I was very breathless at one point and had a consistently high pulse rate. It was put down to low iron (which I eventually needed a transfusion for, tablets didn't work as I couldn't keep them down) and low BP. I didn't see instant results but it's been a few weeks now and it's definitely better, especially now baby has dropped and there's not as much pressure around my ribs and chest.

I've also had horrendous heartburn - omeprazole takes the edge off it but it does take a good few days/a week of using it to start seeing any difference so please bear with it.

Hope today is a better day.

All you can do with pregnancy is get through each day. This is my second and I haven't enjoyed pregnancy either time.

How did they find out you had low iron? I was considering calling my midwife as I don't have an appointment with her until the end of the month but honestly the whole midwife appointment thing has been very useless to me, they never seem to take action or do anything about any concerns I have, small or big, would a GP be better do you think?

Gallstones, really?! That never even crossed my mind! How did you find out?

I think you should call the midwife and see if you can be seen earlier. You need to have a chat about your mental health and be honest about how you are feeling.

Pregnancy is tough and can take its toll mentally if you are not getting any support.

For the iron, that was picked up through blood tests.

I was taken into hospital screaming in pain about 5-6 times but each time they couldn't identify what was wrong. They even carried out internal examinations, despite me saying that it doesn't feel like any kind of reproductive/baby-related pain at all. I did always say to them that it felt somehow digestive, but couldn't explain it more than that. I stayed in for tests and overnight stays on multiple occasions - but got discharged each time by a different doctor who couldn't tell me what was wrong.

After those episodes, I googled something like 'bad pain on back between shoulder blades and painful ribs' and one suggestion said gallstones. The next time I got took in, after it settled I asked them to investigate the possibility of gallstones which they did (I can't remember what testing they did, it was about 20 years ago) but eventually they confirmed that it was gallstones. So I basically diagnosed it myself 😂 (not really but you know what I mean).