pathtocalm
02-01-17, 14:21
Hello everyone, and happy new year.
I joined this site some time ago but have taken ages to bring myself to write this.
I suffer from Anxiety, well I hope it is anxiety and nothing underlying.
I guess I am writing this just to see your views, opinions etc and to see if anyone else is in the same category as me.
To start from the beginning, I am 32 years old. No previous medical issues, completely fit and healthy. Apart from a bit of lower back pain and sciatica now and again.
Around 3 years ago I was lifting shopping from the car when I had a shooting pain down my left arm, I then went indoors, laid down on the bed for ten minutes and the pain went away, I then think I had what I now know as a panic attack, my heart started racing fast, which I have never felt before, then I had numbing pain down my left arm and up into my jaw, all these symptoms made me frightened and off to the hospital I went. I had an ECG and blood tests and all came back completely fine. So I carried on with my day to day life and left it at that, then it happened again a few months after, numbing pain down left arm and around chest and into my jaw. So I went to the doctors who gave me an ECG and said it was fine but she then referred to me a cardiologist. I went along to that appointment and the cardiologist gave me what I'm sure is a echocardiogram. Than came back fine and he told me go away and not worry about my heart.
Great
2016 was a year where I think anxiety has started taken over. I have never really known what anxiety was or how it affects someone.
Basically I would have episodes of heart palpitations, increased heart rate, and same pain shooting up to my jaw and down my left arm. I have been back to doctors surgery and hospital three times in 2016 and in total over the last 3 years I have had around 6 ECG's, 1 Echocardiogram, 2 sets of blood tests taken and all have come back fine.
I am a non smoker but I drink occasionally. I would suffer these anxiety attacks after a night on the beer. So I have completely cut out alcohol altogether. Then I would start having these palpitations and anxiety attacks after eating sugary sweets or a can of pepsi. So I have now cut all that out of my diet too.
I am cutting these nasty yucky foods and alcohol out my diet and starting 2017 on a healthy eating healthy lifestyle mission. My anxiety and panic and palpitations were absolutely horrifying after a night on the beer, so common sense tells me to make changes.
One thing that comes back to haunt me is the worry of long term damage I may have done to my body and heart in particular which may be the answer to why I may be getting heart palpitations. Through my early 20's on the partying rave scene I used to take ecstasy most weekends and drink too much alcohol. I am neither happy nor proud of this and it has taken me some courage to admit this live on an internet forum. This party phase was over 10 years ago I have not touched any drug substance since, but I often worry if these anxiety attacks are linked to my bad habits back then. I guess that is the main worry I have.
I am a very active person and I work outdoors every day which I love. I get these anxiety attacks maybe 3 times a month. I am finding out all the triggers to what can cause these attacks and I'm cutting them out.
I have noticed that I have been getting pains and slight attacks when I'm driving in the car, And it took me a while to work out it was the seat belt that felt tight across my chest that caused some pushing down on a nerve that would pinch and give me chest and arm pain. So again little triggers I am finding out.
I guess I wanted to share my experience with you all. At this precise moment in time, I'm calm relaxed and happy and I feel much happier for typing this up. Getting my thoughts and feelings down in words maybe helps.
However when the attack comes back on I feel scared, isolated, death is upon me and just try and lay down in a dark room.
I only brought myself to typing this up today because I had a anxiety attack this morning that sent pain down my chest and into my jaw and fast heart rate. After which I felt so tired I actually went to bed and slept for 2 hours and got up at midday.
I forgot to add that I have taken no medication for anything, and not sure if that would be my next best move,
Also worth mentioning is I have never had a stress ECG test nor wore one of those heart monitors that test for arrhythmias and such.
So there we have it, that is my story, I'm not proud of my past which is all self inflicted and I hope that wont be judged too much. I have learned valuable lessons and am now trying to cope and deal with this in my own way. Anxiety thoughts I can manage, its the heart racing and pains that scare me.
I hope you all have a healthy and wonderful year and look forward to engaging with any of you in similar position as myself.
I joined this site some time ago but have taken ages to bring myself to write this.
I suffer from Anxiety, well I hope it is anxiety and nothing underlying.
I guess I am writing this just to see your views, opinions etc and to see if anyone else is in the same category as me.
To start from the beginning, I am 32 years old. No previous medical issues, completely fit and healthy. Apart from a bit of lower back pain and sciatica now and again.
Around 3 years ago I was lifting shopping from the car when I had a shooting pain down my left arm, I then went indoors, laid down on the bed for ten minutes and the pain went away, I then think I had what I now know as a panic attack, my heart started racing fast, which I have never felt before, then I had numbing pain down my left arm and up into my jaw, all these symptoms made me frightened and off to the hospital I went. I had an ECG and blood tests and all came back completely fine. So I carried on with my day to day life and left it at that, then it happened again a few months after, numbing pain down left arm and around chest and into my jaw. So I went to the doctors who gave me an ECG and said it was fine but she then referred to me a cardiologist. I went along to that appointment and the cardiologist gave me what I'm sure is a echocardiogram. Than came back fine and he told me go away and not worry about my heart.
Great
2016 was a year where I think anxiety has started taken over. I have never really known what anxiety was or how it affects someone.
Basically I would have episodes of heart palpitations, increased heart rate, and same pain shooting up to my jaw and down my left arm. I have been back to doctors surgery and hospital three times in 2016 and in total over the last 3 years I have had around 6 ECG's, 1 Echocardiogram, 2 sets of blood tests taken and all have come back fine.
I am a non smoker but I drink occasionally. I would suffer these anxiety attacks after a night on the beer. So I have completely cut out alcohol altogether. Then I would start having these palpitations and anxiety attacks after eating sugary sweets or a can of pepsi. So I have now cut all that out of my diet too.
I am cutting these nasty yucky foods and alcohol out my diet and starting 2017 on a healthy eating healthy lifestyle mission. My anxiety and panic and palpitations were absolutely horrifying after a night on the beer, so common sense tells me to make changes.
One thing that comes back to haunt me is the worry of long term damage I may have done to my body and heart in particular which may be the answer to why I may be getting heart palpitations. Through my early 20's on the partying rave scene I used to take ecstasy most weekends and drink too much alcohol. I am neither happy nor proud of this and it has taken me some courage to admit this live on an internet forum. This party phase was over 10 years ago I have not touched any drug substance since, but I often worry if these anxiety attacks are linked to my bad habits back then. I guess that is the main worry I have.
I am a very active person and I work outdoors every day which I love. I get these anxiety attacks maybe 3 times a month. I am finding out all the triggers to what can cause these attacks and I'm cutting them out.
I have noticed that I have been getting pains and slight attacks when I'm driving in the car, And it took me a while to work out it was the seat belt that felt tight across my chest that caused some pushing down on a nerve that would pinch and give me chest and arm pain. So again little triggers I am finding out.
I guess I wanted to share my experience with you all. At this precise moment in time, I'm calm relaxed and happy and I feel much happier for typing this up. Getting my thoughts and feelings down in words maybe helps.
However when the attack comes back on I feel scared, isolated, death is upon me and just try and lay down in a dark room.
I only brought myself to typing this up today because I had a anxiety attack this morning that sent pain down my chest and into my jaw and fast heart rate. After which I felt so tired I actually went to bed and slept for 2 hours and got up at midday.
I forgot to add that I have taken no medication for anything, and not sure if that would be my next best move,
Also worth mentioning is I have never had a stress ECG test nor wore one of those heart monitors that test for arrhythmias and such.
So there we have it, that is my story, I'm not proud of my past which is all self inflicted and I hope that wont be judged too much. I have learned valuable lessons and am now trying to cope and deal with this in my own way. Anxiety thoughts I can manage, its the heart racing and pains that scare me.
I hope you all have a healthy and wonderful year and look forward to engaging with any of you in similar position as myself.