Weird spasms/pain in chest

[mattrosenblatt]

Hey there,

For the sake of transparency: Last week, I was supposed to get on a flight to France. I had a panic attack and opted not to fly that day. My anxiety has been on edge for the past few days as I'm scheduled to fly on Tuesday.

Two nights ago I started having these weird spasms in my chest. It feels like there's a small "shockwave" that goes through my body when I have them some times, other times it just feels like a "twitch" inside of my chest. I also have pain in my chest, but it appears to be fairly localized as if I can "touch" it externally. I believe the chest/back/neck pain that I have is likely unrelated and a result of my mattress/pillows.

I went to the ER last night and they put me on an EKG machine that was barely functional -- It kept thinking that I was flat lining when I was obviously still awake. Eventually, they used a portable EKG machine that only captures a 10 second snapshot of my heart -- During that time, I did not experience any of these symptoms. However, I did while the RN and Doctor were listening to my chest and they couldn't hear anything weird while I was experiencing these symptoms.

I've been exhausted lately, I've had severe heartburn while trying to sleep at times. Some foods sit like a rock in my stomach as if the food cannot be digested. This primarily happens with things such as bread, pasta, etc...

I was diagnosed with IBS as a child, and have had intermittent issues with lactose intolerance since. Last year I had a blood test done where my glucose levels were a bit elevated, my creatinine levels were elevated, and my liver function was slightly decreased. Since then, I've had normal blood tests. Everything else was within normal range.

When I went to the ER, I told them about my anxiety levels -- They completely dismissed anything I had to say after I mentioned anxiety. I'm well aware that this could be anxiety -- but I don't think it is. I think there's something else that's causing my anxiety to get worse, and my anxiety is amplifying my symptoms. No one has been willing to do more than look into a basic CBC/Chem7 or an EKG that lasts all of 10 seconds.

Over the past two days, I cut out caffeine and nicotine to see what happens -- There was no noticeable change.

I feel that I should also note that I regularly experience a large amount of pressure in both ears that can cause vertigo. This can change depending on the humidity and barometric pressure. There are also times every once in a blue moon where my neck feels swollen and it gives me that "head rush" feeling of standing on your head, or hanging off the side of the bed head first.

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions?

[purple1234567]

The ER's goal is to get you out the door in a condition that you will survive, they are really not helpful in diagnosing things in detail.  I'd highly recommend starting with your regular doctor and going in for a full physical.  You are right that all this very likely could be anxiety, but it's worth going and getting your health checked out a bit further.