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miehnesor
USA
430 Posts |
 Posted - 07/24/2014 : 13:03:25
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Old timer here with a question of whether this is TMS or not. I hate talking
about symptoms but there it is.
So i've had pain in my chest when I run that starts as an ache right in the center of
the chest after about 200 yards. The pain increases then starts to slowly tail off
after about 1/2 a mile. After a mile i'm pretty much OK. This has been going on
now for years so it's nothing new but getting a little tired of it.
I've mentioned this to family members and they advised to get an exercise EKG. I
didn't thing that was necessary but did it anyway just to make sure. It came out
normal as expected.
My guess is that this is TMS in the lining of the chest that kicks in when I start exercising
then eventually tails off as I get warmed up. I've noticed that when i'm not exercising that
if i take a very deep breath its a slightly tight feeling in the chest but with no pain. It's
similar to that feeling that comes up on a smoggy day.
Another interesting side affect of running is that I often get a headache about 4 hours after
the run. This can usually be headed off with a half a cup of coffee. Pretty weird. This pattern
is quite consistent.
Has anyone had anything like this? Would appreciate your story.
Thx |
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Peregrinus
250 Posts |
Posted - 07/24/2014 : 17:55:34
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Miehnesor:
I have been told that an EKG (with or without exercise) only has the capability to determine if a heart attack has occurred. You can have angina before a heart attack although it almost always indicates blockage in the arteries. I recommend either a stress test with ultra sound or a heart scan. A heart scan will tell you if any or your arteries are partially blocked. If they are you may need to have a catheterization performed.
Another possibility is that you are experiencing an advanced form of GERD. If you have a history of heart burn, indigestion, etc. I would consult a gastro interologist and have an endoscopy performed. Do you produce “white phlegm” when exercising or otherwise?
Both problems are serious and life threatening. Follow Sarno’s advice and make certain you do not have a physical illness before seeking the TMS cure.
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miehnesor
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - 07/24/2014 : 23:38:01
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Thanks Peregrinus for your comments. I've never had heart burn or indigestion so I doubt
GERD is the problem. I will talk to my doctor about the other heart tests you mentioned
to see if they should be done. I looked up the symptoms of Angina and it is a possibility that
this is the cause of the pain. I hope not. Heart disease does not generally run in my family.
I have no phlegm at all when running.
I need to talk to my doctor about blocked arteries since that would obviously be a problem that needs prompt attention. |
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miehnesor
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2014 : 23:14:33
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Thought I would update here since i've got some new information.
I decided to hold off on any additional medical testing for the time being since
I suspect this is TMS.
Well i've noticed that when I don't run I don't have any pain at all, but, I have noticed
a certain feeling in the lungs when I take a full breath. Then recently it started to
worsen where I actually did have pain even when sitting on the couch.
So now comes the interesting part. I started to think about what happened today and what
might possibly be bothering me. It wasn't hard to spot a pattern. I had two calls today from
my sister in law and from my friend who is also a friend of my brother. This just brought up
the heartache (literally) of my relationship with my brother's family that seems to be on the rocks since they have unilaterally decided that we can't stay at their house to visit because it is just too difficult for them. Additionally they would not discuss the matter only to say that to do so would only make things worse. Arhhhhhh. It's just us since others can freely stay at their place.
Family stuff like this can make one quite aggravated and angry.
So as my wife was working this over with me and how it reflected back to my early childhood I started to feel the sadness and as I just let the tears flow and the grief I felt the chest pain evaporate immediately. Aha! So that is what is causing the pain. Sorry guys just had to get this off my chest (literally).
So now the symptom is back to the usual with pain only during the first part of running then goes away after the first 8 minutes of so. I still have the tightness in the chest when breathing deep but no pain or discomfort.
I suspect this is a significant discovery for me since I never even dreamed of issues with my brother as we have generally gotten along fine and honestly I hardly ever remember fighting with him growing up. Perhaps I would have been better off if I did. I will have to explore this some more to see what comes up for me.
Does this sound like TMS? I would say so. |
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Peregrinus
250 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2014 : 07:02:20
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quote:
Originally posted by miehnesor
So now the symptom is back to the usual with pain only during the first part of running then goes away after the first 8 minutes of so.
Miehnesor:
It sounds like your mind is in the right place. It might help to remind yourself that the source of this stress has nothing to do with you and that thinking about the past is a worthless exercise.
I took up bicycling in a big way after I retired and experienced various pains as I would start my ride. For me the pain was mostly in my back and knees. As with you, after a few minutes the pain was gone. I thought about this and came to the conclusion that I was apprehensive about riding and it wasn't until I felt comfortable riding that the pain vanished. It helped to affirm at the start of a ride that there was nothing wrong with my back or my knees and that I was going to have an enjoyable ride.
Best of wishes. |
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Dave
USA
1864 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2014 : 08:30:41
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quote:
Originally posted by miehnesor
I decided to hold off on any additional medical testing for the time being...
What kind of cardiac tests have you had?
It is essential you have a full workup by a cardiologist to rule out heart or circulatory issues.
At minimum a cardiologist would order a stress test (EKG on treadmill). An echo-cardiogram may also be indicated, especially if you have not had one recently.
You do not want to treat chest pain as TMS without first ruling out serious, potentially life-threatening issues. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2014 : 09:57:54
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quote:
Originally posted by Peregrinus
...It might help to remind yourself that the source of this stress has nothing to do with you and that thinking about the past is a worthless exercise.
When the past does come up, I feel it is good to relate it to TMS. Our TMS personalities, formed in our childhood, play an important part in the creation of our TMS symptoms.
Doing psycho-archeology, looking for the black bullet moment that "caused it all", could keep one stuck. But, as stress-filled life situations arise, (see the Rahe-Holmes list), it is beneficial to pause and think psychologically. Taking the time to "be in the now" and relate the emotionally charged thoughts to the TMS symptom, structural or affective.
G'luck!
tt |
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Sam908
70 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2014 : 10:22:38
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| Starting sentences with the word, "so," is annoying. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2014 : 11:39:53
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam908
Starting sentences with the word, "so," is annoying.
SO! who you calling out on this? Hope this isn't causing your TMS RESERVOIR OF RAGE to reach over-flowing.  NU?! |
Edited by - tennis tom on 09/29/2014 12:24:34 |
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miehnesor
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2014 : 22:32:02
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave
quote:
Originally posted by miehnesor
I decided to hold off on any additional medical testing for the time being...
What kind of cardiac tests have you had?
It is essential you have a full workup by a cardiologist to rule out heart or circulatory issues.
At minimum a cardiologist would order a stress test (EKG on treadmill). An echo-cardiogram may also be indicated, especially if you have not had one recently.
You do not want to treat chest pain as TMS without first ruling out serious, potentially life-threatening issues.
Thanks Dave. I had a resting and exercise EKG and both looked fine. Sounds like I may need to explore other tests such as a heart scan to check for blockage in the arteries as Peregrinus suggests as there still might be a problem.
If there was blockage causing angina the thing I don't get is why it would go away as I kept exercising but perhaps I shouldn't overanalyze it and just make sure there is no structural problem there. |
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miehnesor
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2014 : 21:59:57
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OK I had an appointment with a cardiologist and the upshot is that he believes
there is no structural problem and that the symptoms are stress related.
The main points behind his opinion are:
1)- The exercise EKG results suggest that there is no structural problem because
I got to the highest level 5 on the treadmill and showed no problem. He suggested
that the chance of a structural problem at that level is down around 2% or less.
2)- The characteristic of the pain coming then leaving doesn't follow the pattern of
a structural heart problem. Typically in such a case the pain would come on and worsen
with continued activity until the activity was curtailed. (this was my suspicion as well)
3)- There was some evidence that pain would leave the area after feelings came up.
He recommended continued exercise and monitoring of symptoms and continued
stress reduction work. He didn't think any further testing made sense at this time. |
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Chest pain when running- TMS?
