Frequent chest wall and upper stomach pain, loss of appetite and low blood sugar.

[Kirki04]

Hi,
I'm 30 yrs old, a single mum and over the past 2 years I've been getting frequent chest wall pains, pain in my left breast, indigestion type burning pain at the top of my stomach, a shaky feeling as though I could eat a horse, wanting to faint but I fight through it and back pain all over from top to bottom (had that as long as I can remember) Very dark urine with an odd odour but I only drink water, never tea or coffee as the caffeine makes me feel really ill.

A couple of weeks ago I had a chest x ray and full mot on bloods to check organ function, blood counts, diabetes etc which all came back clear and normal.

My diet is healthy as possible, I walk a lot and do what exercises I can which is limited due to my back and knee being in a lot of pain but I grin and bear it. I have been to the Drs about both the back and knee, have had an MRI on my knee which didn't show up anything and my back hasn't had any scans but I feel like I just waste their time. (I'm not a good patient, I don't like being a pain but when you're in constant pain you are eventually pushed to see them by family and friends)

My Dr said she thought my body just wants regular meals, so that would explain the shaking, muscle twitches I randomly get and wanting to faint. However, I literally have no appetite what so ever, so I force myself to eat, just like I did when I was pregnant with my daughter. I have no joy in food which I used to, it's literally having to eat to keep my body alive.

Have been gradually loosing weight which I'm happy about but I haven't been trying. With my bloods and chest x ray coming back as normal, I was wanting to see if anyone else has had similar symptoms but have got different answers or are like me, having to live with it (I count my blessing as I know I'm better off than others)

Regards,

Lil

[deleon06]

do your symptoms get worse after you eat? i'm guessing that since you've had blood tests, they ruled out the possibility of a pregnancy. very dark urine with no decrease in kidney function as described in your post is often a sign of an upper GI bleed, could be an ulcer. that would cause your nausea, which would explain your loss of appetite, and it could explain some referred pain, acid reflux is also common with ulcers, which would explain your chest pain too. you mentioned you drink a lot of water and have a very healthy diet, so it may or may not get noticeably worse after eating, depending on what exactly you ate, but that's my best guess. take my advice with a grain of salt, though, i am still just a student. ask a doctor.
you might also want to look into the possibility of a tapeworm. those guys can feed in your digestive system for years without any symptoms, but they can cause bleeding, nausea, loss of weight even with proper food consumption, and it could explain your pain throughout your body/in your joints. it's much less likely, but it would explain pretty much all of your symptoms. take care hope you get better, keep us updated!  

[mindofmike]

Is your urine dark enough where it might look like blood mixed with urine? No abdominal or lower back sharp pain? Any medications you are on? And any notice of yellowing of your skin and eyes? If so to the last yellowing symptom then it would be a liver problem. So far your symptoms are a bit scattered for me to piece together any great ideas but I will try!

[Kirki04]

Hi Mike, yes apologies for the list of symptoms. My urine is dark but not as though it has blood. I had blood tests to check both liver and kidney functions. I drink a lot of water every day and I have back pain between my shoulder blades and all the way down to my coccyx. I have had back pain as long as I can remember but I just get sent to the physio which doesn't help but I do the exercises daily even when I'm in a lot of pain. I don't like going back, especially after the blood results have come back normal.

[mindofmike]

I totally don't blame you for not wanting to go back! I would suggest going to see an gastroenterologist though to finally get your appetite under control and check out your symptoms of chest pain (I personally get chest pain under my left pec like a "heartburn" due to my GERD). If you don't want to do the doctor route again you could do go on a 2-3 week course of OTC H2 blockers to reduce the amount of acid your stomach is producing which could relieve the pain. Also if appetite is a big issue you could look up supplements or even foods to help stimulate your appetite. This way you can at least start eating a little regularly.

[mindofmike]

Also for the back pain, have you gone to any chiropractor or even massage therapy for it? This could help relieve the pain but even better I would suggest looking into a new mattress and pillows. I go to a Deep Tissue massage therapist once every 2 weeks and I had bought a cervical foam pillow which gives great support to my neck. Please keep me updated!  

[Kirki04]

I forgot to mention in my long waffle that I had an ultrasound on my left breast which came back clear too, even though lymph glands up slightly on that side too.