Hi everyone........

[edward]

My name is Edward,and i had my first panic attack almost a year ago this week.

It was not long after i started looking after my 2 year old son,full-time,because my wife was offerd a fantastic job,which we cound not turn down.

The last year has been hell,trying to keep a young child entertained,whilst barely being able to leave the house because of the panic and dizziness.
Then in October this year i was admitted to hospital with severe chest pains,but all the tests came back negative,but the chest aches continue to this day..........does anyone else suffer these???

I have gone from being a sports-mad young person,to barely having the energy to do anything........i would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks.

[Lottie32]

Hi Edward

Firstly welcome to this forum, everybody on here understands exactly what you are going through, and there is always somebody there who is ready to offer support and advice, so never think you are alone.

Go to the home page and read everything you can. The search engine on this site is very good too - if you go into it (top right) and put in chest pains, you will see just how many other people suffer exactly as you do.

There are several things you can do to help yourself
1. Visit the doctor. He may prescribe drugs (good for the short term to give you a "boost"), also ask him to be put down for CBT. This is an excellent therapy, and is recognised as one of the main ways to get yourself better.
2. Believe in yourself, and where possible try not to give in to the mental and physical symptoms you may suffer. Panic and anxiety are very good at dragging you down very quickly - and keeping you there
3. Eat a healthy balanced diet. Eat little and often. Eat foods that are full of complex carbohydrates. (Wholemeal pasta, bread, nuts, pulses etc.)
4. Take some exercise - if you are finding it hard to leave the house, buy yourself a fitness video.
5. Take realistic steps - don't think I must exercise, therefore I will join the gym, then realise you aren't able to get there because your panic won't let you. Think instead - I must exercise, I am going to put my child into its buggy and walk for 5 minutes down the road, then turn round and come back. Keep repeating each day, and gradually increase the time you are out. It is from taking "little" steps, that we are able to progress to bigger ones.
6. Practice breathing correctly - there are some exercises on the home page
7. Make some time for you, and try and relax every day. Whatever works for you is fine, be it playing darts in the garage with a friend, reading a book, watching a video.
8. Keep a little diary of progress. Write down some things you want to do - my has things like 1. Do not smoke more than 10 cigs a day. 2. Walk for 20 minutes at least three times a week. 3. Have an early night each week etc. etc. Record all the good things. It can also be useful for monitoring links between actions and physical symptoms (i.e. my reads Friday night - Met Jan in pub, drank too much, didn't sleep well. Saturday - hangover, tired, anxious, jittery all day.)
If you notice that you have "triggers" try and cut them down, or avoid them altogether.
9. Keep reading the posts. There is always some good advice being passed around.
10. Remember you are not alone. We all know what you are going through, and we are all here to help


Charlie

[edward]

Thanks Charlie,some great advice.

The things i am really going to concentrate on,are exercise and diet.

Speak to you soon,hopefully.

[Lottie32]

Glad I've managed to be a bit of help!

I'm about to join the gym, and have actually made a phone call today. Unfortunately there is nobody there to book me in for an assessment.

My plan was to have in induction before Xmas, then I can go over the holidays, and get a bit fitter, and take my mind off the stress and strain of the blo**y festive season! (Humbug)

Now I'm starting to worry about how long I'm going to be in there for, and if I get anxious, how stupid I will look if I just run out half way through!!!!!!!

So I've just sat myself down and given myself a firm talking to!

If I can survive the dentist chair, the gym should be childs play. And you never know, I might enjoy it!

Well done on taking your first step, and realising that you have a problem. It can be hard sometimes to force yourself to do things, but it really is true - the more you do, the easier it gets!

Megs theory on doing everything three times is excellent (Meg is full of excellent theories that really do work in practice!!)



Charlie

[Meg]

Mostly because I've had to go through it all myself and learn the very hard way.

I am d*****d if it was all for just me, when it's the most common emotional disorder out there and there are literally 1000's of people who currently feel like I felt for so long..

I've also read and taught lots since then and still I'm learning, but I have got a bit of a head start as I had all my experince and training as a nurse to help too!!


Thank you kindly though Charlie.



Meg

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...

[Lottie32]

Forgot to mention that Edward - all the advice on here is from people who have BEEN THERE. Some of them are "experts in their field", some of us are well read lay men, and some of us are from the school of "learnt the hard way".

Sometimes the advice you get is so good, you forget that the person giving it only knows it works because they had to use it!

Top tip though - Meg sorted me out with a delicious dried fruit/nut mix. It was a bit too delicious though, and I ate too much, too quickly, with explosive results!!!!

So a word of warning - in the same way you should get fit gradually, if your diet is really bad, and you don't eat fruit/veg/wholemeal bread etc. etc. now, remember to introduce them gradually too!!!!!! Or else you could end up getting very fit, running up and down the stairs to the bathroom.

Charlie

[benoo5]

welcome edward,congrats on having a little one..oops meant kiddie,but ime not going to edit it,cos it might bring a smile to someones face.

diet,and exercise will do you the world of good,but please combine this with vitamin B complex.

as charlie has said,read all the information available on this great site,and use this forum,whenever you feel the need for support,or advice...best wishes..bryan.

[edward]

once again,thanks..........nice to know so many people suffer with me,if you know what i mean!!

The one thing i find hard to get my head around,is how quickly my anxiety came on me....going from a very fit and active,outgoing person,to what i feel like today

There must be some connection with the stress of looking after my boy full-time,lack of sleep etc,as the symptons started not long after.

I dont know how mothers with 2 or 3 little ones cope!

[Lottie32]

Edward

I sometimes think it's the symptoms that seem to come up and hit you in the face and you think "where the hel* did this come from"

But if you look closely, you will realise that subtle (and not so subtle) changes had been happening for a long time that seem to suddenly manifest itself as in your face panic.

For example, I have suffered on and off since my early teens. I went through a huge chunk of my life (mid to late twenties) where I was "fine", and did millions of things I don't feel able to do at the minute.

Then my dad died, and my gran had a heart attack as a result, and I thought "OMG - I'm bound to start feeling anxious now". But I didn't. I was fine, and for a whole year I coped with looking after gran (before work, during my lunch, after work, did my horses, went to work and kept up my hobbies and evening bar job)

After a year, my mum finally got her head sorted, my gran had made a full recovery, and all of a sudden, things were back "to normal". And then I started to get panicky and anxious again.

Having been involved with this site, I am now coming round to the conclusion that it was not having enough time for me, and breaking all my old routines (going to Lichfield to stop with friends, spending weekends away grooming at horse shows, travelling the country etc), because I didn't have time in that first year, that made me regress. I had not spent any time on me, had forgotten how to relax, and my mind and body were having to work at 300 mph to fit in and do all the things that needed to be done.

I think that the sudden changes in your lifestyle would quite definitely have triggered your problems. However, as I have also discovered, the issue isn't how to remove the problems, but learning how to cope with them, and also learning life skills to prevent them from re-curring.

I believe it's perfectly possible. In my case, it's going to take a long time, because I have felt this way for more than half my life, and I have too many ingrained bad habits to cure myself quickly, but if you anxiety hasn't been around for that long, you should soon find yourself feeling better, if you take the advice thats offered!!!

Think you are doing a fantastic job - I love my friends kids to pieces because I can have quality time with them, but leave whenever I want!

It won't be long before he can start nursery, and then you can start spending a bit of well deserved time on you!

Good luck

Charlie

[edward]

Thanks Charlie........i hope everyone on here is as nice as you!

[Lottie32]

Edward

Everybody on this site has been nothing but supportive and friendly to me.

Bryan is a star, always making everybody laugh, and he and Nic, Emily, Diana, Lucky and Bishop are always ready to offer support and help.

Meg is a bit different, cos she is a trained professional, but one who has been through what we are going through. And more importantly come back out the other side. Personally I find this excellent, cos it basically means what she says really will work - I still listen to my doctor and counsellor of course, but somehow advice is easier to take from somebody who actually KNOWS how you feel.

I know that you will get lots of support and advice on this site, and really hope that it starts to make a difference very soon!


Charlie

[stephen]

hi edward i,m a new member myself .i can identify with so much you say .this is a really helpful (and very amusing!)site .i know this must soud daft at the moment but stay positive .it s so scary at first but it does get better .remember you,re not alone ! take care ,maybe see you in the chat room ?

[nomorepanic]

Hi Edward

Welcome to the site :-)

I suffered chest pains for a long time but they did subside when the panic got easier. You will get there with time and patience.

Good luck

Nicola

[tony1]

I know this is a late post and I am new to the site. I hope your chest pains are better now. I have been dealing with chest tightness and pressure for 3 weeks now. I too ended up in the emergency room. Cardiac blood work done, ecg, chest x-ray. I had a stress test/ecg done with my doctor of internal medicine a week later. I was told everything looked great but I don't feel so good. I am beginning to get my migraine headaches back again too. I am contemplating more heart testing too. This anxiety and panic stuff snuck right up on me about 5 years ago. I think in my case the stress of life just became to much. I always worry about EVERYTHING so I guess I pushed my body to the limit. I think getting over this kind of stuff takes a combination of things, the right medicine and mindset, etc. Just when I thought I had reached the end of my rope 5 years ago I beat it. I guess I am in for another fight.

[Meg]

Tony,

How about viewing it as an amateur hostage situation.

Initially your captors watch and taunt you every minute but as time passes you all shake down together and as you don't put up too much of a fight and accept the situation you're in although you have no control, you know it will be OK and the episode goes into chronic mode,then they get a bit bored of it all and look for an excuse to let you go.

Fighting and constantly looking for an alternative diagnosis is not the only option as it keeps it very alive. Whilst you're searching for a physical thing then you're not addressing the real issues that brought you here. Get checked out once , maybe twice - after that acceptance .

It's especialy hard in the USA as the docs will continue to send you for more and more tests alomost on request. In the UK in the NHS, it simply wouldn't happan after a reasonable battery of initial screenings .


Meg

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...

[tony1]

Radar, I hate to hijack this thread but you have read my initial problems with this chest tightness and pressure. I now find myself obssessing over it. I am 35 yrs of age, male, and do have high cholesterol. I had the blood work to check for cardiac damage, and ecg and then another ecg followed by a stress test as mentioned before. In your opinion what are the chances that something really could be wrong with my heart? I know anxiety is getting the best of me now. Every morning I wake up now and the first thing I do is get up and check to see if the discomfort is still there and then my day is ruined. This coming week will be 4 weeks with the chest discomfort with no relief. I know you said before that if there was something wrong it should have happened by now. I keep searching the net to see how reliable or accurate a stress test is, etc. I hate to get more testing especially considering I don't have the best insurance but as time wears on I get more worried. I try to ignore it but I cant. Heck I got on the stair stepper and did a hard 20 minutes to prove to myself it was ok. I had my heart working hard the whole time with no change in symptoms. I just keep thinking that I am having the early symptoms of something that is going to cause a heart attack or cardiac arrest and I need to find it before it gets me. I am even getting throbbing on the left side of my chest now. Ugh!

[Meg]

Tony,

Good for you for getting on a stepper. Well done !!

If you did a hard 20 mins with sweat and all and had no symptom change you do not have ischaemic heart disease imminently leading to a heart attack. You essentially did your own stress test and have your own results. I hope you'll agree that your stepper exercise was harder work than the stress test. All a stress test looks for is a change in pain levels reflecting a lack of oxygen and similar changes on your EKG . You didn't have these. .


The only way to get a heart attack is to have reduced oxygen supply to the coronary arteries and these would complain heavily by causing pain. It always gets worse on exercise when you need an increase in oxygen. You didn't have this

As for a cardiac arrest , the heart runs on its own generator and provided it has fuel - oxygen and nutrients - it just keeps going and going. Elderly people sometimes get warning of possible wearing out by symptoms other than pain.

It'slikely your pain is musculosceletal in origin and not cardiac.

Massage, stretching and relaxation.


Meg

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...

[tony1]

Thanks radar I'm trying. What you say makes sense.