Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

My first anxiety attack. I am scared!

Hey guys! So Friday night I had my first anxiety attack I believe. I am female, 32 years old, only medical issues is gastritis and GERD that I control with diet and Omeprazole.

So I woke up Friday morning with a sore throat. I didn't think much about it but it got a little worse as the day passed. I took some Acetaminophen to relieve the pain. Later that day I had a work event that lasted until 9:30pm. I started feeling chest pressure and pain in the middle of my back around 8:45pm. Then I started feeling like I couldn't breathe properly. It was a horrible feeling, like I couldn't get a deep enough breath. My hands started getting tingly and my left arm started hurting. I then freaked out thinking I was having a heart attack. I went to the ER feeling short of breath and the pressure in the chest. They took my pulse which was 82, my oxygen level was 99% and my blood pressure was 110/70. They checked my heart and said that it looked great, that it was beating in perfect rythm that the pressure was not from cardiac origin and that my lungs sounded fine too. That my oxygination level was excellent so I was receiving oxygen, eventhough I felt I was not. He then checked my back and chest by pressing on certain points and I felt excrutiating pain, specially on my front left ribs near the sternum. He then diagnosed me with costochondritis and said that I had an anxiety attack too. That my heart and lungs were fine. He gave me a Xanax and some pills for the inflammation pain from the costochondritis. When he checked my heart and said everything was fine I started feeling much better and with the Xanax even more so. I had never taken a Xanax before but it made me feel relaxed and just a little sleepy.

I felt so horrible during this attack. I seriously thought I was having a heart attack or that my lungs were failing and I was going to die. I have been feeling chest pressure/back pain for maybe 10-14 days and the Dr said it could be from the costochondritis, that my entire ribs felt sore so that can cause the pressure/pain. Do you guys think its from the costochondritis or anxiety? I had my heart checked out with an Echocardiogram, blood test, Chest X-ray and multiple EKG's less that a year ago. My Cardiologist says my heart is healthy and with no structural issues. To go and excercise and have a happy life but I just fixate on my heart. I take my pulse several times a day just to make sure its beating properly. Even when I feel a little pain on my left arm (which when pressed hurts a lot) I think something is wrong with my heart.

Thank you all for reading this long post. I just feel I don't have anyone else right now that will understand what I am feeling.
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
GERD and gastritis are caused by your diet or often by anxiety affecting the way you eat and chew, so maybe you've had anxiety longer than you think.  You're really not controlling it with those meds, as they suppress acid and your stomach will just respond by producing more and more as it needs it to digest protein and minerals.  It would be good if you could find a more natural regimen of remedies and diet so you can get back to normal functioning.  As for the anxiety attack, the first one is a scary thing, but everyone has them.  The problem is if it becomes a chronic way of thinking.  If that's happening, I'd see a therapist to stop the pattern from developing and I'd look into meditation to see if you can't slow your body down and help that digestion problem.  Good luck.
Helpful - 0
3 Comments
Her comment " I really need to start living again and go out with friends etc. " is encouraging. When you are stuck in a clinical depression rut that is too deep to come out of alone, then your thoughts are more like "Why bother? Nothing will change.There is nothing that interests me " etc.
Thank you Paxiled, I really want to go off the meds for the GERD. I will look into more natural remedies. Also I was on a 3 month course of Doxycicline for acne and I think that messed up my digestive system too. I stopped taking the antibiotic 1 month ago. I am looking into taking probiotics.

I've been a nervous person all my life so it is possible that I've had anxiety longer than I think, just that now its manifesting strongly. I really want to get over this and start living life again.

Thank you both so much!
Make sure the probiotic emphasizes one called bifidus.  That's most associated with digestion.
Avatar universal
Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it. I am feeling better just a little pressure in the chest but if I forget about it I don't feel it as much. I just wish I could feel 100% fine you know? I felt great until I hit 30 lol. I am considering taking some yoga or meditation classes so I can relax my mind and body. I really need to start living again and go out with friends etc. I go to work and then back home each day and do nothing else. I just feel I am wasting my life. I am kinda depressed to be honest.
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
Depression and anxiety actually feed off each other in a vicious circle.If you are depressed, it is natural to feel anxious about it, as life seems purposeless.
You're concerned about being 30? - I bet after you add a few decades then you might look back at 30 and say I should have been happy then - although anxiety is not always curable so I am not trying to paint a guaranteed success story. It gets worse further down the road than that  too, so I hear, lol. Enjoy what you can of this short life.

If you can find a way to get rid of anxiety or depression the other may go away too, or at least have less free reign to constantly attack your train of thought. It is easy to get pulled into a rut that gets deeper with time, when  these 2 nasties are poking at you all the time telling you there are no nice things to think about - the process of getting rid of them is to focus on a solution and act on it, which may involve therapy if you aren't able to do it on your own.
Ignore that comment about how it gets worse further down the road - this is a public forum so I shouldn't be treating it like we are having a private conversation, because for all I know life may get better with age.
Avatar universal
I don't know if Zanax and Omeprazole should be taken together but you can check that out if you want with your pharmacist or maybe Mayo Clinic will have something on it. Gastritis by itself can cause panic, as it makes you feel so sick and depresses you which feeds off anxiety. How long have you been on Omep as this is something you should avoid if possible?
It is natural that  costochondritis and its associated symptoms would freak you out since you didn't even know it existed before the ER visit, but this site says it usually goes away in a few weeks by itself. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/costochondritis/basics/definition/con-20024454

Costochondritis is a harmless condition so try to forget about it. Anxiety makes you tense up so can give lots of physical symptoms that in reality are meaningless - frightening to the person who has no diagnosis, but now that you know you are fine, perhaps you can accept that there is nothing wrong. Not to make little of the anxiety issue though, because some people get like a PTSD issue (or maybe an OCD issue is a better way to describe it) with the heart fears and can't get rid of the fears, now matter how hard they try. Many have relaxed after their diagnosis though, so if you are lucky and can focus on that then you may get rid of the anxiety, which is what makes most f the symptoms you mentioned.
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
If you can relax and rid yourself of anxiety all of symptoms except the chondri will go away - immediately. After all, you didn't have the symptoms before the anxiety so they can disappear just as fast, if you are lucky enough to be able to forget to be anxious.

For example, no matter how real the arm pain seems, it is just you tensing up and likely overdoing the strain on the muscle while fearing something is wrong, which makes you focus even more on anxiety which keeps the vicious circle going.
Ignore that Zanax Omeprazole comment I made about incompatibility as I was thinking of a different drug in error.
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Anxiety Community

Top Anxiety Answerers
Avatar universal
Arlington, VA
370181 tn?1595629445
Arlington, WA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out what can trigger a panic attack – and what to do if you have one.
A guide to 10 common phobias.
Take control of tension today.
These simple pick-me-ups squash stress.
Don’t let the winter chill send your smile into deep hibernation. Try these 10 mood-boosting tips to get your happy back
Want to wake up rested and refreshed?