So some of youmay have seen my other thread, I was having some pain on the lower half of my sternum mainly when taking deep breaths or rolling over in bed. It was only bothering me a few times a day briefly and then going away, it wasn't bad enough to cause too much concern. Then Yesterday I woke up my entire rib cage was in extreme pain, I couldn't take but quick short breaths. It feels like the same pain as when my sciatic nerve acts up, only in my sternum/ribcage. I sat up, it took 2-3 minutes to subside but the pain in my sternum continued throughout the day. By the time I had decided it was serious enough to call my Onc it was too late to call due to the time change. So I dealt with it through the night and called this morning. Of course they said to go to the ER and scolded me for not calling sooner. Their main concern was a pulmonary embolizm(sp) which I had not thought about. I was really scared that the pain was from my lung mets or the iffy bone spot they have been watching. So after 3 hrs I finally get in for a chest CT and everything looked good. No P.E., no clots, no pnuemonia, no sign of a bone met or any fractured ribs. Unfortunately no explanation of whats causing the pain. They said just to take some pain meds as needed and follow up with my Onc at home. At least I can rest a little better the rest of my trip knowing the pain isn't caused by anything life threatening
I ws so proud that I had gone 18 mos w/out being in the hospital and I broke that streak. Nothing like going to the ER while on vacation but at least I didn't need to be admitted. My husband was freaked out because he had to leave to go home this morning because he needs to go back to work. He was boarding his flight when I called to tell him I had to go to the ER, he wasn't too happy with me. But it turned out ok, just a waste of $250 for my copay.