Chest problems!!

The last few months Ive been drinking really heavily over in uni. Now whenever Im hungover I seem to get heart palpatations and the occasional chest pain for a couple of days after drinking.

This week I got really drunk every night and now I have this quite 'tight' feeling on my chest. I did have the other problems I mentioned above, aswell as dizzyness, but that's mostly gone now.

Ive been like this all of yesterday, and I didnt get a wink of sleep last night because my sleeping pattern is so messed up.

Also, whenever I attempt sleeping [even now, after 11am] I get a sudden head rush and instantly wake up with my heartbeat sometimes racing.

Ive had this sort of problem a few times in the past when Ive been drinking far too much, but Ive never quite had it this bad.

If I lay off the drinking for a few days, my troubles normally go away, but I seem to have a lot of trouble resisting!

I did manage to get an hour of sleep in before, but it was on and off. I was thinking it would have sorted my chest out a bit but its stilll there.

Ive been reading up on the net a lot about it and it seems to be common symptoms of alchohol withdrawal, but Im hoping its not something more serious?? I wouldnt really class myself as a full alchoholic as I dont seem to 'need' drink, I just binge in uni.

Im really concerned at how Ive had this feeling in my chest since yesterday evenning, and it doesnt really seem to be letting up. I should point out that my heartbeat appears relatively normal, doesnt seem too fast, slow or irregular.

Does anyone else have any experiences similar to this? or know anyone?

I think I best go the hospital tomorrow if its still there!

[Jacker]

Yes, you should probably go to the hospital and get some basic tests to make sure your heart is okay.  I thought I'd answer your post because I had the same problems as you, and it's what finally forced me to stop drinking.  I would get chest pain, tightness, tingling in my left arm, heart palpitations, dizzyness, etc.  It started out as an occasional thing that would go away after a few days of not drinking.  My last big episode left me in a fog for about 6 weeks, and it felt like I was going to die.  In my case the doctors couldn't find anything other than higher than normal blood pressure.
I don't know if your problem is identical to mine or not - that's up to a doctor.  In my case, the problem did not go away until I stopped drinking 100% for a sustained period of time.  Whether the doctors find anything or not, it's probably time to lay off the alcohol so that your body can get back on track.  This didn't happen to me until I was 41, but I see that you're only 22.    I don't know if you're an alcoholic or not, and I'm not going to tell you that you need to lay off of it forever, but you should at least stop for a period of months and if you drink to excess in the future, the problem may return.  In my case I had to quit compltely - my body has simply lost it's ability to process alcohol.  There was a time when this depressed me, but once I really got sober, I realized that drinking did not need to be such a big part of my life- there are a lot of more interesting things to do, and it'll be easier for you to learn this at your age than at mine.  Get yourself check out.  

[Jacker]

By the way, what is uni. ??  Sorry for the question, but I thought maybe it was a term for something in the UK - not sure what you meant.  

[hardstyle]

Thanks, I probably will have to check it out! I was mainly confused at my age, as I didnt really think people my age had problems like this.

[hardstyle]

Uni is basically just the UK way of saying university, I thought Id mention it because I read somewhere that students do sometimes have problems like this, with all the partying lifestyle.

I finish soon anyway, which Im sure will be for the best as I dont drink as much when Im living back at home!

[Jacker]

Thanks for the clarification- over here, we always just call it "college".  I think if you overdo the partying, you can have issues at any age - too many ups and downs for your metabolism to handle.  

[scaredjo]

hey i have the same problems to although i do suffer from health anxiety 2, i find my chest is worse and the pains if i have been drinking alco-pops or wine (maybe cause of the caffine which make your heart race) i have cut down on my drinking and just stick to a couple of lagers and have found i feel better!! maybe a complete break would be good for you or at least cut down and dont binge which isn`t good for your body anyway

[TJack]

I don't know if you are an alcoholic but you are well on your way to becoming one.
Please stop while you are ahead and go see a dr.  Get your health taken care of, you will be glad you did.  I am speaking from experience.  I wish i had never started.
Good luck to you and let us know how you are and what you do.

[Jacker]

Thanks for your concerns, but please read my posts- i stopped my heavy drinking in december and things have been going well over the past few months.