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Re: Tight or popping sternum

About two years ago I went from an office job to a factory job where all I did all day was take two little parts out of one box and put them on a conveyor that was to my right. Repititiosly-2 months. When I wasn’t doing that I was painting floors,sweeping,mopping and when I’d come home I was cooking,cleaning,bending. I was also reading and crocheting. One day while walking into work I got this burning pain in my chest, right at my sternum and I felt like it was taking my breath away. Then after it subsided I tried to walk again and it came back with more pain and I seriously thought I was having a heart attack. I went to ER and they said I was fine and sent me home with Darvocet. The next day I was sitting,crocheting and the pain came back so bad I was sure I was having a heart attack and my brother called 911. They said I have a fracture at the thorasic 12 disc and that I should rest. Since then I have been to 3 chiropractors,2 massage therapists,4 family care doctors,2 orthopedic doctors,had 3 X-rays, 1 MRI,2 Catscans,1 Gall Bladder ultrasound and tried 3 different physical therapists along with all sorts of narcotics and anti inflammatory drugs. No one can tell me what’s wrong. After the pain in the chest died down somewhat my chest pops every now and then when I sit back and stretch. I have pain in my right arm,upper back,shoulder blade and right collar bone and neck. I have also noticed that when I walk up hill and when I walk faster it gets worse. If I get out of bed and start making beds, doing laundry and moving around the pain isn’t so bad all day. If I get up and lounge around then the pain isn’t as bad as it was that first time but it comes back really sore and painful. This has interupted my life. I love to throw a football with my two boys and go for long walks with my husband and I love to be working. Now it has all stopped and I feel like I just have to keep cleaning to keep the pain away. I’ve also been told I have degenerative disc disease.
While I was pregnant the pain was almost non-existant. It reared it’s ugly head again the week after she was delivered via C-section. I have been told that this could be condro chondritis, pluerasy, gall bladder attacks, anxiety attacks, panic attacks. Even morphine doesn’t take away the pain although percocet pills took away the pain of a 5″ by 4″ deep gash from the C-section it didn’t touch the sternum pain. What’s wrong with that? Any findings please let me know. I’m 29-fairly active and overweight when this started but I had lost 50 lbs then and total have lost 100lbs as of today due to diet for the diabetes.

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    i’m not a doctor. when you delivered did they push really hard on your stomach to get the baby out? I suffered from a bruised sternum after delivery, but nothing as serious as what your problem sounds like. I definitely don’t believe it’s your main problem, but if they pushed on you really hard it could be part of the problem. I also believe that a bruised sternum feels very similar to anxiety pressure.

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