Help please

[ella32]

I'm struggling big time with this heart fear it is taking over my life at the moment. I'm having chest pains and thinking worse case scenario again . As ye may know I've had a lot of ecgs done and had stress test in January all fine but yet I genuinely can't convince myself that physically my heart is fine. It's gotten worse since my mam passed in June and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm on medication, I'm going to counseling.my panic attacks aren't as bad as they where but this fear of heart problems because of pain is crippling. I keep thinking I'm having a heart attack every time I get chest pains . I've been to hospital a lot this year alone and every time they do the tests and everytime they tell me it's anxiety I'm just so overwhelmed with it now.x

[ServerError]

Genuine question - what would you actually like from us here? Your thread title is "help please", so presumably you would like more than just understanding and sympathy?

I ask because we can't say anything beyond what doctors and therapists can. Those tests you've had are the gold standard for finding heart problems. The doctors are happy with their diagnosis. If you can't trust them, who will you trust? Where will you get your reassurance? I think you know the answer. There is nobody better than the doctors for telling you if your heart is healthy or not.

[ella32]

Genuine question - what would you actually like from us here? Your thread title is "help please", so presumably you would like more than just understanding and sympathy?

I ask because we can't say anything beyond what doctors and therapists can. Those tests you've had are the gold standard for finding heart problems. The doctors are happy with their diagnosis. If you can't trust them, who will you trust? Where will you get your reassurance? I think you know the answer. There is nobody better than the doctors for telling you if your heart is healthy or not.
The biggest problem I have is believing what they tell me because I don't understand how I can have bad chest pains and arm pain and all sorts of things going on in chest and it not be heart related . It doesn't make any sense to me because some times I don't feel anxious but yet get chest pains. I can't eat properly or sleep properly because of this .x

[Fishmanpa]

The biggest problem I have is believing what they tell me

That's been an issue for close to 5 years and you're still here. I'm with Server... what can anyone here possibly say that would actually help after all this time?

Good luck and and always...

Positive thoughts

[ServerError]

But surely you've been around this forum long enough by now to know that anxiety can cause chest pains and all sorts of other symptoms and sensations? And that it can happen even when you're not that anxious.

All you need to know is what the doctors tell you. They know what to look for. All the evidence points to anxiety. Maybe you have reflux issues or postural problems causing various ache and pains. But maybe you don't and it's all triggered by anxiety. My first panic attack came out of the blue - I hadn't been feeling anxious, but it happened anyway.

I do sympathise with you. Honestly, I do. But nobody can say the magic words that make it all go away. We don't have a magic wand here that the doctors don't have. If they say your heart's fine, it's fine.

[ella32]

I don't know why I can't accept it though. I get all kinds of pains and weird sensations in chest and heart area and they scare me . The fact my mam passed away suddenly from a heart attack has made this ten times harder to deal with. The fear is crippling me and as embarrassing as it is to admit I've been to hospital over 20 times this year alone because of chest pains . The anxiety has spiralled to a point where I'm struggling to keep it under control every day. The new medication seems to help a little bit but I still have a long road ahead of me. I just want to be normal and have a normal life again and not worry every single day.

[SLA]

You heart is doing an awesome job. Just let it get on with it!

One thing I can tell is that the words you use are painting this future for you already.

I've highlighted what stands out.


I don't know why I can't accept it though. I get all kinds of pains and weird sensations in chest and heart area and they scare me . The fact my mam passed away suddenly from a heart attack has made this ten times harder to deal with. The fear is crippling me and as embarrassing as it is to admit I've been to hospital over 20 times this year alone because of chest pains . The anxiety has spiraled to a point where I'm struggling to keep it under control every day. The new medication seems to help a little bit but I still have a long road ahead of me. I just want to be normal and have a normal life again and not worry every single day.

[ServerError]

Ella - your response is essentially a repeat of everything you said before you received any replies. I think it's really important you ask yourself what you're looking for when you post here. You ask for help, but what would that help look like to you?

The reason you struggle to accept that your heart is okay is because you have an anxiety disorder. That is the sum of it. It sounds like you're already working on it, so stick with it. Show your therapist your threads on here. Talk about why you post them and what you want from them. They're relevant to your recovery.

Remember that everybody, no matter how healthy, can feel their heart beating. Everybody gets chest pains and other mysterious aches and pains from time to time. You've had these worries for, what, five years? Have you ever come to any harm? You have a healthy heart. If you want a better life, that comes from within.

You can do this. If I could do it, so can you.

[axolotl]

My first dramatic piece of anxiety was heart worry. A couple of years ago I suddenly felt palpitations, then chest pain, and over a course of a week or so wound myself up so much about it I ended up in the toilets at work convinced I was about to die, followed by a fun night at A&E. A full raft of tests showed up nothing - it was all anxiety.

Doctors simply do not hang around with hearts. Nor do they miss stuff. If doctors say you're fine, after a raft of tests, you're fine.

I still get palpitations, and I still get chest pains, but now I see it as a useful indicator I need to destress rather than something to worry about in itself. At the moment I'm under a bit of stress, have a bit of directionlessness that's making me feel out of sorts, and have been getting anxious and concerned about world political events, plus a bit of usual tension I have this time of year due to family politics at Xmas looming. This has conspired to me having palpitations and and heavy feeling round my heart, you know the kind you have when you feel guilty about something? But because I've been given the all-clear I'm not spiralling into worrying about that, just trying to figure out how to start feeling less anxious. So listen to the doctors, and start using it as an uncomfortable but harmless indicator to tell you what's really going on.