Arm Pain

[raggamuffin]

Very severe left arm pain this evening. Bicep, shoulder, lower arm. Varies in all honesty. bit of stomach pain, a few sharp chest pains under the left armpit and some neck and jaw pain too. Trying to keep my mind off of it. but this arm pain is the most intense i've ever felt before and it simply isn't going away. It's rather horrid when symptoms come one after the other, or if it's several occurring constantly. Sometimes it's just hard to accept it's muscle tension and anxiety/adrenaline. I hope this pain goes soon. I've been trying to distract myself bu the pains that intense it's just there in the forefront of my mind. Tried going on a bike ride, doing some staffing and it's still there. Obviously it isn't a heart attack. I don't think people could ever exercise whilst having a heart attack :P Still the Ibuprofen isn't working or hasn't kicked in yet. I suppose once it's over it'll put things into perspective about just how painful anxiety can get. Doctor's do that 1-10 pain scale and this is easily an 7 or 8 = /

Ed

[Enduronman]

suggestion..Go immediately to an Immediate Care place, if none are nearby then go to the hospital NOW!

These are ALL signs of a possible stroke...do not play around with this one PLEASE!

Enduronman!

[Enduronman]

If you are over 40, why are you still sitting here???...How old are you ED!

[Enduronman]

Dude!!! Please respond

[Enduronman]

I'm hoping, wishing, and praying that you took me seriously friend...I know these warning signs, I've seen the aftermath of this, but if you REACT SWIFTLY you'll be fine...Time is precious in THIS CASE.. PLEASE REPORT ASAP!...

GRRRRRRRRR

Enduronman.

[raggamuffin]

I'm 26 been to ER last year and ECG was fine as was chest xray and blood and urine tests. I couldn't be exercising on my bike or staffing if I was having a heart attack.

Ed

[raggamuffin]

I done a quick bit of research:


The main stroke symptoms can be remembered with the word FAST: Face-Arms-Speech-Time.
Face: the face may have dropped on one side, the person may not be able to smile or their mouth or eye may have drooped
Arms: the person with suspected stroke may not be able to lift one or both arms and keep them there because of arm weakness or numbness
Speech: their speech may be slurred or garbled, or the person may not be able to talk at all despite appearing to be awake
Time: it is time to dial 999 immediately if you see any of these signs or symptoms


Other signs and symptoms may include:
numbness or weakness resulting in complete paralysis of one side of the body
sudden loss of vision
dizziness
communication problems, difficulty talking and understanding what others are saying
problems with balance and coordination
difficulty swallowing
sudden and severe headache, unlike any the person has had before, especially if associated with neck stiffness
blacking out (in severe cases)



Arm pain and shoulder pain is the main issue here. Then the worry came as did the usual sharp chest pain every now and then and a bit of jaw pain. I'm positive i'm not having a stroke.

Ed

[Enduronman]

Very severe left arm pain this evening. Bicep, shoulder, lower arm. Varies in all honesty. bit of stomach pain, a few sharp chest pains under the left armpit and some neck and jaw pain too. Trying to keep my mind off of it. but this arm pain is the most intense i've ever felt before and it simply isn't going away. It's rather horrid when symptoms come one after the other, or if it's several occurring constantly. Sometimes it's just hard to accept it's muscle tension and anxiety/adrenaline. I hope this pain goes soon. I've been trying to distract myself bu the pains that intense it's just there in the forefront of my mind. Tried going on a bike ride, doing some staffing and it's still there. Obviously it isn't a heart attack. I don't think people could ever exercise whilst having a heart attack :P Still the Ibuprofen isn't working or hasn't kicked in yet. I suppose once it's over it'll put things into perspective about just how painful anxiety can get. Doctor's do that 1-10 pain scale and this is easily an 7 or 8 = /

Ed

Whenever I pick up words in a post that specifies "left arm, left bicep, left shoulder, left armpit, chest pain, neck pain, jaw pain" 1 side of the human body,... I REACT TO WHAT I READ FRIEND..If you have not recently been run over by a car, then I am still suggesting a trip to an Immediate Care facility ASAP...This has literally NOTHING to do with a HEART ATTACK DEAR FRIEND...ENTIRELY DIFFERENT..THIS WILL ROB YOUR BRAIN OF OXYGEN AND DISABLE YOU PERMANENTLY..I apoligize if you believe my words to be strong in effect, but quite frankly..they are because although I am NOT a Dr...I have seen this exact "MEDICAL EMERGENCY" take place 2 times right before my own eyes..It is merely informative concern for things that I want you to understand REALLY FAST.. Also, I DO NOT CARE IF AN EKG AND BLOODTEST WERE GOOD LASTYEAR EITHER..LIFE CHANGES EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY BRUH!

I can not force anything upon anyone that they choose not to accept nor understand..

I honestly, truly, for your sake, hope that this is not a real medical emergency as I see it...

Best wishes Ed

Enduronman.

[raggamuffin]

Thanks for your concern. But i've visited the hospital twice about such pains. I've spoken to 8 doctors. Every single one has stated it is simply anxiety. I have spoken to doctors at length in great detail about every sort of pain i've experienced and none of them have voiced any concern that it is anything more sinister than anxiety. If i'd been having the symptoms listed on every website id' checked I would be concerned. But severe arm pain and shoulder pain doesn't seem to suggest a stroke and that's on 5 websites I've looked at about it. For once, this health anxiety and internet research has helped me feel at ease for once. Thankfully the pain is subsiding somewhat. I've been looking at some yoga videos for arm stretching exercises and it's helping me feel a bit more normal.

It's just annoying I always get bad symptoms in the evening when i'm at home trying to relax. Thanks again for taking the time to reply though, I honestly believe it was simply another psychosomatic response.

Ed

[Enduronman]

I'm back friend, and you appear to be here still too. My freakin comp kept shuttin itself down at the exact times I wanted to find this article and post the link for you, if it will allow that. IDK...I know you've spoken to 8 doctors and can understand that too. I however, do not have a whole lot of faith in the medical industry as a "whole" system but there are some great physicians out there they're just rare and honestly hard to find. I think actually "caring, sympathizing, empathetic" Dr's that aren't buried in stacks of patient files, Gov requirements, ins files, stacks and stacks of protocol or rules to follow, new and updated training requirements, are extremely difficult to locate. Thats just my own views. I see SO many times whereas patients will continue to follow the Drs advice for years, upon years...and still remain in the same condition as when they first arrived...I find that unacceptable and even somewhat infuriating to myself..even though I am not the patient... Thanks for reading..link folllows I hope bruh...Goodluck Ed...and I still hope this isnt a code red man.

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/recognizing-heart-attack-stroke-angina

Nice meeting you Ed.

Enduronman

[dazza]

Hola!

Ed - with all those symptoms you described in the original post, I would have also jumped to a cautious (heart related) conclusion.
However, your proceeding posts suggest a reassured otherwise.

This line:

> It's just annoying I always get bad symptoms in the evening when i'm at home trying to relax.

... implies that symptoms only occur in the evenings and not during the day, which points the wiggly finger at an anxious state of mind when at home at night.
Not uncommon, since we tend to chill and have little distraction in the evenings, giving opportunity for our anxious heads to start thinking things we shouldn't.
(Night time can be a bit of a bugger, especially for those who live alone)

Do you get these same symptoms often? (I assume so)

Left arm, shoulder, left armpit, chest & neck are usually the first anotomical parts to "get it" when fight or flight mode has been activated.
(You may recall seeing many stress-related adverts where the actor would be rubbing his/her neck - now you know why!)

Always best to be cautious, but it sounds like a bad case of transient, anxiety symptoms to me.

[raggamuffin]

Hi,

I woke up without any arm pain at all. But thinking about it has made it feel like it's waiting in the wings if you know what I mean. I'm just going to try and keep busy and ignore it. I'm off to work soon anyway so it shouldn't be a problem. Just need to find methods of full engaging myself when I get home to avoid it repeatedly re-occurring. But that is certainly easier said than done.

Ed

[dazza]

Morning Ed!

I'm exactly the same in the mornings old chap.

The very first few moments of awakening are usually absolute bliss (i.e. out of it and super chilled). Only when I get up, start mooching about and thinking about work do I start to feel a little on edge ONCE AGAIN.

The journey to work is often a little tense, but by the time "I'm doing my thang" I'm pretty chilled.

All makes sense and fits the anxiety bill 100%.

[GreenPlz]

That is the craziest transition from day to day I have heard of. I would have been extremely worried.

[Enduronman]

Welcome to our world GreenPlz!..You think this is crazy??..Keep reading..

Enduronman.

[raggamuffin]

Hi,

I was certainly worried GreenPlz. Last night was nothing short of terrifying. But I tried to exercise to take my mind off it and realized if it was something more serious I think it would be impossible to exercise without keeling over. I'm glad I woke up pain free but it didn't take long for pains to come back every now and then. I guess because last nights bout of arm pain was the most intense i've ever felt i'm going to be suffering from that at the forefront of my mind for a while now. Today my arm feels tired. Almost like i'd spent the previous night lifting weights down the gym for hours. I'm not going to bother visiting the doctors again though. There's nothing new they can tell me or offer to do for me. Just waiting for a letter so I can start CBT with my private healthcare insurance. The letter was sent last week, so with any luck I can get started in a few weeks time.

I agree Dazza, often mornings I can totally forget that I have any pains, especially if my girlfriend is there. Worry might not even weed it's way into my thought patterns until much later in the day. Othertimes I will think to myself "I feel great" then I question myself "Why do I feel great? I'm anxious" then roll on the pains etc. Certainly needs to be addressed with the therapist once I get started. Waiting is rather horrid though as there isn't a great deal I can do to tackle this until then.

For me the worst time is driving to meet my GF as it's a 100 mile round trip and when i'm on my own, far from home I get really anxious. As feeble and pathetic as that sounds. When i'm driving back with my GF I feel better. I can still be full to the brim of pains but I feel comforted that she is there and even though it doesn't distract me from the pains it certainly helps.

Ed