Please Help

[JMorton]

PLEASE READ EVERYTHING

Okay, I'm only 16 years old, male, and this basically all started the night before an exam, I had some very mild chest pain and I basically went downstairs and flipped out in front of my mum, telling her that I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die, my heart started beating really fast and hard then. This was in late June.

In late July, I went on holiday, and one night I experienced the same feeling of dread, fast heartbeat, no pain if I recall correctly, but it was once again very scary, and I hardly got any sleep.

The next day, still on holiday, I was just about to eat a meal with everyone, when I suddenly lost my appetite, and didn't feel very well, again no pain. This again made me very worried, especially as I'd never lost my appetite before, but I think other factors like the lack of sleep and also dehydration may have come into play.

The day after that, I didn't feel ill, but in the morning I once again experienced the feeling of dread, and fast heartbeat, and on the way back home the feeling of dread was still there.

Since getting home, I have experienced back ache and a feeling of pressure in both of my arms, but more so my left arm, which worried me even more, as these can be heart symptoms. Some feelings of tiredness. Not much chest pain though. I had another episode of worry and fast heart beat, and that time I started shaking as well. Also, as I feel increasingly worried about my heart, I place my hand on my chest or my wrist regularly to check my pulse is normal.

I also must have spent hours since getting back on Google, looking up symptoms and reading stories about people who have tragically died from heart problems, which has made the worry worse.

I went to the doctors with my mum, and she listened to my heart with a stethoscope, and said it seemed fine, and then took my blood pressure, which she said was normal. Nonetheless, she got me to also do an ECG and blood tests, the results of which I will know on Friday 29th August.

In the run up to the 29th, I have still been worried, I thought when I got my GCSE results it would be better, and it did seem so at first, but now I'm having thoughts that I have a heart defect and it just wasn't detected at birth and so one day I'll just die, and last night I had another episode of the worry, fast heart beat and, again, shaking. Also recently I have been experiencing a pulsing feeling in my neck and thigh.

Also best to mention there is a family history of OCD, and my mum has told me that when he was younger my paternal granddad was convinced that he had asbestosis.

It's always at the back of my mind, and it's preventing me from just having normal fun, I'm somewhat afraid to leave the house. Is this anxiety? Please reply, thoughts of depression seem to be more common since it all began, and I feel my life is going downhill.

[anthrokid]

What you described as experiencing in June before your exam sounds like stress induced muscle tension and a panic attack. Panic attacks are often brought on by stress and anxiety, which I'm sure you were experiencing a bit of prior to an exam. It sounds like you've been having panic attacks since then. A common theme with panic attacks is a feeling of dread/fear of dying. People also experience racing heart, feeling sick, etc. with panic attacks.

Anxiety can cause a lot of symptoms, such as aches, pressure feelings, tension, fatigue, racing heart, etc. You've had heart and blood tests, and your doctor sounds like she isn't too worried, which is a good sign :) If you haven't had a phone call yet then I'm willing to bet that your tests are all clear.

As someone in my 5th year of training to be a clinical psychologist, I would say that you are definitely feeling some anxiety. It is common for people with anxiety to experience degrees of depression as well. I think it would be a really good time for you to talk about this with your mum and see if you can get a bit of support through this. Perhaps you could make another appointment with your doctor and ask if they can put you through to a counsellor or psychologist to help throw this anxiety out in the rain. The sooner you seek support for anxiety, the easier it is to move past it.

[JMorton]

What you described as experiencing in June before your exam sounds like stress induced muscle tension and a panic attack. Panic attacks are often brought on by stress and anxiety, which I'm sure you were experiencing a bit of prior to an exam. It sounds like you've been having panic attacks since then. A common theme with panic attacks is a feeling of dread/fear of dying. People also experience racing heart, feeling sick, etc. with panic attacks.

Anxiety can cause a lot of symptoms, such as aches, pressure feelings, tension, fatigue, racing heart, etc. You've had heart and blood tests, and your doctor sounds like she isn't too worried, which is a good sign :) If you haven't had a phone call yet then I'm willing to bet that your tests are all clear.

As someone in my 5th year of training to be a clinical psychologist, I would say that you are definitely feeling some anxiety. It is common for people with anxiety to experience degrees of depression as well. I think it would be a really good time for you to talk about this with your mum and see if you can get a bit of support through this. Perhaps you could make another appointment with your doctor and ask if they can put you through to a counsellor or psychologist to help throw this anxiety out in the rain. The sooner you seek support for anxiety, the easier it is to move past it.

Hi, thanks for the message, the tests are back now. Apparently the ECG was normal, as was the blood test apart from a thyroid issue. Perhaps that is contributing? I am having another blood test soon to check the thyroid.