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chest discomfort for several years.

Posted , 4 users are following.

nellie56694
nellie56694

Hello, not wishing anything bad on anyone but yet hoping someone has my issues that I can may be learn from.For about 3 years now I have had what I would describe as chest discomfort. Its not really pain, just tightness or a feeling of a pinch or bruise just odd feeling usually in the center tho can be a little to left or right. I was so scared when this startd happening after months of almost daily of this I made an appointment The Dr just started asking me questions like do I seem to cry easy, stuff like that. My answers were yes. He prescribed me prozac, I said so u think nothing is wrong with my heart? He said no, its anxiety/panic attacks. I have always been prone to depression but the depression became worse when I started having all this but I got the script and after only a few days I had to stop, I got almost every side effect it listed. Dr switched me to celexa, I picked it up but was just too scared after what I went through on the other. The aniety I was diagnosed with I could definately tell, but only reall since I went to the Dr and took that prozac. If I thought I had weird feelings in my chest before, I really had them now. One day after a bad nihght, I asked for an EKG they said it was fine. I went to a second Dr, he diagnosed me with the same thing. Panic attacks & couldnt understand why I refused prescription.I have the doom and gloom feelings come over me but to me I do because of the chest issue, the Drs say I have the chest issues because Of my panic attacks. Anyway, on my own without drugs, I have continually worked at trying to change my outlook on life, brought religion back in my life, and constantly having to conquor my fear of a heart attack coming and happening. after about a year I guess I started going through menapause I stopped having my period.The chest issues have gotton better and isnt constant but yet appears almost daily for periods of time. Its been about 3 years now and while I am better, I still can not get over the fear of something bad wrong.Does this sound familiar to anyone? I am sorry to go on for so long but I wanted to cover as much as I can. Thanks in advance for any reply and/or information oh I do want to add for the past 2 or 3 months I have been getting quick like flutters in my chest and what I believe is my heart, I never had that before.

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • pigletsmomma
    pigletsmomma nellie56694

    Posted

    Nellie, no need for me to write my story...you just did. You are describing classic anxiety. It does make your chest feel strange. I bet you also feel lightheaded or like you are in the ozone. Also, tension or pain I your arms or upper body. All signs your body is in the fight or flight mode. Blood rushes out of the head. You heart is rerouting the blood for you to fight or run with your extremities. So much blood put into your arms can cause pain or cramping. Since here is less blood in your head, lighterhead feeling. Also, the lower hormones affect all of this. Knowing these things can help you understand and take some of he fear away.
    • pigletsmomma
      pigletsmomma

      Posted

      The heart feels weird because it is re routing. Normally when your are running away from something, you would not feel this, but because your are sitting on a couch, you do.
    • nellie56694
      nellie56694 pigletsmomma

      Posted

      Thank you so very much for your response.After 2 Dr's diagnosed me with this I tryied researching it a bit and I admit the symptoms and scearios do fit me. I guess I just dont want to admit it. I kept thinking that I wa only "upset" because of the chest issues not the upsetness causing the chest issues. It is no where as frequent as it was for the first year but still almost daily for short periods of time. I absolutely hate it. I deal with the fear of heart attack and death better than I did that first year but its still there.I had also asked for a blood work up and it found I was b12 deficient and I take an intermuscle (sp?) shot once a month, that condition I have read causes depression, fatigue, chest discomfort etc. I sometimes get little pains in my arms and sometimes pins& needles/numbness down my arms. That really scares me.And yes days of odd lightheadness, sort of "out there"feelings.I cant seem to get over the fact that if this is truly what it is that I cant just tell myself to stop It! Now that I apparently am going through the change (I think) I figure its contributing to symptoms, I dont know, as I dont know enough about it, I am ignorant in that area as I had a mother who never explained anything and I have 3 older sisters who says Just one month they didnt have their monthly and never had it again, no problems or anything. I really appreciate you writing, feeling alone is terrible. Thank you
    • pigletsmomma
      pigletsmomma nellie56694

      Posted

      You are definitely not alone. We are all in he same boat. Does anyone wonder if technology causes any of this? Radiation from smartphones, computers, Kindle, etc. It has become so prevalent and is only getting worse. I have heard 60-70% of adult females are on or in need of meds for anxiety and or depression.
  • wayne76842
    wayne76842 nellie56694

    Posted

    same here you wrote part of my story, i hate taking meds and have never been ill in my life until this, meds have helped me so much and now my symptoms have gone for most of the time, there is plenty of help out here for you if needed, dont fight anxiety on your own, take care
    • nellie56694
      nellie56694 wayne76842

      Posted

      Hi, thank you for responding. I do sometimes wish I had stuck the medicine out, I didnt find out till after I stopped that it can be common for things to escalate at first on it. But the side effects were so bad, heart racing so bad that I had never had before or since, weird coldness start and go all over my head spreading to my shoulders, so depressed and wanting to jump up and just "get away" from what i dont know. If I can truely convince myself that I have panic/anxiety then I would consider trying the celexa, but never the Prozac again, bu my husband says no, he saw what I went through on the prozac. I jus dont understand why, I cant control it, I want it to be gone, I want to feel happy & safe, I want to go places again wthout fear of something happening.
    • wayne76842
      wayne76842 nellie56694

      Posted

      hi nellie.

      ​sertraline made me better coulnd't have doen it without it, wasn't easy but now i am getting the rewards, i can't say you will be the same but ask your doctor,propranolol also another good alternative to ease the adrenaline rush which causes the anxity peaks and fight or flight syndrome. research seratonin and get an idea on what sertraline meds do, when you get panic attacks just float with them or kick them to the ground, there not life threatning but there has worse has you make them, control them and your almost there.your husband cares about you and i understand that , my partner was exactly the same and then i showed her this forum and she now understand a lot more, what ever you decide we are all here to help and offer our experiances with this aweful condition, and you also have your doctors and then there is the cbt courses, take care

    • nellie56694
      nellie56694 wayne76842

      Posted

      THank you, I will definately check out those medications. I need to quit fighting the diagnosis I guess. I just never dreamed I would be the type of person to have this. I wonder if it could be hereditary? I know my mother was a very depressed moody person and  while she did have health problems, like kidney stones, she also had many ailments that Drs couldnt find anything wrong and she was known as a hyprocondriac I even remember her taking paperbags and breathing into them, I dont know why, just that a Dr had told her to try that.I have never felt like I couldnt breath, Ive felt I didnt get enough breath tho.
  • oldboy
    oldboy nellie56694

    Posted

    Hi Nellie

    Panic attacks happen because something triggers you to go into the fight-or-flight condition eg pounding heart.  You detect, subconciously, that condition and it frightens you - which increases the condition. That is a vicious circle.  I too have been there.  The way to break the circle is to really BELIEVE that your body is tricking you, WHICH IT IS.  You do not have a good reason to fight or flee.

    It sounds to me that the original trigger in your case is fear of a heart attack.   Tests have shown that your heart is okay -  so learn to believe that.  

    Even if you did have heart trouble (as I have) there is no point worrying about it!

    It is well known that anti-depressants can make you feel worse initially.  You have to grit your teeth and get through that stage.    

            

    • nellie56694
      nellie56694 oldboy

      Posted

      Thank you for writing. This has been going on for about 3 yrs and I do tell myself, If my heart was bad surely something would have happened by now, but when I feel something daily It just makes sense to me something has to be wrong. Your right, I have an extreme fear of heart attack but I didnt have it until this started giving me reason to fear it. And yes 2 Drs diagnosed me the same, Ekg showed fine and a full blood test only showed I was b12 deficient. One of the Drs gave me some papers that tell how when these feelings come on to tell myself, This will pass, its happened before and went away and it will this time. I feel silly doing that but it has seemed to help.I really liked what you said about my body is tricking me. Thank you very much.
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