Chest pains.....a weird one this.

[Dave7]

About 10 days ago I developed chest pains which tbh frightened me.
I soon realised they were not "inside" but on and below the surface.
They are very specific to the chest area.
I have never had shingles but this is what I imagine it to be like ie the nerve ends are on fire and even a light touch hurts, a lot. No rash of any sort.
Its a lot better/less painful today.
Anyone got any ideas.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Speak to a doctor

 

[Slick]

Defo speak to a doctor preferably as soon as possible.

That said, I did and still have chest pains that did frighten me as I have a huge family history of issues, but it turned out to be costochondritis which is basically the joints in the rib cage swelling. I've had back pain most of my working life and this is just an extension of that. It was supposed to get better over time, but never really went away.

Obviously that was my experience, the liklihood is, you will be very different.

 

[vickster]

As above, Dr in the morning
With shingles you can get pain without the rash, if it is shingles, 10 days in you may be too late for anti virals to have much effect

 

[Dave7]

Defo speak to a doctor preferably as soon as possible.

That said, I did and still have chest pains that did frighten me as I have a huge family history of issues, but it turned out to be costochondritis which is basically the joints in the rib cage swelling. I've had back pain most of my working life and this is just an extension of that. It was supposed to get better over time, but never really went away.

Obviously that was my experience, the liklihood is, you will be very different.

I was diagnosed with costochronditus about 6 years ago. Lasted about 6 months. Still have the big lump/swelling in the middle of my chest.

 

[Dave7]

As above, Dr in the morning
With shingles you can get pain without the rash, if it is shingles, 10 days in you may be too late for anti virals to have much effect

The pain now seems to be subsiding by the hour. Can shingles go after just 10 days? I have no idea.
Getting to see our Doctor is like winning the lottery.

 

[midlife]

Loads of things so best see Dr, Bornholm pleurodynia sprang to mind but the last time I was on a chest ward was 1979!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Loads of things so best see Dr, Bornholm pleurodynia sprang to mind but the last time I was on a chest ward was 1979!

Misread that as Dr Bornholm Pleurodynia, and wondered if he was a famous chest specialist

 

[vickster]

The pain now seems to be subsiding by the hour. Can shingles go after just 10 days? I have no idea.
Getting to see our Doctor is like winning the lottery.

If you call and mention chest pains, given your age, I expect they’ll at least offer an urgent phone call

 

[Deleted member 1258]

As others have said, see the doctor, and as Vickster has said mention you're age. A few years ago I had chest and shoulder pain, thought I'd pulled a muscle, turned out I'd had a mild heart attack, get it checked out, it'll probably be nothing serious but check it out just in case.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I’ll repeat: see a doctor. At the very least, call 111 now.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I’ll repeat: see a doctor. At the very least, call 111 now.

https://111.nhs.uk/

 

[presta]

I had chest and shoulder pain, thought I'd pulled a muscle, turned out I'd had a mild heart attack

In ~1986 I had a violent chest pain like a bolt of lightning whilst I was swimming, and just managed to grab the hand rail before I went under. The Dr said it was a pulled muscle, but there was no pain whilst twisting or moving my chest, only whilst walking. Fast forward 26 years, and I had a perfusion scan after I was diagnosed with AF in 2012. They told me the result of that was all clear, but my medical records say "?previous infarction".

 

[KnittyNorah]

About 10 days ago I developed chest pains which tbh frightened me.
I soon realised they were not "inside" but on and below the surface.
They are very specific to the chest area.
I have never had shingles but this is what I imagine it to be like ie the nerve ends are on fire and even a light touch hurts, a lot. No rash of any sort.
Its a lot better/less painful today.
Anyone got any ideas.

As everyone else has said, get medical advice urgently. Call NHS 111 and they can get you an urgent appointment with your GP, or advise you to go to a walk-in centre or whatever is most appropriate.

If you've not developed a rash by now, then it might well not be shingles - although shingles without a rash at all is thought to be much more common than anyone ever realises, as it is the rash which is (largely) diagnostic for shingles.

However, it will be easy enough to see if there has been a recent cardiac event.

I had atypical shingles back in April - in my thigh for goodness sake, so initially thought it was severe cramp - but calling NHS111 got me an urgent appt with my GP. The rash popped out just over a week later and took all the pressure and concern off, as I was waiting for urgent - but not emergency - scans, which request could then be cancelled.

 

[ColinJ]

In ~1986 I had a violent chest pain like a bolt of lightning whilst I was swimming, and just managed to grab the hand rail before I went under. The Dr said it was a pulled muscle, but there was no pain whilst twisting or moving my chest, only whilst walking. Fast forward 26 years, and I had a perfusion scan after I was diagnosed with AF in 2012. They told me the result of that was all clear, but my medical records say "?previous infarction".

I had the same thing with my first pulmonary embolism. I read somewhere at the time that the pain was probably caused by the clots which had broken free from my DVT being swept up through the heart before getting stuck on the other side.