Pretty bad pain, need input.

[Gribur]

Hey everyone, I hope the world has been treating you all well. I woke the other nite, about a week ago and stretched and "boom" I felt a ripping, burning pain in my chest, a spot about the size of a loonie. It has been bothering me since but i do not want to spend a day in emergency over it if you guys have ever felt this. It is on the right side of my scar, pretty much halfway down, it hurts to touch it and the pain radiates into my right shoulder and also my shoulder blade and down the arm a bit. I am thinking i ripped some muscle and scar tissue and being where it is i am feeling it more then normal. I would like to know if anybody else has had this, or anything like it in the past. please chime in and let me hear about it. Take care all and will talk soon, god bless

 

[Duffey]

I can't remember any other members having a similar issue. Can you call your regular doctor rather than going to the emergency room? If it's very painful, I would seek a doctor's opinion.

 

[Ella4hubby]

I woke the other nite, about a week ago and stretched and "boom" I felt a ripping, burning pain in my chest, a spot about the size of a loonie. It has been bothering me since but i do not want to spend a day in emergency over it if you guys have ever felt this. It is on the right side of my scar, pretty much halfway down, it hurts to touch it and the pain radiates into my right shoulder and also my shoulder blade and down the arm a bit. I am thinking i ripped some muscle and scar tissue and being where it is i am feeling it more then normal.

Hello Gribur. Not an expert by any means, as my husband had his open heart surgery just 3 1/2 weeks ago, but I am a nurse. Like Duffey mentioned, I have not heard of anyone having a similar experience. Also would agree to you trying to contact either a family doctor (if you have one--I'm in Quebec and we have a terrible time getting a family doctor--working with a doctor in the private system unfortunately) or could you call the hospital where you were operated on? The cardiac surgery department where my husband was cared for told us to call anytime day or night if we had concerns related to the surgery. Is that an option for you at all?

Otherwise, I really do think you should get that checked out. I have heard of clicking sensations of the chest bone and that it is possible to cause some movement of the sternum even though it is wired together...but what you describe sounds more severe, plus the fact that the pain radiates to the shoulder and down the arm is a bit disconcerting. Tearing of a muscle is a possibility but it needs to be assessed to be confirmed.

All the best to you in whatever you decide to do. And let us know how it works out.

Ella

 

[aviator67]

I have a similar "ripping, burning" pain that developed a couple of days ago beneath my left pectoral muscle and is the primary pain that I feel when I cough. I'm on my 12th POD and this started on about Day 9. Percocet only has a mild effect on it for me and the sharpness of the pain is very pronounced. I'm going in to check my INR on Monday so I'll ask the doctor then. I only have a partial sternotomy and have been very careful not to exceed my lifting restrictions so I don't think I've aggravated any incisions. In fact, mine's in an area of my chest that didn't have any tubes, or other work done on it (as far as I'm aware) so I really couldn't have reinjured something. I suspect it's some sort of sympathetic nerve pain that will resolve itself in time, but I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[Ella4hubby]

I have a similar "ripping, burning" pain that developed a couple of days ago beneath my left pectoral muscle and is the primary pain that I feel when I cough. I'm on my 12th POD and this started on about Day 9. Percocet only has a mild effect on it for me and the sharpness of the pain is very pronounced. I'm going in to check my INR on Monday so I'll ask the doctor then. I only have a partial sternotomy and have been very careful not to exceed my lifting restrictions so I don't think I've aggravated any incisions. In fact, mine's in an area of my chest that didn't have any tubes, or other work done on it (as far as I'm aware) so I really couldn't have reinjured something. I suspect it's some sort of sympathetic nerve pain that will resolve itself in time, but I'll let you know what I find out.

Do let us know what you find out aviator67. That doesn't sound like a "normal" sensation after heart surgery. Not sure on difference in pain levels with a partial sternotomy vs. full sternotomy, but as you say this sounds like a different area of the chest. Of course as you say, who knows what they did in there while you were sleeping!!

My husband had full sternotomy but really had almost no pain from that main area - his "uncomfortableness" (as he called it) was mostly in the area under the ribs - where the diaphragm sits - top of the abdomen. It is where they placed the drainage tubes. He kept saying that the area in there was bugging him - tightness, and pulling of sorts. We are sitting at 5 & 1/2 months post surgery and that is pretty much gone - though he has the odd pulling at times in that same area.

Anyway, do make sure you mention it to the doctor and have him check you out. Just in case something is amiss.

PS My husband was in the Canadian Air force as a navigator on F-101 Voodoos back in the late 1970's. He misses the flying...

 

[aviator67]

Just got home from speaking with my surgeon today for my 3 week post-op checkup. I asked him about this issue with pain specifically but he had no definitive answer as to why this would be hurting me so sharply. It has subsided over the past week but still hurts more than my incision or sternum ever does. This initially happened from me lightly tugging on my TED hose at the end of week 2 and then later that evening when I tried to lay down, I suspect that I overworked with my arms and irritated or damaged something I shouldn't have. Not having a full sternotomy, I've felt fairly strong and it's hard to know how much is too much. Gentle stretching and very mild exercise seems to be helping it improve now so I think that it will pass in time.

 

[aviator67]

It's now almost 5 months out of surgery and the pain that I was experiencing is much better now, although I still take Ibuprofen for it and without it, it's quite noticeable. It also seems to hurt more with changes in the weather. A cough or sneeze is very uncomfortable when it happens but overall, it does seem to be getting better with time. Apparently it's rare enough that whenever I tell my cardiologist or PCP about it they always reply with a "hmmm" but nothing more. No one seems too concerned about it so I figure that as long as it's slowly getting better, I'll be patient too. I suspect a torn muscle.

 

[Ella4hubby]

It's now almost 5 months out of surgery and the pain that I was experiencing is much better now, although I still take Ibuprofen for it and without it, it's quite noticeable. It also seems to hurt more with changes in the weather. A cough or sneeze is very uncomfortable when it happens but overall, it does seem to be getting better with time. Apparently it's rare enough that whenever I tell my cardiologist or PCP about it they always reply with a "hmmm" but nothing more. No one seems too concerned about it so I figure that as long as it's slowly getting better, I'll be patient too. I suspect a torn muscle.

Hi aviator67. So sorry to hear that your pain continues even though at a lesser intensity. Personally I find that very odd and that no one of your medical professionals has any answers for you. Perhaps others here may have had a similar problem, but it seems odd that it is not directly related to the incision area, right?

Is there any one else you can consult with about this strange pain. Five months is well along the way for continuing pain... What about an orthopedic consult or even an osteopathic physician (OD)?

I had issues with a weak ankle and regular medical doctors just shrugged and sent me on my way. Consulted with an Osteopath and I was examined carefully and x-rays were done to measure my legs showing a significant discrepancy in that my two legs were of different lengths. I was given orthotics to compensate for the poor angle of my ankle as well as the varied leg length. The Osteopath also worked on the muscles and tendons of my ankles and lower legs and this has resulted in giving me much improved stability and much less pain. Previous to this, I was repeatedly twisting my ankle walking on the slightest incline or uneven surface. It would appear this problem was from infancy but was never picked up on and dealt with.

Just saying that sometimes it takes someone in a different specialty to dig a little deeper or to look at things from a different perspective.

 

[clay_from_nj]

I thought those pain symptoms looked frighteningly familiar, and found this, under symptoms of aortic dissection:

The symptoms usually begin suddenly, and include severe chest pain. The pain may feel like a heart attack, and can:

Be described as sharp, stabbing, tearing, or ripping
Be felt below the chest bone, then move under the shoulder blades or to the back
Move to the shoulder, neck, arm, jaw, abdomen, or hips

(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000181.htm)

If I had pain like that, I would have gotten myself to the hospital, stat, or at least called my doctor right away.