Could anybody offer any help, advice or opinion?
Last October I had the on/off discomfort in my chest and had been feeling weak. One day I felt like I was going to faint at the same time as chest discomfort. I had to lie down, ended up hyperventilating. I called an ambulance and was taken in. ECG in A&E was fine. Bloods were fine and I was sent home. I am guessing I probably I had an anxiety attack. I was referred for a 24 hour heat monitor.
Nothing similar then for a few months. Though periods of tiredness.
At the end of January I went to A&E again. I had a racing heart, discomfort under chestbone and had weakness for a few days. Again after more bloods, an ECG and examination the doctor's decided it was unlikely to be heart related, and that I should stop coffee and alcohol to see if it helped.
(I have been previously diagnosed with a hypersensitive oesophagus which may explain the chest discomfort)
Since then it has been quite miserable. I have had an increasing lack of energy. By the end of February I was having long periods when I just didn’t want to do anything other than sit on the sofa, especially in the afternoon. There were a few days when I felt ok and managed to go for a walk but mostly rubbish. Almost every day I had at least a few hours when it felt like my heart was rushing or pounding, leaving me drained. Sometimes this went on for 5, 6 or even 7 hours at a time. I stopped taking my daughters to school. Sometimes I had ringing in my ears, pins and needles in my hands, sometimes shivers, feeling cold, brain fog and more.
I saw my GP who refered me to a 2 week cancer pathway for suspicious symptoms, because of the unexplained fatigue and a little weight loss.
I also had the 24 hour ECG. It was on one of the rare days when my heart did not race and the test came back normal. Which is what I expected.
At the end of March it was parents' evening at my daughter's school and I made myself go. But in the second appointment I felt like I was going to collapse, again with pains across my chest. I had to sit outside the classroom and rest for 30 minutes. Then I walked to the car and it was hard work with more pain hopping across my chest. Short lived focussed pains. I was so tempted to go to A&E but it is miserable there, and they would send me home after I had calmed down with the 7 hour wait. I assumed it was anxiety. It was similar to what I felt almost every day, often for hours, just usually I am sitting down and don’t have to walk or talk.
Sometimes I wonder if I have heart disease as I get pains in my heart, but they are not ones that spread or last that long. Who knows.
Waiting for the tests for cancer was very stressful. After a few weeks I had a CT scan and a Gastroscopy. Three weeks ago these came back as negative, but I felt no relief as I was still so tired.
I spend most of my time worrying about my health, and trying not to take my pulse or google everything endlessly. I am not very good at stopping either of them.
I am sure hours and hours of worrying with a racing heart is not great for the body.
I have never felt tired like this. I am not really hungry but am making myself eat as normally as possible.
I have been mostly housebound since February. I have had a few days where I manage to go for a short walk but mostly I move when I have to, from my bed to the sofa, the kitchen and the bathroom. My legs, arms, hands are all so tired most of the time. I sometimes get tinitus, clanging plates and cutlery really annoy me. I find I can't watch films with any suspense any more as they affect me too much. I used to enjoy a horror film.
Last night I had another episode of a racing heart. I still get these from time to time, often they start when I am convinced my heart has jumped or skipped (or was it just indigestion?).
Today I woke up tired but had to make myself get up quickly to get my daughters ready for school, for them to be picked up. Then I tried to get on with the day, but at about 11am when browsing on my phone, suddenly my hands, arms and legs started aching at the same time. It is almost like some unhealthy liquid has run through my limbs.
I am so tired physically and emotionally. Of course it is really tough for my family too, my wife is exhausted and that makes me feel worse.
So I guess, what I am asking is can a sustained period of anxiety cause fatigue and aches like I am suffering from? I just don’t know what anxiety can do, is it likely to be the reason for my extreme exhaustion, the other symptoms?
Thank you.
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