is this really anxiety? [Archive]

Jwonka

11-04-05, 17:18

hi new to the site, can anyone tell if this is 'normal' with anxiety. last year my eyes went funny and i thought i was going to faint happens when i was reading or on the computer at work, had blood tests,ecg and went to a private doc all found nothing. now i get chest pains all time, missed heart beats even in my sleep! my arms are achey, papiltaions, chest feels heavry,and i'm now to scared to do anying, stay in bed most of the time and when i do i feel brealthless(although no one can tell) and get chestpains then feel i'm going to pass out so scared.

Meg

11-04-05, 17:32

HI Jwonka,

Yes it all those symptoms sound very familiar indeed.

Did you also get your eyes tested ?

First Steps : First Steps to overcoming Panic and Anxiety (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=942)
Palpitations: palpatations (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2284)

Dizzy : Light Headed (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2951)
dizzyness (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3062)
Light headed Light Headed (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2951)

Chest pain: Dull ache (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3044)

Think those might give you an idea of how others have described it

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...

Jwonka

11-04-05, 17:41

hello thanks 4 repling so quickly. yes i had my eyes tested and was fine. my eyes don't go funny anymore i just get a pain in my chest and all the other symtoms just so scared. can a doc really tell if your ok by doing an ecg and blood tests though?

jude

11-04-05, 18:42

Hi Jwonka,

I used to get all of these symptoms. I had the tests that you have had, which came back fine.

I still get some of the symptoms occasionally, especially if im tired.

I would say that it is anxiety. Your doc would know if there was a problem im sure.

Has the doc said that you have an anxiety disorder.

Jude x

Be gentle with yourself....you just need some time to heal.

Jan

11-04-05, 18:56

Hi there

well with all those symptoms you are definately in the right place I would say. Like Jude has said has your gp diagnosed anxiety diorder?? You have tests which show no other problems. These are very common symptoms of anxiety so now is time to find out how to combat them.
This is the best site to do that as we all can relate and sympathise and give each other support and advice.

Take care

Janine

seh1980

11-04-05, 19:18

I get all those symptoms - definitely anxiety!! :D

vernon

11-04-05, 19:22

ni Jwomka welcome to the site. Yes spounds so much like anxiety and I am the same the symtoms do seem to change over the years too. take care Vernon

Jwonka

11-04-05, 19:45

hello! at first my doc said it was anxiety and explained all about it but after the 20th visit to him he told me to go to a&e but i was to scared, anyway he then sent me for a second opinuin and that said i was a healthy 35 year old and told me that i need to calm down,this has been going on now for 4 months and i'm so scared

stephen_allott

11-04-05, 19:58

Hi JWonka,

I have those symptoms. The worst for me was the "missed" heartbeat when I was sleeping. I had a heart monitor attached to me for 24 hrs to monitor these beats and indeed they did occur when I went to bed. What tends to happen is the heart has an extra (small) beat that takes away the charge ready for your regular beat. As a result more time is required to build up charge for your next beat. In this time your heart fills with blood and when it does beat it has a lot of blood in it and it rotates as it pumps and you feel it. This is perfectly normal for people with anxiety disorder (apparently), but for people like you and I it is disturbing. Some people can have hundreds of these extra beats without even noticing them!

I also have the shortness of breath in bed. My solution it to get plenty of excercise and this helps. It also stopped the heart beat issue.

My arms also feel heavy like yours.

Hope this helps.

Steve

Jwonka

11-04-05, 21:10

hello! thanks steve, that really helped, can i ask do people without anxiety get missed heartbeats and if it was'nt anxiety can they be dangrous? ta x

sal

11-04-05, 21:11

Hi Jwonka

Sounds like you are having a bad time with the anxiety and people not explaining how it will effect you and how to cope. Hopefully reading this site will help you and we will also help you all we can. Just remeber you are not alone.

Love Sal xx

Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.

Karen

11-04-05, 21:16

Hi Jwonka

Welcome to the forum.

Karen

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

stephen_allott

11-04-05, 21:38

Hi Jwonka,

yes people without anxiety do get the missed beat thing. The technical term for it is a (premature ventricular contraction) PVC. This occurs in a lot of people as they get older and start around 30 to 40 years of age (apparently). I am pretty sure they are not dangerous, thats what I was told and I occasionally still get it.

I could suggest you check out the web of PVCs if you need further information but they can be a bit scary. The doctor told me that upto 6 extra beats a minute is considered normal.

Regards,

Steve

Jwonka

11-04-05, 22:17

thanks steve that helped although i won't read up on it cos it will scare me, can i also ask does anyone get back ache just below their shoulders and their right arm aches or sometimes their left. if its not one thing with me its another. x

stephen_allott

11-04-05, 23:50

Hi JWonka,

with anxiety you are very succeptable to muscle aches and spasms as your nervous system is working overtime and stimulating your muscles which can cause impingment of nerves etc. I get it between the shoulder blades and down my left arm, my lower luber region and down my leg! That is why I find excercise really helps.

Steve

linjane

12-04-05, 09:16

Hi Jwonka,
I have suffered anxiety for many years and for the last three years have suffered with the missed heartbeat. For all I know I might have always had it, but never noticed it before and now I am so aware of all my bodily functions I notice it. Who knows? Have you tried any relaxation methods?

Steve, you are a mine of information and if all what you have said is right, you have helped along with everyone else on here, to put my mind at rest!!! On bad days I have missed beats on and off all day long, on good days just the odd one and I do find them very scary!
Take care,
Linda.x

Tracy68

12-04-05, 09:27

Hi Jwonka
Welcome to the site and anxiety. Your symptoms sound like classic anxiety ones to me.
I to suffer with missed (ectopic) beats and have done for 24 years, although very scarey they are very common. Try not to focus on them when they do happen (easier said than done) and try and control your breathing at the time.
You're not alone in this at all and i'm sure you will continue to find plenty of help and support from everyone on here to help you through this.
Take care
Tracy
x

Jwonka

12-04-05, 11:42

hello! its just not the missed heartbeats that i'm scared of its the constance pain in my chest or sometimes when i wake up my chest feels nervous, is this all normal?

stephen_allott

12-04-05, 18:04

Hi JWonka,

Every morning I awake with anxiety. It feels like when you are nervous at the top of your stomach and up into the throat. It used to tighten my chest but it doesn't anymore as I have learnt to really relax my shoulders neck and chest.

If you suffer from General Anxiety it can exhibit itself as heart attack like symptoms and like yourself I ended up at ER (A&E in the UK). Since the ER visit I have been taking a Selective Seratonin Re-Uptake Inibitor (SSRI) called Lexapro which really stabilized my anxiety. As I said before I still wake feeling anxious but it rarely escalates further. Also, vitamin B12 reduces my anxiety as well as bananas. I am not sure whether it is the potassium in bananas or if it affects the serotonin levels.

My advise would be to speak to you doctor about help treating general anxiety, knowing that the likelyhood of having anything serious is low.

Good luck and keep us informed. Any information helps.

Steve:)

Jwonka

12-04-05, 22:46

hello steve, to day i had a really bad day. i was trying to do my breathing excerises and my stomach had this werid senstation which went to my thorat and i had to glasp for air, anyway i went to a&e and they took bloods, 2 ecgs and said i was ok and could'nt explain why i had it, back home now and my neck feels tight and i'm to scared to go to sleep, by the way this happened twice when i was alseep last week, could this be a form of excess wind? x

sal

12-04-05, 23:05

Hi Jwonka

Sorry today has been so bad for you. This is anxiety related and you can wake up during the night feeling like you have due to anxiety, i have many times. You have been reassured by the hospital and i do hope this at least gives you some comfort.

Love Sal xx

Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.

stephen_allott

13-04-05, 00:08

Hi JWonka,

really sorry to hear you're having a rough time:(. Hopefully by the time this is posted you have gotten some sleep. It is very true that your stomach is effected by the anxiety. About 15 years ago I was diagnosed with IBS, since then I have come to conclude it was all part of a General Anxiety Syndrome. The bloating of the stomach also occurs when you hyperventilate which then pushes on your diaphram making it difficult to breath. When I am like this at night I sleep on a mattress that is raised about 12 inches at the head end. I sleep this way for about 2 weeks. This helps me as the tightness of my throat is thought to be due to reflux (worsend by the bloating) and the raised bed gives the esophogus time to heal. Unfortunately having had the stomach thing for such a long time I have had pretty much all stomach related symptoms. Like one of the other writers said breathing can help alot if you can avoid the panic attack.

If it is reflux it can be treated easily using strong ant-acids which your doctor can prescribe.

bluesparkle

13-04-05, 11:13

hello!
i just wanted to say hi... and also to say that i agree with the replyies you have had so far...
i couldnt believe how ill anxiety etc can make me feel...
i thought i must be over re-acting as im never ill but i have learnt alot from the people and information on this site and it all seems to come part and parcel of our problems...
everyone here is great and really friendly and they will help all they can...
it is good to know that we are not alone though isnt it..
hope your day today is better
take care
rach

Jwonka

13-04-05, 15:14

hello everyone! thank you all u have been a great help. had 2 visit doc 2 day cos i went 2 a&e and hes given me beta-blockers so hopefully this mite work. keep u posted xx

clickaway

13-04-05, 20:27

Hi there,

sorry you are going through such a rough patch.

I have woken up at night on several occassions due to anxiety. I think this is because that there is nothing to distract your subconscious from the thoughts of disorder and you may tense up whilst asleep as a result.

For example, I have woken in the middle of the night with extremely tense wrists, tingling in my thighs and a super-dry throat.

Its really tough convincing yourself that you are not in danger - you will get to realise that in due course.

Keep following the posts here, post here yourself or come in the chatroom!

Ray

Don't wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you've got to make yourself.--Alice Walker