Fallen off the anxiety wagon... with more heart worries

[benjamin222]

I'm extremely tempted to just start posting symptoms and ask everyone if I'm sick or not... but I know how that never really gets anywhere or truly helps anxiety...

But annnnywayyyy I'm in such misery right now I have to... sorry

It feels like someone has jammed a huge needle straight into my heart and is slowly pumping it full of some kind of paralyzing agent. Chest pains, limb pains, feeling like jello, dizzy, headache, nauseous, pressure on my sternum, feels like someone is pushing down on my chest on throat, indigestion. Constant palps, especially during any time that conjures pretty much any emotion... annoyance and anger especially... I could swear a horrible cardiac arrhythmia that results in sudden death is in my near future. Like the entire electrical system of my heart is completely ****ed.

Haven't seen a doctor in the last 6 months, however I've had at least a dozen ECG's and various scans on my heart in the last 4 years.. pretty much everything except a holter monitor and stress test, all have come back fine. I'm 24 and fairly skinny, eat very well, almost all organic food. The only thing I don't do is exercise regularly because I can't exercise without fears of a heart attack... Still on my same meds I've been taking since 12th grade btw.. 50mg zoloft and 20 mg propranolol daily. Just been sitting in my room watching movies for the past 2 days... The hangover, step brothers, 500 days of summer.... desperately trying to get my mind off my symptoms.

Sorry I guess I'm posting to get this information out in the open and off my mind more than wanting to annoy people with my symptoms, sorry if I did. 10% of my brain knows I'm fine and nothing is wrong with me, the problem is convincing the other 90%.

[dan84sim]

I'm the same as you Ben, I suffered really bad with chest pains, stomach pains, dizzyness, feeling sick, headaches, limb pains, feeling very light weight (like i'm about to drift off), shortnesses of breathe, weird or difficulty breathing and swallowing and this fear that death was imminent and that the doctors had got it all wrong! I had ecg's, stress test, holter for 24 hours, blood tests, they've listened to my heart, lungs, i've had an mri scan of my brain! All these tests have come back completely normal and for a while i'm ok, then i have a bad day and i stress and worry about it.. As soon as i get a twinge or a sudden pain i scare myself thinking that i am ill and the doctors missed something! I have even in a blind panic threatened the doctors that i will put something in a will that should i die soon from an illness they should have detected that my parents are to sue the NHS.. Lol
It comes and it goes but this week since Saturday I have been worse than normal, I played football/soccer on saturday morning and although i never got hit or tackled hard my chest was really really painful, ever since then i have been worrying about, i notice my heart beat quicken or slow, feel heavy thumping away or really light like it is not there at all.. I have resisted going back to the hospital as i am trying to convince myself in a couple of days I shall be fine but its frustrating being in this train of thought that maybe something is really wrong now! I try to take comfort from the fact that i have had theses feelings since April ish now, if i was really ill, wouldn't i be dead by now!

hope things improve dude!

[PokerFace]

I've been convinced there's something wrong with my heart since March the 12th this year. I get chest pain, palpitations/ectopics that sometimes really hurt, left arm pain, everything! I stopped exercising because of it too but as someone kindly pointed out to me, your doing more damage by not exercising than you would by doing it. Exercising makes your heart stronger. I don't know much about arythmia or sudden death syndrome cuz I try not to read too much about heart stuff cuz it sets me off but if you were gonna die of sudden death syndrome it DEFINATLEY would be picked up on an ECG because it's a problem with the left ventricle that shows up. ECGs can pick up..erm I think its 99.somthing% of heart problems.

After 138 DAYS of not exercising, I've been doing half an hour each day for the past 3 days. Only problem I've found is I'm so tired today!! I suppose I have just woke up though lol :D. Remember to get back into it you don't have to strain yourself, you can just start with 10 minutes a day and gradually build it up. You don't even have to do it everyday, I read 3 times a week is a good place to start. Saturday night and most of Sunday I had bad palpitations and chest pain but I exercised anyway and they went! Why not start with little walks outside, just to the end of your street and back or if that makes you uncomfertable just run up and down the stairs 3/4 times, that will get your blood pumping!

I've only had probably about 3/4 ECGs in my life, last ones being the day it happened over 8 months ago. You sound like you've had a lot of tests and if there was anything wrong with your heart they would have picked it up. You're only 24 years old, your hearts still VERY strong and can cope with a lot.

You said "It feels like someone has jammed a huge needle straight into my heart and is slowly pumping it full of some kind of paralyzing agent. Chest pains, limb pains, feeling like jello, dizzy, headache, nauseous, pressure on my sternum, feels like someone is pushing down on my chest on throat, indigestion. Constant palps.."

1st symptom DEFINATLEY sounds like health anxiety, catastrophizing (sp?) At one point I was convinced my insides around my heart were rotting lol ew. Chest pains and limb pains sound like muscle tension. I scrunch myself up and tense ALL around my chest, left arm, left side of neck, shoulder, even jaw because I'm trying to "prevent" a heart attack. This amount of tension has led to a lot of pain in those areas and the left side of my neck being rock solid! Tension can also cause headaches, VERY bad ones in my experience. The palps, indigestion, nausea, diziness, feelings of pressure in the top of your chest and throat, can ALL be caused by anxiety too.

ANYWAY, to cut a long story short, if there was anything wrong with your heart they would have picked it up. Try a little exercise and some relaxation methods (hot baths, lavandar oil, slow breathing etc) and try to draw focus away from your heart and to your anxiety. Start to recognise your symptoms as purely anxiety symptoms, and when you start to get scared remind yourself you have anxiety NOT a life threatening illness. You can't adress anxiety if you don't beleive you only have anxiety. Easier said than done, believe me I know cuz I'm still trying to do this, but it will be SO much help in the long run. Sorry for the rant! You take care :) xx

Oh, almost forgot, when you get paticularly scary palps, try to have a read through this. It reassures me every time. http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/palpitations/

[benjamin222]

"At one point I was convinced my insides around my heart were rotting lol ew"

HOLY CRAP!!! Emma... Occasionally I perform stand up comedy and I work my hypochondria into the routine... anyway I talk about how I have "Heart Molding... a disease so rare I just made it up right now". Anyway I based it on one of my ongoing fears that the tissues of my heart were literally being eaten away by some kind of bacteria or something, like I was convinced if you had taken a color x-ray of my heart it would have patches of green. It's so weird hearing someone else have the EXACT same crap going through their head! Especially something so strange and obscure. Honestly that in itself clues me into the fact that we're truly going through the same thing... thanks so much! And yes I know, I really do need to start exercising... haha people keep reminding me every day. Also I need to get back on a normal sleep routine, it's 3 am where I'm at right now (Seattle). Simply sleeping normal hours helps anxiety a lot.

[KatieBel]

How's this for freaky.....I kept getting a strong pulse right near my belly button and was convinced my heart had actually slipped down!....sounds mental now but I was CONSUMED with this worry! lol

[PokerFace]

LOL yep, thoughts like that are typical health anxiety! Don't worry, I only started exercising 3 days ago and I only started to sleep right about 2 weeks ago. I'd do nothing but sleep all day then sit up all night staring at the computer convinced there was something wrong with my heart. Exercise and sleeping right have definatley helped me so far! I just hope I can keep it up this time lol.

If you ever need to talk feel free to send me a PM! It's nice when people understand exactly what you're going through! Glad I made you feel a little better. x

[benjamin222]

Thanks Emma! Definitely will. And Katie, the pulse in your belly button is your abdominal aorta, if that fear ever comes up again. Totally normal to be able to feel your pulse there... esp during times of stress!

[Antonia]

Hi Benjamin, I can so relate to your fears. Everyone on here can so don't worry about being an annoyance. This site is for us to support each other. You sound like you're really fit so I know there's no way you're heart's diseased. I have abused my body for years with food and I could definitely stand to lose weight. When I started getting palps I was so convinced that my heart was diseased from my bad habits. More than one Dr has told me that at age 34 that would be extremely unlikely even though I'm far from being in shape...So I would say it's even more unlikely for you to be diseased as you're 24, thin and eat organically. It's hard to accept when you feel those awful symptoms, I know. Oh boy! Do I know! Take care, Antonia.