Anna Lansley
14-04-14, 12:38
I am a 26 year old woman, and have suffered from health anxiety for at least 13 years, but it has got 10 times worse within the last three years.
I fear that there is something wrong with my heart because now and again my heart races really fast, usually when I trying to get to sleep, I go all sweaty, and my stomach starts to churn. These episodes don't last long, but the anxiety remains for a long time afterwards. Also, I sometimes get fleeting aches in my left breast, fleeting aches in my sturnum, and occasionally a sharp stabbling pain beneath my left breast which gets worse when I inhale or exhale deeply. The stabbling pain is sometimes brought on by a change in posture or a sudden intake of breath, mainly when I am resting, although it once occurred briefly during a gentle walk. The pain more or less stays in the same place, and passes quite quickly.
Other concerns are pins and needle type feelings at random places, like my face, lips, arms, feet, amd hands. They are like cold little pricks that come and go particularly when I am tense. I also sometimes feel like I can't get enough breath and I hyperventilate. I worry a lot about my breathing, and turn what should be an automatic process into a conscious one, which makes my anxiety worse.
I also sometimes get a choking feeling in my throat, which makes me feel like I need to cough. It feels like something is moving up from my chest or upper abdomen into my throat. I usually only get this feeling at rest, particularly whn I am tensed up.
Last year I went to the doctors due to these concerns. She took my blood pressure, and it was healthy, and she listened to my heart. She told me my heart was beating rather fast, but it was regular and otherwise healthy. She told me I was not going to have a heart attack.
As a result of her reassurance, I felt a lot better for the next 6 months, and got out and about more often. But my anxiety started to increase again recently, and I saw the GP again - a different one this time. She took my blood pressure, which was more or less the same as last time, and on a second reading it was even lower, she said - because I felt more relaxed upon being told it was normal. She also took my oxygen saturation - it was very healthy at 98-99%. And she listened to my heart and my lungs, and said they both sounded fine. But to put my mind at rest she booked me in for an ECG and blood test at the surgery. The blood test would check my thyroid function.
I had both today, and they were not as bad as I anticipated. But I was hoping I would get the ECG results straight away, but was told I would receive a letter. I don't know how long I will have to wait, and this is making me anxious. Should I phone the doctors if I have not heard anything back in a couple of days? How long should I leave it? And how can I relax in the mean-time? I presume if there was something wrong, the doctor woould have detected it in the initial tests, although I know they can never be completely certain.
I also have OCD (illness based, hand washing, contamination, and checking), phobias, panic, and Asperger's syndrome.
I fear that there is something wrong with my heart because now and again my heart races really fast, usually when I trying to get to sleep, I go all sweaty, and my stomach starts to churn. These episodes don't last long, but the anxiety remains for a long time afterwards. Also, I sometimes get fleeting aches in my left breast, fleeting aches in my sturnum, and occasionally a sharp stabbling pain beneath my left breast which gets worse when I inhale or exhale deeply. The stabbling pain is sometimes brought on by a change in posture or a sudden intake of breath, mainly when I am resting, although it once occurred briefly during a gentle walk. The pain more or less stays in the same place, and passes quite quickly.
Other concerns are pins and needle type feelings at random places, like my face, lips, arms, feet, amd hands. They are like cold little pricks that come and go particularly when I am tense. I also sometimes feel like I can't get enough breath and I hyperventilate. I worry a lot about my breathing, and turn what should be an automatic process into a conscious one, which makes my anxiety worse.
I also sometimes get a choking feeling in my throat, which makes me feel like I need to cough. It feels like something is moving up from my chest or upper abdomen into my throat. I usually only get this feeling at rest, particularly whn I am tensed up.
Last year I went to the doctors due to these concerns. She took my blood pressure, and it was healthy, and she listened to my heart. She told me my heart was beating rather fast, but it was regular and otherwise healthy. She told me I was not going to have a heart attack.
As a result of her reassurance, I felt a lot better for the next 6 months, and got out and about more often. But my anxiety started to increase again recently, and I saw the GP again - a different one this time. She took my blood pressure, which was more or less the same as last time, and on a second reading it was even lower, she said - because I felt more relaxed upon being told it was normal. She also took my oxygen saturation - it was very healthy at 98-99%. And she listened to my heart and my lungs, and said they both sounded fine. But to put my mind at rest she booked me in for an ECG and blood test at the surgery. The blood test would check my thyroid function.
I had both today, and they were not as bad as I anticipated. But I was hoping I would get the ECG results straight away, but was told I would receive a letter. I don't know how long I will have to wait, and this is making me anxious. Should I phone the doctors if I have not heard anything back in a couple of days? How long should I leave it? And how can I relax in the mean-time? I presume if there was something wrong, the doctor woould have detected it in the initial tests, although I know they can never be completely certain.
I also have OCD (illness based, hand washing, contamination, and checking), phobias, panic, and Asperger's syndrome.