aaarrgh! driving myself loopy!

[gothic_rose]

I first suffered from panic disorder 12 years ago, and despite a handful of panic attacks over the years, they have become few and far between until now, where the disorder decided to giftwrap itself to me for christmas, which has resulted in me suffering repeating panic attacks for the last 5 days.

my trigger then as it is now, is chest pain. I have a bit of a 'thing' about heart attacks and Im very frightened about getting one so I suppose this is how my anxiety manifests itself. I dont know its just a thought. Im seeing a dr and getting medication as I dont want this disorder to rule my life as it did before.

what concerns me, is that I know chest pain/discomfort is commen with anxiety and panic attacks. But i dont have a panic attack until after I have experienced chest pain. Every time I have had an attack its been because I have felt a twinge or pain or odd sensation in my chest and because I have such a phobia of heart related illnesses (angina is my new thing to freak out over. I know Im not having a heart attack cos its been 5 days and I would nt be sitting here whinging at my pc), the panic attack kicks in whenever I feel something.

a panic attack can cause chest pain but is it commen to experience the chest pain before the anxiety manifests into a fulls scale panic attack? because I expereince the chest pain first, I get frigtened that theres something wrong and then the panic kicks in. And because Im having a panic attack, I get more chest pain!

I have had 2 ecgs this year, one last year and all were fine. My BP is a bit raised as I have borderline high BP due to having pre eclampsia twice. My heart and lungs were listened to 2 days ago, my oxygen output is 100% and my dr is adament nothing is wrong with my heart. But nothing is reassuring me and despite the diazipam Im taking to calm me down Im still experiencing pain.

my pain is central and slightly over the top of my left breast Its a dull, heavy, achey pain that come and goes for hours. Sometimes it twinges, mostly its just uncomfortable and frigtening. I also experience a
burning hot sensation, that strats in the middle of my chest and radiates across to my upper back. My docter says its adrenaline.

Also just throwing this out there but I dont hyperventalate when I have a panic attack. I just quietly freak out over my pain and cry and get incredably frightened that Im dying.

Do any of these things sound familar to anyone else?

Thank you for reading.

---------- Post added at 21:54 ---------- Previous post was at 21:43 ----------

sorry just wanted to add Im not asking anyone to diagnose me just asking if others who have panic attacks get anything similar?

[Izzie2494]

I get chest pain a lot, I have it at the moment! I have a dull ache in the centre of my chest, then sometimes little pains in my arms, it's very scary but I'm almost 100% it's anxiety! X

[Mark13]

I don't have panic attacks but I do have GAD and it does get triggered by events and sometimes symptoms. This is because I've grown so accustomed to feeling this way and not being able to relax or experience calm, my body is on alert and generating physical symptoms all the time. Even when there are no triggers my anxiety level is high which is why I get symptoms which I then worry about.

[Arnie365]

Hi Gothic

Wow I could have wrote that myself word for word!

I've been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks for 7 months now. I triggered mine by being stupid and smoked a legal high. This brought on my first ever full blown panic attack which I was convinced was a heart attack. Everything was like I've ever read, heard or seen about them. Anyway rushed to hospital all tests fine and let go. 2 visits back since with same and finally starting to accept its anxiety (I've skipped big sections there to keep it brief).

I have always had a fear o a heart attack for as long as I can recall and I think I'm getting to the bottom of this now with therapy.

Anyway, I love this forum and I've found it so much help to me but you are the first person with identical symptoms. I too don't hyperventilate with a panic attack.

Also, my doctor and therapist have both told me that its actually your anxiety in your sub conscious which brings the symptom on then your conscious mind fixates on it feeding your anxiety and making the symptoms worse. This is what worried me most for ages. I just kept thinking that if only I felt anxious then got chest pain I'd know it was a symptom mine is the other way round so the doctors have missed something. Turns out that's not true! I have chest pains even when I'm feeling great and couldn't consciously feel less anxious so obviously something is still bubbling away and being triggered below the surface.

Anyway PM me if you like. Sounds we have so much in common!

[gothic_rose]

omg your the first person to say that and Im so relieved!

I too think I would feel so much better if I got (conciously) anxious before the symptoms started as then I would know why I was feeling so ill. Well I say that now, I suppose it panic attacks are awful no matter how they start.

What your therapist says sounds similar to what people have told me, yet your the first person Ive found that actually experiences it. My chest pain has never fitted how 'medical' people describe it whilst experiencing a panic attack. e.g it does nt peak after 10 mins, feels sharp and hurts more when I touch my chest or breathe in. Which makes me feel so much worse!

thank you, all of you for replying.
of course Im happy to pm anybody :)

xx

[Arnie365]

I know what you mean. I also rarely get palpitations it's more just either stabbing pains on the left or right or a pressure feeling in the middle and I don't really get dizzy with them or pins and needles or any other the other horrible things others on here suffer with. I think you are right in what you say as with me that because ive always had a fear of a heart attack this is why my anxiety is manifesting itself in this way. I guess if id always had a fear of getting a brain tumour i probably would be getting constant headaches now instead. Isnt anxiety wonderful eh!

The other week I had a really severe pressure pain in the middle which felt like it radiated out in a band across my chest. I'd seen a poster in my GP surgery warning about heart attacks saying if it feels like pressure in a band across your chest call 999 etc. anyway I resisted the temptation to ring because I am starting to get better and be more accepting and trusting its anxiety given my heart has been tested so many times. I would really hard to resist but I did.

I was booked in at the GP the next day anyway for a 4 week check on my fluoxetine so I told her about this and she said it didnt sound remotely like cardiac pain and is indigestion (what she is putting most of my chest pains down to). It's no wonder that us with anxiety who are super sensitive to our bodies get so freaked out because our minds go into over drive when the doctor could tell me within seconds it wasn't cardiac based. Argh!

The biggest thing I've learnt so far is that acceptance of it being 'just' anxiety is the most important part. I still get those automatic hot thoughts as my therapist calls them when a chest pain comes on but slowly I'm training my mind to not freak out when it happens and rationalise its just anxiety. I'm hoping enough of this CBT and my sub conscious will get bored and my anxiety will give up!

[gothic_rose]

see I dont hyperventilate, get palpatations, erractic or missed heart beats, most of the time I dont even get an increased heart rate. Just these god awful chest pains and sensations which frighten the whatsists out of me and convince me something is oh so wrong with me and the impending sense of instant death and panic.

My chest feels tight, heavy, with a pressure and sometimes stabbing pains and all the other things your supposed to feel during an angina / heart attack.My symptoms have never slotted into the 'normal' anxiety tick sheet agenda.

Im so glad you replied, thank you for making my day easier.

xx

[Arnie365]

Have you tried or do you exercise? From what the doctor told me stable angina is triggered by exertion. As I tend to get most of mine whilst not doing anything it pretty much rules that out. I have pushed myself at the gym and had no chest pains (though still not quite cracked the fear of going back to the gym full time yet- irrational I know but that's where I am).

The doctor also told me you have to have a form of stable angina for it to turn into unstable angina so again rules me and I'm guessing you to out of it.

I think because of our symptoms we go searching for something it could be. We are fine!

[gothic_rose]

yep Im fine after excersising. I know its all in my head.

I thought the panic attack was finally over after 5 very long days but it started again last night. Still have chest pain now but Im so tired I just cant be bothered to worry about it any more. if it kills me it kills me I am far to exhausted to care!

happy new year to you.

oh and thank you for the info bout angina. I did nt know that. I like your docter lol

[Arnie365]

Ive felt that like at times. Sometimes I just almost will a heart attack to come on so that at least I can point at the doctors and say Ha I told you something was wrong with my heart!

My GP is really good and understanding but of course I only get 5 minutes with her. The doctor I keep referring to was a private one with Bupa. I got so bad I booked a full medical assessment with them just before Christmas. I was supposed to get 45mins with him to discuss my results but he talked to me for an hour and half even ringing his wife mid way through to say he was going to be late home! He told me he used to work as a physician at a mental health unit so was well used to people with health anxiety.

He was brillliant and really set my mind at ease about every illness or disease that had crossed my mind that I could throw at him. In the end I had to give up and accept im fine!

Happy New Year to you and everyone else as well. Lets hope its anxiety free for us all!

[gothic_rose]

I hope you had an anxiety free new year too :)

start new meds tomorrow. even though I feel ok today (and yesterday was good too) I dont want any more so hopefully this wioll work for me.