backfromthebrink
25-04-13, 09:50
Can anyone else relate to this or give me any advice? I'm 35yo and female.
I'm getting these chest pains, which are a tightening in the centre of my chest on the left of the breast bone. I can get the chest pains at any time: This morning I'd just woken up and was lying in bed, and I got them. I got them waiting in the waiting room at the doctor's once, sometimes sitting at my computer… etc. I run at the gym and I sometimes think I'm getting them mildly whilst exercising but not any more than at any other time, and they've never been enough to stop me exercising - I run through them, as I tell myself it's anxiety and I won't let it stop me.
I had something similar about 5-8 yrs ago, and I went to my GP. He said it would be extremely unlikely, given my age and sex, for it to be my heart. He asked me if I was stressed at the time, and I said YES - very. He did a cholesterol blood test - but I think that was done more to reassure me than because he thought it would be useful. That came back normal. After that, I told myself to forget about it because he wasn't worried about it - and I went on a relaxing holiday to visit my parents back where I grew up, and it seemed to go away. At least - I haven't been aware of it for many years.
At the moment I'm again going through massive anxiety (I may need to have a little operation - a laparoscopy - to diagnose endometriosis, and this is making me incredibly anxious as I've never had surgery before). And I've got the chest pain back again. As much as I tell myself it is just anxiety, it is really SCARY when it happens. I also know that the chest pain starts first and then I feel the fear because of it - I don't have a panic attack/fear and then get the chest pain.
I went back to my doctor. He is v nice but said essentially the same thing again. I asked for a referral to a cardiologist and an exercise ECG, but he said these often come back with false positives (ie - nothing wrong with your heart, but the test says there might be) - and that can then result in further tests, some of them invasive and carrying risks. (He mentioned injecting things into arteries?!). So he said he was reluctant to refer me because it was v unlikely to be my heart and because of the risk of a false positive on an exercise ECG.
But he did give me a resting ECG, which the nurse did at the surgery and the doctor said he'd phone if there was anything not normal about it. He didn't phone, so I assume it was normal.
So now I'm in the position of getting these chest pains and not knowing whether I should just ignore them and put it down to anxiety (this seems a bit dangerous to me, as I haven't had that many tests?!), or whether I should go back to my GP and press for a referral - despite what he said. He will always refer if you really want a referral, he doesn't refuse.
What about a 24/48 hr holter monitor, rather than an exercise ECG - would that be a better thing to request? Then I can record what my heart is doing at the time I get the pain. Can a GP do that, or would I need to be referred?
One little 3 minute ECG test doesn't reassure me that it's not my heart somehow…. :weep: Can anyone help? Anyone been in a similar situation?
I'm getting these chest pains, which are a tightening in the centre of my chest on the left of the breast bone. I can get the chest pains at any time: This morning I'd just woken up and was lying in bed, and I got them. I got them waiting in the waiting room at the doctor's once, sometimes sitting at my computer… etc. I run at the gym and I sometimes think I'm getting them mildly whilst exercising but not any more than at any other time, and they've never been enough to stop me exercising - I run through them, as I tell myself it's anxiety and I won't let it stop me.
I had something similar about 5-8 yrs ago, and I went to my GP. He said it would be extremely unlikely, given my age and sex, for it to be my heart. He asked me if I was stressed at the time, and I said YES - very. He did a cholesterol blood test - but I think that was done more to reassure me than because he thought it would be useful. That came back normal. After that, I told myself to forget about it because he wasn't worried about it - and I went on a relaxing holiday to visit my parents back where I grew up, and it seemed to go away. At least - I haven't been aware of it for many years.
At the moment I'm again going through massive anxiety (I may need to have a little operation - a laparoscopy - to diagnose endometriosis, and this is making me incredibly anxious as I've never had surgery before). And I've got the chest pain back again. As much as I tell myself it is just anxiety, it is really SCARY when it happens. I also know that the chest pain starts first and then I feel the fear because of it - I don't have a panic attack/fear and then get the chest pain.
I went back to my doctor. He is v nice but said essentially the same thing again. I asked for a referral to a cardiologist and an exercise ECG, but he said these often come back with false positives (ie - nothing wrong with your heart, but the test says there might be) - and that can then result in further tests, some of them invasive and carrying risks. (He mentioned injecting things into arteries?!). So he said he was reluctant to refer me because it was v unlikely to be my heart and because of the risk of a false positive on an exercise ECG.
But he did give me a resting ECG, which the nurse did at the surgery and the doctor said he'd phone if there was anything not normal about it. He didn't phone, so I assume it was normal.
So now I'm in the position of getting these chest pains and not knowing whether I should just ignore them and put it down to anxiety (this seems a bit dangerous to me, as I haven't had that many tests?!), or whether I should go back to my GP and press for a referral - despite what he said. He will always refer if you really want a referral, he doesn't refuse.
What about a 24/48 hr holter monitor, rather than an exercise ECG - would that be a better thing to request? Then I can record what my heart is doing at the time I get the pain. Can a GP do that, or would I need to be referred?
One little 3 minute ECG test doesn't reassure me that it's not my heart somehow…. :weep: Can anyone help? Anyone been in a similar situation?