Anxiety or something else? Never been diagnosed...

[CDWolfe]

Hello all, first time posting here. A little background...

I'm 37, male, and about 2-3 years ago I started having these weird tingling or "pins and needles" sensations (nothing painful) that would radiate through the left side of my chest. Being someone who has always been healthy without any real concerns or issues, it scared me because the first thing I thought was "heart related event." Went to a doctor, did the Holter monitor (negative), was sent to a cardiologist (not cardiac related), and finally went to a chiropractor to see if maybe it was spinal/nerve related. Sure enough, I had some scoliosis in my neck (saw it via x-rays) and the swelling/inflammation was putting pressure on the left side of my neck in the brachial plexus. The chiro said it would most definitely affect the nerves around my chest. After a couple of weeks of neck popping/alignment, those weird sensations stopped! Yea! I was cured...but not so fast.

Now my neck gets stiff quite often (granted I stopped seeing the chiro regularly) and it can cause headaches as well as other sensations. Some of those sensations will be a "pain" that will shoot across one of my ribs on the left side of my chest. It is not a deep or crushing pain...more like a little prick that rides along a rib, and is usually where the ribs join the sternum. This triggers fear or anxiety because my mind instantly thinks "heart attack."

Now when I have those sensations/attacks (which may happen only once a month or once a week), I can tell my heart rate shoots up, I may get light headed, I start thinking about death, dying young, and leaving my family behind, I may get a cold sweat, and I feel like I need to go to the E.R. and have them reassure me that everything is fine. I know it is not cardiac related. I tell myself this over and over. I tell myself it is not a crushing pain in my chest, it does not affect my left arm, my jaw, my back, I can breathe fine, etc. But I can't switch my mind off of the sensations. Once set in motion, it has to run its course. Then I am fine.

Does this sound like some type of undiagnosed anxiety?

I'd like to think it is scoliosis-nerve related and if I start going to the chiro regularly that it will alleviate the feelings.

[Enduronman]

Well, its abit of both now. Event #1 and the after effects of all that yadda bla this that riggamarow has lead you to effect #2 which is concern, worry, apprehension, and a tad bit of fear. Kinda surprised that one of the Dr's didn't put you on a med designed for neuropathic pain like gabapentin or carbamazepine especially with the obvious pains that your post would present here. Obviously they'd taken your BP and pulse rate at some point too so it's also possible that your BP is high, which in turn elevates the risk of all this other stuff and following symptoms too. Not 100% sure about a chiro in this case but if you say it helped in the past then stick with it. Shooting unexplained oddly located and non-sensical pains are a part of anxiety and one of its unexpected and unannounced strikes! POW!..WTF was that!..OUCH!!

Welcome..

Enduronman.

[CDWolfe]

"Obviously they'd taken your BP and pulse rate at some point too so it's also possible that your BP is high..."

Actually my BP is fairly normal most of the time I am not having anxious feelings over whatever is going on. BP generally is 120/80 or lower on both sides. My pulse rate at rest is slightly elevated (85-95) but when I was working out regularly (something else that has taken a backseat since all this crap started) it was around 70bpm. I know I need to be back working out and exercising. But with this unknown cause/effect, working out makes my muscles/bones sore (which is natural, I know) but then my mind registers that pain and BAM...freak out episode. It is getting really old.

[Enduronman]

ok..I can FULLY empathize with the no working out thing like you wouldnt even know. I would lift 5 nights a week, push or pull over 30,000 total pounds in a workout session and was squattin 535. THEN, rheumatoid arthritis strikes me like a freakin Tomahawk cruise missile dead center. Weightlifting days, done..over..end. I just have 1question? Are you sore or in pain daily?.. I know all about freakin out too as I laid around here for 30 days and my body was doing shit all by itself, floppin around lika fish outta water, electrical shocks, tremors, seizure like physical episodes except my mentality was just like wtf? My head, brain, mind, wasn't even involved it was like a was a freakin VooDoo doll er something. Thank GOD that part of it has ended. Now, I just deal with daily soreness but not excrutiating groaning holy s**t pains..

[CDWolfe]

When I was working out, after a few weeks I got to the point to where I was no longer really in pain, and the soreness would be mild. I was training with a guy who had just won his pro card as a natural body builder, and he was coaching me. I made the most gains ever under his tutelage. Our paths eventually separated, but I continued to work out on my own. About a year later is when this stuff started happening.

I would be fine until the soreness would be in my chest. Then all of a sudden...BAM! Mind would register "chest pain" and the crap would start up. I knew full and well what it was (muscle breakdown and growth from lifting) but NOOOOOOO...chemicals in my brain were telling me otherwise. Fear, panic, "what if" scenarios...my workouts eventually dwindled to a stopping point, which is where I am now.

[Enduronman]

This post has taken my mind back to a time in my life when I was enjoying myself and felt like I was on top of the world. Hell I had to go take a xanax for this one. Weightlifting/bodybuilding became my obsession while going through a really f**ked up divorce ordeal with 3 kids and a nutjob wife. I arrived at that gym and couldn't lift a damn thing, and then when I left that gym they didnt have heavy enough weights for me..I had it down to an art form. Training frequency, routine switches from power, to strength, to size training and then flip it all in another direction as planned. Plateau in one area, hit another area and get bigger and stronger. That was my 1 hour a day that I had to myself that was free of all other bullshit in this world. Thinkin back on that, and the fact that I never look back at the past in any way is a real experience at this moment for sure. Now I'm lucky if I can wash the dishes without causing extreme pain in my fingers and hands because of another aspect of health and anxietys brother more then likely. I literally LOVED that pain, this pain can kiss my ass! This isnt anabolic pain, this is catabolic pain..grrrr (sigh)..

You MUST get control of this now man because if this continues it will lead you to a BIG BLACK HOLE in yer life that you won't enjoy being stuck in, just like me.

Enduronman..