costochondritis causing sharp pain along sternum Posted: 02-18-08 17:12pm
I have been told by four doctors that this
could be the cause of the sharp pains I
have been having under my left breast and
along my sternum. I have had xrays, blood
tests, ekgs and a cardiograph, all were
good, but this pain in my chest is still
here and occasionally I am short of
breath. It has been 45 days. I recently
quit smoking one month ago and maybe this
is a cause, but am wondering if anyone
else has had this and how long have they
had to deal with the pain?
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mominashoe
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Joined: 04 Dec 2007 Posts: 1687 Location: , KS USA
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Posted: 02-18-08 21:43pm
Depending on how long you were smoking you
could have some troubles with pain and
breathing with your lungs alone. After
you quit smoking, it can take 6-8 weeks to
feel better and get over the side effects
and addiction, again depending on how much
and how long you were smoking. It can
have caused limited lung volume resulting
in your shortness of breath. Withdrawal
from nicotine can cause you to shake and
have shortness of breath because it has
learned to depend on it. So this is
normal for a while...
Anxiety also causes shortness of breath.
Since smoking reduces anxiety (nicotine)
you may not have noticed how much anxiety
you actually had. Now that you have
removed your source of consolation, you
are noticing these effects of your
anxiety.
Try to find some legitimate source of
relaxation that will help you breathe more
easily. Take small time outs from
stressful situations to clear your mind
and take control of your body's reflexes
of anxiety.
It is important that you continue to get
the toxins from smoking out of your lungs
and system by deep breathing.
