Question
I have been having pain in my upper right chest area that radiates around to my back around my right shoulder blade. This has been going on for 48 hours now. I also have pain in that area when trying to take a deep breath and it hurts to swallow. I have tried cold packs and Naproxen tablets the first night but it only diminished the pain some what. And not at all the following day. What can it be and what else can I do? I am 48 years old and laying down seems to make it worse, yet sitting, standing or walking only helps for a few minutes then it gets worse again.Instead of it getting any better, it feels as if it's getting worse because I now feel pain in the middle region of my back as well.

Answer
Hi Mary and thanks for writing,

Obviously no one can or should try to diagnose over the Internet, only an examination by a qualified physician can identify the cause of your pain.

I can guess that you may be having Gallbladder symptoms, these usually start a few hours after eating, especially eating foods with fats in them - of course it could also be a sign of Gall Stones. Gall Stones must be treated as soon as possible as they can potentially spread and/or cause a blockage which would then be much more serious surgery.

Cholecystitis (a chronic inflammation of the gall bladder) causes:
-sporadic pains in the middle of the upper abdomen, or just below the ribs on the right side.
-pain which becomes worse over an hour and then stays the same.
-the pain may spread to the right shoulder or between the shoulder blades.
-the pain can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting and sometimes excessive wind.
-the attack can last from a few minutes to two to three hours before getting better.
-the frequency and severity of attacks is very variable.
-attacks can be triggered by eating fatty foods such as chocolate, cheese or pastry.
-it can be difficult to distinguish the pain from other diseases, such as: gastric ulcer, back problems, heart pains, pneumonia and kidney stones.

Any Chest Pain could be Cardiac, especially pains that radiate to the arms and/or back - so I advise that you go see your family doctor as soon as possible for a thorough examination.

Of course if you suspect your Chest Pain may be related to your heart, then please call 911. Cardiac symptom would include:

The women's major symptoms prior to a heart attack include:
Unusual fatigue - 70%
Sleep disturbance - 48%
Shortness of breath - 42%
Indigestion - 39%
Anxiety - 35%

Major symptoms during a heart attack include:
Shortness of breath - 58%
Weakness - 55%
Unusual fatigue - 43%
Cold sweat - 39%
Dizziness - 39%

I hope this helps and I wish you all the best.

Margot