RLR
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Well, your health concerns are certainly nothing to be embarrased about and always remember that your doctor is being paid to address your concerns regardless of what else they may think, which by the way is a lot less of a concern than patients may think. We see countless patients and we simply don't pause to ruminate about whether one patient is being more rational than another.
The important point is to never try and supplant direct evaluation by your primary care doctor or specialist by utilizing the internet. While I can provide people here with insight based upon my former years as a physician, my single purpose is to offer reassurance and a more firm understanding of health care concerns. You should never look upon an online heath source as possessing a diagnostic capacity in any manner.
When you speak of pain, you'll have to be far more specific than the generalization made. Realize that the internet is a very poor venue for evaluation of this type and in the absence of direct contact, I need to know more specifics in order to better inform you. Is the pain sharp or dull, does it radiate to any other area of your chest, is it made worse by activity or is it more present at rest and do you experience any other symptoms besides the pain? Is there anything which relieves the discomfort?
Based upon your description as it stands, I would likely lean to something called costochondritis, which is a common inflammation of the cartilage associated with the ribcage. Pericarditis is an inflammation of the sac lining the heart, but typically tends to be extremely painful and other symptoms are present as well. I would not be concerned about angina pectoris, or ischemic pain associated with the heart itself at this point. The description as it stands would be inconsistent with such a problem.
Pertaining to your body symmetry, it's important to realize that the ribcage is binded not by bone, but rather cartilage in a manner designed to permit expansion of the chest wall. While general symmetry is observed in all people to some extent, normal variants wherein the lower costal borders flare or protrude is an incidental finding and would not constitute a gross anatomical deformity. The costal border regions also tend to be tender and many people complain that lying on one side versus the other can produce discomfort.
The tremor observed in your hand and or fingers is known as an intention or action tremor. We tend to regard them as normal when they constitute fine motor activity and are quite common in persons under stress or demonstrating anxiety. We become more concerned if this type of tremor results in myoclonic type activity that amplifies when elicited by action or intentional movements, which looks like the person is unable to control the limb as it jerks about.
We also seek to differentiate muscle twitches from something called fasciculations, which are more diagnostic of a problem. The main factor relating to the difference is whether the twitches involve large muscle groups like the thighs, biceps and triceps and whether they are constant or more erratic in their appearance. It would really only be a concern if you were also experiencing other problems such as with your balance and make reports of muscle wasting and increased trip and fall episodes and that sort of thing.
Swallowing air is common by persons with anxiety and is clinically described as aerophagia. Many people try to relieve the pressure by intentionally swallowing air in order to exceed the threshold and cause eructation, or burping. This can be a problem wherein stress or anxiety may be affecting the esophageal sphincter, which produces dysregulation that may prevent or restrict the ability to belch or release the trapped air. Always try to relieve the pressure drinking liquids rather than swallowing more air. Walking will help to produce belching as well. Many patients feel that they can't breathe deeply or describe feeling short of breath, but this is common and due to the fact that the trapped air presses against the diaphragm muscle used to draw the lungs downward enough to acheive full tidal respiratory function.
Your symptoms all sound like those commonly observed in patients with anxiety disorder. It's important, however, to feel more relaxed in approaching your doctor to seek understanding and reassurance. If you have concerns, then by all means seek an evaluation from your doctor and avoid embarassment by realizing that it's well within reason to seek medical advice in the presence of symptoms which you either don't find to be normal for you or ones that you don't understand sufficiently and produce concern.
You'll be fine. You simply need to make the choice of whether to address your doctor.
Best regards and Good Health
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