Is this normal

[JRJ]

Hi all

I am trying to get to grips with my health. All started a 2 years o ago with a slight chest infection and slight tightness just under the ribs. My wife kind of scared me comparing the cough with her recently deceased uncle who died from lung cancer. Since then things seem to have spiralled out of control.

It seems like when I go and visit my doctor I have a list of symptoms. Mainly tight chested and a gnawing pain in my stomach. I just can not seem to get to terms with it.

Symptoms
Tight chest (can come on at any time)
Tight gnawing pain just under the ribs where I think my stomach is (this is constant all day every day) and seems to cause SOB
Slight pain when I press my stomach
Can get pain in my jaws
Can feel dizzy at time just by turning my head
Sometimes the ground seems to move under me
Brain seems foggy at times
Constant fear that it is heart related and that I could die at any stage


I have gone as far as having my gallbladder removed as it was suggested that this might be the cause. I have had a lot of test that points away from the heart

[suzi-q]

Once you rule out everything physical...my belief that it IS anxiety.  Anxiety, Stress and Depression can cause many symptoms...I didn't believe it was anxiety with me either for a very long time, but it was and still is.  I had many of the same symptoms that you experience.  The attacks can come out of no where.  My advice to you is to see a Psychiatrist or a pharmacologist to help with your diagnosis and to try some medication.  I was sooooo against medication and now I thank God for it.  Without it I wouldn't be able to live a normal life.

[tanns]

I have been seeing docs on and off for the past year trying to find out why I have chest pain, pressure, fluttering, dizziness, and on and on.  I am convinced that there is some other reason other than the anxiety diagnosis because it is very physical and I too, seem relaxed when things start.  I was at the  cardiologist the other day and he told me that he was a victim of panic attacks at one time.  For him, he was in a different job and it was a matter of changing jobs that helped him, BUT...before he changed he would be FINE at work when it was stressful and crazy.  It was when he was at the grocery store or at home in front of the TV that these panic attacks would happen.  I've been told NUMEROUS times that anxiety can be but is NOT always RELATED to the thought.  For example, I can be reading my kids books at night and am feeling GREAT, when wham!!  It hits.

I don't know if you are having just anxiety but do what you have to in order to feel comfortable with your diagnosis.  I'm not there yet but hopefully one day.....

Good luck to you!

[JRJ]

Thanks BizBiz

That was one of the first things the doc suggested - I have been on all the meds I think I have exsusted the list at this stage but none of them helped. The only thing that has helped a bit was galvison it takes the edge off it a bit. I never have the feeling of acid coming up well except after a big dinner. It does seem to me to be related to the digestive tract as I have had a camera down my throat which showed some inflamation but I have got the impression from the docs that it should not be giving me all my symptoms

hence I am looking into anxiety to see it it could be the cause or a contributing factor but I am not sure if anxiety could be with me 24/7 even when I think that I am relaxed.

thanks again for you reply it all helps

[bizbiz]

Has your doctor ever thought of or mentioned Reflux Esophagitis or GERD? I was diagnosed with GERD 5 years ago and have been on meds on and off for it since then. When the symptoms first started, I literally thought I was having a heart attack. I always thought that GERD / heartburn would give me a burning feeling in my chest (hence the name 'heartburn'), but I never had that. My symptoms were: tight feeling in the chest, tight throat, a feeling of pressure right under my ribs as if my stomach had expanded so much there was no room for my lungs to get air in, and dizziness. I would never have thought that these symptoms were GERD / reflux, but the doc gave me the meds, and within the first day of taking the first tablet, my symptoms were gone. (Plus I had a gastroscopy in which they found ulceration and they did a biospy to rule out any malignancy). The other thing is, I have suffered from anxiety since i was in my teens, and I have found that when I am really stressed/ anxious, I get the same symptoms as above, so sometimes I wonder if the anxiety brings on the GERD, or the GERD brings on the anxiety!?  Either way, I seem to have both under control now, but I know what you mean when you start wondering if its just the anxiety even though the symptoms feel very real to you. Not sure if you have the same thing, but hope I was of some help to you.