New heart worries

[Gogspurs]

Hi everyone,

My symptoms seen to be changing all the time from twinges to begin with, chest aches, arm aches, panic attacks to the more recent waking up at 4-5am with a pounding heart and numb arm.

I have had all the checks, ECG, blood tests, 24-hour ECG and Echocardiogram which were all normal. I even saw a Harley Stree Private Cardiologist who put my mind at rest.

Since then however and over the past 2-3 weeks my symptoms are mainly thumping heart all the time especially when waking from a deep sleep and numbness in my arm. I have not experienced this previously and I am now worried that things have changed since my checks and I want to go through it all again for peace of mind as the results may be different now, I have for the past 3 months felt that something was not right but I hope it is just anxiety even though I thought i was over it! :weep:

Id like to hear from anyone going through the same experiences.

Best wishes - George

[Arnie365]

Hi George

I can relate to this. I've had numerous tests on my heart and also seen a specialist at bupa because I jut didnt believe it was just anxiety. Turned out it was. Despite feeling massively reassured for a few days I still get Chest pains. Sometimes twinges, some times stabbing, some times pressure and tightness in the middle. I get numb feelings in my left arm and sometimes a pain in the left side of my neck.

It's just anxiety! I know all too well how those seeds of doubt grow in your mind. I'm on day 41 of fluoxetine and have started therapy and making good progress. I can now handle the one of pains fine. Where I'm struggling is when they are persistent for a couple of hours. I guess the constant barrage is too much for my resistance at the moment!

Despite knowing all this in these moments of weakness and doubt I think maybe I should get another test. It's a safety mechanism and reassurance feature. Again you may feel reassured for a bit but its not really addressing your underlying problems which for me is a fear of death and having a heart attack. I think only therapy can sort this for me.

[Gogspurs]

Thanks for sharing your experiences Arnie.

It sounds like we are both in the same boat. My health anxiety has eased compared to a couple of months ago and i am not experiencing panic attacks as such anymore, just worry!

I did see a therapist just before Christmas and his advice was to stop putting myself in positions which leads to the worry, e.g, checking my pulse, talking about my heart, googling etc. I didn't make plans to go back for more CBT but after your comments, I may have to revisit this option.

I too have the fear of death and having a heart attack or stroke!

I hope your 2013 is a good one and all the best with the anxiety.

Thanks again!