Panic Attack Caused Fear of Heart Problem. Ruining My Life
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Hi,im 19 years old male. About two years ago I suffered a panic attack,
i think it was enduced from smoking pot,i had a few more after that also. The panic attacks have stopped, however since then ive had horrible and debilatating hypochondria, I was never worried about my health before.Im convinced im going to die from a heart attack,especially when im hungover, I get small uncomfortable pains in my left arm, left hand and chest, I get pins and needles very easily and muscle twitches all over my body, I also get pains anywhere where there seems to be a pulse in my body, small fluttery palpitation like sensations are not uncommon either. Ive been to hospital on several terrifying occassions, convinced I was in the preliminary stages of a heart attack and had several ecg tests done. The doctors said everything was fine and normal, but this reassurance only lasts a while before I start worrying again. I keep thinking maybe I have one of these 'undetectable heart conditions' even though there is no history in my family of heart problems.I quit smoking pot a few months ago and quit smoking cigarettes
a few weeks ago but was never a heavy smoker. I used to be quite fit, and play alot of football, however in the past couple of years I became
aware of young, fit, healthy people who died of heart attacks when playing sports, and this really terrified me and put me off sports and traumatisedme with the prospect of dying young.I am aware that all the symptoms I get are caused by this fixated fear of a heart attack but it is ruining my life.The fact that I worry and stress about it even causes me to think ill cause myself a heart attack. I devise ridiculous rationale and diagnosis in my head and avoid many things like, lying on the left side of my body at night in case that puts some sort of pressure on my heart. Anytime I get those sensations in my arm I panic and feel I have to take aspirin. If I get a pain in my toe I somehow manage to link it to my heart. I have just got into the way of thinking that some small aches and pains just shouldnt be there. I worry about everything from eating more than two eggs in a week to having sex with my girlfriend, that it will all cause me to have a heart attack.
I dont want to spend the rest of my life like this. So please help with any shared experience or advice.
Loving life.
i think it was enduced from smoking pot,i had a few more after that also. The panic attacks have stopped, however since then ive had horrible and debilatating hypochondria, I was never worried about my health before.Im convinced im going to die from a heart attack,especially when im hungover, I get small uncomfortable pains in my left arm, left hand and chest, I get pins and needles very easily and muscle twitches all over my body, I also get pains anywhere where there seems to be a pulse in my body, small fluttery palpitation like sensations are not uncommon either. Ive been to hospital on several terrifying occassions, convinced I was in the preliminary stages of a heart attack and had several ecg tests done. The doctors said everything was fine and normal, but this reassurance only lasts a while before I start worrying again. I keep thinking maybe I have one of these 'undetectable heart conditions' even though there is no history in my family of heart problems.I quit smoking pot a few months ago and quit smoking cigarettes
a few weeks ago but was never a heavy smoker. I used to be quite fit, and play alot of football, however in the past couple of years I became
aware of young, fit, healthy people who died of heart attacks when playing sports, and this really terrified me and put me off sports and traumatisedme with the prospect of dying young.I am aware that all the symptoms I get are caused by this fixated fear of a heart attack but it is ruining my life.The fact that I worry and stress about it even causes me to think ill cause myself a heart attack. I devise ridiculous rationale and diagnosis in my head and avoid many things like, lying on the left side of my body at night in case that puts some sort of pressure on my heart. Anytime I get those sensations in my arm I panic and feel I have to take aspirin. If I get a pain in my toe I somehow manage to link it to my heart. I have just got into the way of thinking that some small aches and pains just shouldnt be there. I worry about everything from eating more than two eggs in a week to having sex with my girlfriend, that it will all cause me to have a heart attack.
I dont want to spend the rest of my life like this. So please help with any shared experience or advice.
Loving life.
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First Helper littlecap
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Panic Attacks
Hi hang in there I know what you are going through I go through it to ...I also have had plenty of test done over the years ...I worry about every ache and pain and when my children have headaches to I make them go to the er ...Im afraid I will make them like me .. Please know that this what you are feeling isnt real your mind is playing with you it will go away ...But you have to fight it and tell yourself its ok there is nothing wrong with you ...I have just started on anti depressants and the have been helping me I was taking my pulse all the time it was driving me mad ...Know your not alone :d
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Don't let it get you man. I'm 17, and I deal with the exact same thing, and I mean exact. I constantly put my hand over my chest just to make sure it's beating normal, i'll sleep on my right side or back as to not put a strain on my heart, i've quit every sport, i've almost stopped playing video games, I avoid any situation where I think I might be at rish, really. And to be honest, I don't know whats wrong either, my ekg showed up normal, but it was only comforting for about 2 days, and i'm back in the same routine. Hang in there, i'm sure we'll get better someday...
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You sound just like me last year. I had this horrible fear of having a sudden heart attack and dropping dead! I went to the er twice for chest pains. I was afraid to sleep...Afraid to work out afraid to do anything!
I was a smoker..And I quit cold turkey and I think that had a lot to do with the panic attacks.
I went to a cardiologist and begged him for a echo cardiogram, even though I had had 3 ekgs. It wasn't until the echo came back normal that I sort of started to relax. Those detected everything. Or at least that is what my dr told me.
I went for counsling and they wanted to put me on medication but I refused so they recommended a book for me to read called the
anxiety and phobia workbook. It was truly a lifesaver and I still use it to this day.
What you need to realize when you start having those panic feelings is this you had them before and you didn't die. You will not die this time. Keep telling yourself that as you are going through the attack. Keep remiding yourself this has happened before and you got through it...You will again!
I was a smoker..And I quit cold turkey and I think that had a lot to do with the panic attacks.
I went to a cardiologist and begged him for a echo cardiogram, even though I had had 3 ekgs. It wasn't until the echo came back normal that I sort of started to relax. Those detected everything. Or at least that is what my dr told me.
I went for counsling and they wanted to put me on medication but I refused so they recommended a book for me to read called the
anxiety and phobia workbook. It was truly a lifesaver and I still use it to this day.
What you need to realize when you start having those panic feelings is this you had them before and you didn't die. You will not die this time. Keep telling yourself that as you are going through the attack. Keep remiding yourself this has happened before and you got through it...You will again!
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I've had the same experiences.
The first time I really got scared about my heart was when I was high. I have since totally stopped smoking marijuana. I also used to use smokeless tobacco, and that made my heart race as well and I just totally stopped that and I think it might be contributing to my anxiety and "heart problems." i've been having a tough time with exercising and even watching intense tv shows or sporting events. My heart races and I worry about it way too much.
It's awful, but it's comforting to know that a lot of you are going through the same thing and are around the same age as me. I hope we can all get through this.
The first time I really got scared about my heart was when I was high. I have since totally stopped smoking marijuana. I also used to use smokeless tobacco, and that made my heart race as well and I just totally stopped that and I think it might be contributing to my anxiety and "heart problems." i've been having a tough time with exercising and even watching intense tv shows or sporting events. My heart races and I worry about it way too much.
It's awful, but it's comforting to know that a lot of you are going through the same thing and are around the same age as me. I hope we can all get through this.
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Part of an anxiety attack is to fear having a heart attack..The symptoms mimic eachother...So you are still experiencing panic attaks they just feel different now.
I went through the same thing...Had panic attacks all of my life and all of a sudden they started to feel like a heart attack. Turns out that is just part of the disease.
Talk with your doc...There are meds that can help this.
I went through the same thing...Had panic attacks all of my life and all of a sudden they started to feel like a heart attack. Turns out that is just part of the disease.
Talk with your doc...There are meds that can help this.
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I suffer to. I am 22 and have had alot of test done like echo, ekg, anrysum test, stroke test, all came back normal. But I still worry. Like right now my chest feels weird. I take lexapro for my anxiety which has helped.
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This is a quote from a doctor...."a healthy heart can tolerate a rate of over two hundred beats per minute for many hours, even days, without evidence of damage." if anyone goes to a doctor and has everything checked out with their heart at normal levels. The rest is just in your head. Let it go......Your heart knew how to beat before you focussed on it too much. It still does when you're asleep and worrying about it is a waste of time.
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| lennon wrote: |
| this is a quote from a doctor...."a healthy heart can tolerate a rate of over two hundred beats per minute for many hours, even days, without evidence of damage." if anyone goes to a doctor and has everything checked out with their heart at normal levels. The rest is just in your head. Let it go......Your heart knew how to beat before you focussed on it too much. It still does when you're asleep and worrying about it is a waste of time. |
very true
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Thanks for that piece of wisdom lennon! It's nice to hear stuff like that.
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Anxiety
Hey im 18 male, used to smoke pot too,
i dont know if my anxiety is related to that but I know if attributed it to asmany things as I can name. I have had blood tests and ekg tests and holter monitors to insure my heart is fine, and im really sure it is, my anxiety comes back day to day and I dont knwo hwo to deal with it, I stay up pretty late alot of night because thats when im least in control, how have some of you dealt with this disorder? I need help!
Thanks
i dont know if my anxiety is related to that but I know if attributed it to asmany things as I can name. I have had blood tests and ekg tests and holter monitors to insure my heart is fine, and im really sure it is, my anxiety comes back day to day and I dont knwo hwo to deal with it, I stay up pretty late alot of night because thats when im least in control, how have some of you dealt with this disorder? I need help!
Thanks
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Claire Weekes
| lennon wrote: |
| this is a quote from a doctor...."a healthy heart can tolerate a rate of over two hundred beats per minute for many hours, even days, without evidence of damage." if anyone goes to a doctor and has everything checked out with their heart at normal levels. The rest is just in your head. Let it go......Your heart knew how to beat before you focussed on it too much. It still does when you're asleep and worrying about it is a waste of time. |
yep, that doctor was claire weekes.
I recommend all of her books very highly.
Jeff
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Same Situation
Hey guys,
about 9 months ago, I had a panic attack and I development a case of hypochondria, a couple of days ago I started having a weird sensation in my right arm. Prior to that I went the gym and did some chest exercises.
Even though I know for a fact that I probably pulled a muscle, I got this idea that i'm having a heart attack, even though, I have no chest pains, feel nice and calm, eat lots of fiber, vegs, fruits, do plenty of excersise and have no known family history of heart disease.
What is it about hypochondria that makes you worry about every little detail?
about 9 months ago, I had a panic attack and I development a case of hypochondria, a couple of days ago I started having a weird sensation in my right arm. Prior to that I went the gym and did some chest exercises.
Even though I know for a fact that I probably pulled a muscle, I got this idea that i'm having a heart attack, even though, I have no chest pains, feel nice and calm, eat lots of fiber, vegs, fruits, do plenty of excersise and have no known family history of heart disease.
What is it about hypochondria that makes you worry about every little detail?
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I was like that for 3 years. I know how it is, it sucks.
I would go to the emergency room and have ekg's, chest x-rays, everything and it always came back fine.
First I thought it was because I had been doing coke, so I stopped. Then I stopped smoking weed and cigarettes, it still didn't help. Then I got obsessed with my caffiene intake and every little thing.
Then I started with the aspirin. It's wierd though, but to me it felt like the aspirin helped. That just reinforced my idea that there was something really wrong with me.
Every little thing that I did revolved around how it would affect my heart. It was an obsession.
Then it stopped. I don't know, I just woke up one morning and realized that I had been feeling normal for about a week. Thinking back though, that was around the time that I had resolved some issues that had been causing a lot of stress. Or maybe I just got lucky, I don't really know.
And it seems to have started at a time that there was a lot going on, like work, school, family problems, every day drama. That's not traumatic, or at least I didn't think so. But I guess just because I didn't let it bother me doesn't mean that it didn't impact me physically and mentally.
I'm all good now, I can run (it feels so good to be able to do a 2 or 3 mile run again), I can go out and party again, I can get mad and not think i'm having a coronary. So it does get better, I just wish I could tell you exactly how.
But I do know that it is definitely in your head, not your chest. So maybe try and think about something that caused it for you. What happened when it started. A major life change - good or bad, a death in the family, anything and try to deal with that. From what i've read, I guess that things like this cause stress for people and we don't even feel it.
And most definitely see your doctor, your family doctor. If they can't help they can refer you to someone who can.
I wonder why this happens to young people so much? I was 18 when this started for me, and a lot of the people that responded to this post are young, that's kind of weird.
I would go to the emergency room and have ekg's, chest x-rays, everything and it always came back fine.
First I thought it was because I had been doing coke, so I stopped. Then I stopped smoking weed and cigarettes, it still didn't help. Then I got obsessed with my caffiene intake and every little thing.
Then I started with the aspirin. It's wierd though, but to me it felt like the aspirin helped. That just reinforced my idea that there was something really wrong with me.
Every little thing that I did revolved around how it would affect my heart. It was an obsession.
Then it stopped. I don't know, I just woke up one morning and realized that I had been feeling normal for about a week. Thinking back though, that was around the time that I had resolved some issues that had been causing a lot of stress. Or maybe I just got lucky, I don't really know.
And it seems to have started at a time that there was a lot going on, like work, school, family problems, every day drama. That's not traumatic, or at least I didn't think so. But I guess just because I didn't let it bother me doesn't mean that it didn't impact me physically and mentally.
I'm all good now, I can run (it feels so good to be able to do a 2 or 3 mile run again), I can go out and party again, I can get mad and not think i'm having a coronary. So it does get better, I just wish I could tell you exactly how.
But I do know that it is definitely in your head, not your chest. So maybe try and think about something that caused it for you. What happened when it started. A major life change - good or bad, a death in the family, anything and try to deal with that. From what i've read, I guess that things like this cause stress for people and we don't even feel it.
And most definitely see your doctor, your family doctor. If they can't help they can refer you to someone who can.
I wonder why this happens to young people so much? I was 18 when this started for me, and a lot of the people that responded to this post are young, that's kind of weird.
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Re: Panic Attack Caused Fear of Heart Problem. Ruining My Li
| dermo wrote: |
| hi,im 19 years old male. About two years ago I suffered a panic attack,
i think it was enduced from smoking pot,i had a few more after that also. The panic attacks have stopped, however since then ive had horrible and debilatating hypochondria, I was never worried about my health before.Im convinced im going to die from a heart attack,especially when im hungover, I get small uncomfortable pains in my left arm, left hand and chest, I get pins and needles very easily and muscle twitches all over my body, I also get pains anywhere where there seems to be a pulse in my body, small fluttery palpitation like sensations are not uncommon either. Ive been to hospital on several terrifying occassions, convinced I was in the preliminary stages of a heart attack and had several ecg tests done. The doctors said everything was fine and normal, but this reassurance only lasts a while before I start worrying again. I keep thinking maybe I have one of these 'undetectable heart conditions' even though there is no history in my family of heart problems.I quit smoking pot a few months ago and quit smoking cigarettes a few weeks ago but was never a heavy smoker. I used to be quite fit, and play alot of football, however in the past couple of years I became aware of young, fit, healthy people who died of heart attacks when playing sports, and this really terrified me and put me off sports and traumatisedme with the prospect of dying young.I am aware that all the symptoms I get are caused by this fixated fear of a heart attack but it is ruining my life.The fact that I worry and stress about it even causes me to think ill cause myself a heart attack. I devise ridiculous rationale and diagnosis in my head and avoid many things like, lying on the left side of my body at night in case that puts some sort of pressure on my heart. Anytime I get those sensations in my arm I panic and feel I have to take aspirin. If I get a pain in my toe I somehow manage to link it to my heart. I have just got into the way of thinking that some small aches and pains just shouldnt be there. I worry about everything from eating more than two eggs in a week to having sex with my girlfriend, that it will all cause me to have a heart attack. I dont want to spend the rest of my life like this. So please help with any shared experience or advice. Loving life. |
u got to live ur life, you cant be afraid of these things, when its ur time its ur time, u never gonna know when thats going to be so u mise well make the best in it ...... Keep up not smoking pot and cigs.....
Live ur life to the fullest.... Dont worry about the things u cant control....
Eat well, excerise, get plenty of rest, check up with ur doctors as offending as your should and u should be fine....
Hope you get to feeling better....
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Too Much Omega 6
Some of the symptoms you have may be related to a high omega 6 diet, low exercise and low omega 3 consumption. You should have a heavy unbalance in the omega 6/ omega 3 ratio.
In order to bring balance back into your life you could cut down, or eliminate, the omega 6 oil ingestion(all vegetable oils, except olive oil). These include all fried food, margarines, cookies, crackers, pies and the like.
Http://www.Omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.Com/om ega-3-fatty-acids.Html
include butter, omega 3 fish oil supplements( at least 3-6 grams/day). Omega 3 are well know for its cardiovascular protective action. Specially reduce sudden death disorder(arrhythmia). They are also know for their calming, stability and general well being they bring to your life.
Http://www.Omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.Com/fi sh-oil-and-heart-disease.Html
do not neglect exercise, it is a human daily necessity and your body express it becoming ânervousâ.
Http://www.Omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.Com/fi sh-oil-and-exercise.Html
In order to bring balance back into your life you could cut down, or eliminate, the omega 6 oil ingestion(all vegetable oils, except olive oil). These include all fried food, margarines, cookies, crackers, pies and the like.
Http://www.Omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.Com/om ega-3-fatty-acids.Html
include butter, omega 3 fish oil supplements( at least 3-6 grams/day). Omega 3 are well know for its cardiovascular protective action. Specially reduce sudden death disorder(arrhythmia). They are also know for their calming, stability and general well being they bring to your life.
Http://www.Omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.Com/fi sh-oil-and-heart-disease.Html
do not neglect exercise, it is a human daily necessity and your body express it becoming ânervousâ.
Http://www.Omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.Com/fi sh-oil-and-exercise.Html
|
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