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Thread: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

  1. #1

    Unhappy anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    i have been suffering with panic attacks since march. i have recently been able to control them and instead have got terrible hypochondria. however, the only time i get really anxious is after drinking alcohol. i went out last night and today i keep feeling my chest tighten, my ears are ringing, my hands are tingling and i have that weird crawling feeling all over my head. alcohol aside, the other feeling i have been having recently (even when i haven't been drinking) is a sort of hollowness where my heart should be, as if the left side of my chest feels completely different to the right side. it makes me so anxious and i can't ignore it. i have had a heart scan (from when i first had a panic attack and thought it was a heart attack) which came back completely normal. does anyone get this symptom? also, should i just stop drinking altogether until i feel significantly better?

    any advice would be appreciated!

    sally x

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    78

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    Hiya, I have panic attacks and yes when I drink I seem to be worse the next day, but this maybe be due to the medication I'm on I'm not sure.

    I could never not drink again so I put up with it x

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    39

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    I'm going through the same thing right now. Never experienced chest pain and real tightness untill recently and if it wasn't such a common thing I would probably be stuck to the inside of the loo right now...!!

    Fact is, it's completley normal. The cavity surrounding your heart is stressed via muscle tension when you are anxious, it's not in any way harmful, but try imagining swinging a golf club for hours on end, eventually the muscles and joints and things around your shoulders will start to ache and become sore.

    But yeah, I know it can be scary. As long as you have KNOWLEDGE about these things, you will know how to deal with it. Think of a sky-dive, you would brick it I'm sure if you had never seen or heard of one before till you're up at 20,000ft about to make the jump. Then you find out that you have a well-trained dude on yer back with a parachute knowing that after the rush, you will gracefully glide down to safety....you would suddenly feel more at ease.

  4. #4

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    Hi Sally,

    I am the same after a night out and thought i would have to give up drink also but i went out at the weekend and drank but not loads and i felt alot better the next day. So maybe we should just watch how much we are drinking?

    I have also had to have tests on my heart cos i was getting really bad
    Palpitations and eveything came back normally also.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    150

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    I've had all my bad panic attacks the day after drinking loads of alcohol. I gave up for 5 weeks after the last one but I couldn't shake off the anxiety not drinking so I started having a few glasses of wine a day to calm me down. Not an ideal situation I admit.

    I'd say give up if it makes you feel better or just stick to a few if you are ok with that. Or just accept you are going to feel rubbish, what's worse? the not drinking or the anxiety after drinking?
    __________________

  6. #6

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    Hey Sally,

    I can't relate to the chest pain your experiencing but I have stopped drinking since I have started suffering more frequent panic attacks then usual in the last 3 months or so. I have to say I feel much better for it. It's only temporary until I feel better, I've just been trying to take a bit more care of myself. Why not try it for a while to find out if it is an alcohol related problem?

    Sparkle
    x

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    35

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    sounds almost identical to me sally. your symptoms are exactly what i started experiencing around january and have been there since. daily i have pains in my chest and my anxiety means i often cannot shake off the 'heart attack' idea. however i have also had all possible tests on my heart(echo, x ray, countless ecgs, etc!) i still find it difficult to believe at times but im sure all these tests cant have missed something if it was wrong!
    just try telling yourself the experts have checked you out and told you theres nothing to worry about. trust me i know how diff it can be but its really what you have to convince yourself.

    as for alcohol, i also feel most terrible the next day. however, i am slowly learning to just live with the fact that this will happen, and that no matter how bad i feel nothin serious is going to happen as a result. i often spend most of the day after a lot of drink thinking im having a heart attack! its certainly not pleasant(understatement of the century!) but im a 20 yr old student and as yet stopping drinking completely is something ive not been able to or wanted to do!
    i guess its all about how much you want to continue drinking and can you put up with the feeling the next day.
    i have recently discovered that i dont feel nearly so bad if i stick to beer all night. i have put this down to the amounts of caffeine in mixers(esp red bull/coke), shots and alcopops?! its worth a try staying off high caffeine drinks.

    hope some of this helps

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    59

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    If you keep drinking find a level that you can cope with. I find if I drink half a bottle of wine I feel fine the next day, a whole bottle and it's a completely different story and panic is very likely to set in - as well as all the usual hangover symptoms! If you do drink make sure you are well hydrated with lots of soft drinks and eat often the following day to make sure your blood sugar levels don't drop. B vitamins or marmite will help the morning after!

    Also get yourself outside for a walk or doing something active if you have a hangover rather than just vegging on the sofa, focussing on your symptoms.

    Drinking excessively is likely to increase your anxiety, however we have to have a life too and drinking in moderation should be acheivable.

  9. #9

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    Hello all, I believe cutting the drink out all together until you have mastered the panic attacks. Anything like this will only increase the chances of you having one.

    Something I found out a while back, eating regualy, controlling your sugar intake seems to help too. This i know does not take away the fear, but it helps.

  10. #10

    Re: anxiety/panic attacks/weird feeling in chest/alcohol

    Hi all, I get the "Heart Attack" feelings and I know they are not as I too have had countless tests and also a full treadmill test which came back fine, I've had lung tests, kidney tests you name it I've had them, but do any of you have trouble with your sides of your chest being painful too and an awful pan in the centre of your Back?

    Anyway thought I'd make it a short post..

    Speak soon

    Andrew

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