16 replies to this topic

[JohnFromChicago]

This is probably a shot in the dark since I have not been able to find any posts with a similar description. Figured I would make a post though in case anyone has experienced something similar. What I have been experiencing is a feeling of popping or cracking from the sternum or near area of the chest upon taking deep breaths. It is not painful and it is not anything like congestion in lungs or phlegm. It is similar to the feeling of cracking your back when stretching after sitting in a chair for a while may even be the exact same sensation. I am not quick to blame it on Sprycel as a side effect but might be a possibility if someone else has experienced this. I lift weights three days a week pretty aggressively and also do cardio sessions twice a week for 30 minutes. I spoke with my oncologist she did not think it was any relation to Sprycel, I am not making that assumption yet either. She did order an EKG, ECG as well as a Chest X-Ray. All of these came back normal but I still have this sensation a few times a day. I saw a PCP who also had no clue. It is not painful and not too bothersome but sometimes it just makes me curious. I feel that the sensation is somewhat familiar to me as I may have had it before CML and TKIs but not with the current frequency (few times a day).

[Trey]

Possibly some pleural effusion could expand the chest enough to pop or "crack" the sternum when taking a deep enough breath.

[JohnFromChicago]

Possibly some pleural effusion could expand the chest enough to pop or "crack" the sternum when taking a deep enough breath.

I considered this too at one point, but would it be possible that I could have pleural effusion if both chest X-ray and echocardiogram came back normal. I also run 3 miles twice a week and do not have any shortness of breath.

[Trey]

It can be a small amount and not detectable and also not felt.  The body is 60% water so testing for excess water is sometimes difficult.  Xrays work because they usually ignore water unless there is a lot of it.  It may not be technically called pleural effusion until a certain point, but that does not mean it is nothing.

[JohnFromChicago]

It can be a small amount and not detectable and also not felt. The body is 60% water so testing for excess water is sometimes difficult. Xrays work because they usually ignore water unless there is a lot of it. It may not be technically called pleural effusion until a certain point, but that does not mean it is nothing.

Is there any follow up test you think I should suggest to my oncologist or PCP? I have had it since February, but neither my oncologist or PCP seem to concerned about it. It does not bother me too much but if it is something serious I do not want to ignore it.

[hannibellemo]

John,

 

When I read your description my thought was crepitus. I first experienced it during PT for a frozen shoulder when I broke my humerus. I also experienced it shortly before CML diagnosis when I had a small amount of fluid in my left lobe.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus

 

It's a symptom, not a dx.

 

Good luck!

[MarCap73]

Is there any follow up test you think I should suggest to my oncologist or PCP? I have had it since February, but neither my oncologist or PCP seem to concerned about it. It does not bother me too much but if it is something serious I do not want to ignore it.

 

 

Have either of your docs (Onc or PCP) considered ordering a chest CT?  

[JohnFromChicago]

John,

 

When I read your description my thought was crepitus. I first experienced it during PT for a frozen shoulder when I broke my humerus. I also experienced it shortly before CML diagnosis when I had a small amount of fluid in my left lobe.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus

 

It's a symptom, not a dx.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Thanks for the reply! That does sound similar to what I am experiencing...

 

"Crepitus can easily be introduced by exerting a small amount of force on a joint, thus 'cracking it'. This is caused by bubbles of nitrogen forming in the synovial fluid bursting. Almost every joint in the body can be 'cracked' in this way, but the joints which require the least amount of effort include the hallux, knuckles and neck joints."

 

What else is funny is that I have been noticing my knees have been cracking more often than usual lately, although I assumed this was a result of new running shoes I started using a few months ago.

 

...wish I knew what was causing it though :\ 

[JohnFromChicago]

Have either of your docs (Onc or PCP) considered ordering a chest CT?  

 

 

No they have not, maybe I should call and ask them for one. Although I am fairly certain they both think it is in my head. My PCP said something like "you have become hyper-sensitive to the sound of breathing". My oncologist does not say much about it, seems she kind of ignores when I talk about it because she finds it so strange. 

[Tedsey]

I get something similar, of course, brushed off as nothing by my doc.  I usually feel it under my rib cage to the left of my sternum.  Sometimes it is on both sides, but mostly the left.  While surfing the web, I actually came across "creptius" too.  That was the closest description for what I experience.  To me the sensation feels more like a "crunching" than a popping, but I guess "popping" would also describe it.  But it is not loud.  Perhaps it is some sort of side-effect of Sprycel.  My hips are starting to "crunch" and crack too.  Hope it is not arthritis!

[Sneezy12]

It can also occur in the Sternum and Costochondral Joints. It is not a Pleural Effusion, nor is it related to Sprycel.

[JohnFromChicago]

I get something similar, of course, brushed off as nothing by my doc.  I usually feel it under my rib cage to the left of my sternum.  Sometimes it is on both sides, but mostly the left.  While surfing the web, I actually came across "creptius" too.  That was the closest description for what I experience.  To me the sensation feels more like a "crunching" than a popping, but I guess "popping" would also describe it.  But it is not loud.  Perhaps it is some sort of side-effect of Sprycel.  My hips are starting to "crunch" and crack too.  Hope it is not arthritis!

 

It is nice to hear that someone else has experienced something similar. Maybe we just have different variations of the same sort of sensation. I have noticed more cracking in my back and shoulders lately as well. 

[JohnFromChicago]

It can also occur in the Sternum and Costochondral Joints. It is not a Pleural Effusion, nor is it related to Sprycel.

 

Hey Sneezy12 is what you are describing costochondritis or something else? I asked my PCP if it could be costochondritis she said she she did not think so. She was very young though so I doubt she has had much experience with costochondritis so I suppose she could have been wrong.

[soundoff]

I also have the same work out schedule 3x a week heavy weights and run 18 miles a week. I get poping in the chest...
Costochondritis possibly? TKI involvement?
All tests come back normal...Xray ekg
I hear it better when I take a long shower I know that sounds strange.

[JohnFromChicago]

I also have the same work out schedule 3x a week heavy weights and run 18 miles a week. I get poping in the chest...
Costochondritis possibly? TKI involvement?
All tests come back normal...Xray ekg
I hear it better when I take a long shower I know that sounds strange.

 

Soundoff, interesting you have the chest popping too and also lift. I have considered it could be a result of lifting weights, maybe some kind of inflammation caused by lifting weights. Although I don't think I would stop lifting just to see if it stopped. I feel like if it was something caused by lifting weights it would take a long break maybe month before it would stop. That's just my guess though. I had to stop lifting for three weeks when I was first diagnosed till my spleen went back to normal size and that was really really hard for me. Even as depressed and worried as I was when I was first diagnosed I still wanted to lift. Do you feel your popping when you take a deep breath sometimes (eg. sitting still at a desk and taking deep breath). I'm not sure I notice it any more after a long shower. I notice it the most when I am sitting still for long periods (at work). Also, when I first wake up in the morning before getting out of bed I can always hear it. This makes me feel like it is some kind of stiffness. Could be TKI related or could be something completely different. Do you take Sprycel?

[Gail's]

Only on sprycel a few months and in the second month noticed a heaviness of tightness right in my sternum especially with exertion and deep breaths. No other sounds or sensations. I think it's a little better or I've gotten used to it. Onc said I should get an ekg since heart issues present differently in women, but she forgot to order it and I haven't asked again. My lung sounds are clear so chest studies weren't ordered and probably wouldn't show anything anyway.

[JohnFromChicago]

Only on sprycel a few months and in the second month noticed a heaviness of tightness right in my sternum especially with exertion and deep breaths. No other sounds or sensations. I think it's a little better or I've gotten used to it. Onc said I should get an ekg since heart issues present differently in women, but she forgot to order it and I haven't asked again. My lung sounds are clear so chest studies weren't ordered and probably wouldn't show anything anyway.

 

I have read about the tightness maybe the popping some of us have is sort of a variation of this tightness some experience. I had the EKG, ECG and the chest X-Ray all came back normal. Was a waste of a vacation day and a few hundred dollars but I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry. EKG was by far the quickest and cheapest of the three tests if you decide to go. Only took 15 minutes and cost me about $40 after insurance. The other two tests took a few hours total and cost a few hundred dollars.