damianjmcgrath
02-06-15, 13:08
Apologies in advance for the length - once I start rambling, it's hard to stop and I wanted to include all info in case people can identify with me.
For the last 18 months, I've been experiencing chest aches, like a dull ache, like a muscle strain, but I can't make it hurt by twisting or poking it, so I'm not sure if it is actually a muscle. I doubt a muscle would hurt for so long, but that's the type of sensation.
The aches are mainly on the left side, by my shoulder, under my armpit, underneath the nipple area, and on my back, pretty much on my left shoulder blade. It's hardly ever central, although it has been sometimes. Never on the right side. I also get a pressure style feeling, like someone is sitting down on my chest, but only on that side. It feels like that side is heavier somehow than my right side. It feels like my body is unbalanced. My worst complaint is that I hardly ever feel comfortable or relaxed. There's always an ache or twinge somewhere all the time. It's really hard to feel relaxed and happy. I feel like I want to stand up and do a big shake to get rid of all the tightness, but it doesn't help!
Occasionally, I get a squeezing pinching feeling in my right arm, right down by the hand, on the inside, right where the blue veins are on the wrist. It feels like it's in a gentle vice, for a few seconds at a time. Not sure what that is.
Sometimes, my throat aches too - on my neck, to either side of my adam's apple.
Over the last 2-3 months, I have also found it difficult to breathe, but tough to explain. I can actually breathe fine, and have never hyperventilated or been gasping. It just feels like I'm walked into a sauna, that feeling of it being slightly more difficult to get a full deep breath. Sometimes when I deliberately take a big deep breath, it aches slightly in my chest, almost like I'm reached my lung capacity and it's being stretched.
Because of the location of the pains, I have always thought heart problems. In my head, failure to pump around oxygen properly might result in pains, aches, light headedness (which I used to get a lot, but less recently), headaches, and breathing issues.
I used to get very fast palpitations (pulse went up from a normal 60ish to 110). My blood pressure is normally bang on 120/80, and it used to go up to 140/100ish. That hasn't happened for a month or so though.
Doctor diagnosed health anxiety, and prescribed propananol which I haven't taken at all. I enrolled on a CBT course and I've had 6 one-to-one sessions and 6 group education sessions. I haven't consciously seen much benefit, but just typing this message, I guess some symptoms have dropped off recently. I haven't taken the medication because I wanted to try CBT first. Medication is my last resort. I still want to try hypnotherapy, acupuncture, etc before medication.
I do get anxious about my symptoms, and I get some classic anxiety things like clammy hands, feeling of dread, irritability, lack of patience dealing with my family, tiredness really quickly, slight shakiness sometimes, especially in my legs, and the anxiety is heightened by certain situations, or watching medical programmes, or talking to people who have had heart attacks recently.
I have had many ECGs, a stress ECG, and an echocardiogram which all came back fine. I had a full blood count to check for thyroid, magnesium levels, red/white blood cell count, and they all came back normal. My blood pressure and pulse in the doctors is always normal. My cholesterol is actually really good (the good one should be greater than 1, and it's 0.78, and the bad one should be under 5.5, and mine's 3.5. The total figure should be less than 4.5, and mine's bang on 4.5 so the doctor said I'm fine). The NHS and BUPA doctors gave me a 0.03% chance of developing heart problems within the next 10 days, considering I'm 30 years old, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs and my diet is decent enough. My fitness is poor but improving. I cycle around 30-35 miles a week at a slow pace.
My questions are:
- I know some people that have had heart attacks at my age out of nowhere, and their ECG's and echo's were fine. Is it possible to have good results as the problems would only show up when I was actually feeling bad? I'd ideally like a holter 24 hr test, but the doctors won't entertain that anymore, since they see me as such a low risk.
- In people's opinions on here, who have probably been for many tests over the years, if my ECG and echo and stress ECG have all been fine, and I've had the symptoms for several months, is it likely that my heart is fine, or is there still a decent chance that I have a hidden heart problem?
- Assuming it is anxiety, and maybe a bit of stress - can this itself cause heart problems? I always hear that stress is the number 1 cause of heart attacks. Could being anxious about a heart problem actually cause the arteries to close, or blood vessels to shrink, etc, and end up causing problems?
- Do people think all of my aches could be caused by something silly like bad posture, bad mattress, bad sleeping position, etc? I have noticed my posture is pretty bad, and I slouch quite a lot. I just feel comfy in that position!
- I have recently cut out gluten. Can gluten withdrawal cause any problems that people are aware of?
- Could some digestive issue be to blame here? I've read about IBS, GERD, acid reflux, and while I do have some of those symptoms, I don't have all of them. I have started a food diary but only got 2 days worth so far. I can't see how food could cause persistent chest aching and breathing issues, and the feelings of dread and just wanting to run away that I get, especially because my diet hasn't really changed (except the gluten) over the last 5/6 years, and these problems are only 6/12/18 months old.
I know it's a long post, but getting people's comments and thoughts would be really useful and reassuring to me.
The worst thing in the world to me happened this morning. My colleague is the same age as me, same build, better fitness, probably better overall health, had a heart attack 2 weeks ago, out of nowhere, no warnings, and he'd had clear echo's and ECG's a few weeks before. Really got my mind working! :mad:
For the last 18 months, I've been experiencing chest aches, like a dull ache, like a muscle strain, but I can't make it hurt by twisting or poking it, so I'm not sure if it is actually a muscle. I doubt a muscle would hurt for so long, but that's the type of sensation.
The aches are mainly on the left side, by my shoulder, under my armpit, underneath the nipple area, and on my back, pretty much on my left shoulder blade. It's hardly ever central, although it has been sometimes. Never on the right side. I also get a pressure style feeling, like someone is sitting down on my chest, but only on that side. It feels like that side is heavier somehow than my right side. It feels like my body is unbalanced. My worst complaint is that I hardly ever feel comfortable or relaxed. There's always an ache or twinge somewhere all the time. It's really hard to feel relaxed and happy. I feel like I want to stand up and do a big shake to get rid of all the tightness, but it doesn't help!
Occasionally, I get a squeezing pinching feeling in my right arm, right down by the hand, on the inside, right where the blue veins are on the wrist. It feels like it's in a gentle vice, for a few seconds at a time. Not sure what that is.
Sometimes, my throat aches too - on my neck, to either side of my adam's apple.
Over the last 2-3 months, I have also found it difficult to breathe, but tough to explain. I can actually breathe fine, and have never hyperventilated or been gasping. It just feels like I'm walked into a sauna, that feeling of it being slightly more difficult to get a full deep breath. Sometimes when I deliberately take a big deep breath, it aches slightly in my chest, almost like I'm reached my lung capacity and it's being stretched.
Because of the location of the pains, I have always thought heart problems. In my head, failure to pump around oxygen properly might result in pains, aches, light headedness (which I used to get a lot, but less recently), headaches, and breathing issues.
I used to get very fast palpitations (pulse went up from a normal 60ish to 110). My blood pressure is normally bang on 120/80, and it used to go up to 140/100ish. That hasn't happened for a month or so though.
Doctor diagnosed health anxiety, and prescribed propananol which I haven't taken at all. I enrolled on a CBT course and I've had 6 one-to-one sessions and 6 group education sessions. I haven't consciously seen much benefit, but just typing this message, I guess some symptoms have dropped off recently. I haven't taken the medication because I wanted to try CBT first. Medication is my last resort. I still want to try hypnotherapy, acupuncture, etc before medication.
I do get anxious about my symptoms, and I get some classic anxiety things like clammy hands, feeling of dread, irritability, lack of patience dealing with my family, tiredness really quickly, slight shakiness sometimes, especially in my legs, and the anxiety is heightened by certain situations, or watching medical programmes, or talking to people who have had heart attacks recently.
I have had many ECGs, a stress ECG, and an echocardiogram which all came back fine. I had a full blood count to check for thyroid, magnesium levels, red/white blood cell count, and they all came back normal. My blood pressure and pulse in the doctors is always normal. My cholesterol is actually really good (the good one should be greater than 1, and it's 0.78, and the bad one should be under 5.5, and mine's 3.5. The total figure should be less than 4.5, and mine's bang on 4.5 so the doctor said I'm fine). The NHS and BUPA doctors gave me a 0.03% chance of developing heart problems within the next 10 days, considering I'm 30 years old, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs and my diet is decent enough. My fitness is poor but improving. I cycle around 30-35 miles a week at a slow pace.
My questions are:
- I know some people that have had heart attacks at my age out of nowhere, and their ECG's and echo's were fine. Is it possible to have good results as the problems would only show up when I was actually feeling bad? I'd ideally like a holter 24 hr test, but the doctors won't entertain that anymore, since they see me as such a low risk.
- In people's opinions on here, who have probably been for many tests over the years, if my ECG and echo and stress ECG have all been fine, and I've had the symptoms for several months, is it likely that my heart is fine, or is there still a decent chance that I have a hidden heart problem?
- Assuming it is anxiety, and maybe a bit of stress - can this itself cause heart problems? I always hear that stress is the number 1 cause of heart attacks. Could being anxious about a heart problem actually cause the arteries to close, or blood vessels to shrink, etc, and end up causing problems?
- Do people think all of my aches could be caused by something silly like bad posture, bad mattress, bad sleeping position, etc? I have noticed my posture is pretty bad, and I slouch quite a lot. I just feel comfy in that position!
- I have recently cut out gluten. Can gluten withdrawal cause any problems that people are aware of?
- Could some digestive issue be to blame here? I've read about IBS, GERD, acid reflux, and while I do have some of those symptoms, I don't have all of them. I have started a food diary but only got 2 days worth so far. I can't see how food could cause persistent chest aching and breathing issues, and the feelings of dread and just wanting to run away that I get, especially because my diet hasn't really changed (except the gluten) over the last 5/6 years, and these problems are only 6/12/18 months old.
I know it's a long post, but getting people's comments and thoughts would be really useful and reassuring to me.
The worst thing in the world to me happened this morning. My colleague is the same age as me, same build, better fitness, probably better overall health, had a heart attack 2 weeks ago, out of nowhere, no warnings, and he'd had clear echo's and ECG's a few weeks before. Really got my mind working! :mad: