Hey all - just wanted to update you. Last 2-3 weeks my sleep schedule has been horrible. Can't sleep at night, but sleep all day, and sometimes only a few hours at a time.

I didn't sleep last night, and I'm holding out to later on to go to sleep so I can have my old good sleep pattern back. But during the night, it first felt a little odd sensation on the left side of the middle of my chest. Few hours later and even now, its hurting from that spot especially, but also sends hurt signals to the rest of my left side of my chest and left arm if you can understand that.

I know its not a heart attack or anything like that. It feels like a very tight sharp pain esp when I move. When I apply heat, it does help some. But like I said, when I move, it hurts so much. Maybe a pulled muscle? or a small MS hug?

Oh no! Not you too with the possible HA symptoms. Please feel better soon, but like we've been on to Sally, if you even remotely think that it might be a heart thing, please go and have it checked out.

It does sound like you may have pulled a muscle.

Just a thought: There is a muscle (Scalene) in the front of the neck that refers pain to the upper shoulder, under the shoulder blade and into the chest if it goes into spasm or gets a trigger point in it.
You might try pressing on it (it is in the area just in front of the most prominent muscular cord in the neck) to see if it makes the pain worse. If it does, then holding the pressure for a minute or so will sometimes relieve the referred pain.

Hope that you find relief for what ever is causing it quickly and that you get your sleeping cycle back in balance.

With love, Erika

Thanks Erika, I didn't dare answer this one..

Feel better soon Luke..

I can better explain the pain now because of it being since Wed night, early Thursday morning when it started. I am very sore, esp under my left pec muscle, like where the ribs are. Every movement, breath, burp hurts all around that area, and wraps around the entire left band. I'm not sure how I even got a pulled muscle if that is the case, because I rarely do any lifting. Might be the hug, but I'm not sure. I can tell along with the soreness that when I use my left arm for anything, it does aggravate it. I've put muscle rub, and heating pad on it, and they help a little.

It could be the hug or it could be costrochondritis. Both of them don't feel too good at all, in my opinion. It could also be, like you said, a pulled muscle. We use our chest muscles more than we realize. It's not until something goes wrong, such as the hug, that you realize how much you use those muscles.

If it doesn't improve or gets worse, talk to your doctor regarding it as you don't want to miss something more serious. I hope you feel better soon.

Yes it definitely sounds like a pulled muscle or costochondritis, I've had both and they don't tickle! If it's a pulled muscle some muscle relaxants may help. I've never found anything that helps all that much with cosotochondritis, maybe ibuprofen. It tends to stick around for a while and is recurring, unfortunately.