 Re: Stabbing pain
Hummm. Of course without an exam it is hard to tell. Is the pain in the center of your chest ie breast bone, or is it to one side or the other? Is it high, low or middle of your chest?
When you say that you can induce the pain it makes me think it is muscle related. Sometimes people can get what we call costochrondritis which is just inflamation of the cartlidge between the ribs. Hurts when you take in a deep breath or push on the area.
Anxiety often will present as chest pain and/or some shortness of breath. I can't tell you how many patients we see in the ER with this and they think they are having a heart attack. That is something to think about too, especially when you tell me the discomfort is worse when you are stressed.
Gastric Reflux is something else to think about. That is usually worse with stress and anxiety also. Not usually made worse with breathing though. Again, just hard to tell without an exam.
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