Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Chest pains, hospital, etc.

Any similar feelings to the following: On 5/5/10, my day off from work, I am driving down the hihway here in St.Paul and I start having these chest pains, spasms on my left chest/shoulder area. I begin to panic, thinking this is the big one. I pull off to a fire department and go in and ask to have my heart checked. The firemen do a EKG, check blood pressure and oxygen, all is well but these pains and spasms do not stop. All machismo is out the window, and though I want to take myself to the hospital they persuade me to have them do it. Long story short and after multiple tests, Echo cardiograms, stress tests, monitoring, x-rays, and a night in the hospital, etc. My heart "is in perfect shape" according to the cardiologists and they surmise that the spasms and chest pain are AS related and they tell me to start taking my medication, Indomethacin, that I have not taken because I was trying to do it the natural way. Bloody hell! The mental part is the hardest part for me to take. Now several days later, and though my stomach is a bit sensitive, things are improving with the meds. My rib cage is still a bit inflamed near the left side of my chest but much better, and the muscle on the upper part of my chest is sore from the constant spasms. Anyone else have muscle spasms in shoulders or chest area? How about chest pain that mimics other things? Needless to say any ideas, heat or ice...I have tried both with a little success. No one ever told me that the rib cage was going to be my nemesis. No complaints, just life with AS I understand.

nothing like you describe, but this past fall, while walking and swinging my arms, had this really sharp pain on the left side of the sternum. also a few days later, a similar problem on the right, but not quite as bad. PT and i were able to discern that the tendons that attach the pectoral muscle to the sternum (a tiny little tendon) had developed a pretty nasty case of tendonitis. the interesting thing was that a nuclear bone scan during this time showed the brightest little white spot that you can imagine. the radiologist had never seen inflammation there before like that, thought it must be a mistake, so did more scans at various angles, but sure enough, the bone scan showed pretty significant inflammation there. i've never had tendonitis, inflammation there before, or since. don't know if those pectoral muscles were over-compensating for the upper back, shoulder, neck muscles that had been really really bad for a few months prior. or if this was just one of those, "hey, we've never attacked here before! lets try it out! this could be fun!" just like some of my other tendonitises, that's what happened with my hamstring tendons, fine for years and years, and then one day, all of a sudden, a huge problem, then fades into the background once again.

also ribs, sore when pressed, but usually not too bad otherwise, since i stopped wearing a bra. assuming that's not something you have to contend with, but you never know that constant pressure from even the most comfortable bras was just too much for my delicate ribs. one time the lower left ribcage was so bad, i had to hold that area when i took breaths or it hurt too much. went to GP to rule out pleurisy, but no, "just" rib inflammation (assuming inflammation of the soft tissue between the ribs, the intercostal muscles or tendons, ligaments in there).

the ribs can get quite painful, and can understand how someone would worry about the heart. like when those pectoral tendons became inflamed, my first thought was heart.

but contrasting ice and heat did help, and figured then it must be my old friend tendonitis. and when i have a particularly acute case of tendonitis, almost constant ice or ice/heat for several days is needed to calm it down. for many areas of my body, ultrasound will speed up the healing, but can't do ultrasound over the heart, or over bones. but ice or alternating ice/heat help a lot.

I went to my GP a couple of years ago because I had shoulder pain. When I went in and told the Dr I had pain in my left shoulder, out came the EKG, before I could say much. He finally figured I had had tendinitis and inflammation in my ribs. I think this is common in AS.
Donna

Yup, I've have the rib inflammation and muscle spasms in my chest.

The chest spasms at one point were almost constant for about 3-4 weeks - very frightening. In the end I went to the dr and he upped my muscle relaxant.

It's a horrible sensation. I hope it doesn't last too long for you.

Hugs

I get chest pains when my mitral valve prolaps kicks in, usually when I am in the beginnings of an AS flare.
I can immagine how scarry that was for you. I hate hospitals and will ignore any symptoms to stay away from them. I hope you are feeling better today. Have you talked to your Rheumy since this episode?
Cindy

Hi there, well done going into the fire station!! Chest pains and other signs of heart attack (which are quite different for women, by the way) are never something to mess with. Even if you 'know' it's the AS, it's best to get it checked.

I am sorry you're having to take the dreaded meds. I tried for two years to go strictly holistic, but sadly, had to make the decision to go with pharmaceuticals when I realized that on top of all the herbal anti-inflammatories, pain killers and other fun things I was doing holistically, I was taking between 12 and 16 extra strength advil every day!! Indomethacin was the first NSAID I was put on. For me it was toxic and evil, but I'm glad it seems to be helping you.

Hugs,

Thanks for the thoughts Irish. The spasms have generally stopped, though the rib inflammation near my armpit is still a bit sensitive, but of course they were poking and proding me there for some time and that has added to the mess. What kind of muscle relaxant do you take?

I am right there with you Cindy, hospitals are not my favorite place. Thanks for the thoughts! I have not seen my Rheumy since, but I have an appointment with my GP (an awesome man who has been very supportive) on Wednesday and I am waiting to hear about when I can see the Rheumy, hopefully this week.

Thanks for the encouragement Inanna, it is greatly appreciated! I have tried for 6 months to go strictly herbal, and though the Indomethacin has helped, the stomach is not a big fan of it so I will continue my search for the answers. Next stop is a concerted effort at the no starch diet (I have tried in the past but not to the degree in which I must give it a chance) and further follow ups with my docs.

Peace

I take baclofen, although at the moment I'm trying to wean myself off it.

I hate taking tablets, medication of any kind,.I know that sometimes we just don't have a choice. (Maybe it's not having a choice that annoys me most...lol)

I've been on Humira since Jan and feel good enough to try and do without all my other tabs.