Worrying about Heart again

[sadie]

Hi everyone

I have had chest discomfort over the last week and I need some advice. The pain is down the left side of my breast and it is sore too touch and every once in awhile I get a sharp stabbing pain in that area. My chest feels tight and weird too. I seem to be getting a spasm of panic from my centre too and I feel it is related to the dizziness I have been experiencing lately.

Along with this I have had a few flutters in the centre of my chest and I have experienced these many times before and trying not to worry too mcuh about them.

What seems to be playing over adn over in my mind is could the dizziness be due to a heart problem? I read somewhere that heart problems cause dizziness? Is this correct?

I just cant stop fretting over the possibility of having a heart attack even 5 years on from my first PA. I always worry that maybe the next time will be real or that due to all the stress and anxiety over these 5 years I have caused a heart problem? Is this possible?

Would the Ecg's and the 24hr Ecg i have had in the past picked in any serious heart defects?

Sorry for going on but I have been worrying alot about this lately again and just need a little reassurance.



sadie

[molly15]

YES THE ECG AND 24 HR WOULD HAV PICKED ANY ABNORMALITIES I GET THE PAIN AND FLUTTERS AND I THINK THE DIZZINESS COMES BECAUSE WE IMMEDTLY PANIC WEN SYMPTOMS COME ON SO IT SEEMS LIKE THERE RELATED BUT THEY ARN;T.THE CHEST THING IS ANXIETY MY DOC HAS TOLD ME SO MANY TIMES HE MUST BE SICK OF ME.LIKE YOU IVE HAD TESTS AND THEY WERE CLEAR BUT IT DOESNT STOP US BEING SCARED.ANXIETY IS A TERRIBLE THING BUT CAN BE OVERCOME.HAVE U TRIED CBT OR ANYTHING.TAKE CARE MARCIA

i have to do it for my kids if not for myself marciaxx

[sadie]

Hi Marcia,

I had some CBT when I 1st had PA but not enough to really help but I have been put on atleast 1.5year waiting list through the NHS. I just cant wait that long so I have made an appt with outwith the NHS as i know I need help overcoming these constnt health fears.

Thanks for your help, its much appreciated.

sadie

[ashley]

I know how it feels when it comes to worry about your heart that is my biggest fear.
I have masif flutters, slow heart beat, fast heart beat, pains in the chest, dizzyness like im going to pass out, and thats not when i am panicky then.. ive had 2 ecg and they say that any heart defects will show up.

Im with you i could cry for you coz its so cruel anxiety isnt it,so cruel..
you will be fine ,i promise you.

ashley

[molly15]

I KNOW THE NHS IS SO LONG .I FOUND A PLACE CALLED THE STRESS CENTRE IN GLASGOW ITS A CHARITY AND YOU ONLY PAY WAT U CAN AFFORD.MAYBE U COULD SEE IF THERES SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN YOUR AREA. TAKE CARE MARCIA

i have to do it for my kids if not for myself marciaxx

[sadie]

Thansk Ashley - anxiety is such a pain isnt it but I guess in mnay ways its forcing us to look at ourselves and forcing us to make necessary changes in our life.

marcia - how weird is that - I work in Glasgow. Where is the Stress Centre and what do they offer?

sadie

[katyfitz]

sadie i have faith that you will be ok. im scared constantly of dying, when i feel my pulse and i cant feel it really pumping i think its gonna stop when i feel it proper pumping i think its gonna stop so i cant win i feel faint alot with worry and lack of energy can u relate to how i feel? i found this sight yesterday and believe me we can all help each other. Im from Eastkilbride in glasgow how about you
[8D]

[Trev]

Hi Sadie,

I remember when I first came on here you described my situation perfectly.
The dizziness was one of my main things. I'd get a chest pain and then spin out with dizziness which could last ages.
I went to the Anxiety Conference in London this year and the key speaker, Prof Salkavis (can't remember his spelling!) gave a talk on health anxiety. They have down a study on the life expectancy of anxiety sufferers against a control group. There was no difference. In fact the anxiety sufferers had a couple of years extra in their study.

I know how hard it is with this heart one. A test is only as good as the time it was done. Rather than just accept the result we latch onto, what next? What if they missed something? etc etc. At some point you have to try and ignore it. I think as well that there is a need to accept some level of the unknown. We have to accept that we don't control everything and that we have to live with a degree of the unknown. It's part of life. This is easy said and sometimes very hard to accept.

When your body is sensitised by the constant panic the pains come more often and harder. It's because you are focusing on them so much. Can you do anything that might take your mind off of it all? Do you try relaxation techniques?

Cheers,
Trev :D

[Piglet]

Yes I agree with Trev.

Sadie this is one of my main scares too - it's what brought me to the site in the first place. I think that I seem to have lots of variations on a theme with the old heart sensations, so each time I think ooooh what's this and then it all becomes worse because by now I am really scared.

I used to immediatley rest if something happened in the chest region, whereas I do seem to be getting a bit better at just resting for a few moments, rallying a little perspective (the word becomes perspex when I totally lose it :D) and then carrying on with what I am doing.

This more applies to palpitations but sometimes I just feel generally weak and shakey overall but seeming to come from the heart region leaving me feeling weak and even more anxious!!!

I have found time and time again that even if I feel scared enough to want to rest I must try and do this with distraction rather than concentrating on it. I felt like that this morning, then I got chatting on the phone and forgot about it and jumped on my trampolene for 4 songs before I remembered I was having a heart day today.

So there you go you see[:I][:I]:D

Just keep coming on here everytime you need reassurance that way you avoid it building up and you keep it in <s>perspex</s> perspective. :D!!!

Love Piglet xx

[jackie]

yes sadie the 24 hour tape and ecg would have picked it up. i feel this way many times and have all the things you are experiencing as we speak. the docs always tell me that if it is sore to touch it would not be your heart. my gp says if i was having a heart attack he could punch me in the area and i would not feel pain, i dont no if that makes sense but it will not be sore to touch

have you read claire weekes books on your symptoms. anxiety often causes dizzy spells. you will ge tthe book from the site below

you are not alone i promise
jackie

Reading for sufferers of Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Phobias and OCD. (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/NMPcms.php?nmppage=reading)

[molly15]

hi sadie the stress centre is on st james rd behind all the colleges in the city centre.they offer all sorts of therapy on a one to one .also meditation classes which i am doing now.they are great people who really care .give them a try. take car marcia

i have to do it for my kids if not for myself marciaxx

[sadie]

Thanks all for your kind replies,

Today the symptoms have been less painful than yesterday and I noticed today when I was talking to a girl in my work who has high BP and is pregnant at the moment, I felt the symptoms were more noticeable. I could ghear the inner chatter go... what if I have high BP etc etc. I also find that when I am alone, the symptoms become a lot more prominent too.... just goes to show they do get worse when we spend more time thinking about them.

Trev - you are so right about the whole giving up 'control' of everything and just accepting that sometimes things happen and thats just life. This is my biggest problem though, I find it very difficult to throw caution to the wind and just let life happen. I am trying and I will get there.

Thanks so much everyone, its good to know we are not alone.

sadie

[lin]

Hi Sadie

No matter how much we get told these heart flutters are down to anxiety you can never stop worring about it. I used to get flutters but now i get ectopic heartbeats which worries me loads i'm going to the doctors about it but i get worried about that incase he says there's something else wrong.

I do tend to get a little anxious when i get these but its hard not to think about it.

linda x

[Trev]

Hi Sadie,

you "sound" a bit better. I know exactly what you mean about the inner chatter when you hear of someone else's problems. BP was another of mine that I couldn't stop thinking about. I'd break out in masive sweats and feel dizzy and get all the pains at the slightest mention of things.

Throwing caution to the wind is very difficult to achieve when you are feeling the symptoms of health anxiety. I wish I could tell you something that would give instant help but I can't. For me, it was just a gradual acceptance that there is uncertainty in life. I'd always accepted this before but it became a concept almost impossible to bear when I was in the anxiety state. Gradually, I just made myself accept the test results and tried to not think about it all. As you say, it's worse when you are on your own and your imagination has a chance to run riot unchecked. Education on the subject and the help of others on here helped massively.

The only thing I could say is to try to become an objective observer of your own thought patterns and feelings. When you feel yourself having that initial thought and going down the negative spiral then do all you can to stop it and reverse the thoughts. Make the spiral as positive as you can manage. Tell yourself you've been through it loads of times and you are still here. You are ok. As soon as you can, try and distract yourself onto something that will absorb you.

All the best Sadie,

Cheers,
Trev :D

[sadie]

Trev - another fine example of the inner chatter happened today. I was out on aa client visit and suddenly I felt my head really sore at the top and around my eye. I automatically though the worse as I had banged my head against my cupboard door on Sunday ( and No I was not drunk either unfortunatley). Anyhow I found the thoughts going to blood clots etc etc... To help distract myself I decided to buy a magazine and just take my mind of the thoughts and before I knew it the thoughts were gone.

I am also reading Feel the Fear and do it anyway, which is helping a little, after all it is the fear of being unable to cope with ill health or whatever that makes you anxious that keeps the anxiety here. If you lose thia fear and feel more confident in your abilities to deal with whatever comes your way, nothing can really harm you!

Cheers and I hope your well.

sadie

[Trev]

Hi Sadie, yes we do have a tendency to go straight to the worst possible outcome. I think that it is possible to re-train your thoughts. As soon as you recognise that you've jumped straight in with a worst case outcome I think you have to get in the habit of immediately trying to replace it with a thought of what else could it be. Try to think of something funny even that it could be.

I'm doing alright at the moment thanks. Hope you continue to make progress :D

Cheers,
Trev