So I’ve had this pain for over a year now but got some better. A few weeks ago I went to immediate med because it had gotten worse. They thought they heard pleuritis. Well it got a lot better over weekend. I thought it was just prednisone finally working. But now after back to work two days it is not so great. Better but still pretty bad. I’ve already packed on almost ten pounds in a short period of time. Weaning off this week. Maybe it was the combination of the rest with the prednisone that made it feel better over the weekend.
Anyway all the chest pain is running together. Thank goodness for recliners! The rheum keeps sending me to card who sends me back to pulmonologist who just says to increase my prednisone and go back to the rheum. Ugh!
Thanks for letting me vent!
have they considered it could be costochondritis,(not sure of the spelling) its inflamation in the cartiledge of the ribs, it can be quite painful. Hope you feel better soon.
I agree with hopeful...I just went to my pcp this week for chest pain and shortness of breath. I have had this off/on for years, but all the different doctors want to blame anxiety because I don't have a cough or a fever. A few weeks ago, I told my rheumy about it and he said to see my pcp. It finally got bad enough to connect in my brain that my ribs hurt and are very tender when touched in certain places and exercising makes by breathing worsen. I told this to my pcp and he suggested Chest Wall Pain which is also called costochondritis. My difficulty getting air is worse than the pain for me, but I have a high threshold for pain, I've been told. I am trying Diflocenac for 2 weeks to see if it reduces the inflammation. Hope you figure yours out! Gentle hugs, Adrienne
Yes, it could be costochondritis. Many of us have gone through the same testing as you have and they all came out fine. I just had all of the tests last month and they said I was fine. So my PCP said it was probably the inflammation of the cartilege. It will go away but it is very painful and disturbing while you have it.
Feel better!
Went today for the same, Pleuritis 40mg prednisone for next 5 days. Happens a lot, but they like to say get to urgent care or ER may be blood clot or pneumonia even though I have had the same thing for years. I didn't go to either this time just called and scheduled with PCP when I started running out of 5mg prednisone, but she jacked it up from 5mg to 40mg. I can't run to the doctor for every chest pain, and especially since I have no insurance. I hate prednisone but it is what works.
I know exactly what you mean, if I went to the doctor every time I had pain or new symptom I'd have to pay rent! LOL, also I've come to believe its a racket, one dr then another and another and so on, at one point I had 8 specialists plus my primary and lots of medication, everybody was making money and I was going bankrupt. My pcp used to yell at me for not going to er, I figure a 20 dollar copay is alot better than the 7000 to have a PA tell me what I already know. I've got pleurisy because I have lupus. ugh!!!!!!!!
Blondie said:
Went today for the same, Pleuritis 40mg prednisone for next 5 days. Happens a lot, but they like to say get to urgent care or ER may be blood clot or pneumonia even though I have had the same thing for years. I didn't go to either this time just called and scheduled with PCP when I started running out of 5mg prednisone, but she jacked it up from 5mg to 40mg. I can't run to the doctor for every chest pain, and especially since I have no insurance. I hate prednisone but it is what works.
When I showed up at the immed med they were a little freaked out when I said chest pain. But when I told them I had had it off and on (more “on”) for over a year now they calmed down. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have an effusion since the breathing had gotten so much worse. Just wish I could tell if it was the pericarditis or the costo or the pleurisy. I’ve had all and some all at once.
I do wonder sometimes how would we as lupus patients would know when something was seriously wrong since we accept so many pains/problems as being " normal". Sometimes people at work will say “oh my head hurts” or “I can’t stand it today because my back hurts and I need to go home”. A part of me wants to say “welcome to a tiny part of my world” but I don’t. It makes me realize that pain isn’t “normal”. But a headache IS a normal everyday thing for me and aches and pains are normal. Oh and there is that swollen ankle and that sharp pain in my chest that just took my breath away? No big deal, that’s normal too. Looking forward to a lupus day that is not so “normal”.
Before I was diagnosed, I had chest pain all the time. They called it costochondritis. I was diagnosed with lupus, and it became lupus pleurisy. Whatever it was, it was really really painful, and I couldn’t do anything at all. The Mdts really helped make it go oh way. AtheIt’s ridiculous how much you can hurt to breathe, and nobody understands that at all ,which makes it extra hard to be going through it. The fear factor is also not very easy to handle. I hope your doctor figures it out soon, I really feel for you. Lupus just sucks some days!