Blood Pressure/Health Anxiety/GERD/IBS (Hi, by the way!)

Hi, folks! Nice to be on this lovely forum and it's always good to see that places like this exist amongst the scaremongering health sites. I reckon that self-diagnosis via the net has caused my little bit of health anxiety single-handedly since I was always fine as a kid.

Anyway, if any of you kind folks could give me some kind of input into this if anybody knows about it, that'd be great. I love a good bit of reassurance when that awkward part of me won't believe that I have what I was diagnosed with.

Right, here's the story. Are you sitting comfortably? A good 3 years ago now I was having abdominal cramps and twinges (and a year or so before that but very very mildly) which had suddenly gotten quite sharp, as well as, well, crapping like a Mexican. Silly old me went on the internet and ended up terrified of appendicitis, went back and forward to the doctor for a long time and it took me forever to convince myself I didn't have "grumbling appendix" which would lead to the real thing - something which is so unusual that a lot of doctors don't even believe it exists anymore.

Eventually settling into a life with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and conquering it to the point where I can live happily day to day without it getting me down, my constant acid reflux/heartburn which I had ignored for the past, what, 6 years, had been getting a little worse, perhaps from the Peppermint Oil or the improving diet to combat the IBS - who knows, but I had a night of quite upsetting chest pain under the breastbone (after having taken Gaviscon for very strong heartburn). Terrified of a heart issue, I got my mother (a healthcare assistant) to take my blood pressure in the middle of the night, which came out absolutely perfect. Sucked on a mouthful of rennies, listening to calming hypnotism CDs until I fell asleep, and didn't feel it again for a month.

So one day, when my IBS had been bad, I made the idiotic mistake of eating absolutely nothing but peppermint flavoured mints all day to get rid of the hunger pangs, and I started suffering the pains again - went to see the doc who told me that indigestion and acid reflux also causes that kind of pain, not just the burning sensation, and put me on a course of 20mg omeprazole tablets, which I now have on repeat perscription and take every day. It seemed to calm down, whether to do with the tabs or not I don't know, and I managed to stop fearing a heart episode (hell, I'm only 22, I don't smoke, I'm just the right weight, while not as active as I could be, I do my fair share of walking, my blood pressure is perfect and there's no family history!) until I started noticing aches and pains in my arms, most commonly the left. Very few websites mention arm pain under indigestion/GERD (though one or two have said that the pain can spread to the arms) and when getting the pain also in the shoulders, neck and shoulderblades with the left arm still prominant, it just led me into total fear again. Blood pressure checked at the doctor - perfect again - chances of a heart condition in me were so low that the computer couldn't display them on the chart because it was below the bottom and stays there until I am 35 years old.

So I finally learned to not use the net to diagnose myself unless I'm ready to look harder to find the common, more benign conditions, and then some bloody thing comes on GMTV about Heart Disease and "what to look for", and I haven't really felt settled ever since. Asked "can young people get heart disease with no family history?" to 118118 - really shouldn't have because those guys have to say yes to stuff like that else in the rare condition that somebody does get it they'd be sued...

So here I am, with my left elbow and pinky knuckle (Can you say that? Pinky knuckle? Sounds like some obscure videogame creature or something) aching and throbbing as I type and a tightness in my breastbone, trying to ignore it and remember that I'm not dying, looking for a bit of company and reassurance from anybody who had the time to read this behemoth of a post. I feel like I'm not dying, but there's that part of me who goes "but what if I am!" and is able to link up the symptoms and feel like the chest pain is spreading to the arm etc and magnify everything. Hell I slept on my left arm 2 nights ago and it caused it to cramp up, of course it should ache, so why can't I convince that other part of me that it's benign arm pains and my oesophagus hurting in my chest not my heart?

So, something somebody may be able to tell me here - is blood pressure something checked when trying to rule out heart disease in hospitals and things? The doctor told me my chances were so low that it wasn't even worth going to a specialist and I thought - is blood pressure something they do first and then go "hm, it's not high, it's probably not heart disease" or does it really say nothing about me? From what I've read I figure you'd have to have high blood pressure in order for heart disease to even form, but meh...

Perhaps my mind is magnifying everyday muscular/skeletal aches and pains because I'm afraid from the chest pain - I mean often get the pains when my chest isn't even playing up at all...

So please, help reassure me, before I type any more!

Thanks.



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Stopping typing now.

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Generally heart problems do occur from high blood pressure so I would say you have nothing to worry about!

Try some deep breathing. Breathe in through your nose slowly and out through your mouth slowly.

I suffer almost exactly the same symptoms! I have a tightness in my ribs, especially on the left side, I get sharp pain under my ribs on the left, upper back pain, pains in my left shoulder and armpit, and toilet trouble.

The pains in the arms and hands are caused by anxiety, definately. I got them really bad a couple of years ago, when I was having panic attacks, and they went away when I had a short course of anti-depressants.

Try not to worry, although I know that may well be difficult for you :hugs:

Thank you so much, both of you! :)

Nice to meet you, as well.

Charlottie, you sure? Because that's the ultimate reassurance for me! :)

Hey,

I can totally empathise with your situation as I've been through exactly the same thing!

For years I've been paranoid about having heart disease, although in my case, there IS a history of it in my family, I did smoke for a long time and I AM over weight lol

I suffer from a lot of acid reflux which causes sharp chest pains and have a hiatus hernia which exacerbates the problem. I've been suffereing with this for over 10 years and still to this day, often think I'm going to have a heart attack when clearly I've just got indigestion!

I remember when I first started having these problems, I often had pain in my arm (left, of course) and back and was told by my GP that it was "reffered pain" from the reflux. Not sure I ever believed that but there you go!

I did however end up having a number of tests on my heart which all turned out to be normal and did in fact help with the anxiety / panic attacks a great deal at the time.

That was a number of years ago now though and over time, the anxiety / panic disorder has crept back fuelled by the thought that heart disease could have developed *since* those tests...

I have to say I often feel that the irrational, anxiety-driven part of me is aa seperate entity from my rational mind, constantly whispering unsettling and contradictory thoughts in my ear causing me to doubt things which everyone else accepts as the norm.

Norms like "men under 35 are highly unlikely to have heart attacks" to which the paranoid part of me will quickly pipe up and remind anyone in listening range that I know TWO men under the age of 30 that have had heart attacks.

It seems it has an answer to everything!

I'm not sure if any of this is helping or making you feel worse so I think I'll shut up now lol

Please rest assured you're defintely not alone!

Cheers,
Terry

I am sure yes!

Thanks again, everyone. My attacks are getting rarer and rarer and I'm dealing with them better all the time, but I still tend to get difficulties now and again. I just hope I can clear this problem by the time I hit 35, because if I am having chest pains when I'm over 35, then I'll probably get scared...

Hi, I know how you feel because I get horrible pains in my chest and arm and they really scare me even though it is because of acid and trapped wind. Its really hard to stop your brain from thinking bad things. I get palpitations and even though I have had them millions of times I still get really freaked out by them. My doctor has tried so many times to reassure me and I still doubt what he says!
Sometimes you have to try and stop your brain from thinking that any little ache, pain, lump, bump, funny heart beat is something life threatening.
In your case, you are young, healthy and have no cause for concern about heart disease. I am pretty sure if your doctor had any doubt he would have sent you for tests.
It is really rare for people under 35 to suffer heart disease, heart attacks or strokes. Your body (including your heart) are well designed and strong enough to support you until your old and in your rocking chair! If our hearts were really as weak as we thought they were then lots of people would be dropping down dead everywhere!!
Your blood pressure seems to be spot on and this is a very good indication that you are healthy.
I hope this helps in someway......now, if only I could take some of my own advice!! :blush:

Vicki

This all sound svery familiar.

Mine all started with pain in my side where I assumed my appendix was and was convinced I had an appendicitis or a grumbling appendix. Dr said no straight away and I worried about it for ages. I still get the pain now and then but this is 6 years later and I presume I would have keeled over by now.

The pattern you're describing really is exactly how mine manifestered itself and I think I am worse since I realised you can look things up on the net.

Tests I think have slightly made me worry like grumpy_guts. I worry that something has developed since the tests were taken.

I am in a lot of pain with muscular tension etc so you really need to nip this in the bud as early as possible as it is horrible if it festers on.

I too worry about the indigestion as I get it regularly and with my it feel like I can't get his breathe and I get pain in my back and at the bottom of my breastbone.

Yesterday I was reading 'healthy magazine' by holland and barrett and it was talking about a healthy heart and wham right just there were symptoms of a heart attack! Well that wasn't the kind of thing that should have been put in front of me You can try and avoid these things but sometimes they are so in your face you can't help but see them.

Hiya, I suffer from nearly all the symtoms you do too, but in my case its a little different cos I actually do have a heart condition but all the symtoms I have like yours are NOT related to my heart at all. When I have had problems with my heart, they are completly different & nothing like anxiety symptoms. I have told my cardiologist about them (the anxiety feelings) so many times & he looks at me as if I am mad that I think they are related to my heart. Trust me, if it was your heart or anything else serious you would know about it. You just have to accept its anxiety, it's the only way to move on. I have IBS too, its a right old pain in the @rse I know, excuse the pun! lol PM if you ever need to chat. But trust me, its anxiety only! xxxxx