Chest tightness, palpatations, strange sensations....

[Buggs]

I just need some extra reassurance, and I joined this forum specifically to be among a group of people who wouldn't look at me like I was crazy, as EVERY DOCTOR I'VE BEEN TO has. I've been having chest tightness, palpatations, and just general strange sensations and little aches and pains in my chest area for MONTHS. The first couple times I was convinced by the people the ER that it had been a panic attack, and at the time it made sense; I've been struggling with depression and anxiety since I was a child. To add to that justification, they did chest x-rays, took blood tests, and even did an MRI of my heart at one point, and everything turned out normal.

But things kept happening. For weeks I dealt with an almost constant anxiety about suddenly DYING on the spot, and nothing seemed to make me feel any better. I would send myself to the ER in tears, feeling guilty and stupid because I just I would end up sitting around for 12 hours only for them to send me home with strange looks. I'd sent myself to patient first and feel even more worthless every time, because no matter what they'd just send me home. At one point a doctor said it was musculo-skeletal. Another suggested it was GERD. Countless others just said it was anxiety.

Finally I got referred to an actual cardiologist. He gave me a 24 hour halter monitor, and ordered an echocardiogram. Both of those came back normal, except for the reading of a few "extra" heart beats with the guy said weren't anything to worry about.

At this point it's been about five months or so since the symptoms began and I've gotten to a space where i'm at least not sending myself to the hospital all the time. I still have episodes where i'm CONVINCED something is wrong, but I'm doing better at forcing myself to lie down and just take a nap if I can during those times. The convenient thing is they usually come at night. Anyway I just needed some extra reassurance tonight because for the past day or two i've been feeling a lot of tightness in my upper chest. In the right sitting position it feels like someone's sitting on my chest almost. It's pretty constant, and is being accompanied by a LOT of burping and flatulence. Just about 20 minutes ago I felt like there was a huge pocket of wind caught under my rib cage, and it took a lot to get it unlodged.

Some info about me:
I'm 31, 435lbs (yes i know i'm huge i'm sorry)
ex smoker, now I vape at 6mg
non drinker, except for diet coke a lot
taking busparin and pristiq for depression and anxiety
severe anemia, taking iron pills for it
doc prescriped pepcid for what she believes is a GI problem but i've only been taking it for a week or so.

So yeah.

AM I DYING???? should i be worried? Sometimes I'm okay and sometimes I legit don't know.

[shifty75]

Hi, have you looked in to the connection between aspartame & diet coke? Aspartame is in many diet products, especially diet drinks. It's also in some no sugar squashes & yoghurts!

I stoppped drinking diet coke a few weeks ago after a run of bad palpitations. Don't know if aspartame was the cause of my palpitations but thought i'd cut it out of my diet after having read many bad things about it. I also cut out out many other things known
to affect the heart such as caffeine & energy drinks!

It's just a thought that may help :)

[rsanchez]

Agree with shifty, the diet coke may be causing you to feel more palpitations. Also, acid can trigger palpitations, so if you continue the pepcid you may see some improvement of symptoms.

[Buttercup8]

I'm sure anaemia can cause palpitations as well as breathlessness. It seems like you've got about 3 or 4 things going on that could cause palpitations - like anxiety, diet coke, anaemia - well ok 3! The thing is you've had the echo and other tests and your heart is normal. That's what you have to hold on to. I had the same - anxiety palps that just got worse the more I thought about them. But my holter and echo were normal and as I've gradually chilled about it the palps have got less - I know it's not easy not to stress about situations, especially when it's happening right now and you're in the middle of it but you have to try to get the vicious circle into reverse and you have a good starting point - your tests were normal.