Sharp chest pains in the mornings?
Discussion
On few random mornings (and always only in the mornings) I find myself woken by sharp pain originating from the middle of the chest. No shortness of breath, sweating, numbness etc. Just uncomfortable pain each time I breathe. I find myself having to either stand up or sit up straight in the bed and the pain goes away after 15-30 minutes. Sometimes I would have to take some ibuprofen or panadol to quickly relieve the pain and go back to bed. The pain sometimes moves round the back - kind of like muscle pain when it starts to "taper off".
This has been happening on random mornings for around 5 months now. I seem to notice most of the time I would have a heavy late night meal + beers. I can't tell for sure if all of the time I've had heavy meal+beers but will start to monitor that now. Called NHS Direct today as I got a bit worried it could be heart attack and was accessed and told it could be some gastric problems and was told to see GP tomorrow.
I am wondering if anyone here have such symptoms?
This has been happening on random mornings for around 5 months now. I seem to notice most of the time I would have a heavy late night meal + beers. I can't tell for sure if all of the time I've had heavy meal+beers but will start to monitor that now. Called NHS Direct today as I got a bit worried it could be heart attack and was accessed and told it could be some gastric problems and was told to see GP tomorrow.
I am wondering if anyone here have such symptoms?
Possibly gall bladder or acid reflux. If taking an antacid resolves the pain then it might point towards acid reflux; if it does nothing then it probably eliminates it.
My partner occasionally suffered from very sharp pains in the chest at night (around the bottom of the sternum) to the point where we called the doctor out one night & it needed a shot of morphine to relieve the pain. In the morning all was well so not too much to report to the doctor. Months went by until the next attack which was unfortunately while we were abroad & this time the pain didn't stop, resulting in admission to hospital for an operation to remove the gall bladder as it was full of gallstones. The hospital was very nice, but the wrangling with our insurance company over the £4500 bill was not as they claimed it was a pre-existing condition & therefore not covered.
If it is gallstones or similar it's not going to go away so make sure you press for a resolution of the issue & don't be a normal bloke & just let it slide.
My partner occasionally suffered from very sharp pains in the chest at night (around the bottom of the sternum) to the point where we called the doctor out one night & it needed a shot of morphine to relieve the pain. In the morning all was well so not too much to report to the doctor. Months went by until the next attack which was unfortunately while we were abroad & this time the pain didn't stop, resulting in admission to hospital for an operation to remove the gall bladder as it was full of gallstones. The hospital was very nice, but the wrangling with our insurance company over the £4500 bill was not as they claimed it was a pre-existing condition & therefore not covered.
If it is gallstones or similar it's not going to go away so make sure you press for a resolution of the issue & don't be a normal bloke & just let it slide.
Doctors closed today.Mr Pointy said:
Possibly gall bladder or acid reflux. If taking an antacid resolves the pain then it might point towards acid reflux; if it does nothing then it probably eliminates it.
My partner occasionally suffered from very sharp pains in the chest at night (around the bottom of the sternum) to the point where we called the doctor out one night & it needed a shot of morphine to relieve the pain. In the morning all was well so not too much to report to the doctor. Months went by until the next attack which was unfortunately while we were abroad & this time the pain didn't stop, resulting in admission to hospital for an operation to remove the gall bladder as it was full of gallstones. The hospital was very nice, but the wrangling with our insurance company over the £4500 bill was not as they claimed it was a pre-existing condition & therefore not covered.
If it is gallstones or similar it's not going to go away so make sure you press for a resolution of the issue & don't be a normal bloke & just let it slide.
I've been Googling and some website does say it could be acid reflux (had pizza and beer few minutes before bed!). I would've thought the pain would be felt in the stomach are not the chest if so...?My partner occasionally suffered from very sharp pains in the chest at night (around the bottom of the sternum) to the point where we called the doctor out one night & it needed a shot of morphine to relieve the pain. In the morning all was well so not too much to report to the doctor. Months went by until the next attack which was unfortunately while we were abroad & this time the pain didn't stop, resulting in admission to hospital for an operation to remove the gall bladder as it was full of gallstones. The hospital was very nice, but the wrangling with our insurance company over the £4500 bill was not as they claimed it was a pre-existing condition & therefore not covered.
If it is gallstones or similar it's not going to go away so make sure you press for a resolution of the issue & don't be a normal bloke & just let it slide.
HappySilver said:
Probably heartburn caused by acid flowing upwards from your full stomach due to you being horizontal.
Take a quick acting anti-acid such as Pecid2.
Aye, as above it could be as I had massive meal just before going to bed and the beer doesn't help I guess... I have heartburn problems before but the weird thing is every time this happens it is in the early mornings. The pain gets worse if you breathe in hard. If I stop breathing the pain will subside but I don't think stopping to breathe is a permanent solution Take a quick acting anti-acid such as Pecid2.
I will make an appointment to see GP ASAP. By Googling so far it doesn't seem to be related to the heart but it's best to get it checked out.
No, with acid reflux the acid escapes past the valve at the top of the stomach & burns it's way up the oesophagus (which has no protective lining) so it can be painful up into the the chest. I speak with some experience as someone who used to munch 90 Rennies in a fortnight until diagnosed & prescribed medication to calm things down.
Mr Pointy said:
No, with acid reflux the acid escapes past the valve at the top of the stomach & burns it's way up the oesophagus (which has no protective lining) so it can be painful up into the the chest. I speak with some experience as someone who used to munch 90 Rennies in a fortnight until diagnosed & prescribed medication to calm things down.
Ah ok. I've had heartburn before but this felt a bit different. Still pretty weird why it only happens early in the morning and mostly just after a heavy late night snack or massive amount of beer...I am slightly relieved it might not be a pre-cursor to heart attack then. Time to ask the missus to stop writing a list of what she wants from my will
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