Chest pain when lying down

For five years now, I’ve been dealing with this weird sensation where if I try to sleep on my left side or lie on my left chest, I get this heavy "nausea" feeling in my chest along with some really labored breathing. If I stay in that position too long, my heart actually starts aching. Obviously, I stick to sleeping on my right side, but if I happen to roll over in my sleep—especially onto the left—I wake up feeling totally numb with this dull rib pain and a sharp, stabbing sensation in my heart that just fluctuates in intensity.

I’ve seen plenty of doctors and nobody seems to have a clue; I’ve done X-rays, EKGs, even nerve conduction tests, but I’m still stuck without any real answers.
It is honestly so incredibly frustrating. Look, I can handle physical pain, but it's the breathing part that kills me—it feels like I’m waking up with sleep apnea, even though I don't actually have it, unless I'm in those specific positions. My gut feeling is that there's something messed up with my ribs, maybe causing some kind of referred pain to my heart. On top of that, my shoulder blade has been clicking and popping for five years straight, which is a massive headache, especially after I go swimming or play tennis. If I lie flat on the floor, the pain and breathing issues come back, though they're at least half as intense—maybe it's a bone issue?

I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. I haven't slept on my left side in years because of my stomach issues—my dad deals with the exact same thing, too. He actually sat me down and explained what was going on. Turns out, both him and I have a hiatal hernia; my doctor just confirmed it after I had a gastroscopy 😁 recently. When I lie on my left side, it feels like my stomach is pressing right up against my heart area, and it’s just super uncomfortable. My dad says if he accidentally drifts off on his left side, he wakes up gasping for air, feeling like his heart just skipped a beat for a second. It might be the same deal with you.

Mark Palmer7 said:I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. I haven't slept on my left side in years because of my stomach issues—my dad deals with the exact same thing, too. He actually sat me down and explained what was going on. Turns out, both him and I have a hiatal hernia; my doctor just confirmed it after I had a gastroscopy 😁 recently. When I lie on my left side, it feels like my stomach is pressing right up against my heart area, and it’s just super uncomfortable. My dad says if he accidentally drifts off on his left side, he wakes up gasping for air, feeling like his heart just skipped a beat for a second. It might be the same deal with you.

I don't know, I really doubt it's the stomach thing because when I press on my ribs, it actually feels better (well, for a split second, before the pain rushes back again), so I'm leaning towards it being a musculoskeletal issue rather than anything digestive. Plus, it hurts even when I'm lying flat on my stomach.

What other hernia symptoms are you dealing with?

Rachel Martinez2 said:For five years now, I’ve been dealing with this weird sensation where if I try to sleep on my left side or lie on my left chest, I get this heavy "nausea" feeling in my chest along with some really labored breathing. If I stay in that position too long, my heart actually starts aching. Obviously, I stick to sleeping on my right side, but if I happen to roll over in my sleep—especially onto the left—I wake up feeling totally numb with this dull rib pain and a sharp, stabbing sensation in my heart that just fluctuates in intensity.

I’ve seen plenty of doctors and nobody seems to have a clue; I’ve done X-rays, EKGs, even nerve conduction tests, but I’m still stuck without any real answers.
It is honestly so incredibly frustrating. Look, I can handle physical pain, but it's the breathing part that kills me—it feels like I’m waking up with sleep apnea, even though I don't actually have it, unless I'm in those specific positions. My gut feeling is that there's something messed up with my ribs, maybe causing some kind of referred pain to my heart. On top of that, my shoulder blade has been clicking and popping for five years straight, which is a massive headache, especially after I go swimming or play tennis. If I lie flat on the floor, the pain and breathing issues come back, though they're at least half as intense—maybe it's a bone issue?

Hey. Look, you probably shouldn't stress about your heart. The pain you're describing definitely isn't coming from your cardiac system, and your heart doesn't just start aching because you rolled onto a certain side while sleeping. Like you mentioned, your pain sounds musculoskeletal—basically a locomotor issue. When there's actual heart pain, it doesn't care how you're positioned; it happens regardless of whether you're lying down or moving. Real heart issues, like angina, happen during exertion, or an actual heart attack comes on suddenly and stays intense no matter how you move. Pain that shifts, changes, or vanishes based on how you move your ribcage or breathe is a dead giveaway that it's coming from your bone and muscle structures—think ribs, spine!!!, or maybe some kind of nerve compression... Have you actually seen a physiatrist or an orthopedist to check for any spinal or ribcage deformities?

The breathing trouble is almost certainly secondary to the pain on that side. It's like when your knee joint hurts; you naturally limit your range of motion to protect it.

wiredcanyon2 said:Hey. Look, you probably shouldn't stress about your heart. The pain you're describing definitely isn't coming from your cardiac system, and your heart doesn't just start aching because you rolled onto a certain side while sleeping. Like you mentioned, your pain sounds musculoskeletal—basically a locomotor issue. When there's actual heart pain, it doesn't care how you're positioned; it happens regardless of whether you're lying down or moving. Real heart issues, like angina, happen during exertion, or an actual heart attack comes on suddenly and stays intense no matter how you move. Pain that shifts, changes, or vanishes based on how you move your ribcage or breathe is a dead giveaway that it's coming from your bone and muscle structures—think ribs, spine!!!, or maybe some kind of nerve compression... Have you actually seen a physiatrist or an orthopedist to check for any spinal or ribcage deformities?

The breathing trouble is almost certainly secondary to the pain on that side. It's like when your knee joint hurts; you naturally limit your range of motion to protect it.

It's definitely muscular or skeletal, but the catch is that I really need to go to a private specialist because they actually take the time to listen. I already saw an orthopedist and got all the imaging done, and they told me my bones look perfectly fine.
I'm pretty sure it's something involving a rib and the shoulder blade area—I've heard people talk about a "floating rib," though I'm not totally sure what that entails. It's probably not my spine, though; my back is flawless. And look, even if my doctor insists it can't be my heart, the fact remains that my heart *feels* like it hurts—I know what heart pain feels like. Sometimes it gets so intense I have to hold my breath because inhaling causes this stabbing sensation, so I just take these shallow breaths until it passes. It isn't a massive deal during the day since I feel okay then, but it's a real nuisance at night. It's a problem, for sure, but my only daytime consequence is feeling like a total zombie for the first 20 minutes after I wake up, until I get some sugar in me, stretch out, and finally breathe a bit deeper.

You know what I really need: just hook me up with one of those heart and respiration monitors
so I can lie down on my left side or my chest and actually see the data change in real-time.
I remember getting so incredibly pissed off once because some guy had the nerve to tell me I was fine, so I forced myself to stay on my left side just to prove a point—I held out for ten minutes, though the intensity of the pain fluctuates depending on the situation, so it's hard to say. Honestly, I don't even want to talk about how miserable I felt afterward.

Rachel Martinez2 said:It's definitely muscular or skeletal, but the catch is that I really need to go to a private specialist because they actually take the time to listen. I already saw an orthopedist and got all the imaging done, and they told me my bones look perfectly fine.
I'm pretty sure it's something involving a rib and the shoulder blade area—I've heard people talk about a "floating rib," though I'm not totally sure what that entails. It's probably not my spine, though; my back is flawless. And look, even if my doctor insists it can't be my heart, the fact remains that my heart *feels* like it hurts—I know what heart pain feels like. Sometimes it gets so intense I have to hold my breath because inhaling causes this stabbing sensation, so I just take these shallow breaths until it passes. It isn't a massive deal during the day since I feel okay then, but it's a real nuisance at night. It's a problem, for sure, but my only daytime consequence is feeling like a total zombie for the first 20 minutes after I wake up, until I get some sugar in me, stretch out, and finally breathe a bit deeper.

I went through the exact same thing. It was in my ribs, right below the collarbone. Every time I tried to inhale, it felt like someone was driving a knife into me.

Have you tried taking any painkillers to see if they help?

In my case, it felt like a pinched nerve or maybe some inflammation where the ribs connect to the bone, because it eventually just cleared up on its own once I started taking painkillers. I deal with joint issues due to an autoimmune disease, so there's a chance my underlying condition triggered it.

melloworca6 said:I went through the exact same thing. It was in my ribs, right below the collarbone. Every time I tried to inhale, it felt like someone was driving a knife into me.

Have you tried taking any painkillers to see if they help?

In my case, it felt like a pinched nerve or maybe some inflammation where the ribs connect to the bone, because it eventually just cleared up on its own once I started taking painkillers. I deal with joint issues due to an autoimmune disease, so there's a chance my underlying condition triggered it.

Actually, you just reminded me of something. I once had a granuloma right above my tonsils and ended up taking some Tramadol; it definitely helped, especially since I could lie on my left side or my chest without any issue at all (well, obviously, since it’s such a heavy-duty analgesic), but the weird part was that I could breathe NORMALLY, which is usually my biggest struggle when I'm lying in those positions. Honestly, I didn't have any trouble as long as the Tramadol was kicking in. I'm not sure if it could be a nerve, though—if it were a nerve, the pain would feel different, and I know what nerve pain feels like since my entire left side and left hip are a nightmare whenever I try to sleep.
I should mention that lying on a hard floor actually feels a bit better for me, which makes me think it might be a bone issue.
Nah, I don't want to rely on them. Taking painkillers every single night just to get to sleep might work in the short term, but in the long run, I really don't want to be burning through money like that.
As for that chest pain when breathing, it never lasts more than five minutes, so there's no point in reaching for the meds; I just crack a window open, try to take shallow breaths, and make sure I DON'T MOVE SUDDENLY.

Maybe try something milder like Tylenol (Advil, Excedrin...) just to see if it actually helps.

It’s not about getting hooked on pills; it’s about being able to tell your doctor, "Hey, this stuff actually works for the pain."

Honestly, it might be a nerve issue, or maybe some inflammation where things connect near your ribs—that kind of thing. Oh, wait, there’s also something else... I think they called it glucosamine or something similar? People mentioned it to me when I was dealing with this exact same thing.

I had that same pain shooting down my whole side. It didn't matter if I was standing or sitting, but lying down was the absolute worst. Every single breath felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife.

melloworca6 said:Maybe try something milder like Tylenol (Advil, Excedrin...) just to see if it actually helps.

It’s not about getting hooked on pills; it’s about being able to tell your doctor, "Hey, this stuff actually works for the pain."

Honestly, it might be a nerve issue, or maybe some inflammation where things connect near your ribs—that kind of thing. Oh, wait, there’s also something else... I think they called it glucosamine or something similar? People mentioned it to me when I was dealing with this exact same thing.

I had that same pain shooting down my whole side. It didn't matter if I was standing or sitting, but lying down was the absolute worst. Every single breath felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife.

If it were just a pinched nerve, the pain wouldn't be specifically tied to when I lie down.
I told them that when I have actual heart issues, I feel that sharp stabbing sensation while breathing, but it's not like my heart hurts *because* I'm inhaling while lying flat. Once I lie down, within a few minutes—maybe even less—my breathing gets all heavy, like there's something physically restricting me. Then I’ll sit up or flip to my other side and—*aaaaaaahhh*—pure oxygen. But if I don't move, after a little while, the chest pain starts kicking in.

So I grabbed some Tylenol since I was dealing with this nasty cold, but honestly, the stuff didn't even touch my symptoms, let alone help with the muscle pain it’s supposed to target—it feels more like something you'd give a kid under twelve because of those dosage restrictions. At this point, the only thing actually killing the pain is Tramadol, but that's just way too heavy-duty for me to be popping regularly.
I think I'll try some Voltaren tonight just to finally settle the debate once and for all, mostly because I used it in the past and don't recall it making me feel any better when I was trying to sleep on my chest or my left side.

Rachel Martinez2 said:So I grabbed some Tylenol since I was dealing with this nasty cold, but honestly, the stuff didn't even touch my symptoms, let alone help with the muscle pain it’s supposed to target—it feels more like something you'd give a kid under twelve because of those dosage restrictions. At this point, the only thing actually killing the pain is Tramadol, but that's just way too heavy-duty for me to be popping regularly.
I think I'll try some Voltaren tonight just to finally settle the debate once and for all, mostly because I used it in the past and don't recall it making me feel any better when I was trying to sleep on my chest or my left side.

🙂 Look, I’m not a doctor—this is strictly just my own personal experience.
Ever since I was about 12 years old (which feels like a lifetime ago ☕), Tylenol has never once actually done anything for my fever.
I remember once I was practically drowning in Advil, and yet that fever wouldn't budge for three whole days—honestly, it probably would have broken on its own without me taking a single pill anyway.

Nowadays, I just stick to ibuprofen—specifically Advil Liquid Gels—to handle both the fever and the pain at the same time. Voltaren used to absolutely wreck my stomach; it was unbearable. With the Advil, everything just works faster.
Like I said, this is just how it works for me.