breathless and left arm pain how would I know if it was a heartattack? Very anxious

[gordie1]

Hi there about 4 hours ago I got a really sharp stabbing pain in left hand side of chest over nipple and into my shoulder that went away I was leaning overt the computer at the time of the pain, (its back now) then I left the house and went into town about a mile and half walk to go to the theatre with my parents and I couldnt get my breath as I was sitting in the theatre in the second half I got a really sore left arm just above my wrist like a sharp stabbing pain and again I cant seem to catch my breath. I am also having cold sweats but I have also been really anxious recently went to the dentist for 2 fillings on wednesday and had to take 10mg of lorezapam over 12 hours just to sit in the chair, but I got them done and I always feel a bit crappy after that. My mother thinks it is my posture as I was all hunched up over my left side in the theatre and she thinks the cold sweats are the lorezapam leaving my system Im getting the pain as I am typing now. Im trying to logacalise this but not doing so well im terrified I may be missing something and Im going to die. I have also been passing lots of wind all night. Ive been good so far and not googled a first for me. But if I phone up nhs24 they will ask me all these safety questions and I am sure I can answer yes to them all and they will get an ambulance for me, If it was a heart attack would I really be doubting. I also had a strong coffee this afternoon and I think there is a conncection between muscle pain and caffeinne but I feel like I am going mad.

[onlysmee]

Hi Geordie1, sounds like you are having a really rough time. Without knowing your health history and being there, no-one can diagnose what's happening to you. Many of us will be able to say we've had things like that happen to us before and it's all turned out to be anxiety; if you're prone to anxiety and have no history of heart problems and no risk factors, it's likely to be anxiety linked. However, given it sound like you've not had symptoms like this before and you are concerned, maybe you could give NHS Direct a call and explain that you have anxiety, but you are concerned about ignoring these symptoms, and see what they propose? There may be a middle ground between a blue-lights ambulance and sitting at home worrying yourself sick... It's a horrible dilemma to be stuck with.

[nomorepanic]

Heart attack pain is felt in the middle of the chest but they say that any chest pain accompanied with arm pain and sweats should be looked at.

If you are worried then you must see a doctor

I have had a heart attack and would not have had time to post on here about it to be honest but everyone is different. I think you need to trust your own judgement on this one and do what you feel is for the best

[gordie1]

I had a normal ecg done 6 weeks ago

[gordie1]

It seems to be worse when I move my arm into my chest making me think it is muscular

[nomorepanic]

ok it is not a heart attack then and probably muscular.

[onlysmee]

Geordie1, I find it often helps to agree with yourself what decision you are going to end up making. If you are worried enough / feeling bad enough to end up seeking advice / reassurance from a medical source, do it now. You'll save yourself hours of distress that way. If you're not going to do that, because you actually believe it's not likely to be a serious problem, try to commit to that course of action - maybe take a couple of painkillers to deal with any muscular pain, try to move your mind away from constantly running over your symptoms and concerns, and get some rest. The hovering in the middle, trying to make your mind up stage is debilitating, and embeds those worry patterns even deeper. Better in my view to act - even if it turns out to be a happily false alarm - or take a conscious decision to leave this one be. (I'm historically poor at following this advice, but know it makes sense!!)

[gordie1]

Thanks onlysmee Im going to take 2 paracetemol and a valium., Im getting the pains as I am typing. which is a good thing I think . This health anxiety is ruining my life I want to go away on holiday for a couple of days but what if I feel like this when Im away? Spending a lot of money to go away and feeling anxious

[onlysmee]

I know, it's so frustrating when the endless cycle of worry feels like it's depriving you of any joy in life, and all you want to do is break that cycle but you can't because you're so scared. You're not alone in this, it's not your fault, and you didn't ask for it; it's a complete catch-22 when you're stuck in the middle of a bad bout of HA, because the very thing most of us fear most - something going seriously wrong with us - feels like it might be happening any time, but we don't know whether our own minds are creating it, so we don't know whether to get help or not. I've lost count of the number of times I've sat there, usually in the middle of the night, thinking "well, I've got to ignore this because I know it's likely to be anxiety and I can't keep raising alarms or people will never listen to me again", but wondering if I do nothing, I'll die just like that. I'd like those hours back, along with the days I've wasted researching symptoms, or running the same awful thoughts on a loop, variations on a grim theme. I hope that by following through on my CBT, I won't lose too many more days that way.

I hope things are improving; if you do decide to get checked out, don't beat yourself up about it - if nothing's wrong, that's good news and you'll have learned more about anxiety symptoms! If you decide to try to ride it out, again, when you come out the other side tomorrow you'll have learned more about what anxiety can do which will help if the same thing happens again. We all do the best we can, and I think we learn a bit each time something like this happens, even if it doesn't feel the least bit positive at the time. Try to go easy on yourself; if you do go away and you do struggle with your anxiety, there's no point blaming yourself or getting frustrated over the waste - maybe try as hard as you can to stay in the moment; when you find yourself drifting away from the moment into anxious thoughts, be kind to yourself about having done that, but pull yourself back into the moment. I know everyone says this stuff and it's hard to do, but it will help. But most of all, be as kind to yourself as you would be to anyone else who is struggling and distressed - the fact that it may be something you're doing to yourself doesn't negate the pain it causes you. I have been my own worst enemy and harshest critic, blaming myself for my weaknesses; it look someone else's immense kindness and empathy to make me see how cruelly I was judging myself. Sending you the best of wishes :hugs: