Question!

[cat28]

I've been told several times from the ER and my doctor that its just anxiety every time I come in with chest pain. The last time I went to the ER was in January. They always do an EKG and blood tests that come back normal. My question is, could they be wrong or are those tests enough to show that my heart is indeed fine. My chest usually hurts and is accompanied by shoulder pain and pain in my ribs which always scares me. Please help! I'm driving myself crazy

[anxiousmess]

if it makes you feel any better - i also get the pain in my chest which then goes to my shoulder. for me, it's nothing more than anxiety.
during the time it is happening - i do think it's more than that.

if tests are all coming back clear, then if i were you, i would just try and accept that it is anxiety!

[cat28]

Thanks :) I'm sorry you have to feel this way also

[ladywillow]

I'm the same way. If you're all in the clear, time to accept it's anxiety. I know it's hard. Its taken me forever to accept that I'm not dying of some horrible disease. But you aren't alone. Most of us are like that :)

[inosantoclaws]

Thats really tough man.

[Angela Hill]

A lot of people experience this, I don't, my anxiety and panic comes on like a bad trip on Ecstasy I assume, but even my mom went to the ER thinking she was having a heart attack but it ended up just being a panic attack. Symptoms like that are pretty common I think.

[cat28]

Thanks for the replies. I'm actually up right now with chest pain. I hate it so much

[laurandisorder]

Is the chest pain always accompanied by panic or anxiety? Or does it come and go when you aren't feeling stressed or anxious?

If it is, I agree with the above Noters and I experience similar symptoms.

If not, my partner has this condition called costocondritis (I'm not sure of the spelling), which has similar symptoms to the pain you are describing. It is like an arthritis of the sternum. It isn't incredibly serious, but it is painful. Usually occurs in men in their 20s and 30s. It can also be treated quite easily and goes away with time.

Don't be ashamed of worrying and getting checked out. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

[cmuggs]

One other possibility is a muscular skeletal problem. I has tenderness in individual ribs and vertebrae which was causing chest pain. This obviously didn't show up on an ECG (EKG) and was only diagnosed when a dr isolated each rib/vertebra and applied light pressure which resulted in pain. Physio was recommended but the problem eventually corrected itself.
Having said that, don't ignore the fact anxiety is a real possibility.

[cmuggs]

By the way, what are you usually doing when you experience the chest pain? I was generally physically exerting myself when mine occurred.

[cat28]

I've had it for years. Sometimes I can just be sitting down doing nothing, and other times it's when I'm out and about. It comes and goes through out the day. I do have a lot of anxiety but sometimes I get chest pain without feeling anxious.