Sharp heart pains... Is this just anxiety related? HELP

[ecc09006]

I am a 19 year old college student. I have had pretty intense OCD for about 6 years, though it does not really interfere with my daily routine anymore. Recently (for about 6 months) I have been having very serious anxiety. It started out as just brief moments of panic (about 10 seconds), but has escalated to something far more severe lately.

I have been having random panic attacks at night, and they seem to be getting worse and worse. Once my head hits the pillow, I am plagued with the fear that I am going to die - usually just from some minor pains. I grind my teeth both day and night, and was recently diagnosed with TMJ, but the headaches I got from that caused me to have bad panic attacks.

My lowest moment was today. I keep having a strange feeling in my heart - it is a sharp pain, and I can feel it pulsing, if that makes sense. Needless to say, that has led me to panic. So this morning I headed to the on-campus doctor, and they gave me a cardiogram (EKG). My results came out normal.

Tonight, while working on a paper (seemingly stress-free) I had the heart pain again, and I started to panic. The panic attack got so intense that my whole body was shaking violently, my mouth was dry, and I could hardly breathe I was crying so hard. I called my friend and asked her to take me to the hospital. A xanax and 2 cigarettes later, I had calmed down.

I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience - particularly with the heart pain. It is not really in my chest, but directly where my heart is. A lot of what I've been reading says that anxiety chest pain is located lower than where mine seems to be.

I would GREATLY appreciate a response to this message!

Thanks for reading.

[jma1024]

hi it sounds like just anxiety at its max thats how mine is i get sharp shooting pains that feel like its on my heart then i go into panic mode and start thinking the worst is happening to me my breathing feels difficult my doctor said panic attacks can last minutes to hours depending if u can control im not good at controlling it usually lasts awhile do u notice ur heart at all like me im very aware of my heart beat and if it feels wrong thats my main trigger im constantly thinking my health is bad shape im 19 as well 110lbs about 5'6 my doctor 3 years ago when i first had my anxiety attack sent for tests all came back good but till this day i have anxiety panic attacks often ive been on meds but they never really helped and my doctor didnt want me on meds if they werent doing any good he said it will get better eventually ill get over it he said just when i feel panicky to sit relax try calming yourself tell yourself you are fine. hope this helped or atleast you can relate that you are not alone anxiety symptoms can be different in each person as long as tests come back just know when you are feeling nervous know you are perfectly healthy

[mamascrazy1985]

i have the same feelings but i think the worst for me is the derealization feeling. the one where it feels like your here but your not here.. That to me is the absolute worst thing in the world because i feel like i am going to die soon. I have had anxiety for 2 almost 3 yrs now and every year on my birthday (feb) i am like i made it to another year...

[jenjen]

Hi
I had to reply to your question as I too feel as though there is something wrong with my heart, which is why I suffer from so much anxiety! I get palpitations quite regularly when stressed or anxious and this sets off a cycle of continuous anxiety which can last for days, weeks, months. I have been suffering with anxiety for 5 years and every time I have an `anxiety attack` or palpitation, I try to tell myself that if I had a heart condition, surely something would have happened to me by now. This does not work however, once the anxiety has taken over I feel as though I am not in control of my thoughts or feelings.

I am new on this forum and I must say that reading other peoples stories and relating to them, knowing I am not the only one, has helped me a great deal, especially when I read about people who have the same symptoms, not that I would wish it upon anybody, but it is a comfort to know that what I feel, others feel too.

I also get anxious when I am ill, even the common cold can leave me with the fear that I am going to die.

All I can suggest is that you hang in there and read other peoples discussion forums. I have also been on Citalopram twice in the last 5 years, which helped me a lot along with counselling. However, it has its own set of side affects that do include....palpitations! However, once the initial 4 weeks of taking citalopram where over ( a period which made me feel very sleepy and druged up), I felt so much better to the point where I felt I could lead a normal life. Then I decided to come off them, which brings me to where I am now....anxious. It's a never ending circle but we will get there!! :?

[AnxietyCure]

Hi,

Did you know that doctors normally provide cures for the symptom but they rarely ever tell you what actually caused the sypmtom to start in the first place!

It sounds like an anxiety based disorder. However you also have the OCD.

They seem to be linked in some way.

Just to understand the issue a little better I need to ask you "when did you choose to have an OCD?".

I know this seems like a strange question but you know how some days you can choose to get up feeling great and some days you choose not to get out of bed? Well, everything we do or think, we generally make our own choices, don't we?

So I want you to really think about that question, it will give you some insight into the cause of the OCD.

Now in terms of anxiety - Anxiety is a message from our unconscious mind telling us to focus on what we want rather than on thigs we dont want!

if you need further information please let me know.