New to anxiety and I need some help

Hi my name is nathan. I'm 23 years old, 6.0ft and 270 pounds. Although I am heavy, my bmi (body mass index) is 28%. I have been overweight a majority of my life but in my recent years 16-21 I have been in great shape until recently going down hill. A couple of months ago I encountered some of most stressful times of my life, I work and go to college full time, on top of that I ran into some trouble with the law which happened exactly a year ago today that I'm still dealing with. Anyways about 6 months ago I was sitting in my room when I started to get ringing in my ears, soon after rapid heart racing began to fallow. For the next week I was experiencing chest discomfort so I went to the doctor. Had a chest xray and a ekg performed as well as a cbc (complete blood count) everything was normal, the doctor was especially surprised at my blood work such I'm so heavy and my cholesterol and glucose were on the lower end of normal. As 2 months went on I had these attacks happen again, 3 to be exact along with daily or other every day chest pain (sharp pains on the left said lasting shortly to about 10-15 seconds) went back, had all the same test done and once again everything was great. That's when I was told I had a general anxiety disorder, since then it's been an uphill battle. Since June I've only had 2 anxiety attacks but I do notice chest pain almost daily, once in a while I will go two days without any pain. I went back to the doctor last week, once again having all the same test, passed with flying colors. Two nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night, felt fine, laid down then started getting a sharp pain. The following day I went back to the gym, was doing cardio when I got a very sharp pain in my chest, I got off the machine and then the rapid heart rate began, it lasted shortly, only 3 minutes and my heart rate was back to normal. My doctor at this point is fed up with me so she finally referred me to a cardiologist. So to sum it up. I'm 6.0ft, 270lbs, body fat is 28% was a smoke for 3 years from 18-21 then quit. As for family heart issues, my great grandfather died at 69 of a heart attack, was very overweight his whole life and smoked since he was 14. My grandfather who is still alive, is 75, a tad bit overweight, and has smoke since he was 13, just had a pacemaker installed. So all lifestyle choices. My current symptoms are, chest pain daily, always on the left said, most of the time not very painful, once in a while sharp and server. Muscle twitching, which doctors say is due to being tense from anxiety, and dry mouth that developed over the last month. I am in a constant cloud of stress, weather it be from school, work or my ongoing court issues. Can this really all just be from anxiety? Can you really get chest pains almost daily from anxiety? Currently on no meds as well.

Nate:

I was in a bad marriage for more years than you've been on earth, and I would get chest pain and would go to the heart doctor, treadmill, EKG, etc., and all would be fine.

What it was was that I was under so much stress for so long from the bad marriage, that, first, I didn't recognize that the marriage was causing it for the marriage had been going on like that for so long.

You could be in a similar situation. One, you're working full time and going to college full time. As an outsider, I can tell you that's what it probably is.

Living it day to day, and for the first 3 months, we'll say, you didn't have chest pain, you might not see it. Having a large frame could add to it. Having smoked cigarettes could add to it, also.

Stress could also cause the anxiety attacks. One person on this site only a month or so ago, his daughter divorced, he and his wife helping to keep the kids for some months, and one day he thought he was having a heart attack and an anxiety attack.

So the stress was fighting to get out, one way or the other. You're also having those 2 things, chest pain and anxiety, and you also have stress: full time job and going to college full time.

In all three cases--mine, the man above and yourself--we're all taking on more than we can handle. Our bodies and our minds are letting us know there's a problem.

As to the solution, my wife died of a long illness and I don't have any more chest pain, so I know that's what it was. The man baby sitting his two grandchildren, maybe he'll have to stop that.

You might have to quit your full time job. Maybe go part time, maybe not be able to work and go to college. Listen to what your body and mind are telling you.

Maybe there are no easy answers. Maybe if you can't work you can't go to college. Maybe you'll have to quit college and go to work fulltime.

Or, apply for student loans, etc . Check with your college's financial office, or on line for student assistance, etc. Education is very important, but you're going to have to figure out how you can do that.

Be positive that you can do this, because you can. If you believe going into this problem--and other problems--that you can solve it, you improve your chances of solving it.

The way you work on this problem is the way you approach all problems. So notice how you're going about this. Notice your attitude.

You might have to go to a psy. to get anti-anxiety pills until you get over the anxiety attacks. I used to have them, and Lithium stopped them cold. So there are medicines out there that can help with that.

Oh, and, good luck with your college, Tiger!

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 10/28/2016 4:57:39 PM (GMT-6)

Hi Nate and welcome!

I am sorry to hear of your anxiety/symptoms and the current cycle you seem to be stuck in. It is not unusual for stress to manifest itself (often profoundly)...and then for health worries to sink in.

I echo the advice of seeking treatment through your doctor for medication and/or therapy for your best shot at managing the anxiety and panic.

Until you can get that set up...please see our Resources at the top of the main forum page here for great self help material. Practicing the suggested exercises daily will make a big difference in how you feel. We have links specifically for Health anxiety there that I think you'll especially benefit from.

Keep posting with us as well if you find it helpful. We understand, care and support is key!

Talk soon,

Scaredy Cat

Thank you all for replying. It has made me feel better about the situation. I've seen 2 different doctors who both ran the test and said it was anxiety. One doc even sat and listen to my heart for 15 minutes and said it sounded great. But the pain along with psycing myself out by googling my symptoms and reading all the terrifying this such as heart disease or blocked arteries makes me second guess everything.

Hi Nate
Sorry your suffering at this time,
Like the above posts say health anxiety is a cycle that with work on coping skills can and will improve.
And if you need some meds to help you break that cycle that will help too.

Try as many of the links in the resource page as you can, as different things work for different people.

When you get the pain try taking a couple of pain relief tabs to see if that helps and try not to dwell on it.

It is so so very common for anxiety to manifest itself from a pain, discomfort, ache, dizzyness, etc etc the list is endless .. but once you focus and a good mantra to your self that your strong and can be calm on a regular basis things will start to get better.

Good luck YOU can get this under control your young your doc tells you you have a strong heart so go for it .

Keep us posted we have all at sometime or still are experiencing these anxieties and will support you in your journey.