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Chest Pains

Posted , 8 users are following.

GYDA
GYDA

Quick background of me, im 22 and around 2 years ago i was getting chest pains, dizziness, all kinds of symptoms, getting myself so worked up about what it is i had 2 anxiety attacks. I went to the doctors stupid amount of times as welll as A&E once, i had 2 ECG's done and one stress ECG, all coming back normal. I've always been worried about my health like cancers etc, but never thought it'd develop into full blown anxiety like it has, took me a while to accept that the symptoms i was having was due to anxiety and not some heart disease.

Once i managed to accept it was anxiety, the symptoms went alot but have come back now and again, which is what the doctor said anxiety will come back whenever it wants, even if your not anxious. Ive had a very hard 2 years with anxiety, diagnosing myself with disease after disease, where ive had 1 more ecg taking my total up to 3. Well ive been going through a really hard anxiety period for about 2 months now, and im not sure if its effecting my fitness regime or theres something actually wrong with me. From about january to june, i was hammering the gym no problem, but then i went into one of my anxiety periods with the chest pains etc and i started to notice the chest pains would come on when i was going jogging as well. then it started to happen when i was in the gym just doing weight lifting or on the treadmill, but i dont know whether its another anxiety snowball where i worry about the pains while im excercising so they come on more. Anyway I went to the doctors again and he put me in for an ECG and it come back all clear again, but i just cant seem to get it out of my head that there really is something wrong with my heart and i dearnt excercise cause of the chest pains i think ill get and ill have an heart attack or something like that. I took advantage of my work offering a full health test with BUPA last week, where you get a normal ECG done and a stress ECG done, where they get you up to 85% of your maximum heart rate. Both come back normal again but i didnt get any chest pains while i was doing it, so thinking maybe its just pointless because i didnt get any symptoms while doing it so it wouldnt of picked anything up on the stress ecg.. 

As you can see ive got myself in a right mess over this! I feel like going to the doctors and asking for a 24h heart monitor or one of those scans on your heart but starting to feel an idiot after having 5 ECG's and 2 Stress ecg's. 

Thanks for any replies, hopefully theres someone on here who's been through something similar, just breaking out the rut or getting proof theres nothing wrong with me rolleyes

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

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  • rebecca2504
    rebecca2504 GYDA

    Posted

    It sure is aniexty what u have. I also suffer with bad aniexty and it's awful thing we have to suffer with. U have very similar symptoms to myself I suffer with dry mouth very bad. I am going to look into seeing a council to talk to them as I have wrote to this group yesterday and they gave advice to see someone like a counciler b4 a doctor. 

    I have my good days and bad days and as soon as u get a bad attack of aniexty u feel as if everything is going to get worse and worse when it actually isint. Have you got your family and friends around u for support?

    • GYDA
      GYDA rebecca2504

      Posted

      It's horrible isn't it, before i had it i just thought anxiety was where you got a bit nervous etc, never knew it had physical symptoms like chest pains, dizziness and stuff. I've been to see a councillor before and he did help a bit, he just said i need to realise that i cant always fear the worst, like the chest pains 'it could be heart disease, but at 22 its very very unlikely' but its hard, when it comes to dianosing myself i always fear the worst.

      I don't tell any of my mates about it, but my family kind of know and my girlfriend does a little bit but i don't tell them everything, i dont want them to worry about me. 

    • rebecca2504
      rebecca2504 GYDA

      Posted

      Am the same am 26 and always thing the worse about everything. I know a few people who have had chest pains with aniexty I get the dry mouth so bad stomach in knots headaches and heart beating so fast. It effects everyone different I also get upset to were I cry! I wish I was easy to switch off from it all but it's just not as easy as that! 
    • GYDA
      GYDA rebecca2504

      Posted

      Yep defiantly! It effects everyone differently but the chest pains are a killer, some of them are so painful it makes me jump haha. I think health anxiety is a lot more common than some people think, none of my mates know i have it but just speaking to one of my best mates the other day and it turns out he has it too! hes obsessed with a lump on his neck hes had every test possible on it and keeps going back to the doctors about his armpits hurting :P 
  • cara11004
    cara11004 GYDA

    Posted

    Oh my, your symptoms sound exactly like mine, to the t. ive had a dozen ECG's all coming back normal but the chest pain is with me pretty much constantly. 9 weeks later and im coming to terms with it being anxiety and panic disorder. im having acupuncture and on my 6th session and feel this REALLY helps, also ask your GP to refer you to see a cognitive therapist, ive started this and also helps to underatand it all. Ive just gone back to work after 7 weeks off and finding it hard, but i suppose things are a bit better, i couldnt leave the house a few weeks ago. I just want to feel normal, but we will get there xx
    • GYDA
      GYDA cara11004

      Posted

      I'll have a word with my doctor, thanks smile I've just had 2 weeks in florida with my girlfriend and all my family and i didnt really get any chest pain, but its just been stuck back in daily life that doesnt help, stuck in an office job 8-5, 5 days a week, been able to google symptoms all the time, bla! haha its hard. chest pains are so hard to get over cause you constantly feel like your on the verge of a heart attack! I even googled heart disease age statistics yesterday to try put my mind at rest, only 14 people between the ages of 15-25 died last year because of heart disease so its very very unlikely i'll be one of them, but i just still cant get my head round it. health anxiety is horrible haha people don't realise
  • cara11004
    cara11004 GYDA

    Posted

    PS, im only 28, and been told theres nothing wrong with me, but health anxiety is a bugger.
  • jeromy86
    jeromy86 GYDA

    Posted

    So many of the symptoms all of u have are how I feel I just had my 28th bday last month and not a week later I had my first panic attack out of nowhere I thought it was a heart attack and went to the er and all the tests came back fine I went to the doc the 3rd of this month and he put me on hydroxyzine 25mg for anxiety and since then ive been taking it 3 times daily but that seemed to much so the hottle said as needed so ive decreased to once or twice until I go back to see him in a few weeks and go over everything but I too google every lil thing which doesnt help anciety at all bc u start thinkin u have everything my worst problems are my heartbeat seems so heavy and its rapid from anything I do now, I have had really bad acid reflux coming up in my throat along with bloating, bad headaches, and like my arm has muscle pains and numbness...I have always had reflux but the anxiety seems 2 make it worse and the headaches coild be from going from alot of caffeine to none all of a sudden
    • GYDA
      GYDA jeromy86

      Posted

      Yea they are scary panic attacks haha, my first one was driving home from work, i pulled over and debated going to a&e but didnt end up going, then my next one was shopping with the girlfriend, had to do a very fast walk out the shopping centre! haha fortuantly now i know its anxiety i can control the attacks, i havent had one for two years, its just the chest pain im most bothered about now. Do you still get chest pain day to day then?
  • carl36762
    carl36762 GYDA

    Posted

    Hi

    It's well known that anxiety causes physical pain but it doesn't make it any easier to accept.

    You say you used to hit the gym hard and now you feel as though you can't. I totally get that coz I'm paranoid about my heart also and won't go out on my bike anymore.

    You say your chest hurts when you do weights and run. If you did weights a lot then maybe you have strained your chest wall muscles and cartilage, resulting in a condition called costochondritis. It's very uncomfortable but totally harmless and treated with anti inflammatories and hot/cold packs. Go to your GP and tell them what kind of pains and where they are.

    I have costochondritis and when it first started I was convinced it was my heart. Blood tests and ecg's done and all was normal.

    Look this condition up and hopefully it will put your mind at rest. It's silly to diagnose ourselves via google but if we have similar symptoms and have had answers, then maybe we can all help eachother in some small way.

    Hope this helps buddy

    • GYDA
      GYDA carl36762

      Posted

      It's horrible isnt it, i just want to absolutley destroy the gym but all through my work out now im thinking 'hmm so when are the chest pains going to come then' I'll have to have a look at what you mentioned smile when i go running i get a lot of phlegm or some kind of fluid coming up, sorry i know its gross but its just stuck in my throat. who knows, i just feel an idiot now going back to the doctors about it because i can tell hes fed up, im 22 and i dearnt do excercise because of my heart. My chest is sore/getting pains from the anxiety and im probably just irrating it doing excercise, its probably not my heart but its not as easy as that for a guy with health anxiety! :P
  • carl36762
    carl36762 GYDA

    Posted

    I know what you mean. But remember that anxiety plays hell on your digestive system too, so you may have a bit of reflux. If your heart was shot I'm sure it would have clapped out on ur stress test :D 
  • jade45943
    jade45943 GYDA

    Posted

    Hi if your going to do excersice which is brilliant for anxiety try to do very light excersice such as yoga. The reason your getting chest pain when jogging is because when you have an anxiety attack adrenaline attacks your body which unfortunelty causes chest pain due to hiperventalating and being very tense yoga works brilliant for me and it's kinda getting rid of my anxiety smile xx
  • ben22077
    ben22077 GYDA

    Posted

    Hey, my name is Ben. I am also 22 and suffer many of the same symptoms as you. I get random chest pains, i could be just sitting down, playing football etc. I began to get really worried there was something wrong with my heart. It even got to the point where i was constantly checking my pulse. It was horrible! I eventually plucked up the courage to go to therapy for it. They told me to go to the doctor to make sure i had no heart problems. A couple of tests later and therapy sessions i realised it was all in my head. Its so weird that the way you think can have such a profound effect on your body. Long story short i came out with a better outlook on life more confidence and a new appreciation of life. That being said i do have my bad days every once in a while but its more good days now. You'll get there eventually don't give up!
    • GYDA
      GYDA ben22077

      Posted

      Cheers ben! good to know theres people out there similar to me, i'm sure its just anxiety its just wrapping my head round it and ignoring the pains. Ill get through it eventually, have to say chest pains is the worst symptom of anxiety.
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