hi all

[scaredjo]

hi all im sorry to bother you, i feel my question is minor compared to all the others, i suffer major heart anxiety but have had all the tests and most recently an echo which all came out normal. yestersay i had some weird pains which really hurt!!! everytime i moved i got them so i took my bp which was really good for me, the bottom number never went over 80. so my question is.....does a heart attack appear from no where or would my tests have given enough sighns that something was wrong? everyone tells me i look ok and the doctor refused me another ECG i guess i just need some re-assurance off someone that has experience of heart attacks. im wasting my life worrying my marriage is falling apart cause im so scared to move if i have any symptoms incase i exert myself too much.
please help thanx

[kalex]

Hi scaredjo,
This is Kalex. I m not a doctor however I would suggest don't let this feeling of nausea take on ur normal life "Life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be lived". The problem that u r facing may be b'coz of gas or acidity which may occur due lack of proper timing of meals. Or else improper digestion or irregularaity in sleep.
Take care.

[drphil66]

I have had similar pains thinking I was having a heart attack.  The cardiologist I saw in  Los Angeles (who was supposed to be tops in his field) told me that sharp pains that occur due to movement or any sharp pains not lasting for long periods are not related are not related to heart problems but to nerve endings between the ribs that are having pressure applied to them.  In my case a mild anxiety pill was prescribed (5 mg of Diazapem or other name Valium) was used to desensitize my body by producing an increase in endorfins from my brain.  These pills reduced my anxiety and thus kept my pain levels under control.  I did not use the pills on a regular basis mut only if I felt under stress or knew something stressful was coming up.  I did see a psychiatrist who basically told me the same thing that I ws having anxiety attacks.  I told him I didn't know why because I didn't have any reason - my job, marriage , no money problems , sexually ok - so I couldn't understand .  Anyways I am now 66 years old and have never had a heart attack.  I have had arythmas all me life off and on and chest pains too but still going ok.  I would recommend you try some Valium for a while and see if that helps, it works between the ears, but seems to settle things down with the increase in endorfins.  I believe my endorfin level is a lot lower than the normal person and that is why I feel more pain.  I don't think normal people understand how I can feel this way.  Makes you feel like your crazy sometimes.  I was basically stuck to only local travel for almost 30 years for fear that something might happen to me in a spot far from help.  My recommendation is to juet let the pain run it's course and don't let it control your life for ever.  You'll just regret in 20 or 30 or 40 years that you let this problem keep you from enjoying life.  See all the specialists you can to verify there is nothing wrong and then give it to the lord.  "What time I am afraid I will trust in thee" is one of the bible verses I have held in my eart for most of my life.  Only since i reached the age of 55 have I let this thing go.  Don't wait that long please.  I gave up a lot of things that could have changed my life because of the "what if fear".  Take a look at all the times you have experienced the symptom and then convince yourself that nothing bad has happened and the more positive feedback you can give your brain the less these symptoms will bother you.  Don't dwell on them to much or you become sensitized to them and then then you tend to pay to much attention to all your body feelings.  But try some anxiety medication like Valium, it is really  miricle drug much like aspirin.  They made a big deal in the 60's about how it was being over prescribed, but it is one of the safest anxiety relief drugs every made with few to none interactions with almost all drugs according to my internest.  After 40 years I still keep some on hand.  Sometimes I can go a year or two without having any heart symptoms and sometime I can use 5 - 10 tablets a year.  I think the older a person gets the more they accept things in life and since 1989 I have been pretty much doing whatever I feel like and go wherever I want most of the time.  Don't let the anxiety over your pain control you or you will regret it later on.  Hope this helps.  Phil

[Laurie2horse]

I'm not a doctor, so I don't know if this will help much.  I also have arrythmia, and many years ago I had a sudden onset of pain that scared me to death.  Every time I moved or breathed, I had sharp pains.  My doctor had me do a series of movements, and was able to assure me that the pain I was feeling was due to stress-induced muscle spasms in the sternum.  He gave me some relaxation exercises and it helped immensely.  If all of your tests have come back normal, it might be worth asking your doctor if there could be another source of your pain.  Good luck to you...I know this stuff is scary.  Laurie