Aa
All anxiety?
I have had chest pain for the past 14 months. Ever since I started going through testing for my heart. I was having palpitation and went to Hopkins. Had the full heart work up and wore a 30 day monitor. So many EKGs I can't count, echo etc. All came back good other then occasional PVCs.
So at the time I started testing, I noticed a "twinge" of pain (I called it a pinch) in the left side of my chest where one would assume the heart is. Told the docs, they assured me it was not cardiac related. Went back to my primary care who had a sonogram of my tummy etc, did an xray of my spine, Chest CT Scan and a thorasic MRI. Only thing that came back was a slightly slipped disc in my neck.
According to my Primary Care she thinks it is possibly the disc and my own anxiety that makes it worse (since this all started when the heart testing began). But that is hard to beleive when I still have it even if I am not anxious. I take Zoloft for anxiety which helps a lot and have xanax as needed.
But I still get this pain, sometimes it can be constant. Other times I go days without it. I also get it on my right side at times too.
Just so frustrated and not sure where else to go with it? Really are there other tests that can be done or should I just believe this is not a cardiac issue and look else where for answers?
I can go sometime without it bothering me at all. I seem to have a better hold on my anxiety and have learned to control my panic attacks (started with them 14 years ago) but once in a blue moon I have flair ups and it just bugs me a bit. Very frustrating!
Thanks for listening :)
So at the time I started testing, I noticed a "twinge" of pain (I called it a pinch) in the left side of my chest where one would assume the heart is. Told the docs, they assured me it was not cardiac related. Went back to my primary care who had a sonogram of my tummy etc, did an xray of my spine, Chest CT Scan and a thorasic MRI. Only thing that came back was a slightly slipped disc in my neck.
According to my Primary Care she thinks it is possibly the disc and my own anxiety that makes it worse (since this all started when the heart testing began). But that is hard to beleive when I still have it even if I am not anxious. I take Zoloft for anxiety which helps a lot and have xanax as needed.
But I still get this pain, sometimes it can be constant. Other times I go days without it. I also get it on my right side at times too.
Just so frustrated and not sure where else to go with it? Really are there other tests that can be done or should I just believe this is not a cardiac issue and look else where for answers?
I can go sometime without it bothering me at all. I seem to have a better hold on my anxiety and have learned to control my panic attacks (started with them 14 years ago) but once in a blue moon I have flair ups and it just bugs me a bit. Very frustrating!
Thanks for listening :)
I know I need to learn to trust the doctors and not second guess them.
Not an easy thing to do when you've got a lot of anxiety on board. Keep working with a professional to keep ther anxiety down to a manageable level.
Glad to see you around and posting again, just wish for you, it was on better terms!
Not an easy thing to do when you've got a lot of anxiety on board. Keep working with a professional to keep ther anxiety down to a manageable level.
Glad to see you around and posting again, just wish for you, it was on better terms!
Thank you very much for listening to and taking the time to answer my post. I do think it is a lot to do with anxiety and a bit of Health Anxiety and at times it gets me very frustrated. I know I need to learn to trust the doctors and not second guess them.
My original experience with anxiety and panic came from concerns about my heart health. I also had many tests that kept on confirming that medically I was okay and had nothing to worry about concerning my health. Of course, I spent months convincing myself otherwise because I could feel every little pain, palpataion, twinge, etc...you name it I would feel it.
I believe two things happened to me while I was going through this. One, I became so 'hyper-aware' of every little 'symptom' that I associated with heart health. If I felt a pain (or even if it felt just weird) alarm bells would go off and I just knew the doctors had to be missing something--which of course they were not. Second, I would misinterpret those feelings as something catastrophically wrong with me. If I felt a weird pain, palpatation, etc, I would diagnose myself with a problem.
As nursegirl advises, I also believe that counseling is the most important step you can take. One, it will shed some light on a dark subject...in my opinion, we tend to fear what we don't understand so as you learn about it, the anxiety won't seem so insurmountable anymore and two, it will give you the tools necessary to confront it.
The good thing in my mind is that what you are describing pretty much mirrors what I went through years ago (along with many others in this forum), so you are not alone in experiencing this. You are going to get through this, so keep your head up!
I believe two things happened to me while I was going through this. One, I became so 'hyper-aware' of every little 'symptom' that I associated with heart health. If I felt a pain (or even if it felt just weird) alarm bells would go off and I just knew the doctors had to be missing something--which of course they were not. Second, I would misinterpret those feelings as something catastrophically wrong with me. If I felt a weird pain, palpatation, etc, I would diagnose myself with a problem.
As nursegirl advises, I also believe that counseling is the most important step you can take. One, it will shed some light on a dark subject...in my opinion, we tend to fear what we don't understand so as you learn about it, the anxiety won't seem so insurmountable anymore and two, it will give you the tools necessary to confront it.
The good thing in my mind is that what you are describing pretty much mirrors what I went through years ago (along with many others in this forum), so you are not alone in experiencing this. You are going to get through this, so keep your head up!
Well, you've had so many thorough cardiac work-ups that is only makes sense to completely rule out a cardiac concern.
Some people get what is called "atypical angina", which is basically just benign chest pain for no obviously identifiable reason. That may be a possibility in your case. It's probably a combination of the anxiety, the disc, and perhaps some atypical chest pain.
What you have to focus on, is that you have had every test under the sun, and everything has turned out ok! That's a GOOD thing! It's hard to imagine that chest pain isn't something worth worrying about...especially with all of the warnings out there, but remember, you explored it thoroughly with a doctor. You did the right thing, and got a clean bill of health. Also, when you treated the anxiety, you also felt better, which is a big indication that at least some portion of the chest pain is anxiety related.
My advice to you is to continue addressing the anxiety. Are you in therapy? If not, I would recommend that. A therapist can teach you ways to stop the cycle of worrying about your heart every time you feel that sensation.
Some people get what is called "atypical angina", which is basically just benign chest pain for no obviously identifiable reason. That may be a possibility in your case. It's probably a combination of the anxiety, the disc, and perhaps some atypical chest pain.
What you have to focus on, is that you have had every test under the sun, and everything has turned out ok! That's a GOOD thing! It's hard to imagine that chest pain isn't something worth worrying about...especially with all of the warnings out there, but remember, you explored it thoroughly with a doctor. You did the right thing, and got a clean bill of health. Also, when you treated the anxiety, you also felt better, which is a big indication that at least some portion of the chest pain is anxiety related.
My advice to you is to continue addressing the anxiety. Are you in therapy? If not, I would recommend that. A therapist can teach you ways to stop the cycle of worrying about your heart every time you feel that sensation.
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