I'M SO FRUSTRATED!!! HELP PLEASE!!!!

[Chrissy364]

AHHH I'm so frustrated I want to scream!!!! I'm 17 and I was just diagnosed with GAD and Panic Disorder. I know these disorders cause a lot of different symptoms, but still! I get dizzy, out of breath, chest/rib pain for very long periods of time, sore muscles, back pain, shoulder pain, jaw/toothache, inner and outer body tingles, chest tickles that cause a cough, extreme fatigue and weakness, headaches, extremely fast, terribly freighting heart palpitations that last all day and night, and I can barely eat and have trouble standing after I eat, even if its just a small meal like soup. In the past two months I've had 3 EKGs, 2 chest x-rays, and blood work done, twice. ALL NORMAL! But I have heart palpitations and chest pain ALL DAY LONG!!!! I don't think that's normal for anxiety; to get palpitations all day. Yet every doctor keeps saying its JUST ANXIETY!!!! Or that I'm TOO YOUNG!!!! Yet I FEEL like something else is going on inside me! I absolutely love my mom, but she doesn't understand either! I'M ALWAYS IN PAIN!!! She keeps keeling me the doctors said I'm fine so I MUST be fine. We don't have insurance either, so I think part of it is that she just doesn't have the money to keep taking me to the doctors or the ER, which was $2,000 last time! Shes very ignorant, and I don't think she realizes what I go through even though I cry to her all the time. She is such a great mom and I love her to death but she just doesn't understand! I feel like something is wrong with my heart! I'M SO SCARED I'M GOING TO DIE SOON BECAUSE THE DOCTORS DON'T FIND ANYTHING! Its like they don't understand what I go through everyday! I have all the symptoms I just mentioned, all the time! I cant even lay down or walk to the bathroom without a fast heart rate!!! Yet I don't have an arrhythmia! I've read a lot of posts on this site where people say that their tests kept coming back normal too, yet they knew something was wrong with them. They say it took tons of ER and Dr. trips before something was FINALLY found. I DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO ME! It cant happen to me because I don't have money to keep running to the ER! Nobody understands, not the doctors or my lovable mother. I want to rip my hair out! I don't know what to do! Someone please help me, I NEED some answers!!! I keep crying and praying to God everyday to help me. I just feel like my life is on a ticking clock that is going to go out soon. I'M SO SCARED! Everything keeps coming back normal, every doctors says its all anxiety, yet I feel HORRIBLE all the damn time!!! What should I do???!!! SOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Paxiled]

Yeah, I once went and got my blood pressure checked while having an anxiety attack -- there was a clinic at where I worked at the time -- and it registered a little low, my usual athlete's blood pressure.  Anxiety is just nuts, irrational, and, like mosquitoes, has to be have been a mistake!

[amish1979]

Oh, I'll also add that I wore one of those 24-hour heart monitors (Holter monitor) twice to see if they could capture an arrhythmia or palpitation, and everything still came back fine.

[amish1979]

I agree that belly-breathing is VERY important in getting through the attacks and especially the non-stop feelings of tight chest/ribs.  I swore up and down that I was having tachycardia and palpitations all day long, I had 4 EKGs, a chest X-Ray,  and an ultrasound of my heart and they all came back.......normal.  After seeing a counselor for a few months and getting on a better medication (benzo + beta-blocker as needed for the racing heart/palps) I am doing much better and I RARELY get the tight chest feeling.  And if I do, belly breathing and meditation while tensing & releasing the chest muscles works wonders.

Good luck.  Stick around here and you are in good hands.

[Chrissy364]

Thank to to everyone who replied to my post. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I don't think I could make it through my day if it wasn't for this site. Knowing that so many people go through the same is just very comforting. Thank you to all who offered your support and advice, it means so much :)  

[Julie359]

p.s... we have all been there in the depths of panic so please don't feel like you have to say sorry for writing in your time of darkness.. we know what you are going through, this is a safe place to let off steam and get it off your chest, no one will condem you.. we are here to help as others help us.

Peace... xx

[Julie359]

Hiya, yeah if after you have tried the sugestions by Paxiled, if you find it does not help then ask your doc for maybe something called a beta-blocker, like Propanalol 40 mg x 2 times a day.  Once in the morning and again at night, this will stop the palpatations and slow your heart down so it's not racing all the time.  It also helps well with anxiety, the physical symtoms but not the emotional, but as you seem to be anxious about the physcial symtoms like the palpatations, rapid heart beat etc maybe this in itself will be enough to bring your anxiety completely under control.

I have taken Propanalol in the past and present and have found it extremely useful.

Hope this is helpful and like Steph said you are not alone, we are here for you if you need us... take care and hope you start to feel better extremely soon...x

[girlwithnolife]

Hi I have had panic disorder my whole life. (genetic) I am 50. It is a horrible thing to have. I am on meds and they help tremendously. Do you have a local health dept.? I don't have ins. either and they see me for 2.00. I would check into this and there are plenty of us trying to deal with this so you are not alone. I know just how you felt when you were writing your first post. I never went to ER as I hate hospitals but when I have an attack and I'm not sure if it's a real problem or panic I have decided I let people around me know and if I keel than call ambulance. That's after I get a clean bill of health from doc. So far I haven't keeled yet and I am 50. lol If you need to talk there are plenty of us here. Steph

[rortiz]

I too was scared of the chest pains and heart pains. I have had SOOO MANY tests done. There isn't anything wrong though. I fear the same thing sometimes. I didn't even know I had anxiety issues until I worried about my heart/chest pains so much. Now I don't even pay attention to them. My problem is with breathing and lumps in my throat with the occasional dizziness. I had to conquer my fear of heart rhythm problems by taking a walk around my subdivision. It really helped to know that it wasn't pain from exertion, but pain from stress and nervousness. You are not alone and if you ever need to talk just let me know. We can all help each other through this. I hope you start to feel well soon. Just being on this forum helps me sleep at night.

[Chrissy364]

Though I still am afraid of having some undetected illness, I overreacted a bit on this post :} I was obviously having a panic attack and I needed to vent. And although I still agree with the things I said in the post, I wrote them while being driven by intense symptoms and panic. So although I still wanted all this brought up, I over did it. Sorry. I am calmer now and I wish i could re-write the post, but unfortunately I can't delete my post (or can you?) so this crazy, panicky, piece of writing will have to stay. Well, at least anyone who reads this gets to see inside the thoughts of one having a panic attack! :)

[Paxiled]

If you read the posts on here, half the posters think they have heart problems.  They don't.  Apparently either do you.  You need to get to a therapist and start working on this.  Now, practical things to help with your chest pain:  take a 1:1 supplement of magnesium to calcium citrate.  Solaray makes a good one, and it's cheap, though you do have to take several pills.  Magnesium will help relax your muscles.  An herb called skullcap is also a good muscle relaxant, and passionflower is a good complement.  Most important, find a Buddhist to teach you abdominal breathing -- cheaper than taking yoga, since you have financial limits.  Also learn meditation.  All of these will help with the symptoms while you work this out with your therapist.  If this all fails, then it's time to see a psychiatrist for medication, but try therapy first and these techniques and see if they don't calm down your fear of heart disease enough to allow to work on the real issue, anxiety.