Choking can't breathe/swallow feeling

[Freaked]

Was on the way home from hospital (had been sitting outside it cos I felt crap) and, mid-breath, I suddenly felt like my chest seized up and I couldn't breathe for a second. Been getting the feeling on and off all evening, and every time I try to swallow I can't breathe and my chest burns. Feels like the horrible feeling you get in your chest if you think you're going to fall off something for a second/get a sudden fright. Help!

[Speranza]

It's ok... do some deep breathing (not too deep). Don't worry about how far in the breath feels to be going, ou will get plenty of oxygen.

Think about something else entirely. Tell me about the first teacher you had in primary school.

[Freaked]

Haha, oh God she was a cow, but thanks Speranza. Just felt my pulse and it felt completely irregular for a few seconds :-( Don't know if it actually was or if my wrist was twitching or the blood flow was weird cos I was leaning on my arm. Either way not helping with the freak out.

[Speranza]

At this point, I usually remind myself that I have remained alive for however many minutes it is since the onset of symptoms... ;)

[Freaked]

Yeah I'm trying :-( I'm supposed to be starting a medication for low blood pressure today but I'm so afraid of heart failure that I'm just scared to. I had an echo but it was months ago and I'm worse now. I suppose if I had heart failure I'd be waking up feeling a lot worse. My chest is sore and tight when I lie down at night but seems to improve overnight, until I wake up and start hyperventilating again after about a minute. I just have so many of the symptoms of heart failure it's frightening, and they started with a flu. Wish I could just go into someplace and get a repeat echo before I start on this stuff.

[wcb123]

Exact same symptoms as you Freaked. Do you have Gerd, Silent Reflux?

I get sudden panic just before im about to swallow (not food just regularly swallow), which makes me tense up just before swallowing (so that i don't actually complete the swallowing action) and then im in limbo for a few secs which makes me think ive stopped breathing/choking! I kinda have to bang my hand against something to force me to swallow/snap out of the panic. That usually triggers hyperventilation and then a days worth of muscle tension and the 1001 other symptoms associated to anxiety.