Please Help

[Madeleine_Duce]

Hello,
I am a 21 year old female. I started getting breathing problems about 3 months ago and everything has got much worse since then. I get sharp pain in the centre of my chest and sometimes the pain is slightly to the left which last a few seconds I get sudden stong aches in my shoulders and down my arms sometimes the ache is coming from my chest, I have breathing difficulties throughtout the day I feel light headed alot. Today my lips are slightly blue and I feel sick I also have heart palpitations and I have sharp pains in the left and right side of my upper body.My chest feels tight and heavy and I have an ach in my heart. My GP says its anxiety but I am convinced I have a heart problem that they have not found. I have had 2 ECGs that have been fine. I am so scared I am going to have a heart attack or die. I asked if I could have any other tests to see if my heart is ok but he said no as i've had 2 ECGs. Please help as I would really appreciate some help and advice at this time. I have had no other health problems other than this. I really fell as if something is not right with my heart.

[cj29]

I had my first panic attack 3 years ago and made the trip to the ER multiple times all with good results concerning my heart.  Once I realized it was anxiety and panic, this was the toughest challange I had to face my entire life.  I was afraid to walk up a flight of stairs, my chest hurt, and I had every cardiac pain in the book, and was convinced I was going to die any moment!  To get through this, I was put on medication and talked with a great therapist who helped get me through this and I was panic free for years.

It has returned and I am going through the exact same thing again.  I am have chest pains, arm pains, back pains, raised bp at the doc's office, but even though it is as bad as last time, I am able to deal with it because I know the way I think.  In a way it is harder this time, because I haven't even had an EKG this time, because the doc's said that I had such an extensive workup in 2005, that I am still okay.  But what I have done this time, is confront it head on.  I have joined this forum, and gone back to a therapist.  In the beginning, it is so VERY hard and working through this panic is the hardest thing I ever had to do.  I COMPLETELY understand what you are going through (as many people here do), but for me, this is one of the best places I have found to confront this.  This community is amazing; you will get 'tough love' sometimes, but there are people in here that have spent decades dealing with these issues and have gone on to live great lives.  You WILL get through this, and believe it or not, I think it has and is making me a better person for it!

[RubyWitch]

First off, you need to go and have a very thorough medical work-up. Secondly, you should really, very seriously, consider getting in front of a therapist. And last, but not least, you stated that you have made seven trips to the ER for pretty much the same symptoms, but now they are not giving you any medication. I can tell you why and you're not going to like it.
I work in a hospital and when someone keeps coming in with the same symptoms, they become known as "frequent flyers." And you know whats written across the top of your chart? Two little letters...........DS! Wanna know what they stand for? DRUG SEEKER. Told you ya wouldn't like it. But in that year that you made the seven trips to the ER, the question is raised as to WHY you haven't sought help for the anxiety that keeps you commin' back for more. If you had spent that year with a good therapist, you would not be camped out in the ED looking for a very short term "fix" for your problems. Don't blame the docs for not handing out the meds............you have earned your reputation.
I'm sorry to be rather mean and blunt about this. I know your symptoms are very real to you just as mine are to me, but we can't simply go on and on, covering up with drugs, what and where the REAL problem lies. It's not your heart. It's your mind.
Seek help, not drugs!
Peace
Greenlydia  

[wonderbelli]

I really think you were describing my symptoms. I mean what you wrote is exactly what i could have wrote about me. I have been having these symptoms and then another, sweating! profusely. I think that its just anxiety, but the discomfort really worries me. and I think that the fact that I worry about it must make it worse. although for the time that I am talking to you I feel nothing. there seems to be no ryme or reason to the pattern these symptoms take. they come and go every couple of minutes and can be worse at night, sometimes morning to! I know that anxiety can make it feel like a heart attack or something, and the doctors have given me a few ekg's this year. they chalk it up to stress and anxiety. but these symptoms feel real! I mean I actually do have chest pains. its not imagination! I hate that the dr.'s look at me like Im a nut job cause I came in to see them at the local ER like 7 times in a year with pretty much the same symptoms. and recently they have not given me meds for it either! like they used to! the thing is, I hope that  I am not dying~ I mean i pretty much think 32 is too young  to be dying of a heart attack. I am not obese! I do smoke, but not too much. I used to have a drinking and drug problem , but I quit a year and a half ago. so its nice to have somebody that can identify with me!

[JSGeare]

First of all, please JOIN this community. Instructions appear below.

For right now, you may find it remarkable that there is nothing like good old panic and anxiety to make people actually want to find a heart problem as the cause, since that would at least tell us what's wrong.

But based on your tests, it appears that your heart is NOT the problem even though it may feel that way.

I suggest, therefore, that you get in touch with a shrink who can prescribe a course of meds to help you cope, and therapy to figure out why you are having these problems. And, while we are waiting for that, you can read through the posts here to get some idea of what ohers have done to overcome exactly the same issues as you face, and of course, you can join us.

You might also want to spare a thought for what was going on in your life when problems started to appear. This can help you find a point of entry to come to terms with the emotional and psychological material that's bugging you. OK: here's how to join: just click the Join Link -enter some profile information about yourself -even a picture if you care to- and anything you think would help us get to know you faster and better, and you can change this material whenever you like. You will also be accessible to receive private messages when other members click the name you've given yourself -sort of a "push to talk" feature. After you've done that, spend some time just using various features of the forum. For example, to see all the posts or responses that someone has made, just click their handle, go to their profile, click Posts, and read to your heart's content. You may also enter search terms -including member names- in the search box at the upper right of your screen and the system will retrun everything matching the term(s) you entered. This INCLUDES a drug database that will give you both user posts about drugs as well as the medical information about the drug. A great way to get quick answers about therapeutic effect, side effects, interactions, etc.

One of the profile categories is your mood, which you may change anytime you like.

Along the right side of your screen is a section of Recent Activity, which not only alerts you to new posts, but new ANYTHING, including journal entries and mood. This is a way to telegraph the community at large without actually creating a separate post. Thus, if you see a friend's mood has changed while you are working on a response or post, it can alert you to send them a private message to learn more or simply let them know you're thinking of them. Likewise, if you are going to be "out," you could enter something like "off line for the night" as your mood, and people would know you're away from the forum for awhile.

If you do this kind of exploring and experimenting right away, you'll be up-to-speed quickly. If you see the message you are reading now as part of a direct response I (or anyone) has made to one of your posts, it was probably copied and pasted from this journal. I hate form letters and auto-responses as much as anyone -but I also hate forgetting to tell people what they need to know, so this is my safety-net. Consider it as part of your "Welcome" kit. So -please join and try things out.

You might also want to read my entries for the "Right Click Trick" and "When in Haste, Use Copy 'n Paste" for some other convenient time-savers.

We're glad you are here, and were with you all the way!