Anxiety: Chest feeling uncomfortable

Mental health
1

Hi all.

I am 23 now but back when I was 17 in 2012 I was diagnosed with Wolff Parkinson White syndrome which is a condition that causes the heart to beat faster than normal. I had 2 ablation procedures in which they said that it didn’t present itself and they believe it has gone. Understandably I suffered for around 5 months with crippling anxiety, was off and on tablets until I got better. I had been completely fine until around 3 weeks ago. I went to A&E due to having a pain in my chest, ECGs and bloods were checked and everything was normal. I then ended up at the hospital around a week and a half later with the same symptoms and again they did lots of bloods and ECGs and again normal. Only thing which was low was my phosphate levels so I was kept in on an overnight drip. I was given 40mg of propranolol which I am taking once a day. I had felt terrible, was constantly thinking about my breathing and was very unsettled, couldn’t eat, diarrhoea, had about 2 panic attacks a day however this started to settle in the past week. I am now able to eat, not as much but a lot lot better than the past couple of weeks. I was feeling better until Thursday, a friend of mine had showed up unexpectedly and it threw me off completely, now I feel like I am back to square one. 

The main reason I have started this discussion is because at the minute I am feeling a very weird sensation in my chest. I would get a sharp twinge every once in a while and this would move around in different places in my chest but it’s mainly on my left side. It doesn’t last for very long but it makes me anxious thinking about it coming on again resulting in my chest feeling uncomfortable most of the day. Has anyone else experienced this? I have been referred back to cardiology to be checked however that is just a precaution and I know they won’t find anything there. I am just paranoid that there is something wrong with my chest because it feels so unsettled at the moment. Even when I am preoccupied and think I’m not thinking about it at all, the feeling would come. It’s so hard for me to describe what it feels like but I hope someone can understand. Bare in mind I am also asthmatic but this feeling feels different. Please tell me I am not alone, I just want to feel normal again 😞

2

Bex

You will not be happy until you have the arranged test, take it then consider you situation, When you go have the test ask the Reception if you can be put on the mailing list for tests performed in hospital.

This will allow you to get the results at the same time as your GP. This will give you the chance to make an appointment with your GP because He will have the same copy you have been sent. Make an appointment to see your GP and you can both discuss any results found. That will help you to begin taking responsibility for your own health. You only need to ask once for the letter, from asking once you will find you will get copies every time you have treatments in Hospital

BOB

3

You are definitely not alone. I have terrible health anxiety and have convinced myself I have cardiac issues so many times. But nobody will even run tests on me because I’m only 18 & they know I have anxiety. They just kind of wrote me off. 

I get all sorts of weird sensations all over the place. When I was in a really bad state a few months ago I had this strange feeling in my chest kind of felt like a pressure in my left side and had a weird pain feeling that would go down my arm. I still get random bouts sometimes but it goes away when i try to talk myself out of it. You definitely are not alone and you should take comfort in knowing you’ve had all those tests done and they weren’t able to find anything! Anxiety can produce so many physical symptoms that often mimic those of serious conditions, so we get anxious about that and then that causes worsening symptoms & it’s like one big cycle. Try to break it. And remember the tests tell you that your heart is okay