What is it?

[HealthyAthlete]

Hello, I am healthy athletic 15 year old boy that is anxious. About 2 weeks ago, after a three hour intense soccer practice, I started having this sharp pain on the left side of my chest only when I would take a deep breath. I tried sleeping it off but it didn't go away. (I practice 3 times a week regularly) I went to the doctor and they said it could've been a muscle problem and they said to take Advil. The pain didn't go away so I went back and they said it was the same thing because my lungs and heart sounded fine. After a couple of days the pain would eventually go away but I was still worried that something was wrong with my heart because I did a bunch of reading on the Internet that ended up scaring me. A week ago I went on vacation to the beach. I went on a thrill ride which was a boat ride and the lady that hosted it said, "if you have any heart conditions please sit in the back" - that got me scared because I was sort of in the front. So when we were going fast I started to hyperventilate and my legs and arm became numb. I was so scared I went to the ER and they said I most likely hyperventilated because both my legs and arms were numb. I told them about my chest pain so they took an EKG. My results were abnormal, (I was anxious during it so it could have affected the test) and they told me it was very close to normal so to not worry about anything. Now I'm at home and 2 days ago I got what is called a palpitation. I freaked out but started reading and it said it could be perfectly normal. The next night I got another one but it was shorter. (Mind that both of them only lasted about 4 seconds.) I told my parents and they scheduled an appointment for Thursday with a cardiologist. Now it's 2 days after and I feel perfectly fine but I still want to go because what if I have something underlying that I don't know about. I have mucus in my throat and after a soccer practice on Sunday I felt like fainting (lot of running) I only cough when I feel mucus in my throat. Also know that when I was a infant doctors said I had an enlarged heart but I grew into it when I was 3, maybe this can affect me but I'm not sure. I always read online and scare myself because most of my symptoms are for critical medical condition. Then my dad told me I wasn't drinking enough water, and all the symptoms do correspond to dehydration too. So I started drinking more water the last few days and I feel better. I'm writing this to hear other opinions from people that have had the same thing. (The chest pain comes sometimes but doesn't really hurt)

[MichelleP_3811]

I know. Anxiety can easily get away from you and take over your life. It happens to a lot of people. I had a lot of it when I was younger and I just tried to push past it and I managed but it makes life very difficult. A doctor once suggested counseling to me and honestly I should have taken him up on it.  Would have saved me a lot of grief.  All in all a big factor in it is purely habit.  It's a hard habit to break but you can learn to respond to life in new healthier better ways but you do have to put your mind to it because it is your mind that is playing tricks on you. Best of luck  You can get past the anxiety.  Take care.

[HealthyAthlete]

Thank you so much, I can't believe I let anxiety run my life, but thank you so much, I really needed to hear something like that!

[MichelleP_3811]

Please keep in mind that I am not a doctor so if you are ever concerned about anything it's important to discuss it with a doctor.  That said, I agree with your father.  The initially issue was likely due to over doing it and dehydration.  Your heart is a muscle and like any muscle it can get overworked.  If it was something more serious the pain likely would be all the time not just when you breath in.  As well the issue on the roller coaster very well was a panic attack.  The numbness happens during a panic attack.  And palpitations are usually caused by stress and anxiety but are deemed of no concern in an otherwise healthy heart.  Also a lot of people have an abnormal reading on their ekgs and all is fine.  The machines are very sensitive so it is usually the doctor who looks to see if there is anything to be concerned about.  So I would take the word of the doctor and not fret too much about what the machine labelled it.  

You are still young at 15 so I suggest that you talk to your parents about all these health fears that you have.  It is very easy to scare yourself looking things up on the internet.  It can be a useful tool but it needs to be approached with an objective discerning eye where the person is being truly honest on whether the symptoms really match.  This can usually be gauged by looking at all the symptoms together.  In most cases you may have one but not a lot of the others so use it as a reference and not as a reason to get scared or you will just run around in circles fearing one illness after the next.  This can turn into a lifetime struggle if you do not try to get on top of it now. I am not suggesting that you put your head in the sand if you feel something is wrong but do your best to have faith that the doctors are right in saying that there doesn't appear to be anything to worry about.   If need be maybe see a counselor for a time to learn some ways to better deal with your symptoms so you don't have to fall into panic and ruin your day.  

I am here if you want to talk more but do try to not worry so much and go out and have fun.  take care.