stabbing pain in heart area?

[Scents]

Hi everyone,

I first want to thank God for this forum! It's so comforting to know there's a place to go, to talk to people with similar problems.

So anyways, I've been a sufferer of sleep apnea for the past 3 years. I'll try to make my story short and try not to bore you. My apnea started gradually 3 years ago. Every so often when trying to nod off to sleep I would suddenly panic and sit up gasping for air. I ignored it hoping it would just go away. It didn't. It just gradually got worse. I am self-employed and had no health insurance. I decided I better get insurance and get this issue addressed. I signed up for BCBS and made payments of $5,000 a year. I was recommended by a ears, nose & throat doctor for a sleep study. I was in the BCBS system for 1 year but was still denied a sleep study. I tried a few months later to be approved for insurance coverage but still was rejected after 3 appeals. I stopped my healthcare with BCBS and went into a depression.

I went without insurance for a year and one time went to the emergency room because I thought I might have been having a heart attack because of a slight pain in my heart area after an episode with apnea. I was diagnosed with GERD. I was kind of relieved because I thought this was the answer and that if I follow the guidelines to GERD I won't have any apnea episodes again--WRONG. So, I decided to get the sleep study anyway and pay out of pocket (it was cheaper than paying BCBS $5,000 year -- the sleep study was only $2,800. It was a new clinic that just opened up, and unfortuntely, I didn't fall asleep until around 4:00 in the morning. So that whole thing was a failure. I was able to get a CPAP machine and I went to Lincare and received a Resmed Auto with full face mask. It helped me breathe but when I went from conscience state to sleep state I would jolt up in bed and not be breathing and rip the mask off. I never had it properly adjusted to fit my pressure, felt it was not helping and ended up trading my machine with my dentist for a crown.

I've since joined a new healthcare program and they approved me instantly for a sleep study - hooray! It is next week. I can't wait! They told me they will give me an Ambien to help fall asleep so I don't have to worry about not sleeping.

Here's the latest problem. Everynight I still suffer with the awake-state to conscience-state, jolting up, gasping, pounding chest or saying something outloud to start breathing again, except for last week, one night and just last night both times, had a fierce, stabbing pain in the chest area. It's like my heart stopped. Worse than back when I thought I was having a heart attack. It hurt pretty bad and I can tolerate pain. I'm home today resting because I'm still sore in that area and my head is fuzzy and hurts too. Do you think this is just because my body is crying out for the right machine for me and once I get up and running on a CPAP or BiPAP these type of episodes will go away or do you think I've damaged something. My memory is starting to get worse. I'm only 49. I'm about 15 pounds overweight. I've only got less than 7 days for the sleep study and I'm struggling to hang in there. This new pain in the chest area and my head being all fuzzy is bumming me out. I'm hoping it's just the lack of oxygen and sleep and that it will go away in time with the right machine. Does everyone have to bang on their chest or say something outloud to breathe again when they have an episode? Is this maybe a bipap situation? Sorry, I'm just freaked out and scared.

Thanks for listening.

Pam

[Emilia]

Good grief, Pam.... you need to go have an EKG TODAY. Get thee to an emergency room! And no, it is not normal to 'bang on their chest or say something out loud to breathe'!

[GumbyCT]

Here's the latest problem. Everynight I still suffer with the awake-state to conscience-state, jolting up, gasping, pounding chest or saying something outloud to start breathing again, except for last week, one night and just last night both times, had a fierce, stabbing pain in the chest area. It's like my heart stopped. Worse than back when I thought I was having a heart attack. It hurt pretty bad and I can tolerate pain. I'm home today resting because I'm still sore in that area and my head is fuzzy and hurts too. Do you think this is just because my body is crying out for the right machine for me and once I get up and running on a CPAP or BiPAP these type of episodes will go away or do you think I've damaged something. My memory is starting to get worse.

This is something for 911 not an internet forum of any type.

This has also affected your ability to reason and problem solve. Your body is not asking for a bipap, but I'll bet you wish you had that machine back. Getting my machine took a month after the sleep study.

[Slinky]

Until your sleep study, try sleeping in a recliner, or if you don't have one, buy a couple of good wedgie pillows and use them to prop you up somewhat during sleep. That will help you be more comfortable between now and your sleep study.

Have you talked about this chest pain w/your doctor? A good place to start would be the "lowly" echocardiogram. I've found the cardiologists jump on the expensive, fancy, nuclear stress tests whereas our family physician is more likely to start us out w/an echo. In my particular case, I "passed" the nuclear stress tests. But the lowly echocardiogram detected a problem.

Not only is the echo cheaper, it is also easier on the patient. No prep, just lay there whilst the tech runs a transducer and some warmed gel over your chest. In addition to the "stress" of the treadmill walk for the nuclear stress test, there is the advance NPO instructions and the need to eat high fat junk food at the facility for the nuclear stress test and then two 16 minute runs thru the scanner w/your arms above your head the entire time. I got so nauseated from the high fat junk food mixed w/the amount of cold water I was to drink I got nauseous to the point of gagging and struggling not to vomit and by the end of the first 16 minute scan my shoulders were screaming. I was in tears the second half of the second scan from pain. And a week later my shoulders were still screaming so bad I had to go to my family doctor for some pain pills. He KNEW I was hurting when I asked for pain pills because EVERY scripted oral pain medication we've tried makes me nauseous and gaggy or even throws me into dry heaves and/or actual vomiting. I forgot now, I think it was an MRI that revealed severe inflammation in both shoulders. Maybe it was a lowly xray. I know I've had both one xray and one MRI of my shoulders, at one time suspecting torn rotator cuff.

By the way, for a cardiac problem such as you describe may be happening, the professionals also recommend coughing. This is also true for those who experience erratic strong heart palpitations. Coughing can allow the heart to regulate itself and return to "normal " activity and BPM.

[Physician]

Here's the latest problem. Everynight I still suffer with the awake-state to conscience-state, jolting up, gasping, pounding chest or saying something outloud to start breathing again, except for last week, one night and just last night both times, had a fierce, stabbing pain in the chest area. It's like my heart stopped. Worse than back when I thought I was having a heart attack. It hurt pretty bad and I can tolerate pain. I'm home today resting because I'm still sore in that area and my head is fuzzy and hurts too. Do you think this is just because my body is crying out for the right machine for me and once I get up and running on a CPAP or BiPAP these type of episodes will go away or do you think I've damaged something. My memory is starting to get worse. I'm only 49. I'm about 15 pounds overweight. I've only got less than 7 days for the sleep study and I'm struggling to hang in there. This new pain in the chest area and my head being all fuzzy is bumming me out. I'm hoping it's just the lack of oxygen and sleep and that it will go away in time with the right machine. Does everyone have to bang on their chest or say something outloud to breathe again when they have an episode? Is this maybe a bipap situation? Sorry, I'm just freaked out and scared.

Thanks for listening.

Pam

Many cases of such chest pain are from the chest wall. Here's a simple test.

At or about the time you have this pain, press firmly on your chest wall to see if there's tenderness. If so:

a) does the tenderness duplicate your pain ?

and

b) if the same tender NOT present on the other symmetrical (contralateral) side ?

[Julie]

Just get to the ER and stop trying to guess at things based on strangers' opinions on the internet! For heaven's sake!

[scents]

Thanks for the responses. I'm travelling on business this week, so my "home" is the hotel room.

I did have a EKG last week at the sleep study doctors office. Everything was fine.

I just called the sleep study doctors office and told them what happened again and she said "that's the GERD" "are you taking your prilosec?" I can't believe GERD can cause that kind of pain. Maybe someone will respond that they have GERD and it gets bad like that if you don't take the prilosec?

Am I also the only one that panics when they wake up not breathing and hits their chest or or lets out a gasp of some sort? Mind you, I'm not on the machine yet so I'm free rolling it right now. And, yes, I wish I had that machine back many times over!

That's a great idea of propping myself up now till sleep study night. Thanks for that! I did do the reclyner chair sleeping last week at home and had apneas, but no painful ones, so I better continue until sleep study night.

I'm hoping the fuzzy feeling is the lack of oxygen from the apneas not dimentia!

Thanks again.

[Emilia]

Try sleeping on your left side as that will help keep the acid down. If it is GERD, you may need something stronger than Prilosec! Are you aware of acid coming up the esophagus and burning? You may need to have an endoscopy to be sure you haven't got damage to the sphincter at the base of the espophagus. All in good time.... Since you are on the road, definitely prop up the mattress top as much as you can...ask the hotel for additional pillows, if needed; sleep on your left side; get some breathe right strips to help you open your nasal passages a bit more; and maybe take a mild sleep aid. Good luck tonight!

[elena88]

Oh my goodness you poor thing!

I am not a doctor, nor do I have any expertise in the medical field..

I can only tell you my experiences before cpap/apap (I have an apap) and also my husbands..


I would wake up with very irregular heart beats, sometimes my husband found it difficult to get my pulse. I would not be able to
get out of bed sometimes when it was very bad.. Other times I would wake up gasping for breath, and feel a deep pulsating in my
abdomen , (abdominal aorta) and I would feel like I had just drank forty red bulls. (adreneline or cortisol)

I also had LPR (larynx reflux) and prilosec didnt do a thing for me. My ENT put me on Dexilant which is a prescrition strength prevecid.
She said it would take a YEAR for my larnyx to heal. Since I did not have the acid hanging around in my esophogus, it would just shoot up
quickly to my larnyx, I never had the chest pain issues you are describing..

I did have a friend once who inhaled stomach acid, and thought he was dying of a heart attack, he went to the E.R. asap..
He said it was horrilble and painful.. but was not related to his heart, it was the acid reflux.

I THOUGHT that happened to me a couple times, after I heard his story.. however, it turned out I had a larnygospasm (and you literally
cant take a breath when this happens for about a minute) If you had one when you were sleeeping OMG!

Many people who have OSA also have acid reflux. I dont now if the osa caused the reflux, or the swelling of the throat makes
the osa worse..

Now, I have to tell you about my husband. He had an ekg which was perfectly normal, a few months later his L.A.D. artery (they call this
one the widow maker) clogged up at a convention out of town. He had a heart attack, and ended up with a stent put in, just in time..

His first symptom was back pain, later he had tingling down the arm..
Men and women can experience different symptoms..
Our cardiologist said one thing which is easy to remember..
If you are short of breath, and this ceases when you sit for a moment, then you get up and move around again, and are short of breath,
and this continues to happen, then you should call your doctor.

[Scents]

Luckily I'm at the Mariott, so it's comfortable here and plenty of pillows!

When I was at the doctors and they prescribed my "medicine" and I went to pick it up at the Rite Aid, I couldn't believe it was Prilosec! I've got packs of that at home. I was all excited that it was going to be something more, but there ya go. Another disappointment.

I have had a endoscopy a few years ago and nothing showed, but that's a good idea to have another one done. When I mentioned that at the doctors, she kind of dissed it. I'll have to enforce the request again.

Thanks for the kindness.

[Julie]

As a person who's had documented gastritis for years, with and without reflux, I can tell you that while the pain can be fairly severe at times, it never occurs as 'stabs' but builds not only over a period of time on any given day for a specific period of time (1/2 - 2+ hrs) but over years to longer times. It never just produces jolts or jabs that immediately subside. As a person who's worked in teaching hospitals for years (I'm sure everyone here is sick of hearing that ) I can tell you that reflux is burning, not stabbing. And that I just yesterday read of a woman who had an MI with the sole symptom having been sore hands... women (and plenty of men) do NOT always have classic symptoms for MI's, and indigestion is in fact a common symptom. And the longer you wait without treatment after an attack, the more permanent damage is done. Yes, you may 'just' be having some other problem, whether GERD related, or who knows what, but why would you not just get checked out? I hate to tell you, but people have had MI's half an hour after having perfect ECG's, and they are notorious for not being much diagnostic help anyway. If you think your business is more important than staying alive, well....

[OutaSync]

The last time I went to the ER with chest pain and a racing heart (Nov 7), they told me to take Prilosec two times a day and put me on Reglan, which is supposed to help with closing the lower esophagael sphincter. That is the culprit in GERD. The LES doesn't close all the way and what is supposed to stay down, comes right back up. I also have esophagael spasms, which can be quite painful. I can bring one on by drinking something cold. EKGs always come back normal for me, too.

We are not trying to diagnose you, we are just telling you our stories. I don't know if it makes you feel better, or not, but it sounds as though you have already been to your doctor and you are keeping him in the loop as to how you feel.

Please don't take any chances with your health. If you have chest pains, go to the ER.

[scents]

Thank you OutaSync. I'm going to call the doctors office and ask to write out a scrip for the Reglan. I do think it is related to the GERD too. Did you find it helped?

I know your not trying to diagnose me, I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with me. If I ask here, I can kind of gather all kinds of information and maybe put the puzzle together and educate myself for when I go see the professionals. It does help when I read post like yourself and the others above. I'm zeroing in on GERD and Apnea are my problems. Hopefully, I can get this GERD under control and next week, after my sleep study, be properly fitted for the CPAP or BIPAP.

And no, Julie, I don't think my business is more important than my health. That's why I stayed in today and rested.

[LSAT]

Reglan can be a very dangerous drug if not taken properly. It is for short term use only. Search the web and you may have second thoughts about taking it.

http://www.rxlist.com/reglan-drug.htm

[chunkyfrog]

If you take enteric-coated low-dose aspirin in the morning,take it at bedtime.
I found it made a big difference while I was waiting for my sleep study results, prescription, and machine.
I had the 'shaky wake-up's several times a night, and this one trick stopped it BEFORE I even got hooked up.
My husband told me to try it because He saw Dr Oz say it on the Oprah show.