View Full Version : Confused....Angina?
Justanutter
07-08-15, 16:20
Had really bad heart concerns for a while...tried to pluck up courage to go to drs. It got myself in a right state so didn't go...so terrified of hospitals and results and tests etc. Briefly, after some 18 months of chest pain (disappeared when I had tummy problems for few months..) had one check up in A&E ..all ok. Have been daily waking with them lately...sacred to walk as sometimes makes them worse...so angina I think.
Today, met a friend for lunch who actually has stents...basically she said my pain isn't angina pain she doesn't think as it was nothing like hers...so got back home, decided to take dog out for a small walk, thinking right, got to try this and half way up lane started to feel like someone had shoved a pillow up under my ribs...not breathless or pain, just like a tight felling all round diaphragm...cut short walk and am now in depths of despair and thinking it is angina after all otherwise why can't I just walk like normal people with no symptoms?? Really have tried this week to use mindfulness and CBT practice but then it all seems pointless if I am just going to have a heart attack because I am being stupid and not sorting it out but the fear is way out of control...so fed up....
Don't get confused Justanutter when you say your friend has stents and said"my pain isn't angina pain she doesn't think as it was nothing like hers".
Heart problems and angina to an extent come with quite a lot of different symptoms, (I have 2 stents) so for peace of mind go back to your doctor and get checked out again.
Justanutter
07-08-15, 17:13
I knew that would be the case... :weep:
But I can't go because the fear is far too bad...oh wished I hadn't asked now...
I have read your previous posts Ricardo and you don't have good health with even the stents though do you?
---------- Post added at 17:11 ---------- Previous post was at 17:00 ----------
Why does Fishmanpa always say you would know if you were having a heart attack when obviously you can be having one at not know???
---------- Post added at 17:13 ---------- Previous post was at 17:11 ----------
Why does Fishmanpa always say you would know if you were having a heart attack when obviously you can be having and not know???
I knew that would be the case... :weep:
But I can't go because the fear is far too bad...oh wished I hadn't asked now...
I have read your previous posts Ricardo and you don't have good health with even the stents though do you?
---------- Post added at 17:11 ---------- Previous post was at 17:00 ----------
Why does Fishmanpa always say you would know if you were having a heart attack when obviously you can be having one at not know???
---------- Post added at 17:13 ---------- Previous post was at 17:11 ----------
Why does Fishmanpa always say you would know if you were having a heart attack when obviously you can be having and not know???
I can only speak for myself, but I honestly didn't know I was having a heart attack and as it all happened so suddenly after the ECG confirmed it, I wasn't actually anxious more in shock. Actually in the words of the cardiologist "I got away lightly" and my heart is stronger than before.That I suffer with GAD and a bit of OCD are mental issues and as with most people as they get older I have one or two other problems but not life threatening.
In fact I had my 6 month blood test after my HA and everything is checked and there were no abnormalities.
Be brave and go back to the doctor for your own piece of mind.
Why does Fishmanpa always say you would know if you were having a heart attack when obviously you can be having one at not know???
In my case and in the vast majority of heart attack cases, pain is present. Not just pain but HOLY !@(&^% Pain. Both of my heart attacks started with an uncomfortable pressure and escalated to HOLY *@#%@! There was no mistaking it in my case. It was an Uh Oh moment for sure. My first heart attack came on pretty quick. The second actually started the day before with what felt like gas pain. I took an antacid and it went away so that's what I thought it was. The next day it came back and that was the Uh Oh moment because it hurt like a MoFo! Tests at the hospital in both cases showed it.
There are other symptoms that accompany a heart attack. Some include nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness, left jaw or arm pain, sweating (of which I had all of them).
Granted, there are cases and symptoms that wouldn't immediately indicate a heart attack but those are typically uncommon.
I've had a triple bypass (2007) and three stents (2012). Since then, I've developed some mild angina. A nuclear stress test confirmed it and I have nitro for when I feel the symptoms (mostly chest discomfort and pain).
This being an anxiety forum, posters tend to be a bit on the dramatic side and many tend to gravitate to the worst case scenario. What I'm saying is, if indeed, you were in the kind of distress a heart attack can cause, you wouldn't be posting on a forum waiting for someone to reply (IMO). If you are in that kind of distress, yes, go to the hospital. That being said, when the tests are clear, they're clear. They wouldn't release you if there were signs that something was up.
Many who have a heart attack fear are not even close to the demographic that's at risk. If you are (over 40, smoker, overweight, bad dietary habits, high cholesterol, family history etc.), I would take chest pain seriously and/or make sure your GP keeps tabs on your risk factors. Otherwise, read the "Symptoms" section here about chest pain and that's most likely your culprit.
Positive thoughts
My exact symptoms were a bit of reflux and a pain in both wrists not arms,but I believe the attack started the day before, so there are various forms of heart attack symptoms.
JNutter....
Based on your original post I just can't see this as sinister. I'm not a doctor but I'm sure others would agree. Apparently medical professionals have already.
Have suffered with ongoing chest aches/pain for 18 months now, basically since I was made redundant and started a new job. In between, had bowel problems which I convinced myself were cancer and got myself in a terrible state, in which the chest pains didn't seem to bother me as I was concentrating on cancer. Bowel tests revealed nothing and then settled again but now chest pain is at the forefront all the time. Just after I started the new job, I ended up in a&e one morning and they took bloods, ecg, chest xray and all were okay and didn't refer for further tests. About two years ago, I had a treadmill test and ecg and heart echo and all were okay. Now though, am convinced I have angina but I don't know whether it's psychological because I can walk up and down 3 flights of stairs no problem, don't suffer from breathlessness at all but find it hard to walk up to the shops in my lunch hour from the office without feeling a sort of dull ache and then sometimes a sort of indigestion type feeling in my upper back and chest. I am currently suffering from terrible upper back tightness and shoulder and neck stiffness and go for massages and the therapist says it could be all connected. The bottom line is, I can't go for tests...they absolutely terrify the life out of me to the point I would rather just not know after what I put my family through with the bowel cancer worries. They are sick of my constant HA and are very unsympathetic. I am a 58 year old post menopausal woman, normal BP, no cholesterol problem, not overweight with no family history of heart trouble but I guess that doesn't always matter. I am sick of living like this. My 84 year old mother wants to go on a cruise again and she has all sorts of health problems but I am too anxious to even consider it as if I have a heart attack on board, I may not be treated in time. I am just starting CBT but to be honest, I think I am wasting my time and maybe just have to accept that this is the way I am and always will be. I have been like this in some form or another since I was a child and both my parents used to be anxious people. I just wish I could be like others and go to the doctors and just get tests but the state I get myself in isn't worth it. Would ecg/bloods etc. last time have picked enough of a problem up? I made myself walk quick into the office from the car park to try and prove I was okay but I was in a state when I did it so maybe the adrenaline kicked in and saved me from the real pain. I would so love to go on this cruise and relax for two whole weeks without being the neurotic silly woman I am.:weep:
Positive thoughts
Justanutter
07-08-15, 19:58
FMP, I am just so confused and know that nobody can diagnose on here but there are so many conflicting facts on here....supposedly an ECG should show concerns if the blood wasn't being pumped through properly but then others say only an angiogram will show angina for definite so I can't understand why they didn't send me for one after the A&E episode? Also, my last echo was about 4 years ago and my arteries might be blocked now and they wouldn't know that just from the ECG they did. Read before also by admin Nicola, that the stress treadmill gives false positives in women as our hearts have more finer vessels.
Thanks.
---------- Post added at 19:58 ---------- Previous post was at 19:56 ----------
FMP...I can't believe that having a bypass and stents and yet you still have angina after all that?
FMP, I am just so confused and know that nobody can diagnose on here but there are so many conflicting facts on here....supposedly an ECG should show concerns if the blood wasn't being pumped through properly but then others say only an angiogram will show angina for definite so I can't understand why they didn't send me for one after the A&E episode? Also, my last echo was about 4 years ago and my arteries might be blocked now and they wouldn't know that just from the ECG they did. Read before also by admin Nicola, that the stress treadmill gives false positives in women as our hearts have more finer vessels.
Thanks.
---------- Post added at 19:58 ---------- Previous post was at 19:56 ----------
FMP...I can't believe that having a bypass and stents and yet you still have angina after all that?
Well... the bottom line is you'll have to bite the bullet and see a cardiologist to alleviate your fear. Either that or sit and worry about it right? IMO, what you're experiencing is highly likely to be stress related based on your post. I've had that issue as well with my "scanxiety". The stress and anxiety associated with my illnesses has caused chest pain. A visit to the ER and tests showed nothing and it was attributed to stress. With my history, I have to be extra vigilant about that.
Concerning my angina? I have heart disease. I have narrowing of some of the vessels which causes symptoms. The tests showed this. They're not to the point where stents would be necessary so treatment and course of action is medication (BP, blood thinners, beta bockers and nitro when needed), exercise and proper nutrition. I also have to be monitored because the radiation used to kill the cancer in my neck affects the carotid artery. Tests showed some buildup but again, nothing to be concerned of at this point.
Positive thoughts
Justanutter, I appreciate your profound distress but at what point would you be reassured that you didn't have cardiac/angina issues? If you can't face having tests and you are unable to believe doctors it makes it very tricky to help you move forward as endless reassurance is pointless and counter-productive.
FMP, I am just so confused and know that nobody can diagnose on here but there are so many conflicting facts on here....supposedly an ECG should show concerns if the blood wasn't being pumped through properly but then others say only an angiogram will show angina for definite so I can't understand why they didn't send me for one after the A&E episode? Also, my last echo was about 4 years ago and my arteries might be blocked now and they wouldn't know that just from the ECG they did. Read before also by admin Nicola, that the stress treadmill gives false positives in women as our hearts have more finer vessels.
Thanks.
---------- Post added at 19:58 ---------- Previous post was at 19:56 ----------
FMP...I can't believe that having a bypass and stents and yet you still have angina after all that?
They would because that showed them clearly I was having a heart attack.
You are getting more and more anxious with every response you get (and I fully understand that) so there is only one logical answer, and you know what that is, back to the doctor ASAP.
Justanutter
07-08-15, 21:13
I guess this is what having health anxiety is all about...unfortunately, I am the opposite of what most people are like on here and don't go to the drs constantly asking for tests and reassurance...come on here instead because I am a complete wuss and yes, you are all right, I am not going to be reassured until I succumb to the merrygoround of tests but I am a catastrophiser of the highest order and so can't see a positive outcome as that's the way HA works. I haven't had many reasons to trust the medical profession unfortunately. Their neglect that nearly cost my life many years ago has left it's legacy and if only they knew what it does to people.
I guess this is what having health anxiety is all about...unfortunately, I am the opposite of what most people are like on here and don't go to the drs constantly asking for tests and reassurance...come on here instead because I am a complete wuss and yes, you are all right, I am not going to be reassured until I succumb to the merrygoround of tests but I am a catastrophiser of the highest order and so can't see a positive outcome as that's the way HA works. I haven't had many reasons to trust the medical profession unfortunately. Their neglect that nearly cost my life many years ago has left it's legacy and if only they knew what it does to people.
So there you have the reason for distrusting the medical profession and your resulting fear that you will get something bad which will put you at their mercy again? You have every right to be angry in view of your poor treatment and it's going to be hard to learn to trust them again but maybe you have to take a chance and allow yourself to be examined in order to move on?
Justanutter
07-08-15, 22:13
Pulisa, in a nutshell, yes I need to. It's just finding the courage. My daughter is needle phobic...only when they are going into a vein though, and actually vomits at the sight of it and yet can't understand my fear of anything hospital related, which unlike her dominates every moment of every day for me, which is ridiculous. It's the case of what happens once you start the ball rolling and the consequences that may follow if you get me?
So there you have the reason for distrusting the medical profession and your resulting fear that you will get something bad which will put you at their mercy again? You have every right to be angry in view of your poor treatment and it's going to be hard to learn to trust them again but maybe you have to take a chance and allow yourself to be examined in order to move on?
I know it's very hard for you but pulisa is right.
I have had in our practice a wrong diagnosis for my son and my daughter from one particular doctor called Dr.Incompetent and in my son's case he nearly died until my wife literally stormed into the Practice and demanded our son went to hospital straight away.The Dr got flushed as he had ignored 5 calls for my son to get a home visit and called an ambulance.Our son was completely dehydrated and the original diagnosis of tonsilitis was in in fact glandular fever.
Both of our kids in their twenties now go to another practice which is another option for you.It's not easy always to express your true feelings on an open forum, so well done for that.
Yes it certainly takes guts to express your true feelings and nobody on here underestimates your very real and all-consuming fears. At some stage you are going to have to trust a doctor again and this must absolutely terrify you? Also the prospect of setting in motion the framework for a frightening diagnosis?
But this scenario is a fear of yours and hasn't happened. Nobody can say it never will though but would reassurance from a doctor that all was well actually convince you or would you have doubts that his diagnosis was accurate in view of your past experiences?
Justanutter
08-08-15, 10:50
Yes, reassurance would work definitely. My GP is v.good...it's the hospitals I have a problem with.
I take it that you mean all hospitals? Would you have this fear if your daughter had to go into hospital for tests/an operation?
Justanutter
09-08-15, 15:00
Hi Pulisa...sorry...I replied to your post but for some reason it isn't showing. No, I would not be as fearful but would definitely be more concerned than most as also, my son wasn't diagnosed with his Crohns properly either. The main thing is not being treated as a person, only a number and not enough nurses when you call them etc. really not had any good experiences unless when we had private cover.
I know what you mean. The NHS is great in an emergency but for more routine cases it can be a bit of a lottery. Going private is often out of the question unless you have health insurance but at least you get to see the consultant and can feel a bit more confident. I don't suppose you would consider a private consultation just to get you assessed and then you could go from there?
Justanutter
09-08-15, 21:26
I am thinking about that as an option actually. At least they have more time for you.
And you may get more peace of mind that way? At least you would be seeing a Consultant and could ask him whatever you wanted and he'd have the time to reply and explain things to you fully?
It's certainly an option as a way of moving forward but I appreciate that this is not an easy decision for you to make and you'll need support from your family.
Justanutter
10-08-15, 11:27
Well Pulisa, talking about support from family...had a massive blow up yesterday with them all during Sunday lunch. Started off with a fairly normal family discussion about different niggles etc. as usual, triggered by my daughter, who can be fiery. My elder son always seems to side against me, even though we have a close relationship, in favour of his sister, and after a while, and feeling got at, I completely lost the plot and told them all to ***k off home (totally, totally not me at all...) and screamed at them all to just get the hell out of the house. I went in the kitchen and threw a handful of pots from the table into the sink and smashed them in anger and was still screaming at them to just leave me alone and that I wished I'd never had kids and then I did a terrible thing and said that I wished I was dead and if it wasn't for them, I would be. Basically, a lot of awful things were said by me and even though it all calmed down and they left, I just know they haven't got a clue how bad I am. I know they've all got their own lives to live and that a Mother shouldn't be behaving like this and my daughter made it worse by saying that she wishes she had a stronger Mum, which upset me even more. My youngest son has emailed to ask how I am this morning but the other two haven't even bothered so, as for family support - there isn't any. My OH stayed outside the whole time and that's his way of dealing with me.
I think that your family need to be made aware of how bad you are feeling. Just because you're a Mother it doesn't make you immune from feeling ill and panic-stricken and you deserve help and support as much as any member of your family. Maybe making that appointment would show your family that you mean business and are determined to move forward?
Justanutter
10-08-15, 12:17
I really don't care today Pulisa at all. Just not in the right frame of mind to do anything to be honest. If one more person tells me to go and get back on the tablets, I'll scream. Dr took me off my Citalopram because of betablocker contraindications and I can't cope at the moment with the thought of trying to cope with side effects from something else, continue to work (which I have to as we have no other cover in the office half of the week). As we know, nobody in the medical profession is really interested in anxiety sufferers. If I drop dead, I drop dead.
I know what you mean. The NHS is great in an emergency but for more routine cases it can be a bit of a lottery. Going private is often out of the question unless you have health insurance but at least you get to see the consultant and can feel a bit more confident. I don't suppose you would consider a private consultation just to get you assessed and then you could go from there?
I totally agree as my latest episode backed that up.
If you go private the only difference is that you will be seen quicker at a cost.You and only you can weigh that up.
Psychiatrists are quite different to talking to specialists of part of the body like cardiologists.
Justanutter
19-08-15, 18:06
Have finally plucked up the courage to make a drs appointment because quite frankly, I am getting really scared by these constant pains now. I have done my research and realise that despite what you assume re heart attacks or heart problems, no two people are the same by the sound of it and even though I want to believe that it is going to be anxiety, I am now convinced it is Angina after researching all sorts of forums and symptoms and I have them all to varying degrees; pressure, pain, ache in back, twinges, struggling when walking and niggles in my wrist, which I hadn’t even associated with heart problems until Ricardo said that’s what he got. It was made worse by reading about a guy aged 41 who rang his family to say he was having chest pain and then just dropped dead and I am soooooo frightened that is what will happen to me and I my family would never forgive me for not going and sorting it out.
To say that I am petrified is an understatement. Heart things are the worst as you can just drop dead and won’t have time to get sorted. I am scared of the treatment, the tests and the after affects. I read some positive stories yesterday of people just getting on with their lives fine but then I also read some not so positive ones but I just hope it’s not too late and I will be facing bypass surgery.
To make matters worse, I am supposed to be going away for a nice long weekend break with my Mum tomorrow but I am scared I am not going to make it and will let her down as these pains have been worse this week than ever. I tried going for a walk and had to come back as I got a stitch in my chest and back which just reiterated the diagnosis; if it was anxiety, I would be able to bloomin walk for goodness sake. I am almost crying now here at work – cant’ wait to get home and decide what to do – I just want to hang on till Monday when I can see the Dr and sort it – do you think if I take an aspirin each day till then it would ward off the heart attack??? I am not supposed to take them with my stomach problem but I am desperate. I just keep imagining myself hooked up to machines and with a tube down my throat after the bypass and it’s freaking me out….sorry, but I just need to offload… I am getting myself into a right state.
---------- Post added at 18:06 ---------- Previous post was at 16:39 ----------
sorry...trying to post on mobile..
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