Anxiety is ruling my life!

[ACerulean]

I am, currently eighteen years old and I have had chest pain after heavy exercise for as long as I can remember. It used to be that this pain would come on with only the hardest of exercise and even then it was abnormal. Then about when I was sixteen, I started noticing that it took less and less exercise for the pain to come. Now it has gotten to the point that I can barely climb the stairs or walk more than about 15 minutes at a slow to moderate pace without getting chest pain and feeling like I am going to faint. I have undergone every cardiac test under the sun, save for anything involving nuclear dye and the cardiac cath test. These tests have all come back normal. Finally I mentioned my concerns to my psychiatrist and he said that he would try me on an anxiolytic, anti-anxiety medication, but that he felt that my issue was most likely not anxiety or at the very least not fully anxiety. I am going to try the anxiolytic for the first time tomorrow. The problem is that I am more than a tad bit frightened that the anxiolytic won't work. I have spoken to my PCP about the posssibilty of seeing a cardiologist again and she basically said that seeing a cardiologist would not put my fears to rest and that what I was dealing with was just anxiety. I believe that this is because I saw a cardiologist before now and he said that everything looked normal. Can anyone tell me if this sounds like anxiety? Am I in the same boat as someone else? I feel like I have run the course and not come up with anything.

[nowhopefull]

I am not a doctor, and I can be totally wrong however everyone's anxiety is totally different.  I am recently going through a bout of anxiety that is totally different from my past ones.  Anxiety can make you feel a lot of different ways.  You can continue with the doctors if you feel there is something wrong but I would without a doubt try the anxiety meds.  It can take awhile to work and you might even have to try a different one but it's worth a try.  I've been on zoloft since ive been 16 years old and i'm thirty, do I like it no but if i had a heart condition I would have to take meds.  When anxiety messes with your quality of life you need to do something.  Like I said I could be wrong, I'm not a doctor but I think its anxiety!  Especially because the tests keep coming out okay.  You'll drive yourself crazy thinking you are in a mystery diagnosis episode.  Best of luck to you.

[dissident]

You could have mitral valve prolapse. The best test to check for structural defects you might have  at your age is an Echocardiogram. Without insurance that's expensive. However it will tell you if there's a problem.

I would also check your blood pressure when you have symptoms and see if it's high. Go to wal-mart and use theirs or buy one on amazon.

I have anxiety, high blood pressure during much of the day, and I can jog 4-5 miles and not get those symptoms. Get a second opinion.

[ACerulean]

Thank you so very much for putting up with me. I eventually came to the conclusion, as did a neurologist, that the headaches were stress related migraines. The chest pain on the other hand... I have been tried on heavy strength NSAIDs. Nothing. I have had multiple chest x-rays. Nothing. I have tried a muscle relaxant. Nothing. I have tried seeing a physical therapist who took me through range of motion exercises and then told me that there was nothing he could do. I have tried everything and still no results. That is why I believe it must be anxiety. That and the fact that no doctor in their right mind would want to send me to a cardiologist after I saw a Neuro this year and a Cardiologist last year. I thought that costo would be exacerbated by pressing on the chest. Nothing happens when I apply pressure. Again, thank you for putting up with me. I think my problem is at least in part due to health anxiety.

[Jade59]

Hello.  First, I see you've posted about daily headaches back in Nov.  You had an MRI that came back negative.  I began getting tension headaches back when I was your age, and at age 53, I now know they are due to TMJ, a dental condition.  Even though you may not have any pain or clicking in your jaw or pain in your teeth, your occlusion could be off, meaning your 'bite' is off, which can easily cause chronic headaches.  Tell me, do you feel tenderness or pain behind one or both ears?

As far as your chest pain, take a look at this link on Costochondritis which is inflammation of the chest wall.  I absolutely agree with Paxiled about skipping anxiety meds until you've ruled out the physiological.  You do not want to go down that road at such a young age.  Your dr can do a simple xray of your chest to see if there's any inflammation.  A short time on a muscle relaxant might be all you need.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costochondritis

I wish you the best...

[ACerulean]

I would totally turn to a different doctor, to see if I could get a second opinion on my problem. I do feel helpless at times about the chest pain, but that is more because I can no longer do anything without feeling pain rather than being about fearing the pain. My main problem is that I most undoubtedly have some kind of anxiety issue because I do have great difficulty talking to people and I would rather not have to explain my problem to another pcp just to have them tell me that it all sounds like anxiety. Thank you very much for your advice. I don't really know what I should do about this.

[Paxiled]

No, it doesn't sound like anxiety, and here's why -- when  you're anxious you know it, you feel afraid of things, nervous about them, anticipate them as being fear-inducing.  It's not just physical.  I don't know what's wrong with you, but the possibilities are endless.  If it were me, and it isn't, I'd skip anti-anxiety medication since all of them bring problems of their own which, if it's true you don't feel anxious, will just add to your misfortune.  You might try a different doc to check for things such as hidden viruses, infections, and the like, or get an MRI to see if there's some damage there or to your lung area that might be affecting you.  Rule out the physiological before turning to those not so magic little pills if you're truly not feeling like anxiety is ruining your life.