Chest pain fucking scares me to death!

[ThomCat]

x(

I know it's not my heart. I've had EKGs and stress tests. It's just pain with no detectable physical cause. I get a whole lot of that. But I feel like I'm being stabbed repeatedly in the heart and someone's twisting that knife. I keep doubling over amd grabbing my chest and my side.

I wish this shit would stop. :grr:

If you have a magic wand handy, name your price to make this go away. :(

[moriah]

1. Ulcers???

That sounds more like what my grandmother described when she had an ulcerated esophagus.

She took Fosamax and one of the pills had adhered to her esophagus, creating a huge nasty ulcer that made her think she was having a heart attack.

[ThomCat]

3. Fibromyalgia.

It's nice to finally know what it is. Now I wish they know why. :(

My body just turns on pain signals for no apparent reason and then can't turn them off.

[CreekDog]

23. sometimes i think i have that, but i think my pains are too mild for that diagnosis

but the transcience, the unexplained nature of the pains, the sensations, etc. sometimes make me wonder.

my mom actually has this, but i never knew what the condition really was until i started reading up on it this year.

Thom, I always wish you more comfort and healing. :hug:

[ThomCat]

25. Your pains don't need to be horrible for doctors to check.

There is a pressure point test doctors use to give a clinical diagnosis of Fibromialgia. If you have chronic unexplained pain get it checked out before it gets worse.
:hug:

[Lethe]

2. damn that's scary

i have high anxiety myself so if i ever had chest pains i would probably freak out and think i was dying or something.

Having a heart attack is one of my biggest fears cause heart disease is on both sides of the family.

[ThomCat]

4. It scared the hell out of me the first time too.

I ran to the ER, I called several my primary doctor, I had a lot of immediate tests run, and they told me there was nothing wrong with me.

It doesn't happen very often, but it's been happening more often recently for some reason. It scared the hell out of my boss and coworkers a few weeks ago. I had to tell them not to call for an ambulance.

I've posted this expression a bunch of times. "It's nothing serious, just painful."

[IndianaJones]

5. constant? or in waves? nt.

[ThomCat]

6. In waves.

I have been stabbed 3 times in the past half hour.

[IndianaJones]

9. I get that at times as well. I have since I was a kid. Sharp pain..

it is scary. Very intermittent for me...can go months without it happening.

[CreekDog]

7. oh i have had that (not the stabbing, but the mild pain at odd times)

but it was mild, but i'm prone to anxiety, so i thought it was the end and the thing about panic attacks is that if you didn't feel like your symptoms added up to a heart attack before, wait til the panic attack sets in.

it's always unnerving, but i've had to get used to odd aches, pains and sensations since i'm hypervigilant. they only occasionally cause much anxiety now because they are so random and they are essentially mild symptoms that are highly transient and there are no symptoms overall that lead me to do anything more than mention it at my next dr. visit -oh and if there's too much anxiety, i take an Ativan.

i know you struggle. :hug:

[ThomCat]

12. I am sorry you have the anxiety.

That will make anything difficult to deal with. :(

I'm very fortunate that I don't panic very much and I don't have have anxiety. I'm pretty stoic overall. I have no idea how I'd manage all of this pain if I was prone to panic attacks.

[CreekDog]

17. I'm glad you don't have anxiety

my anxiety and hypervigilance about pain/sensations makes me prone to hypochondria (the past 3 years), but over time, i've learned to think through my symptoms, and gauge their seriousness, location, etc. and that usually allows me to calm down, sometimes with a small dose of medication.

i had an episode tonight and i was at a friend's house and we were watching a movie. i didn't let on what was going on but as soon as the movie ended i said i had to get home and took a pill, got my bearings. i also remembered that i had a similar reaction the last time i took one of those acid blockers for a week --gave me serious jitters.

but it's so nerve racking. i almost feel like staying home from work to decompress.

[kat_kringle]

8. panic attacks? (sorry if this is personal ) n/t

[ThomCat]

14. No, not at all.

I don't have panic or anxiety. I don't have much depression, thankfully. And that's fairly odd for someone with chronic pain.

I get very strong persistent pain in random places. Doctors thought it was Reumatoid arthritis for a while, but now they've figured out it's Fibromyalgia. My body just likes to turn on pain receptors. :(

It's definitely scary as hell, but I'm very fortunate that panic doesn't come with my fear.

[kat_kringle]

16. my, dear

i'm so sorry. i wish i knew what to say. :(

good energy your way, k? :hug:

[Swede]

10. Please get this checked out Thomcat.

You never know.

[ThomCat]

15. I always mention it to my doctors

and I'm due for another EKG this next month anyway. I promise it won't get ignored. But I won't rush out to get it checked immediately unless something unusual happens.

Unfortunately, stabbing pain that feels like a heart attack isn't unusual for me. But I definitely don't have any other symptoms of a heart attack, so I know I'm okay.

[zanne]

39. It doesn't have to be a heart attack to be a heart problem.

And an EKG tells them very little. I had a normal EKG while I was having chest pains two months before I had to have emergency bypass surgery.

I had been having anxiety problems for about a year, so my General Practitioner told me it was just anxiety.

[ThomCat]

41. Wow. I'm very sorry you needed surgery.

I hope you're fully recovered. :hug:

I'll definitely raise the issue again and let my doctors run all their tests again. I promise.

[zanne]

42. OK. As long as you promise.

I'm an old woman who worries incessantly about anyone under the age of 50.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. My dear ThomCat...

I am so sorry, sweetie...

I would give almost anything to make you well again...

:hug:

[ThomCat]

18. Me too.

:(

I'm afraid to take deep breaths. Every time I do, I get stabbed again. And I'm definitely not lying down for a while.

In a few hours this will pass. I often say that "it's an endurance game." Right now the game is on. I just have to hold on and wait this out. It's a good thing I'm a stuborn bastard.

[elshiva]

13. It is scary.

:hug: Hope it gets better. Magic Spell....



May White Witch Willow heal your heart.

[ThomCat]

20. Thank you.

:hug:

[elshiva]

21. Is the spell working yet?

:hug: Please keep us updated.

[jobycom]

19. A close friend of mine died, with the same symptoms.

He was diabetic. Started complaining of chest pains, said it was just allergies that he got every year, and that doctors had assured him all the tests were fine. He went home one weekend and died. I'm not sure if it was Pneumonia or heart related or a pulmonary blood clot, or what. I had heard congestive heart failure, but the same person who said that claimed that his lungs had filled up with fluid and stopped his heart. I'm not sure that made sense, so I'm not sure what actually happened.

Probably not the case with you. Could be something as simple as bad diet. It just scares me when I hear that. I never told this friend to see a doctor, and I think he might have if I had encouraged him to. So I'm telling you, see a doctor, don't take it lightly, and don't trust the ones who find nothing wrong.

So, there, that's my input. Wish I had given that to Pete.

[ThomCat]

22. I'm very sorry about your friend Pete.

:(

I see at an average of one doctor every 2 weeks. Twice every year I go through retesing and I see several doctors per week for over a month at a time. I definitely don't avoid doctors.

And at the first sign that this isn't just pain I'll definitely be on my way to the ER.

If I start developing heart problems I'll definitely know it quickly.

Thank you. :hug:

[jobycom]

28. He saw them a lot, too, being diabetic. But I know some of what you've been through

So I know you aren't taking it lightly, and that you've had access to doctors. Good luck, on everything.

[aquaman]

24. I used to have horrible chest pains......

Had every test in the world and they basically told me "you have gas."

I am only 36 years old, have the pain every now and then, take a TUMS and usually am better but not always.

But I am with you. When you feel pain in your chest you don't usually have great thoughts.

Hope you feel better friend.

[ThomCat]

27. Thank you.

:hug:

I hope your pain is just gas. That would be reassuring in a way.

I popped an antacid just in case. It's never helped, but it can't hurt. In the meantime, it's already been half an hour, and these pains don't normally last more than 3 hours. So I'm at least 1/6 of the way home.

[SPKrazy]

26. When it is accompanied by dizziness and palpitations

and sweating, it is even scarier.

If it is anxiety Thom, this will sound strange, but just be with the anxiety and try not to run from it, invite the anxiety to stay. Amazingly things will happen that will seem bassackwards from what logic would tell you.

The more we resist, the more it persists.

:hug:

magic wand? no Thom, just like the Wizard of Oz, you have everything you need already, a wand would only be a ritual to seal the deal for your psyche.

:pals:

sorry you hurt

[ThomCat]

29. I think that's exactly why I've never had an anxiety problem.

I'm very confrontational when there's a problem of any kind. If I were to start feeling anxious I'd immediately face and challenge whatever it was I was anxious about. :shrug:

All I have in me most of the time is pain and stubornness in pretty equal measures. I'd really appreciate a beautiful fairly godmother/father with a wand. :P

Talking about this has helped me a lot though. I'm sitting very still as I type, and I'm taking shallow breaths. That often helps make the pain go away faster.

[SPKrazy]

34. Interestingly enough

anxiety and pain messages from nerves (nociception) utilize the same pathways and similar and the same neurotransmitters so anxiety and pain are very similar in nature in terms of nerve conduction pathways.

Managing pain using some anxiety management behavioral techniques is sometimes very helpful because of this.

:hi:

good for you

[Rhythm]

30. Sounds like me a couple of weeks ago... spent the night in the hospital, had

a zillion tests and stuff done overnight and the next day, only to be told that there was nothing they could find wrong with me.

*gah*

Freaked me out, though... still does, thinking about it.

*hugz to you, Thom*

[ThomCat]

32. I'm glad it was "nothing."

I talk about not being freaked out, but I just got stabbed again, and it's really pissing me off at this point. x(

I know if I wasn't angry about this I'd be more freaked out. I guess anger is one of my defense mechanisms for dealing with fear.

I would really, really love to be able to go to bed. I hate being stuck dealing with something like this when I have to work tomorrow. :(

:hug:

I hope we both leave these pains behind us at some point, somehow.

[Rhythm]

37. Mine is still happening randomly now and then...

Not for the last few days, thankfully...

Still, after all of the damned tests and such, i would have liked to have had something of a clue as to what the hell is going on in there, rather than the bumfuzzled cardiologist coming in and saying, "The good news is, it's not your heart, lungs, or gall bladder. The bad news is we have no idea what caused it."

:banghead:

[Az]

31. Um... when was the last time you had a test?

As someone that just got word that they had heart problems I take this stuff pretty seriously. Go get checked out again if you haven't done so recently.

[ThomCat]

33. I had a full physical 2 months ago.

I see my pain management doctor for a full review of my pains once every month. And my pain management doctor is 2 blocks from my office if I need to seem him in an emergency.

I am very sorry you have heart problems. I hope they are able to either keep it under control or fix it. :hug:

So long as pain is my only symptom I'm okay. If I get anything else I'm jumping on it immediately. I promise.

[VespertineIconoclast]

35. It could be non-cardiac chest pain...

Here are a few links that describe NCCP:
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/gastroesophageal_reflux_gerd/hic_non-cardiac_chest_pain.aspx
http://www.turner-white.com/memberfile.php?PubCode=hp_apr04_cardiac.pdf
http://jaapa.com/issues/j20060101/articles/chestpain0106.htm

Hopefully, the readings won't be too dry and alleviate some of your fear.

[ThomCat]

36. Thank you very much.

The chest wall non-cardiac pain is basically what my GP described to me. She has been pretty certain my Fibro has caused pain in the joints of the ribs, or in the muscles of the chest wall.

My evening meds are about to knock me out for a few hours. I'm a bit worried about sleeping while I'm still having this pain. But it seems to be subsiding, so I'm going to try to lay down.

[zanne]

38. Don't die of embarassment...

Go to the ER pronto! Make sure they do a full workup on you. A stress test, and if that shows nothing, a cardiac catherization. It's your life. Sometimes you have to fight for it.

[ThomCat]

43. The pain has passed.

I have some residual stiffness in the muscles in and under my chest, so It was definitely a muscular or skeletal problem.

But I promise that I'll have my doctors rule out heart issues again. :)

[raccoon]

40. It isn't GERD, is it? I have it, and at first I thought I had angina.

I wish it would stop too. :hug:

If you think it might be GERD, drink a glass of water and/or take Prilosec or something like that.

[ThomCat]

44. Nope. I took an antacid as a precaution, just to be sure.

I had an ulcer when I was in my twenties, back when I was a workaholic volunteer on a lot of serious causes. I still remember vividly what the pain felt like. This isn't anything like that, or even in the same place. So I'm reasonably positive it's just muscle/join pain.

:hug:

One thing I've had to become good at, unfortunately, it precautions and figuring out by process of elimination what it is that hurts, where, and why.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

45. i am sorry.

:hug:

[ThomCat]

46. Hi Pri!

:hug:

It's just a residual dull ache at this point. I only feel it when I take deep breaths. :)