Pain and bloating in upper left side near ribs

[TammyC68]

Hi, I'm a 41 year old female. I recently had a sharp pain just to the left of my sternum near my rib, the pain also had a feeling of spreading heat...it didn't last long there, it went straight to my back under my shoulder blade and was gone in a few hours. It almost felt like something popped. The spot felt slightly sore a week or two afterwards but nothing major. Then one evening I had a major feeling of heaviness in my chest and tightness, I was advised to go to the ER and be checked for heart attack, which turned out neg..heart enzymes were fine and ekg. ER Dr said she thought it was gerd...and when I went for a follow up with my reg Dr she agree'd and said I could possibly have a hiatal hernia and the tightness in my chest and neck was spasm. I was given a prescription strength med for gerd, (Prilosec) and I feel somewhat better but I still feel like something is in that original spot where the pain started. Like a small ballon or something. Could that be a hiatal hernia symptom? I'd had a CT scan a few months ago that had shown ovarian cysts, other than that it was normal. I was advised if I didn't feel better in a week I would be sent for a special x-ray. Also, my Dr took blood to check my liver and for a stomach infection, no word on that yet. All other blood tests have turned out fine. Thanks for taking the time to read my question.

[Rearea32]

Do you have any other symptoms? I have pretty much the same issue and I was also told it was from gerd. I bad inflammation iin my ribs, spine, esophagus, and stomach. I was prescribed a high dose of antacid and other meds. I don't feel the bloating as much, until I eat, and this pain under my rib is still there. I was told it could take up to to 6 months to heal. Also, you should look up, floating rib syndrome. My mother had this and it was pretty much the same symptoms too. Hope you find out what is wrong, I know how stressful and somewhat scary it is to not know what iis wrong.

[TammyC68]

ty for replying Kelly...I will def let my Dr know about this.

[kelly0312]

Hey Tammy, I felt a similar pain like this about a year ago and went to the ER and got a chest x-ray done and it turned out to be whats called a pneumomediastinum where air/gas gets trapped in sacs of the lung...i was admitted to the hospital where they observed me for a day and repeated x-rays and the tear eventually cleared...i still feel a lot of chest pain but i would definitely go back to your doctor and recommend an order for a chest x-ray...hope this was helpful