Strange "drop" feeling in chest

[appstudent]

Hi. I have a fairly involved question, so please bear with me. I was recently diagnosed as having panic attacks by my primary care physician. I am 24, recently returned to college. Before I went to school, I had none of the problems I am about to describe.

My feelings of being weirded out first started when my left arm and hand started going numb. Doctor said it was due to neck spasms. Next, different things started to pop up. I definitely have panic attacks (periods of racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, tightness in my chest, nausea, etc) but I also have a strange feeling in my chest 95% of the day. It feels sort of hollow all the time, and every two minutes or so I will have a feeling like a "drop" or almost like a shock in my chest. I have had PVCs (all the time) for at least 5 years, and it almost feels like a more severe one of these. When I'm having this problem, I also have difficulty swallowing and can sort of feel the swallow going all the way down. The drop feeling is worse when I bend over or crouch down.

I went to the cardiologist last week and he did an echo and said I have a perfectly normal heart. He prescribed alprazolam for the panic attacks. What I can't make anyone understand is that even when I'm not having an "attack" I still feel icky inside. I take my pulse a thousand times a day and it varies from 58-85 when at rest, depending on the time of day. Also, I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like my heart is barely beating (super slow) and I can't breathe.

I have been experiencing terrible insomnia, mostly due to the fact that I am terrified I'm dying. There are sometimes periods of days with no sleep whatsoever (it's 4am as I type this!). My main concern is that I could have a heart condition that would not be easily identified just with the echo. I haven't passed out or had trouble exerting myself or anything, but when I feel this way I don't want to do anything but be perfectly still and I can't stop thinking about it.

It also seems to perhaps be connected to food. I used to love eating and look forward to it and my family really based a lot of our good times around meals, but now food sickens me. When I'm hungry I get the "drop" feeling, then I think if I eat it will go away, but it doens't and sometimes actually worsens. Then I think perhaps I need to use the bathroom, and I either will go and be sick to my stomach or not be able to go. I have never had problems with my bathroom habits before, but haven't been "regular" in over a month now.

I want so much for this just to be anxiety and for it to go away naturally. People tell me to think of something else and it's just my "panic attacks" but when you have physical symptoms that are very bothersome and constant, it's hard to just turn it on and off. Please let me know if there is anything else this sounds like, or if I should just trust my cardiologist and take my xanax and try to find some counseling.

PS - Additional info about the alprazolam. It's only .25 mg, and I've taken it twice. The first time it didn't seem to do much. It definitely calmed me, but didn't help with the hollow chest/drop feeling. Tonight I took it and actually experienced some relief. I was able to go out with friends and be very productive. However, once I went to sleep I kept waking up and my heart rate was very low. I don't know if this is because of the xanax, but it was very scary and has kept me awake.

I'm sorry to post all this, but I have been to the doctor multiple times and they are very helpful but I never leave fully satisfied. I'm really scared and this is interfering with my school work and social life severely.

[AtlantaSC]

I am going through the same thing. ALMOST WORD FOR WORD. I am 25. I have been cleared by cardiologist. Still going for more tests. I think the drop in chest feeling is related to stomach problems.

[IsabellaNadine]

So i know EXACTLY what your talking about. Except i would always describe it as "heart hiccups" when it first started. I was terrified when it first began two years ago. My head would swim, and my fingers and toes would tingle. Very unpleasant. It all started when i was 16, after my very first great big panic attack (hooray) the palplatations started and i was sure i was dying. I went throught the heart monitors and blah blah blah, but it never went away. It was all day every day. In the ER you could even see on the little monitor when my heart would do it too. But it truly is stress, at least in my case and possibly yours. After about a year they went away until recently my mom was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, and what do ya know? They're back lol But the amazing part is this, and i hope it works for you. I did this breathing excersise just ONE time and got it under control. Breath in 8 seconds hold for 3 and out 8 seconds. And during that focus on one paticular muscel in ur body at a time and tensing it and untensing it and then moving to another. If what ur experiencing is the same as me, this should work wonders. I still struggle very hard with my panic attacks, but having the heart thing under control makes it a bit easier.

[IsabellaNadine]

I also forgot. The part about waking up in the middle of the night with ur heart barely beating. I do this at least 3 times a week. I sympathize very much because it is very scary when that happens. I will just bolt stright awake middle of the night absolutly sure that either i wasnt breathing, or that my heart is stopping. It makes bed time a very miserable thing. I usually have to do things right before bed to make myself exhausted enought to not care enough to worry. its almost one  am for me as it is and i know im not even close to being comfortable enough to sleep. When my mom stays in the hospital because of the cancer, and i stay with her, is the only time i get a peaceful sleep. Which sounds awful i know, but its true.

[pnkattck]

I just googled 'heart dropping feeling' and came up to this post - man that is exactly what I get a few times a week!  I have had situational panic attacks for about 7 years now (I am 27) and was prescribed propranolol by my doc (I also have pre-hypertension thanks to genetics, so my blood pressure can be high). The propranolol (a beta-blocker) works wonders for preventing attacks, or lessening the attacks when they happen - it works wonders for me!  They have actually been researching it for PTSD in veterans.  Since taking it when i have attacks, or when I think they are coming on, I have gone from having the exact same symptoms you were talking about (waking up all night, etc), to rarely needing it - the fear of having a panic attack can bring one on, and knowing that you physically can't have one is a huge help!  I still get mini-attacks though, such as today, which only last for a few mins (and I get that heart-dropping feeling).  I am wondering if I should be going on something full time or not - but it helps knowing that others have similar issues!

[thanos]

hello,

i've been having several things going on myself.

from palpitations to racing heart to the heart drop feeling to insomnia to shortness of breath plus many many more. the most worrying though is my chest pains which come in all sort of places but mostly on my left side. i've been doing cbt for 2 months and
my psychiatrist thinks it's anxiety .

nice to know others go through the same.

hope you feel better

[JeyG]

Has anyone got diagnosed of these symptoms to be related to stomach problems. If so what kind of stomach problems cause these feelings? I go through these problems now and then, once a month and sometimes few times a week. It seems to be so random. I am trying to observe the food, environment to isolate what makes it to come back more frequently.
thanks!