Heatburn & Anxiety

[anxioustommy3283]

Just a quick curious question.  Does anyone also have heart burn with anxiety? The reason I ask is because whenever I get my heart burn, its almost as if I have lost the ability to understand things like heartburn or a simple headache, and instead and heart attack etc...so overall anyone have heartburn thats dealing with this bologna, and if so do they get that almost numb cold feeling chest, as if the heartburn feels different then it used to I suppose if that makes sense?

Responses appreciated as always!

Thank you!

[sallysusan]

Hi all,
I'm up at 6am (i live in europe) and I absolutely cannot sleep due to heartburn.  I've had anxiety for exactly 5 years now and even though it subsided a lot from what it was at the beginning, it's changed into a bit of constant worry like on hyper-alert all the time.  Basically in the beginning I suffered from lots of panic attacks, then through therapy/meds they stopped. Now i think i have a lot more coping tools so I rarely ever get full-blown anxiety.  However, it's still there - somewhat lingering in the background - I worry about EVERYTHING! So... lately i realised my stomach has become extra sensitive - if i'm at a wedding and eat rich food/drink even slightly, I spend a whole night up feeling nausea etc.  Tonight was unbearable - I didn't do anything special (except had a cappuccino at 7pm - bad idea), and I've been up all night with this really bad pain, not in my chest so much, like in my diaphragm - literally I can feel the acid in my stomach... anyway I've decided to skip work tomorrow & finally go see family doctor... I'm thinking I might have made the lining of my stomach very sensitive maybe with all the adrenalin I experience due to anxiety....

any thoughts?

[neilq5]

Anxiety causes Indigestion which leads to heartburn.
I've been to the doctor over it thinking it was something else and they placed me on medications which didnt help, the only way i got rid of it was to take my mind off it which i done through constant exercise which became unhealthy fast (i was losing nearly 2kg a day from brisk walking for hours and hours which i've had to slow down to my own health)
i noticed that once i wasnt anxious the heartburn would go and when the anxiety started so did the heartburn.
Hope this Helps

[butterfly84777]

You bet!!! The mind is a very powerful thing it's amazing how much it can control us.. I started my issues with anxiety in may and it was awful.. I had so many symptoms and problems, I remember going to this site called anxietycentre.com and looking at symptoms there and litterally out of a hundred I had probably half at some point!! And I love your wording in debilitating cause that's exactly the word I used to use alot when I used to post alot and it's so true.. Anxiety might as well be a a disese for how much pain and suffering and misery it can bring with it.. I don't have health insurance and I still proceeded to get blood wk an MRI, a chest xray, two ekgs, physicals and more because the pain I felt was so real.. And after thousands of dollars I was told I had gad with some panic attacks.. So the pain is debilitating and the brain is very powerful you combine the two and it's not a good combination :-) I went on Xanax and buspar and incorporated eating better and working out an simply trying to relax and not stress and now for the past few months I have been soooooo much better, so it's totally beatable  if you can just put your self back in check I believe, and I was really bad so!!!! Now I'm on Xanax as needed not daily and going off buspar too :-) so keep your head up and don't let this beat you just keep fighting it

[anxioustommy3283]

haha, I really appreciate that post because its the truth, I am truly hypersensitive, every ache pain, a little gas, heartburn, even HUNGER or being TIRED somehow get misconstrued as these somehow bizarre ultra impossible threatening conditions...I guess it comes with the territory of anxiety, but it always helps to hear that its common with anxiety, because like a drug addict trying to recover, I truly believe I need to accept that everything I am feeling is a cause of my anxiety and stop the what ifs...there debilitating and tiresome, because I have been suffering for roughly 8 weeks now, and I mean that not to complain because I certainly understand many have been dealing for far far longer...but I mean that to say if I had any health concerns (and again I have been to the ER 3 times and I am A OK) they would have shown up by now...I have had some decent days as of late and feel like I am improving, and I go see my Quack today! which is always nice, thank you for your post!  

[butterfly84777]

Hey there, I also think it might be cause with anxiety are health symptoms are more obvious, especially if that's what we often have anxiety over to begin with period... I mean I used to get headaches, cramps, heartburn all the time and take a medication of some sort and go about my day. Now it's like you can analyse everything way more, and often make it something it's not.. It's like you know atleast with some part of you that it's not a brain tumor, or something wrong with your heart etc.. But you second quess your self and assume the worst, because they feel differant then they used too :-)

it took alot for me to get over it I had series of test done, just to hear I am fine..  I actually found that going off pretty much all medication has helped alot and replaced it with working out, then I feel like that actually is helping my heart etc.. Instead of harming like my liver or something else if that makes since, kinda like mind over body, positive thinking if you will... Obviously I would check with your doc first before switching a meds routine as OTC can be differant the RX and vis/verse but I am sure you know what I mean :-)   I was able to give up somethings, yet still needed to remain on some, so whatever wks best for you, just to put that out there.. I mean we as anxiety suffers can often say it's all in my head "even if we don't always believe it" so sometimes just changing your ways of thinking and living can effect you day to day life often, and just try and not fixiate on it and eliminate stress where ever you can and then just not focus on the physical symptoms and keep busy and I found that they most often disappeared or improved if nothing else. Because when you have anxiety you notice every little thing, or are more higher alerted to everyday Minor health issues because you are more in tune with your health at this time.. Ok I am totally rambling!!! Sorry :-) have a good day, take care.

[r9c]

Heartburn and the pain produced by it are different from the chestpain in heart attack,chestpain in heart attack are dull pressured or crushing pain that will left u down on ur knees where as chestpain from heartburn is a feeling of burning sensations and it usually goes away as soon once u take antacid for it.