I understand no medical advice is a substitution for a doctor’s visit, but given the pandemic and the waiting period to get into a new GP (I have no gp) I thought I’d at last ask if anyone knew what could cause this:
I’ve recently become aware that my xiphoid process (the nodule on the bottom of my sternum) seems to point more outward than normal. I’ve also noticed it kind of hurts when I lay on my back flat and stretch.
I have googled it six-ways-from-Sunday and can’t find any applicable information regarding a transforming xiphoid process. Some guy had what they thought was a tumor but it turned out it was from micro injuries caused by using his chest to push wood through a saw or something. I have had no known recent trauma. However, I suffer from heartburn and acid reflux, which sometimes results in profuse vomiting and deep, hard coughing. I don’t recall any recent cases that would have triggered this, but perhaps it could be an accumulative issue.
One thing I know is that when I arch my back it sticks out, even when I have a shirt on, in a way that I’m certain wasn’t the case before. Plus it kind of hurts all the time, more like discomfort.
I have had an issue with tightness/dull aching in my sternum region in general.
Not a doctor, but that heartburn/acid reflex needs investigating. I had it much more mildly than your symptoms and they found a hiatus hernia - there may be all sorts of other reasons a proper doctor (not Dr. Google) might want to investigate, but it needs seeing to, and the sooner the better, if only for your peace of mind.
Millennia ago, I was tossing my nephew into the air and catching him. Somehow I dislocated the “joint” between the body and the manubrium of my sternum. It was weird, only slightly painfull. When I pressed against the area, it popped back into place.
But, whoever I sneezed it would pop apart again. I learned to push my palm against the area anytime I’d sneeze. This went on for months/a year.
I finally decided to get the problem checked, but didn’t have a PCP. I walked into a crowded ER and got immediate attention when I told them I was their because of chest pain. The doctor explained it was no big deal. It happened on and off for another six months, then stopped occurring.
[Moderating]
The applicable forum area would be IMHO. We ask that all medical and other professional questions go there, as a way of emphasizing that what you’re getting is just the opinion of some random person on the Internet. I’ll move it there, as soon as I find the button.
One of our cats has this. sometimes it sticks out, sometimes it doesn’t. Vet didn’t seem concerned as it doesn’t bother him. But you are not a cat, get it checked out when you can.
I had this happen to me, but it wasn’t sudden. I just happened to notice one day, and, concerned it might be a tumor or something serious, I went to the doctor.
He seemed annoyed. He suggested that it was common for overweight people who’ve recently lost weight to be concerned when they first discover their xiphoid process.
I asked further questions, but there wasn’t really anything further he had to offer; he did press on it pretty aggressively and reaffirmed that he was confident that it was my xiphoid I was feeling as opposed to anything medically relevant. Somewhat embarrassing, but I figure doctors answer stupider questions than mine several times a week.
My own suspicion, after reading about the experience of pregnant women, is that my xiphoid process adjusted position when I got fat, explaining why it felt different from what I remembered from my youth.
As for the reflux or whatever it is, I’d definitely get that looked at if possible. I have GERD and it got pretty bad for a while there before we found the right treatment for me.
This is really interesting–I too have recently lost a lot of weight (I’m pushing on losing 50ish lbs…I had lost closer to 60lbs before the quarantine blues set in). I wonder if it’s possible for it to change shape? My concern stems from the fact that I can “pop it” like one can pop their back…seems weird.
I am not sure it “suddenly” is different vs “I suddenly noticed it’s different”…I’m certain it isn’t how it used to be when I was younger or eve a few years ago.
I am also worried it’s nothing/silly and would waste physical space in a real doc’s office during a pandemic, which is why I am asking here, first.