Hey everyone!

Let's talk about the weird sounds my body makes!

The objective that I set myself by creating this blog is to share my experience of pericarditis: the suffering that my body undergoes, the many ways that I had to learn to manage a disease that has become chronic.

I wish no one had to go through what I had to go through, and above all, that no one felt as alone as I do in their fight against pericarditis, post-viral illness or some other illness (such as lupus or Lyme disease).

Because there is not enough medical research, many of my questions remain unanswered. I do not have the keys to understanding this disease, nor its evolution, nor how to cure it. Most of the time, I have absolutely no idea what's going on. I can just see my condition and compare the present moment with my past feelings and my own experience of pericarditis.

So here is an unanswered question: for 2 years, and while I have had pericarditis for 4 years, my body makes strange sounds when my torso rotates. What is it about?

I would describe weird sounds as follows:

When I inhale (without blocking the breath)

while turning the upper body from right to left,

my chest makes a rubbing noise.

My impression is that it comes from my pericardium because I feel a tightness in the heart and lungs which sometimes makes me cough a little. It's a dry cough quite characteristic of pericarditis that I had regularly for the first 2 years. Since the pericardium is attached between the heart and the lungs, it is normal for the respiratory system to be indirectly impacted as well. I say "indirectly" because the lungs have nothing, at least in my case. It is also preferable to carry out the use tests by consulting a pulmonologist to be sure.

But back to those weird sounds. When I noticed their appearance, I was afraid that it was the sign of constrictive pericarditis (my great fear given the time it takes me to heal). But it's been going on for 2 years, so I'm less worried. My condition continues to evolve, very slowly of course, but positively, and that is the most important thing.

I've talked to doctors about it who don't believe me or don't want to care. Pericarditis is a poorly understood disease, like many other diseases.

I ended up integrating chest rotation exercises into my yoga/stretching session. Towards the end of the session, I sit in the lotus position on a yoga cushion (legs bent) and do swinging and rotating movements repetitively for a few minutes. I will include a video at the end of this article to better show what it is about because it is very difficult to describe.

By changing the movements of the arms or the position of the arms, shoulders or head, the effect is a little different, more or less intense.

I have no medical supervision for this exercise, please know that. I’m not recommending that anyone do any of this. I’m just showing you what I do.

I would strongly advise against it for someone who is starting pericarditis, is in severe pain, or has fluid around the pericardium. In my case, it never hurts (or if it hurts, I stop immediately). I feel a slight tugging on the pericardium and the noise decreases a little.

I happened to do this exercise to calm peripheral pain and relax the tensions that the pain of pericarditis causes. But I have no pain caused by the exercise itself.

I always remain very careful when I do this exercise. I find some benefits for relaxation. And to tell the truth, I hope, but without any certainty, that this will be able to avoid adhesions or hardening of the pericardium.

I don't do it more than 2 or 3 times a week.

I vary the types of movements according to my feelings for a few minutes:

- I start with a lateral pendulum movement by spreading my arms so as to follow the body with fluidity.

- Reels with the arms on each side of the body as if to bring the air back to the heart by mobilizing the shoulders.

- Then, arms outstretched, elbows raised, I join my hands at the level of the heart by superimposing them (without holding them in a linked way so as not to create unnecessary tension) to make rotational movements.

- Hands joined (but not tied) above the head.

- Chin lowered or more raised (I often end up raising my head because it creates more tension on the pericardium – to be done with even more caution).

Here are some examples of exercises that I filmed. I put the microphone very close to the heart to try to get this sort of hissing or rubbing noise. For the purposes of the video, I increased the audio a bit. What we hear is not my breathing, but another sound that emanates from my rib cage, especially in the movements from left to right.

If anyone has an explanation or experience to share, I'd be happy to discuss it. You can contact me by email.

HOLD ON! TOGETHER, WE WILL GET THERE!

Pericordially yours,

Vali