Constant chest pressure, fatigue, weakness, nightmares, lasting 4 weeks.
Posted , 7 users are following.
I'm a 33 year old male. no medical history of anything. 4 weeks ago I went to the e.r. twice in one week with dizziness, chest pressure, rapid heart rate. All tests came back normal and or negative. symptoms of constant chest pressure, fatigue, loss of appetite, and frequently feeling like crying have remained 24/7. My life has been completely turned upside down. I was diagnosed with anxiety, and I worry they have missed something. And google has also convinced me I have liver/gallbladder issues amongst everything else. I cant seem to get any doc to help furthur except wanting to prescribe anxiety meds. I don't know what else to do.
0 likes, 10 replies
jan34534 ben41166
Posted
did you have anxiety before all of this started? Because if you did that could be the reason why you have these symptoms. Also, anxiety and depression often go hand-in-hand. some people are depressed and don’t even know it. sounds like you’ve been checked out thoroughly.
Please don’t Google your symptoms because they won’t pertain to your individual situation. Google rarely lists all the common reasons that are non-serious for having symptoms. You are convinced somethings wrong not based on fact, but based on emotion, namely fear.And emotion it’s not based on reality or truth.
i would suggest that you try and relax your mind as much as possible and see what happens. When you sit around and worry about all of this you actually make the symptoms worse. do you things and stay busy. When I help someone else, it takes the focus off of myself and it also feels good to do something for someone else.
you can also talk to a therapist or counselor using virtual online counseling. I do that once a week and it works great.do these suggestions and then see how you feel. Maybe you do need some medication and maybe you don’t. Get back with your doctor if things don’t change for the better. Take care
ben41166 jan34534
Posted
Well reflecting back on my life this month, it does seem I've had it for a while but never addressed it. Definitely never felt anything like this. I was a Marine, currently a husband and father of 4. Lost my mom 4 years ago, wife had cancer, started our own business. So yeah alot has happened that I've bottled up. I've never gone to a doctor in my life until 4 weeks ago. I was literally cooking breakfast for the family and felt like I was dying in a matter of mins.
My struggle is accepting that it's "just anxiety", because it sure feels like hell. There hasn't been a single minute in 4 weeks that I don't feel a constant pressure in my solar plexus, which spirals into feeling like I cant breathe (which I can), I start feeling cold, shaky, lightheaded. Like I said, I've had 2 medical workups both come back clear. I'm just struggling hard with this feeling and nobody seems concerned, they just want to prescribe pills. Thanks for the response. I wouldn't be on a forum like this if I didnt feel this need for advice.
brittany2222 ben41166
Posted
what weakness are you having?
ben41166 brittany2222
Posted
I feel weak and shaky/cold once I start focusing on the constant heaviness in my chest. itll last anywhere from 30-90 mins. usually after pacing around on the verge of crying it will calm back down to just the heaviness. but my quality of life has diminished and I'm scared I'll never get back to normal again. thanks for the response.
meghan49196 ben41166
Posted
i get this heaviness in my chest too. I feel like i constantly need to take another breath in. It eases off the more i move about and forget about it but oh my its a scary experience. I get it every single day and have done for about a month now
ben41166 meghan49196
Posted
Mine is the opposite. I become more aware of it the more I distract myself. First thing in the morning it seems to be at its least. Then once my brain fires up, here it comes.
donna22255 ben41166
Posted
Hey Ben,
Your experience sounds very similar to mine.
One day whilst at work, just reading an email (nothing too taxing) I came over dizzy. I decided to take myself outside for some air. It felt as though I was walking on a bouncy floor (if that makes sense) Fearing that I was going to lose consciousness / fall over, I held onto a wall to steady myself, at which point, panic kicked in. I was shaking, clammy, felt like I couldn't walk and my heart rate was very rapid.
I was taken to the first aid room and an ambulance was called - after what seemed like an eternity, a paramedic done all of the relevant checks (I thought I was having a heart attack at this point) and, although my heart rate was high and blood pressure slightly elevated, he confirmed it was a 'stress response'. I honestly couldnt believe that it wasnt anything more serious??? I went to my doctor, who offered to prescribe meds and gave me a number for councelling. They also took bloods, and other than being slightly anaemic, they were unable to find anything wrong.
I dont want meds and am trying so hard to manage this on my own, but its not easy. You tend to become super aware of every sensation occurring within your body (or I do at least) which leads to overthinking / Googling / trying to calm yourself down or distract yourself in some way. Sometimes it works, sometimes its doesnt. My positive side, tells me that if something was REALLY wrong, I would know by now (been dealing with this for over 2 years now) My less positive side continues to question my physical health.
I know this probably wont help you, but sometimes its comforting to know that youre not the only one going through this. Youre not alone 😃
ben41166 donna22255
Posted
Hey there! thank you for the response. It definitely helps to here others testimonials. I'm on week 4, still having a heavy chest feeling, fatigue, and a few days ago decided to try paxil for anxiety. After the first night of taking it I woke up feeling hungover and extra anxious. Couple hours later full blown repeat of day one. reluctantly took it again the second night, repeat event the following day.
needless to say I'm not going to take them. and today I feel more normal. I have signed up for cbt therapy, increased my b vitamins, cleaned up my diet (even though I lack an appetite) and am taking it day by day. My wife and kids need me back and I desperately want to feel some normality again. Thank you again! Hang in there as well!
Thistlecrag ben41166
Edited
You are suffering classic anxiety. The tiredness comes from worry and Adrenaline fatigue as you ruminate about what could possibly be wrong with you and the fact the Doctor has missed something. Thinking negatively and worrying is extremely tiring, for example did you know thinking negative thoughts consumes calories? An athlete once described the tiredness from depression the same as running a marathon each day, whilst sitting in bed. Take it from me, someone who has suffered anxiety and depression on and off for many years and has suffered crippling tiredness to the point in my early thirties, I spent 2 months in bed, it's your thoughts that fuel your anxiety, the anxiety then fuels your depression and the depression fuels your fatigue and negative thoughts and so it continues, round and round. I'm not saying it's is easy, but you have to learn to get off the merry-go-round. I can't dress it up nicely, you have to stop and change the way you think. Anxiety needs your negative thoughts to feed on, so you have to starve it and it takes courage and discipline, but it works.
ben41166 Thistlecrag
Posted
Thank you for the reply. Yeah it's been a daily challenge. I make myself get dressed and do normal things. But all I'm constantly thinking about is "why do I have 24/7 pressure in my chest, why does it feel like there's a lump in my throat? Do I have esophagus/stomach cancer, etc" I've heard from dozens of people that reassure me it's anxiety/depression but it's still hard to shake. I appreciate you taking time to respond!