Is this anxiety?

[dangle321]

For several months i've been having a variety of symptoms. It started as stomach pain. I had EGD, ultrasound, CT scan, HIDA scan-all normal. Over time, my stomach symptoms have lessened and I've started having trouble breathing...almost. I can breath, I can walk long distances, I sleep OK (when drugged), but breathing is uncomfortable. There's a feeling of pressure in my mid abdomen, chest and sometimes throat that seems worse when I lie down or sit strait up for lengthy preiods. Somewhat reclined seems most comfortable. It seems most uncomfortable toward the end of my exhalations and laughing feels odd, like I might not be able to breathe if I laugh more than a few seconds...I guess the best way to describe it is that laughing feels unpleasant in the same way that fully exhaling or blowing out hard does.

I also get what feel like odd jerking/fluttering sensations in my mid and upper abdomen on occassions which cause me to panic. They usually only last for 10 sec or so, but feel like they could go on forever at the time they are occurring. Benzos help to lessen the breathing symptoms, but the breathing discomfort never really goes completely away, epecially the feeling of pressure in the mid abdomen to the left of my belly button. If I push that spot to the left of my belly button while lying down, I can usually feel increasing pressure, even pain, in my chest. (I've also had Chest CT scan and about 20 bloodtests including blood counts, metabolics and T cell counts- all normal).

Does this sound like anxiety or some sort of somatic problem? Could gas be involved? Am I completely insane? Just wondering.
Sam

[National Jewish Health]

What you describe, especially with the negative/normal test results, suggests that you are suffering from chronic anxiety, possibly with panic disorder.

However, before reaching that conclusion, you should have further testing to rule out cardio-pulmonary, neuromuscular, musculoskeletal or metabolic disease and the first testing should be pulmonary function tests (PFTs), to include the usual functions but with additional tests, including maximum voluntary ventilation, maximum inspiratory pressure and maximum expiratory pressure, along with a measure of lung compliance.  The PFTs should include both expiratory and inspiratory flow-volume loops.

You should then have a treadmill exercise study with careful measurements of heart and lung function and measurement of general muscle strength.

Finally, your doctors may want to rule-out recurrent pulmonary emboli, commonly called clots, if that has not already been ruled-out by the CT scan and an ECHO cardiogram.

Good luck.

Please give us a follow-up to let us know how you are doing.

[John_jb1]

Hello,

From what you described, it doesn't sound like anxiety. Although Anxiety can cause muscle aches all over the body from tension.
The most common breathing problem with Anxiety is where you take a deep breath, and you don't get the normal sencation that you should get after taking the deep breath.

The "jerking/fluttering" sensations you described could be Anxiety though, if you look at the area where it's happening and you see or feel the muscles spasming, then I'd advise you get checked for Anxiety.

Thanks

- John -