Been diagnosed with 'anxiety disorder with panic' about a week ago, which is most likely triggered by my dog's sudden death (heart attack). Anxiety symptoms of chest pain and palpitations occur from time to time sometimes even when I don't feel anxious. Went to the hospital yesterday due to a massive panic attack, felt a bit numbness in my chest and classic symptoms. Got my lung X-rayed, blood and blood pressure tested, did ECG and heart ultrasound, all came out normal. But I still have to wait for my 24hour ECG result and I'm a bit worried, what if? Now I constantly feel like I have to burp and when I burp sometimes it hurts my left chest, also when I was eating I felt like I could feel the food going down and when it goes through my chest it hurts a bit. When I sleep I feel a bit of inflammation on my stomach and my chest, I also feel like I'm hungry but after I eat my stomach feels bloated. Are all these just anxiety related symptoms or what I'm so frustrated I don't need any more physical symptoms to make myself more anxious. Someone please help!
I've had all these symptoms and then some. I have been diagnosed with anxiety/panic disorders as well as acid reflux/GERD and I do have a small sliding hiatal hernia. I have had EVERY cardiac test out there and multiple times, they have always come back normal. I have also had 3 complete GI work-ups, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and the imaging series for the section in the middle the two scopes can't reach (forget what it was called) and they didn't find ANYTHING, only found out about my hiatal hernia from a CT scan report I got years later. They treated me for GERD/Acid Reflux only because of my symptoms. I would suggest seeing a gastroenterologist if you have not already. They are the ones that specialize in digestive issues and symptoms like the ones you are describing BUT anxiety can cause some of these symptoms and definitely make them worse if you already have an underlying cause such as GERD or IBS. Chest pain can be caused by so many more things than your heart or lungs...it can definitely be anxiety or something like acid reflux or just inflammation of the chest wall or even things like IBS way down south can cause pain up into your chest. I know how hard it is to accept that this could be anxiety...been doing it for over 20 years now myself and still struggle...but that is how anxiety works. It makes you anxious and then you get symptoms and then you get more anxious about those symptoms and then you have more symptoms, and round and round we go. I would also suggest that you continue to seek treatment for your anxiety, whether that means medications and/or therapy but definitely treat the anxiety not just the symptoms. Do NOT be afraid of medications, for some of us it is the only thing that works and I can tell you from experience the horror stories are the rule. Just make sure that you work closely with your doctor and follow all of the orders and dosing. Do not be afraid to ask questions or tell them if you feel like something isn't working for you. You may need a different dosage or something else to go with it or to change to something else completely. You also have to give medication a fair trial, you aren't going to feel better overnight, just talk to your doctor about any questions or concerns you have. I also suggest you try EVERYTHING...and yes I mean everything!!! If you don't try you never know if it was the thing that worked for you so look up how to treat anxiety or how to cope with anxiety or tools for people with anxiety...and do those things. Things like aromatherapy, yoga or other exercise, meditation, adult coloring books, breathing exercises, meditation, salt lamps, accupressure, massage, herbal remedies (just be careful if you mix with medications), teas, epsom salt soaks, and on and on and on. There are so many things you can do without a doctor that might be helpful for you. The thing I have found that helps me the most is keeping a journal, I write in it when I am on the verge of a total meltdown, I write and I cry usually but when I'm done writing I usually feel better and keep myself from running to the ER another time. I write down everything, what I am feeling physically, mentally, what I was doing when it started, I yell at my anxiety, go on a rant basically. Then it is also helpful to look back at, you can see how many times you felt like you were literally going to drop dead and then didn't. It is a good reminder that you have been there before and you were okay, you will be okay again. I hope something I've said has been even a little bit helpful. Best of Luck!!!
Thanks for your reply, anxiety disorder really sucks but I'm trying to cope with it. I finally had decent sleep last night cuz I kept on telling myself to ignore the chest pain and acid reflux or other symptoms I was having and it worked! Although I've been experiencing the sensation of throat tightness quite frequently today when I was not feeling anxious, I still tried to relax and calmly face it. I'm going on a vacation tmr and I really hope I won't have a panic attack at the airport, I might take Xanax beforehand just in case, and if my condition can't be relieved by natural remedies like deep breathing or listening to music, I'll definitely listen to your advise and try to take the antidepressants my doc gave me. Your reply is very very helpful cuz it makes me relieved to know that I'm not alone in this. I'll start keeping a journal too and maybe spend more time drawing to try to relax. Thank you so much for replying and best of luck to you too!