Hi, I'm experiencing stabbing pains in my chest and heart, is this normal? Does it mean I'm infected in the heart too?
I started taking antibiotics, could that be the effect of them?
Thanks
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hello,
Many people do have chest discomfort with Lyme disease and co-infections.
AND many also have very serious heart problems due to the above conditions.
Chest pain is nothing to take lightly.
Have you had a cardiac workup recently?
It is always best to seek help immediately if this is worrying you. Please contact your doctor, or another healthcare provider.
My best, melanie
Posted by jsnyde2 (Member # 7888) on :
I had sharp pains in my heart and chest -one of my earliest symptoms. It went away but it was scary while I was having it.
Posted by liz dobell (Member # 8078) on :
I had severe stabbing chest pains lasted about 2 months- it was one of my first symptoms. - very scary as i feared what was happening to me! - i used to lie in bed with hot water bottles or ice packs strapped to me to take away the pain! I had an ECG & EchoCariograph - all showed normal. I was told the pains are caused by inflammation of the nerves leading to the heart - (nothing wrong with the heart itself - which is nice to know even if you dont feel better - just tell yourself that!).
Best check it out with your MD for reassurance.
Hope you get better soon, Liz
Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :
I also at times get a heaviness or pressure in my chest area; in addition to the stabbing pain that you describe.
When my lyme symptoms started (before I knew it was lyme) I had a racing heart for 45 minutes. That had never happened before.
So, I had a cardiac work-up...EKG, Echocardiogram and 24 hr holter monitor. All was normal.
A year and a half later, when I figured out it was lyme disease, I went back. The doc did a repeat echo and noted a mild mitral valve prolapse which was not there before. He could not hear it, only see it on the echo.
He said if I had ANY concerns he would do further work up on me...probably a 30 day event recorder. He has been very open to learning about lyme.
It is somewhat comforting to know that others have the same chest pain that I do. Still, I might do the event recorder, just to make sure. Maybe he'll do it for only 7 days....
At any rate, it is a good idea to get your heart checked out if you are having issues. At least you'll know if it's your heart or just weird lyme stuff.....
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
It could be costochondritis which is inflammation where the ribs join the sternum -- the pain might not be from the heart at all.
Bea Seibert
Posted by newdurham77 (Member # 7815) on :
Oh, that is the most frightening symptom of all, isn't it?
I got it for a few months (here and there) and then, more recently, due to a relapse, more frequently. It just stinks.
Had almost all heart tests done - two cardiac MRIs, 2 stress tests, holter, event monitor, countless ekgs, and they came out normal. Actually, two ekgs showed slight pericarditis, but they were overruled by following ekgs (normal)...
to be honest, the symptom still scares me...
Posted by hardynaka (Member # 8099) on :
Hi everybody, thanks for your answers. I don't feel pain to touch. I'll ask to do an exam soon...
Selma
Posted by hardynaka (Member # 8099) on :
Hi again, in the next few days, I'm getting a different kind of pain in the heart. Before was stabbing, either on the skin or more to the 'surface' of the chest.
Now, it's a 'heavy' feeling, plus palpitation. No more stabbing for a while.
I'm still waiting to get treated with proper antibiotics, I'm still with antibiotics just for my teeth problems.
I just got the results from Elisa and Western blot yesterday saying I do have accute borreliosis.
Selma
Posted by liz dobell (Member # 8078) on :
Hi Selma,
I had that heavy feeling too on & off for 3 yrs prior to being treated- It felt as though I'd been crushed or had a pile of heavy bricks on my chest? I couldnt breathe lying flat on my back as the weight on my chest was so bad It felt like something was stopping my chest inflating- always had to lie on my side.
Not a nice experience - so i symapthise with you. But can resassure you that it does subside with treatment. I havent had that feeling for more than a year now.
So keep persevering. & get treated
Liz
Posted by Kara Tyson (Member # 939) on :
Dont discount that this could be gastro (particularly gall bladder or even an ulcer). Weird..I know, but sometime the pain manifests itself in what seems heart related.
[ 26. October 2005, 01:54 PM: Message edited by: Kara Tyson ]