The terrors of late youth: cardiac stress tests or (probably) Costochondritis

[ed_rex]

I've been having chest pains over the past few weeks. A sharp, vertical blade of pain whose strength ranged from a barely-noticeable twinge to a slice of near-agony in certain positions.

That the onset coincided with my longer commute and my growing tendency to use the curls on my racing-style bike's handle bars; that it did not seem to correlate

Comments

Do you have a GP/family doctor/whatever you call primary care physicians Down Under?

[ed_rex]

Re: Do you have a GP/family doctor/whatever you call primary care physicians Down Under?

[ed_rex]

Don't knock the idea of having an advocate at your side too quickly. I've seen it's usefulness personally and professionally, when I worked for a social service agency.

That said, it's more likely to help if the advocate believes in you, and if you're seen by your friends and family as just crying wolf, that's going to be a problem. (Your situation sounds awful, I guess I don't need to tell you.)

So I am back to suggesting you try the exercises and maybe popping an ibuprofen (since costochondritis is an inflamation).

Re: Do you have a GP/family doctor/whatever you call primary care physicians Down Under?

[ed_rex]

I'm glad to know I over-reacted to your plight. And you've got a point (presuming mine knows what she's talking about) about cutting out the middle-man.

At this point, I'm doing the stretches only when it occurs to me (I've never been very disciplined about that sort of thing), and have only been doing them at all for a week now, so it's very early days. No specific name for 'em; just push your chest out and pull your arms back, then repeat.

If I learn more I'll let you know. As I am learning first-hand, mystery pains are a real bitch to deal with.