>>> Hello I'm a hypochondriac with... Heart worries<<<

[kinnygirl1]

Hello all... My Health anxiety is bad at the moment. I feel helpless, all I want to do is stay in bed! When I feel like this I just feel like running to a and e and scream "I am ill" I can not concentrate at work and have constant worry hanging over me.

I have had a blood test today to check for blood clots and vit d levels. I should get the results tomorrow, that's prob why im feeling scared... I also have my stress ECG on 19th Jan, I'm scared about this, what if I have a heart attack during the test? I have had a negative ECG stress test in 2008 but I just know that this time it will show that not enough blood is getting to my heart.

All this worry even though every dr I see tells me not to worry. Reading this post back makes me realise how screwed up my head is at the minute!! I know I'm not thinking clearly but can not shake it off.

Hi there - I do understand. I go through spells of being so worried about my heart that I can't function on any level. I had been doing better but the last week or so I have had this sort of awareness that my heart seems to be beating kind of fluttery and I have had left arm pains plus I am always a bit dizzy. I have been thoroughly checked out earlier this year with nothing major to report but of course in my head there is still some underlying, undiagnosed heart problem. Been talking to a counsellor at work today and she recommended CBT but the NHS waiting list is so long. Just wish I could resolve this now.

My technique for coping is to target myself to get through the next half hour(or the next day depending on how well I feel) without thinking about my heart and then I allow myself a good check of how I am feeling. If it's no worse I convince myself it was nothing serious.

Good luck x

PS- you will not have a Heart attack during your stress test but at least if you did you would be in the best possible place to receive help! THat sort of thing reassures me. I feel safest when I know medical help is not far away if needed!

[shsm]

Hi Jo and Kinny girl, thanks for your replies. Kinny girl I found your coping techniques advice useful. Thank you. A bit of an update, I had the exercise ECG. Ten minutes on a bike which tool me up to 92% target heart rate and guess what the test was negative. I was convinced that it would show an abnormality. Yes I felt relieved however I don't feel anxiety free and am still checking my pulse. :( on a brighter note I've decided to try and get fit again so I have been to the gym today and lifted some weights and had a steady jog on the treadmill which has made me feel better. I took it steady and hope to build my stamina up. I also got my blood test results back, the test to check if I had any clots was negative however vitamin d was slightly low.

How are you jo and kimmy? Jo you still having chest pains? I hope your feeling better.

[shsm]

I hate HA, it sucks. I feel sooo drained. I can't let this heart disease fear go. I have had two negative exercise ECG (one only last month) recent negative chest X-ray. Normal d-dimmer blood test and on addition i had two normal echos yet here i am putting my life on hold. I still have constant chest pain which is aggravated by climbing stairs or walking up a hill. I am short of breath to the point I feel that I cannot even have a conversation let alone walk to the shop. I also feel sick and get hot with just walking around.

My cardiologist is still adament that my problem is not heart related however what scares me are my symptoms that are soo similar to a heart problem. In the fight between me and HA. HA is defiantly wining.

I keep thinking that I have a heart problem that has not been picked up yet... In light of this I am going to see a different cardiologist next week to get his opinion and my mind is already telling me that he is going to tell me something is wrong.

I feel sooo lost, alone and desperate.

[pablo22]

hi! just wanna put my two cents in, ive gone through everything u have, am on 15mg of lexapro (SSRI) and had CBT, i worry all the time. im making connection aswell with my anxiety, its definately triggered when im stressed in college, or the shame associated with my homosexuality and how society has treated my sexuality since i was a child (bullying, denied rights, no role models, macho dad etc), also heightened emotion give me panic attacks, like anger or saddness. .. im trying to find a balance atm, im going to stick with the SSRIS for now, and then reduce the does gradually and i want to get over an exercise phobia i have... SO ye u are not alone!!! heart anxiety = nightmare + had lots of tests everything fine etc

[shsm]

Hi Pablo, thanks for your reply. I know every member of this site feels or has felt u and I at some stage. It's sooo difficult to try and think logically when your HA is at its peak.... :(

[melvin]

hi guys
im the same i went for a stress test last wk all ok did the full time no props that should have put my mind at rest but no next day i went to A + E with the chest pain again they did another ecg and blood test all ok they say its acid .

this wk im getting dizzy spells does it ever end

[shsm]

Hi Melvin, yeh I've had the dizzy spells aswel. They are not a pleasant experience. How long have you had your heart HA? Are your chest pains constant?

[xtremx]

Hi shsm
I am learning to understand that every twinge,stabbing,soreness that happens in my chest can come from loads of differnet things most that are harmless. Also I get jaw pain and also my left shoulder seen to have good days and bad days So always makes me think its the heart.
BUT if it was I must be having the longest heart attack on record.

For the first 6 months of my anxiety troubles i was doubled over in pain at night crying thinking i was haveing a heart attack, I would wake at night with stabbing pains and chest tightness i would not wake my wife but i would be at the foot of the bed crying with the pain and fear and that resulted in me starting to have panic attacks every night in bed for 6 months.
I was to scared to go to the doctors as was worried what they would tell me in the end i had to go. To some relief they did a ecg then a week later followed it up with another (they cameback fine) then they sent me for a treadmill stress test (that too was ok), They told me the pain i was getting was from something called costochondritis which is the most painfull thing i have ever felt in my life.

I still suffer with it after 2 years (comes and goes) but I also have heartburn and acid reflux. So I am always having some sort of chest pain and yes I find myself waitting for the big heart attack to come but (touch wood) it has never happened in 3 years.

So so far I have had about 20 standered ecgs (all fine) 2 treadmill stresstest (passed them ok) 2 trips to A&E so ecg all the way in the amburlance, chest x-rays and CPK blood test (all done twice) and everytime i left hospital with the thumbs up from the doctor.

But as I said in the first line its avout learning that all pains twinges and other things DONT have to relate to the heart.

Trying to put everything to the back of the mind is a hard thing to do but in the end we have to or we will go insane.

Goodluck in your search but i believe you have found your answer and that is your heart is fine, But as with us all or anxiety can sometimes beat us

[shsm]

Thanks for your words of wisdom xtreamx. I will keep you guys updated with what the new cardiologist suggests. I do hope it is something like costochondritis and not heart related. Is it just me or do you feel like you're life is on hold when worried about your health? I can't look to the future. I have tried meds and cbt but neither worked...

[Lisamarie]

I also have health anxiety and i have a fear of dying and the unknown I could write a book with the amount of illnesses i think I have but the doctors just say its anxiety grr i wish i could believe them