Anxiety chest pains that won't go away?
Posted , 42 users are following.
Last week I woke up with really bad chest pains in the left side of my chest. I was alarmed, but I ignored it and went back to sleep, hoping that it would go away when I woke back up. I woke up again and it didn't go away. The pain was still present. I continued feeling that way throughout the day until it became night time and I just couldn't take it anymore. I was frightened. I was so scared that something was wrong with my heart. I became so anxious that I started crying because of the pain and how scared I was. I went to the ER and they gave me an EKG. Fortunately, it came back normal and the doctor said my vitals were also fine. I also had a chest x-ray done and that was fine too. They said I may have pulled a muscle by lifting something heavy, but I can't remember doing that. I was told to take ibueprofen for the pain and the pain was supposed to go away in about a week. Even though they told me I was fine, I wasn't convinced. The pains started to go away but would come back every now and then. About three days later, I felt like I couldn't breathe well. I kept having to take deep breaths and I became even more scared. My father called 911 and an ambulance came to our house. They said my vitals were fine and my blood pressure was a little high but that was just because of how nervous I was. They asked if I wanted to go to the hosptial and I said yes, because I was truly scared. They gave me an EKG and it was normal, my oxygen levels were fine too. Everything was okay. But I was still scared.
When arriving to the hospital, I was given another EKG and had bloodwork done, along with a urine test. They asked me if I had a history with anxiety and I do. But at the time, I didn't understand how anxiety could affect me in this way. So, I didn't believe that my anxiety was the reason for it either, because it has never been this bad. They montiored my heart and oxygen, and blood pressure. Then the doctor told me my heart was fine, and my bloodwork was fine. Everything was fine, my EKG, everything. She said she thinks it may have been some anxiety creeping up on me, that's how she worded it. But at the moment, nothing in my life is causing me to feel anxious. The most that has been bothering me is my worries about my future, but I think that's normal. So, I was confused because the last time I was told it was a pulled muscle, and now I was told that it was my anxiety. But I wanted to believe what the professionals were saying, so I tried to accept it.
About two days later, I didn't really have bad chest pains. But I had this feeling that there was like, a lump in my throat. I googled different things and I became anxious because the feeling wasn't going away. I initially thought it might have been strep throat but my symptoms didn't match up. My throat wasn't sore, it just felt like something was in it? I felt at times like i was going to choke, or smother, the feeling just wouldn't go away. So I googled, "lump in throat feeling" and found, Globus Sensation. When I saw that it's something that people with anxiety disorders commonly feel, I felt like that had to have been it. I read through people's posts and they were describing exactly what I was feeling. I watched a video of some exercises to do for it, and I did them for myself. Just to give it a try, because if anxiety was the cause for my pains recently, it made sense, right? A short while later, the lump feeling in my throat went away. I was relieved that it worked. Do any of you know the feeling? Is it common? Will that feeling come back?
Now today marked one week since I first started feeling the chest pains and I started feeling pain in the middle of my chest this time, kind of like a sharp pain. I tried to calm myself down and tell myself it's okay, even though I was freaking out because the pain was in a different are of my chest this time. I was out in public at the time and I had to sit down because it was hurting me that bad. After sitting down for a few minutes and taking deep breaths, along with trying to remain calm, it slowly faded away. I took a long nap after arriving at home, and when I woke up the pain wasn't there, but it slowly came back. Right now, the pain isn't that bad, but I feel like it's still there.
My question is, is it normal for me to feel these pains for this long? And are the pains really because of anxiety? I was told something completely different the first time and now I'm supposedly feeling this way because of my anxiety. I'm just confused and not sure what to believe. I know I need to calm myself down and stop googling things, because it's just making me worry more. But if I really stop and convience myself that it will be okay, will I really stop being in pain? Will it be okay? I have a follow up appointment with my primary doctor in a day, and I have many questions to ask. I'm 20 years old and have a history of depression and anxiety. I currently take no medications (though I have in the past) and I just want answers, or reassurance. I'm still scared. Scared that the pains will come back because it's scary when I have them. I've never had this kind of experience before, it came out of nowhere.
10 likes, 57 replies
ryan49957 brite
Posted
Hi,
Reading all your comments with tears down my face and a slight sigh of relief. Like everyone else on this forum, I'm also experiencing chest pains and extremely severe levels of anxiety due to constant dizziness that no one can seem to diagnose
Bloods have come back ok. Had paramedics visit me last week as I wasn't feeling good - blood pressure & ECG all ok as well. I am due to visit the doctor again this week, however, I don't want him to assume I'm ok if all my tests are fine, as this is affecting my lifestyle dramatically. 23 years old with my life ahead of me, yet I'm scared to wake up each morning due to the uncertainty of how my day will plan out.
jill04306 ryan49957
Posted
Same Ryan, I am a 29 y/o female and I have had this for over a month and a half. I do have some good days but they are so rare like every 5 or 6 days of severe pain I will have one or two good days together and I am so the key for those days of peace because thats when I gather my strength for the next days of pain that I know will be coming. I am just reasy for a diagnosis already after seeing specialists and having all of those tests.. how can someone have pains this severe and this often almost every day and these doctors can't find anything? It's not my anxiety I know because I have had anxiety and panic attacks for years they are horrible but they aren't like this. This pain is as a broken bone. You know it's there because something inside of you needs to be fixed. I have always been very self aware. I worked in the medical field for a while and I know enough about the human body to be aware of what symptoms usually mean what and if you have this sort of pain here then you should probably get this or that checked. Like I usually hit the nails right on the head like I know these things. This one has me dumbfounded though because this is exactly what they tell you a heart in distress feels like. I even have the pain in my left neck shoulder and arm. And all of the tests come back normal. It. Really scares me i am impatient too because the longer they just keep shipping me around to different doctors who say they can't find anything I am still in pain and can't go to work. I stand on my feel for 10 hours at my job and if it were to get as bad as it does at home sometimes, and it even happens when I am at rest, so I especially worry about going back to being on my feet all day. If something is wrong with my heart that can't be good for me. *sigh* I am just sick of worrying and having pain it's bad for a person both physically and mentally.
jill04306 brite
Posted
I have been going through the exact same scenario for about 6 or 7 weeks now it's bad. Also, I haven't been able to work for over two weeks. The doctors from my fam doctor to a cardiologist to literally about 7 E.R. doctors have all said something different from heart palipitations, to anxiety, to panic attack, to hyperventilaion because the pain and pressure takes my breath away sometimes, musculoskeletal to pinched nerve, to i am a small woman and I have a small chest cavity and I need to have my ribs realigned, did that, being twisted up like a pretzel and cracked from my neck to my butt almost. I am still waiting on a diagnosis after having about 7 or 8 EKGs and dozens upon dozens of blood tests, I had my lungs checked and checked, ( I have chronic asthma so i know what lung pain is like, its not that) 2 echocardiograms, they checked in bloodwork for blood clots. Most recently they had me wear a 24 hour halter monitor. I go later today to hear the results of that. I don't want something to be wrong with my heart at all bc God knows that i would have anxiety and panic attacks every day worrying that I was dying every day from a heart attack. But that's how I have felt anyways for the past 7 or so weeks with the horrible left chest pain and pressure it literally takes my breath away and sometimes it's stabbing pains too. I just can't wait to be pain free so I can go back to work and enjoy my life again every day. The only peace I get sometimes is if I can sit perfectly still and drift to sleep. Without my meds making me a little sleepy I wouldn't even be able to do that. I just want a diagnosis already.
mariad21 brite
Posted
I was google-ing my symptoms that I have been experiencing for the past few days and came across this thread. I have GAD ,IBS, and depression (on-top of that i have APD). I'm 21, turning 22 in a few days. Usually my panic attacks co-inside with my IBS. I get really bad stomach pain and pain in my back. Sometimes it's so bad that I can't move. I hyperventilate at times from panic attacks.
But, I was getting an MRI with contrast last friday and I started getting burning pain on my chest during and after the test. The doctors at the MRI place checked me out and saying I was okay. After the exam, I had the pain but it subsided and got stomach pains instead. Like 6 hours later, all of a sudden I got the burning chest pain and feeling like I can't breathe ( i had to take long breaths). I end up at the ER; they check heart (EKG) and gave my some medicine in case I had a allergic reaction to the contrast and nausea meds. 3 doctors saw at the ER and they concluded that it was probably a severe panic attack. I never had this before. Since friday though, I've been getting these burning chest pains (and feeling like I can't breathe / choking feeling) on and off throughout the day.
TBH, I don't how to go about this. But the thread makes me a little less worried about what I have been experiencing. Hopefully, it goes away :\.
mart26018 brite
Posted
i have been feeling the same way for the past 3 mos already. The doctor also diagnosed me with anxiety. I just don't want to accept that i am anxious because I know I am not. its just so hard to ignore the pain when it occurs. Anyway I was given rivotril before bedtime. it somehow stopped the pain for quite a while but it still keeps coming back. I guess the best thing to do is to not really think about it and go on with life. i hate the medications and i don't want to get dependent on it.
We will get through this. Thank you for this info because this is the nearest to info regardibg my situation so far. I also had all the blood work and ecg and it was all fine.
devin1222 brite
Posted
Hi all,
I realize this post is super old but I have been going through pretty much the same thing in the last five months. Starting on New Year's Eve night, this weird chest feeling began and it was something I had never experienced before. It felt like something was stuck in my chest and all I needed to do was cough and it should have been clear but coughing didn't work at all. I didn't sleep at all that night because every time I tried to go to sleep and close my eyes, I would suddenly feel the need to catch my breath - almost as if I had stopped breathing but clearly I hadn't. The weird chest pressure stayed with me the entire next day until nighttime. That night I was able to sleep (probably because I was so tired from staying up the whole night before) and I woke up the next day with the weird chest pressure somewhat gone. It came back once more a few days later and then went away again. Ever since then I've had on and off chest tightness/pressure. I don't really feel any chest pain with the tightness, which I know a lot of the people on this forum are talking about. There's been a few instances where my chest will hurt a tad but nothing that scared me enough. The only thing that really scares me is when I'm trying to go to sleep and I feel like I have to regain my breathing for a second. My chest definitely feels like someone is squeezing my it. It is now May and I'm still dealing with this. Lately, I've been getting headaches and my head now has this weird pressure feeling. I'm finally going to see a doctor later today. My anxiety (not diagnosed but I know I definitely have it) stops me from wanting to reach out to doctors which is why I am just now going to see a doctor in-person. COVID also scares me because I don't want to go into the office but I know I need to see someone face-to-face about this. I've had many phone calls with doctors but they haven't really resulted in anything. The only tests I have had is a COVID test (when I first had the chest thing) and it came back negative, some blood tests, urine test, and a chest x-ray. My blood tests were good other than low levels of ferritin which my doctor told me to take iron supplements for a month along with vitamin C supplements. It's been over a month since then and I have stopped the iron supplements although my mom thinks my low iron could be a reason why I have some of these symptoms. My urine test was fine and so was my chest x-ray. I see a lot of people on here getting EKG's so maybe that's something I can get as well just to rule other issues out.
Like I mentioned above, I'm not officially diagnosed with any anxiety disorders but I just know I have it and social anxiety. But I've never experienced such physical symptoms from it as I have now. Everyone in my family keeps telling me it's anxiety but it just feels like there is something so wrong with me. Why would anxiety make my chest feel like this? In my head, it's clearly something medical that is wrong with me. I think that's another reason why I have prolonged talking to doctor's because I'm scared to be diagnosed with something and I'm even more scared for them to tell me that I am fine when I clearly do not feel fine.
Five months ago I felt "normal" and went about my days without a care in the world. I'd get anxious about things but usually when I would get anxious my stomach would start to hurt and make me feel like I had to go to the bathroom. I also get very flushed and hot when I get anxious. But now with this chest tightness and pressure, it freaks me out.
I'm 21 years old and a female. I do struggle with my weight (always have) and I know that I need to change my lifestyle/eating habits. It is definitely reassuring to read all of these and to know that we are not alone. The past five months I literally just sit at home and google the crap out of all my symptoms. Definitely not good. Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd put my story out in case someone else out there was experiencing the chest pressure/tightness rather than the chest pains.
shirley95327 devin1222
Posted
Hey.. I am 23 years old female and have been dealing with the chest pressure on right since last august. It feels as something is pulling my chest down and tight clothes give me slight relief. I also feel pain in my upper back, exactly opposite to where i feel the pressure. I recently lost my job and maybe because of that, the feeling is spreading to left side as well. At times, i also hear clicking sound in neck when i do deep breathing. Just wanted to know if you are experiencing these weird symptoms (chest pressure that eases with tight clothing) as well
devin1222 shirley95327
Posted
Hey Shirley,
Mine almost feels worse when I wear tight clothing. It's usually when I wear bras and I feel like it's constricting me and making my chest tighter.
But I relate with you about the feeling of something pulling my chest down. I feel it on my left side and it sorta goes under my armpit as well.
My tightness seems to last a couple seconds to a few minutes and goes away when I shift my positioning. I have some upper back pain as well and sometimes even feel a tight neck. I've been sleeping on a couch for a few months though so I think that may have something to do with my back pain lol.
I have now since seen a doctor and they prescribed me gabapentin for my anxiety but I don't really see a difference. I'm starting therapy this week for my anxiety so I guess I'll just have to wait and see if all these symptoms really are related to anxiety.
I'm so sorry to hear about your job. It's a tough time out there but you're definitely not alone! Just reading a few forums eases me a bit but it's definitely been a struggle.
I wish you the best and hope that we can both figure out what the heck is going on with us.
shirley95327 devin1222
Posted
Hey..thanks for the reply......i was given gabapentin as well but it didn't work......i am looking into therapy and strengthening exercises....will let you know if these things help....please let me know if something helps you đ
ben41166 brite
Posted
I've recently experienced very similar symptoms. Have you noticed a change in appetite or weight loss? How about bad dreams/nightmares? thanks