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What Causes Chest Pain And Shortness Of Breath?
Question: hello my name is XXXXXXX and i am 23 years old
. I have been feeling bad for a year now but the last 4 months have been especially horrible. 8 months ago i had bad chest pain with shortness of breath and heart palpitations. I got a chest CT scan which was normal, and then my symptoms got a little better. 4 months later they came back but much worse . The heart palpitations were really bad and my shortness of breath also. I thought it might be a heart problem which my doc said was unlikely but we tested for it anyways. I had an echo/stress test done and wore a heart monitor for 2 weeks. Everything looked normal.
My doc said I was healthy but I knew and felt otherwise. Then other symptoms started to come on. I started to get pretty skinny although I was eating the same. I lost about 15-20 lbs in a couple month period. I started to get headaches everyday that weren't so bad but always present and felt like my head was in a vice grip or full of something. Everyday the headache would be there.
One day i woke up and my left knee was swollen/ filled with fluid. It was stiff. A few days later my right one did the same. It was painful to walk. I rested them, took NSAIDs and iced them but nothing helped.
It got so painful to walk that I had to go to the ER I literally was limping so badly. They did a number of tests and referd me to a rheumatologist saying it was probably a type of arthritis .
While I was waiting for appointment I had an MRI of my brain because the headaches wouldn't go away. Doc said it was completely normal and to follow up with the rheumy.
I went to the rheumatologist after a lot of blood work from my PCP. It showed elevated C-reactive protein and Sed rate. I took each test 3 times and by the 3rd the levels were normal again. My PCP prescribed me prednisone and that helped my knee swelling tremendously. It also helped my other symptoms and made me just feel normal for once.
The rhumetologist was not easy to diagnose anything. My CPR and see rate were now normal, antibodies and blood count were normal. Negative for rheumatoid factor. The only test that was positive was the HLA -b27 which would indicate spondylitis arthritis but she wasn't for sure. She said an arthritic condition shouldnt cause headaches constantly and weight loss . she was concerned about the weight loss and recommend a CT scan of my abdominal area. I did have frequent gas and diarea and just a slight burning sensation in my upper abdomen.
This scan showed some thickening/ inflammation of the lower part of my large intestine. My doctor was going out of town and said I can make an app with him when he returns to discuss what this means. It would be awhile to see him though so I am left here to think what that could mean and if this could be the root of my problems. Could something in my stomach be causing this? I have travel history to Peru and Argentina in the last 2 years so I was thinking it could be a type of parasite or something but my doctor didn't think so.
What do you think this inflammation / thickening of the lower part of my large intestine means? Could this be a reason for all my symptoms? Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
XXXXXXX
. I have been feeling bad for a year now but the last 4 months have been especially horrible. 8 months ago i had bad chest pain with shortness of breath and heart palpitations. I got a chest CT scan which was normal, and then my symptoms got a little better. 4 months later they came back but much worse . The heart palpitations were really bad and my shortness of breath also. I thought it might be a heart problem which my doc said was unlikely but we tested for it anyways. I had an echo/stress test done and wore a heart monitor for 2 weeks. Everything looked normal.
My doc said I was healthy but I knew and felt otherwise. Then other symptoms started to come on. I started to get pretty skinny although I was eating the same. I lost about 15-20 lbs in a couple month period. I started to get headaches everyday that weren't so bad but always present and felt like my head was in a vice grip or full of something. Everyday the headache would be there.
One day i woke up and my left knee was swollen/ filled with fluid. It was stiff. A few days later my right one did the same. It was painful to walk. I rested them, took NSAIDs and iced them but nothing helped.
It got so painful to walk that I had to go to the ER I literally was limping so badly. They did a number of tests and referd me to a rheumatologist saying it was probably a type of arthritis .
While I was waiting for appointment I had an MRI of my brain because the headaches wouldn't go away. Doc said it was completely normal and to follow up with the rheumy.
I went to the rheumatologist after a lot of blood work from my PCP. It showed elevated C-reactive protein and Sed rate. I took each test 3 times and by the 3rd the levels were normal again. My PCP prescribed me prednisone and that helped my knee swelling tremendously. It also helped my other symptoms and made me just feel normal for once.
The rhumetologist was not easy to diagnose anything. My CPR and see rate were now normal, antibodies and blood count were normal. Negative for rheumatoid factor. The only test that was positive was the HLA -b27 which would indicate spondylitis arthritis but she wasn't for sure. She said an arthritic condition shouldnt cause headaches constantly and weight loss . she was concerned about the weight loss and recommend a CT scan of my abdominal area. I did have frequent gas and diarea and just a slight burning sensation in my upper abdomen.
This scan showed some thickening/ inflammation of the lower part of my large intestine. My doctor was going out of town and said I can make an app with him when he returns to discuss what this means. It would be awhile to see him though so I am left here to think what that could mean and if this could be the root of my problems. Could something in my stomach be causing this? I have travel history to Peru and Argentina in the last 2 years so I was thinking it could be a type of parasite or something but my doctor didn't think so.
What do you think this inflammation / thickening of the lower part of my large intestine means? Could this be a reason for all my symptoms? Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
You need evaluation.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for posting your query on HCM.
Well looking into your problem I would like to tell you that , there is a possibilty that you may be having Enteropathic arthritis that is inflammatory bowel disease related . In these diseases you can find colon thickening , HLAB 27 positivity and arthritis presentation you had that is assymetric type .
Also I would like to ask whether your thyroid testing has been done or not .
Take care.
Dr. Shruti
You need evaluation.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for posting your query on HCM.
Well looking into your problem I would like to tell you that , there is a possibilty that you may be having Enteropathic arthritis that is inflammatory bowel disease related . In these diseases you can find colon thickening , HLAB 27 positivity and arthritis presentation you had that is assymetric type .
Also I would like to ask whether your thyroid testing has been done or not .
Take care.
Dr. Shruti
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I type all of that and all you respond is one paragraph saying " I need an evaluation?" I thought that was pretty obvious. if I knew that's the only answer I could of gotten I wouldn't have wasted my money on this app. I now know not to use this again in the future
Brief Answer:
Follows.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,
As you had asked about your genetic marker relationship with colon thickening I tried to explain it in short words.
I understand you have varies symptoms - heart palpitation, chest pain, knee swelling, headache, weight loss and bowel swelling (inflammation). These may or may not be related to each other. Symptomatically, I can think of enteropathic arthritis where one can find colon thickening, HLB B27 positivity and arthritis. I would order for a colon biopsy to exclude enteropathic arthritis.
I understand you are displeased with my answer. However the symptoms you mentioned are quite non specific and without a means to physically examine and further tests its difficult arrive at a conclusive diagnosis. Therefore I shall suggest you discuss about colonic biopsy with your treating doctor / gastroenterologist.
Dr. Shruti
Follows.
Detailed Answer:
Dear Sir,
As you had asked about your genetic marker relationship with colon thickening I tried to explain it in short words.
I understand you have varies symptoms - heart palpitation, chest pain, knee swelling, headache, weight loss and bowel swelling (inflammation). These may or may not be related to each other. Symptomatically, I can think of enteropathic arthritis where one can find colon thickening, HLB B27 positivity and arthritis. I would order for a colon biopsy to exclude enteropathic arthritis.
I understand you are displeased with my answer. However the symptoms you mentioned are quite non specific and without a means to physically examine and further tests its difficult arrive at a conclusive diagnosis. Therefore I shall suggest you discuss about colonic biopsy with your treating doctor / gastroenterologist.
Dr. Shruti
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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