What could be causing vibrations in my chest?

March 4, 2012 3:43 PM

What could be causing what feels like very mild vibration in my left chest?

I think it comes and goes (but it could just be that my awareness of it comes and goes). It's not painful, just feels like a very very slight... vibration (I struggle to describe it) in my left chest, a little lower in the ribcage than my left breast, more towards the outside of the ribcage than the middle. I'm most aware of it when I lie down, but I've felt it standing up as well. It's not connected to variations in my heartbeat. This has been going on periodically for the past two weeks or so.

I've also had occasional mild chest pain in spots ranging throughout my left chest around the vertical level of my nipple, which I think might be related: both symptoms seem to resolve if I burp.

I'm 25, female, have anxiety and am overweight, sedentary work but I do at least an hour of do low-impact exercise daily, and my life has gotten more stressful in the past few months, if that's worth noting. I'm a vegetarian, and I eat a lot of legumes, fiber, etc. I've talked to my doctor about the pain but not the vibration yet; I have a trip this week and intend to make an appointment for next week. YANMD, I'm mostly trying to figure out: 1) does this sound like something you've heard of or experienced? and 2) is this one of those situations where the AskMetafilter asker is relatively relaxed about symptoms but in fact they indicate certain doom and I should go to the doctor immediately?

posted by c'mon sea legs to health & fitness (7 answers total)

I've experienced this almost exactly as described, it was thought to be as a side effect of interaction of two anti-anxiety drugs. Are you by any chance taking medication? To be fair, I've also had them when not taking meds, but very very seldom, the second med really amped it up to a worrying and disturbing level. Stopped that drug and it went back to the normal, very occasional level.
posted by Rumple at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2012

1) does this sound like something you've heard of or experienced?

Yes. It turned out to be a muscle spasm. I've had them for years. My doctor offered to prescribe a muscle relaxant, but as it was more of an annoyance then painful, I just ignore them. I do get some soreness in that area if they go on for too long, but it usually clears up in a day or two.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:55 PM on March 4, 2012

Not to threadsit, but I'm not taking any medications right now. Thank you for the answers already!
posted by c'mon sea legs at 3:59 PM on March 4, 2012

Oh, I get that, I think! Yes! It feels sort of like tiny mice galloping through the area where I think my left lung is. Annnnnd I think it's, yes, like tiny pockets of air rushing through the top of my digestive system. There's some nice over the counter medication for that. :)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:52 PM on March 4, 2012

(Yadda yadda, not a doctor, not your doctor, it's always good to ask questions of a doctor!)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:53 PM on March 4, 2012

If it makes you feel better to ask your doctor, then by all means do so. But a doctor is a person armed with a hammer, looking for nails to pound down. I think it's ALWAYS a good idea to ask other people, look at other sources -- allopathic and alternative. Especially today, a doctor will not say "Well, let's just keep an eye on it." There will be tests, and trials of medication, none of them zero sum. All of them will have repercussions, of one sort or another.

I think asking here about an on-and-off symptom that is resolved with a burp is exactly the right thing to do.
posted by kestralwing at 8:27 PM on March 4, 2012

I had it, after ECG and various tests turned out to be high blood pressure. Though if burping cures it I'd suspect it's related to digestion though, could just be bubbles of gas getting trapped when you lay down.
posted by wwax at 7:05 AM on March 5, 2012