The good news is that (other than the pain) it is completely harmless.
The way it always felt to me is like someone wrapped a small wire around something tender in my chest, and if I tried to breathe or straighten my posture, they would yank on it. I’d get it anywhere from a couple times a week to once a month. Then one day in my mid-30s it just stopped.
From what I understand this is relatively common. I was so grateful for the person on reddit who dropped this nugget of wisdom several years ago. It was nice to know I wasn’t dying or whatever.
SO THAT’S WHAT IT IS?!
See, I am unfortunate in that I know exactly where my chest pain comes from and it is from 6 of my ribs being broken and fused together from falling off a cruise ship and breaking them on a railing on the way down.
The interesting part is I didnt know I broke them until years later when I was hit by a car and the hospital doctor was just like “oh yeah you just hurt your broken ribs again, put some frozen peas on it and wait for the pain to go down”
Anyways, dont break your ribs unless you want to know when the weather is changing by pain.
how the fuck do you fall off a cruise ship, break six ribs, have them fuse together, and never even realize it?
Do you just actively avoid going to speak to ANY medical professional unless forced by ambulance?
They posted the story here: https://lemmy.world/comment/23157488
must be American.
I’m american, with no insurance, and with a penchant for avoiding doctors/ERs when I should probably go.
if I fell off a fucking building, landed on a guard rail ribs first, and broke multiple ribs… I’d be hopping in the back of that 10,000 dollar ambulance as fast as my shallow breathing, possibly punctured lungs could take me.
And also yes
Yes
Okay, you can’t start a story like that and then not tell us the cruiseship story in full glory.
Ok, the quick version:
I am small waisted and was especially so when I was an underfed child of early teen years. My mother was going through her
4th?3rd Husband and decided to get married on a cruise ship this time.
Well on the pool deck there was a water slide and a leak underneath said slide, I slipped on it and slid across the deck under the railing and over the side.I didnt hit the water by the way. I hit the balcony railing of the first deck of cabins a couple floors below and bounced into the ship. I then not wanting to get in trouble bolted through the cabin saying something about a hat to the confused people, and told no one.
I ended up swimming to far on those broken ribs out at the beach in mexico and had to get saved by the coast guard who did not bring me onboard but drug me behind their boat via life preserver I was barely holding onto face down, so assumed the agonizing pain was that and I just sucked at swimming.
Also brought back Swine Flu on that trip and got my school shut down for handing out some shirts as souvenirs.
Ahh, this is fun. Every time I’m like “Is this it? Is this the one?”
But no, it never is.
until it is
That’s the spirit! Got to stay positive.
Gotta have something to look forward to!
And your body has been crying wolf for so long that you just ignore it
It was painless though. Speaking from experience.
OK wait on second thought I can’t remember. So maybe it was. Damn!
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But no, it never is.
Yet
Oh nice post. I totally have this.
Treatment: Reasurance
Its okay. You’re not dying. Calm down.
The pain is agitated by expansion and contraction of the chest. Taking a deep breath and allowing the rib cage to fully expand can relieve the pain, however it will feel unpleasant initially. At the point of full expansion, it can feel like a rubber band snap in the chest, after which the initial pain subsides.
Oh I gotta try this.
Make sure to keep going until you feel and hear the snap.
I’m gonna need the tire inflator
At the point of full expansion, it can feel like a rubber band snap in the chest,
🤮
I often struggle with arythmia, angina, and palpitations, with up to several seconds between beats sometimes, and this sounds horrific. I’d rather double my heart problems than trade them for this
Yeah, this is how I used to deal with it. You just eat that stabbing pain for a few seconds and then it’s gone.
I haven’t had this in probably 15 or more years at this point, which seems to be consistent with the syndrome itself being most common in young adults, teens, and children.
The trick is doing it quickly, like gasping for air after jumping into cold water.
I can also sometimes get it to snap by putting my left foream against a doorframe and twisting my torso rightward to stretch my chest. I’ve always thought it was “popping my sternum” but it only works/is necessary on the left side
So it’s not a tiny London man coming to check if I got my stabbing license in order?
That would be the stabee license there guvna. Foine for you for nawt undahstandin ya roights.
Holy fuck it has a name.
Of course it has a name … Of course I’m not the only one this happens to.
Ive had it since a teen when I got pneumonia, always assumed it was related to that, however it’s actually this and it’s a perfect description. It a bit of a mind blown moment
Oh good so it’s not just been me dealing with this random pain for the last 20 years…
I had no idea they had a name!
I’ve had it as long as I can remember, though not very often. It would only be a few times a year I’d say…
I see legs and a dick in that drawing, not lungs.
Yeah that’s what I saw at first as well lol
It kinda looks like a dude bent over from behind, hangy balls flappin’ in the breeze
That sexy lungs-shaped butt
It took me a while to see the rib cage too
Sounds kinda similar to costochondritis, it is central chest pain. I thought it was a heart attack when I had it and went to the ER. Fortunately it was just costochondritis.
My god it has a name… and so many people here seem to have it? I thought i was a freak for having this. Nobody else ever said anything about having similar pains.
Well thanks for sharing this. I’ve been getting this since forever. Now that I think about it though I don’t think it’s happened in a while.
Anyway, much appreciated!
For me, the way to deal with this was to raise my arms above my head in a stretch. Made it stop every time.
Thought I was having a heart attack the first couple of times it happened.
As an adult, I still have them from time to time, but not anywhere as frequently, though still without any warning.
Same! Instead of raising my arms, I basically just take a very deep breath and try to expand my thorax as much as possible. Works quite well for me.
mine was sleeping on my back lying still, it alleviates it. also it was triggered by doing certain exercises, but that seems to help alleviate eventually. one time it lasted alot longer than usual
The first time it happened to me I was sleeping and the pain woke me up. I drank some whiskey and went back to bed to try to die in my sleep. Unfortunately I did not die peacefully.
You died in agony?
No, worse, I had to go to work in the morning.
Ugh, the worst.
Yeah…but he got better!
Before this comment, I thought my anecdote of “I had this a few years ago and decided to just let whatever it was kill me” was too bleak to post
Next time you have chest pain, take a couple of aspirin. That actually helps, you can drink whiskey too if you Watts but I do not think it helps much.
It was a “I guess this is it” drink and not a “I hope this fixes it” drink.
Isn’t alcohol and aspirin pretty bad? Maybe in thinking of something else. Anyway, read the medicine bottle first.
Aspirin thins the blood, and as such helps heart attack victims, stroke victims, and also helps preserve organs for transplant if they don’t make it. Medical professionals have said it’s about the only meaningful thing you can do for a victim outside of getting help.
No, there is no particular interaction with alcohol and aspirin, aspirin is a very old medicine whose effects are well known. Alcohol doesn’t mix well with anything really, but unless you have other issues going on, like already being on blood thinners, you want to take aspirin if you have chest pains, a heart attack, or a stroke.
As I got older those random pains have me worried “is this a cardiac event?!” despite showing no other symptoms for one.
If you’re able to access primary care they may be able to bill your insurance for an EKG yearly. Wouldn’t catch everything but might notice if you pick up some a-fib or another lowkey issue that might snowball (although the main issue with afib is usually clots and afib clots usually hit the brain not the heart iirc).
Do it if you can. Afib is one of those things that can take years to diagnose, with most people thinking they’re just unfit. Meanwhile, half their heart isn’t working properly …
