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Dull pain in chest and extremities
Hello i'm 17 years old.
For the past 2 months or so i've had a dull aching in my chest and limbs. I was fairly sure it was anxiety related until recently.
I started having a panick attack because something a family member said about 3 weeks ago, so we went to the ER.
In the emergency room they did an EKG, chest xray, and checked my heart enzymes(?). Everything came back normal. I was a little dehydrated and had low potassium levels (just a little low).Yet the pains persisted.
I'm not overweight, if anything maybe a bit under. But my family history says i should be about this weight (my dad weighed less at my age).
I've tried just about every drug there is, but i have only abused marijuana(lol?) and when i was a bit younger (15) i did abuse an over the counter medicine called dextremethorphan for about 6 months. During that time i did no other drugs however. I am a daily cig smoker.
Since the ER trip i've stopped smoking pot (weed giving me anxiety attacks) and lightened my nicatine habit. But the pains persist.
We took a trip to the free clinic, saw a family doctor, did a 2nd EKG and 2nd blood test. Still fine. She perscribed my propanolol. I have been taking it for 3 days now. And you guessed it, the pains persist.
Despite everyone telling me that these pains are probably benign and most likely non-cardiac related. I can't help but get horrible anxiety and the feeling i'm going to die when they happen. However i suffer no shortness of breath and no dizziness.
To describe the pains, they are in my left and right arm, left and right leg, and sometimes in my upper (possibly lower) chest. They are very dull, and would be very able to get through if i wasn't scared for my life.
I've felt the symtom called 'vasoconstriction' before. it kind of feels like that but with dull pain. It feels like the pain is coming from my veins but i could maybe not know what i'm talking about there. The pains appear inside leg and middle leg, and under-arm and for-arm.
They typically last for less than 3 minutes. However last night a pain in my left arm and chest lasted for 10+ minutes. (remember i've been taking propanolol for 3 days). And with the pain comes the horrible anxiety and me worrying about death. Sinec i've been taking propanolol they seemed to have lightened up, but it's still scary when it happens.
My doctor told me if the pains persist after 4-5 days of taking propanolol to call her. It hasn't been that long yet, but i'm still scared.
I'm convinced there is something horribly wrong with me. Feeling like you're going to die isn't normal right?
What are the chances that a 17 year old after an EKG, blood work, and chest xray still has undiagnosed heart problems? I don't have a family history of them, and i don't have that much of a history of drug use. I've met 1000 street junkies that have treated their bodies horribly for years and still haven't kicked it.
I'm driving my family crazy, and myself as well. I need help. I've got another doctors appointment in 1&1/2 weeks. But when you feel like you're dying that's never soon enough.
Someone give me some statistics or something, i'm feeling bad here.
For the past 2 months or so i've had a dull aching in my chest and limbs. I was fairly sure it was anxiety related until recently.
I started having a panick attack because something a family member said about 3 weeks ago, so we went to the ER.
In the emergency room they did an EKG, chest xray, and checked my heart enzymes(?). Everything came back normal. I was a little dehydrated and had low potassium levels (just a little low).Yet the pains persisted.
I'm not overweight, if anything maybe a bit under. But my family history says i should be about this weight (my dad weighed less at my age).
I've tried just about every drug there is, but i have only abused marijuana(lol?) and when i was a bit younger (15) i did abuse an over the counter medicine called dextremethorphan for about 6 months. During that time i did no other drugs however. I am a daily cig smoker.
Since the ER trip i've stopped smoking pot (weed giving me anxiety attacks) and lightened my nicatine habit. But the pains persist.
We took a trip to the free clinic, saw a family doctor, did a 2nd EKG and 2nd blood test. Still fine. She perscribed my propanolol. I have been taking it for 3 days now. And you guessed it, the pains persist.
Despite everyone telling me that these pains are probably benign and most likely non-cardiac related. I can't help but get horrible anxiety and the feeling i'm going to die when they happen. However i suffer no shortness of breath and no dizziness.
To describe the pains, they are in my left and right arm, left and right leg, and sometimes in my upper (possibly lower) chest. They are very dull, and would be very able to get through if i wasn't scared for my life.
I've felt the symtom called 'vasoconstriction' before. it kind of feels like that but with dull pain. It feels like the pain is coming from my veins but i could maybe not know what i'm talking about there. The pains appear inside leg and middle leg, and under-arm and for-arm.
They typically last for less than 3 minutes. However last night a pain in my left arm and chest lasted for 10+ minutes. (remember i've been taking propanolol for 3 days). And with the pain comes the horrible anxiety and me worrying about death. Sinec i've been taking propanolol they seemed to have lightened up, but it's still scary when it happens.
My doctor told me if the pains persist after 4-5 days of taking propanolol to call her. It hasn't been that long yet, but i'm still scared.
I'm convinced there is something horribly wrong with me. Feeling like you're going to die isn't normal right?
What are the chances that a 17 year old after an EKG, blood work, and chest xray still has undiagnosed heart problems? I don't have a family history of them, and i don't have that much of a history of drug use. I've met 1000 street junkies that have treated their bodies horribly for years and still haven't kicked it.
I'm driving my family crazy, and myself as well. I need help. I've got another doctors appointment in 1&1/2 weeks. But when you feel like you're dying that's never soon enough.
Someone give me some statistics or something, i'm feeling bad here.
Best Answer
I hardly know where to begin answering your questions but I will start with this: the chances of you having heart disease issues at your age are basically nil. Children who have heart related chest pain have VERY SEVERE forms of heart disease, usually something called a cardiomyopathy which is where the heart muscle itself is diseased. If you had that type of problem to the point of chest pain, you would have known about that at a much younger age. Your childhood would have been very restricted as would your teen years as well. You would never have been able to play any sports or even ride a bike without major problems. You would have spent a good deal of time at doctors appointments, had a lot of test run all the time and spent a good deal of time in a hospital bed. That's what I am referring to when I say they have severe forms of heart disease which would cause chest pain. Actually, most children with congenital heart disease don't even have chest pain; it's actually very rare.It would have also changed the look of your EKGs and also given an abnormal cardiac enzyme results (your bloodwork). With having the anxiety level that you do, you need to work on getting that under control. More than likely, it is the foundation for the problems you are describing. Take care and get yourself some help. While you feel you may be dying, the reality is you are probably just fine and simply scaring yourself. The mind can be a terrible thing for people with anxiety and panic issues.
hi, sorry that you are going through this. except for 2 things that you are going through and the age, you sound just like me. i am 28 female and a smoker. i never abused pot and i don't have the pain in the legs but other than that everything else sounds the same. i have had 3 ekgs, 2 sets of bloodwork, a back and chest x-ray, and an ultrasound. they have all been normal, but i am driving myself and my family crazy still thinking that something is wrong with me. my doctor says it's anxiety but it's just so hard to believe that your mind alone can cause that many problems. please, if you read this, let me know what, if anything, you have found out and how you are doing.
Thankyou grendslori for your time. I really hope your right.
I know that these feelings of anxiety are irrational, i really do. I know it's irrational not to listen to people with medical degrees. I know it's irrational to think i'm dying when everyone says it's fine. But i still do.
I'm going to call the doctor today and see if she can calm my nerves.
Once again thankyou for your time, you've eased my mind a little bit, at least for today. And for that i thank you.
I know that these feelings of anxiety are irrational, i really do. I know it's irrational not to listen to people with medical degrees. I know it's irrational to think i'm dying when everyone says it's fine. But i still do.
I'm going to call the doctor today and see if she can calm my nerves.
Once again thankyou for your time, you've eased my mind a little bit, at least for today. And for that i thank you.
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