Could it be anxiety?

[ramman1505]

Hey there everyone! So after months of unexplainable symptoms and tons of medical tests I finally made it to this forum. My story is this, a few months back I was at work working around some hazardous chemicals. I was unsure of what may be present in the chemicals and began wondering if i was in danger. Driving home that day i felt a tightness in the upper center of my chest. This single symptom persisted for about 2 or 3 weeks before my ER visit. It was a sunny afternoon and I was on my way to the dentist. All day I had been feeling this odd chest pain. I stopped on the way home and bought some antacids thinking it may be indigestion. I took the pills and felt better so I continued on. When I arrived at the dentist I felt as though I was going to faint and asked someone to help me. I had pressure in my chest and back and was sure it was a heart attack. My BP was taken and it was high. I went to the ER and was told that I did not have a heart attack and that I should see my family doctor. Since then I have undergone: Breathing tests/24 hr. EKG/blood work/echo cardiogram/and multiple chest x-rays. All came back with good results. I did have a urine sample ran at one point and they found trace amounts of blood and ketones in the urine. My symptoms can change daily or last for a week or two at a time. Here is my list of symptoms: Lightheaded/chest pains both sharp and dull and move around/back pain in the upper and middle back/sometimes the chest and back pain happen at the same time and make me think its a heart attack/blurred vision in my left eye/ringing in my right ear/tingling in my hands and feet/feels like the floor is moving under me/difficulty taking a full breath at times/difficult to fall asleep/waking up in the middle of the night/feeling short of breath when singing or simply talking/muscle twitches/pain in the kidney area/urinating frequently at times/and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.

There are some days that are better than others. These symptoms typically come out of no where and can last all day. The one that concerns me the most is the chest and back pain. It feels deep and eerily like what heart attacks are described to be. I don't really feel my heart beat rising during these episodes. I get these feelings when my pulse is normal.

My pulse can vary as well. The resting pulse can go anywhere from 90 some BPM to upper 70's BPM. My cardiologists does not feel this is a heart issue but I am still not convinced. The pain can shoot up into my neck as well.

I think I am going to schedule a visit with my family doctor and discuss possibly taking some sort of anxiety medication at this point. Do my symptoms relate to any of yours?

Thanks everyone!

[Cobra]

Sound EXACTLY like mine. To the Tee. Read Hope and Help for your Nerves by Claire Weekes. That book helped me immensely.

[ramman1505]

Thank God for this Forum! I never knew anxiety could create such havoc on our bodies. I think the scariest part for me is the chest and back pains. I was able to run 2 miles on the treadmill the other day but I noticed I got chills in the very beginning which I never experienced before. After running I felt poor and couldn't really slow my pulse. I thought to myself this must be a heart issue but then I think if it was my heart I would have never been able to run 2 miles. Now I'm afraid to keep exercising for the fear of feeling like crap after the workout.

[Ahlstrom]

Hmmm, in my beginning days of anxiety I did have a lot of chest pain, but nothing else past that really, I had more mental effects. If the doctor did all those tests and it all came back negative it's most likely anxiety.

I orginally had that same thing going on with my heart after I got anx disorder, after running my heart rate would continue for an hour or two. After the workout does it sort of feel like your dieing? Or getting some sort of similar response from your body? I figured out how to get over that, if you're interested in fixing your HR after running just shoot me a message.

[ramman1505]

I just don't feel right after running. I want to sit and not talk to anyone. I kind of stare off into space and get annoyed when people try to talk to me. It's hard to explain but I feel a little lightheaded and I have soreness in my chest mainly as well as my back. Also when I first get off the treadmill I feel like I can't stop running.

[mykids12]

Yes sounds about right. I started with back pain and tingling in my left arm down to my fingers that progressed to pain and then made its way around my body. Then I started having a tight feeling in my throat, mucus In my throat making me have to clear my throat all the time and now I have body aches and twitches. I'm in the same boat as you and kind of denial that anxiety can present itself this way. Some days I'm ok with knowing its probably anxiety and others I'm convinced I have an autoimmune disease taking over my body lol. This anxiety sucks big time!

[ramman1505]

Absolutely right! The days I feel better I can easily convince myself this is just anxiety, however the bad days I suddenly diagnose myself with heart attacks, brain tumors, lung disease, and on and on and on. I think the way I feel after working out is a direct result of me wondering if I just over stressed my heart. The doctor told me a heart issue would manifest itself after physical activity. So now every time I do something physical I feel like crap. The pain can be dull and all over or sharp like I can point to it. Also most of the day my chest feel like I just can't take a deep enough breath. All of this is exasperated when I have a conversation or simply talking and walking at the same time. I get worried about what feels like a shortness of breath. This is unreal!

[mykids12]

Oh yeah. In the beginning I convinced myself I had a rare lung cancer because of the back pain and tingling and then esophageal cancer because of my throat problems. Then I got over that and then thought I had MS or leukemia and even a heart problem because my blood pressure was high and it never had been before. I even went so far as to think my son had leukemia. It all wears me out so fast!

[alankay]

Sure can be anxiety but really the pulse and force of the beats should pickup with anxiety and you mentioned no sense of dread/apprehension....fear(all from the adrenaline). Still could be anxiety just manifested more in the body.
I'd ask the doc to try this. Dispense a couple 5 mg tabs of diazepam and if right after a "wave" of this starts, if the valium puts an end to it for 5-6 hours(or more), it is very likely anxiety. True valium is also a muscle relaxer but since you've already had all the diagnostics done I'd try this or..... ask about it. I know it sounds silly but it can be a cheap one time diagnostic tool or method. But he might be better able to tell as he's seen/diagnosed anxiety many times before. Just an idea. Alankay

[ramman1505]

Thanks, I may try that at my doctors appointment this Friday. The panic attacks have really slowed down for me, however the daily feeling of chest tightness and heaviness in my face is still a big problem.