Right Side Chest Pain

[bikerdave]

I am a 42 year old male, non smoker, and am relatively active. I have been put on aciphex a month ago for possible reflux. My stomach is upset quite alot but the most bothersome is right side chest pain. It is behind my right breast. It will sometimes radiate to my right shoulder or arm. Somtimes it's a feeling of fullness, sometimes pain, and other times tightening. Sometimes it's worse after eating, sometimes bad when I wake up in morning. Today I had about 4 hours of it, with multiple bowel movements (about 5) I had an ekg 2x in past 6 months both normal. I don't have health insurance so I can't afford some of the gastro tests they want to do. My anxiety is wondering if it could be my heart and the ekg's just missed something. I don't get any shortness of breath, it is on thej right side 99% of the time and a precursor is usually my stomach is upset or cramping. The chest pain can be real intense. I did have a sonogram because they wanted to check my gallbladder, and that came out normal. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and Happy New Year
Dave

[Theresa Jones, RN]

Hi bikerdave,
Do these symptoms present themselves especially after eating foods containing a high amount of grease/fat? Gallbladder dysfunction can cause severe right sided chest, shoulder, and arm pain. Attacks usually occur after eating certain foods. If this is so in your case, just because an ultrasound came back normal for your gallbladder doesn't necessarily mean your gallbladder is functioning properly. It means that they probably didn't visualize any gallstones etc. A more definitive test to determine gallbladder function is a HIDA scan. I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Rntdj