Hello any MedFags in tonight? got a few questions
So i was having chest pains that come and go and waking up in the middle of the night with speedy heart rate and i said fuck it and went to the hospital. I got ECG,Blood Tests, X-ray scans,Blood presure test. EVERYTHING WAS FINE? could these test not of picked up something wrong with my heart?
You could have self-induced hyperventilation. Either that or anxiety, but I'm not a doctor lel
Not a med fag but that sounds like anxiety.
Yes, but unlikely. EKG and blood tests being normal is important.
OP here, Have had panic attacks alot in the past but the past 3 months ZERO. so it cant be anxiety i know what anxiety feels like.
Welcome to the wonderful world of panic attacks! There's all sorts of subsets of General Anxiety Disorder. Some folks get attacks after eating, some int he middle of the night! The important thing for you to do now is to destress as much as possible and look into seeing if you can live a healthier lifestyle. Where the body goes the mind has a tendency to follow. Also, try to resist the urge to guess at what "triggered" a panic attack. They can be delayed responses to things that happened hours or even days ago!
As an aside, rule out things like sleep apnia or latent asthmatic tendencies with you doc. Both of those could lead to chest pains and increased heart rates/blood pressure. Is your bp normal?
yes blood presure was 131/71
i get anxiety all the time but in my sleep?? this is like new for me and scary
Continued:
So as for whether or not something could be wrong with your heart. If The ER gave you the go ahead you're almost assuredly well enough. They take chest pains and increased bp very seriously because those are common signs of a number of very dangerous conditions, and lots of more or less benign conditions though too. The thing about those EKG stations is, if they er at all, it's in being overly sensitive. They are FAR more likely to throw a false positive than a false negative. If the triage nurses had thought your readings were even slightly quesitonable they would have admitted you for a full EKG and possibly even an ultrasound. Listening to your heart and lungs would almost certainly give away any dangerous rhythms, but those would have been picked up by the EKG as well.
So you probably had 2-3 different checks in just that little space of time. You can feel fairly confident that you're doing well enough. BUt by all means follow up with your doc.
Sure, anxiety attacks are a living hell for some people. I know because I went through a period of them in my mid 20s. I did also occasionally wake up with them and it's incredibly disorienting. I'll speak more about this in the next post.
Yea panic attacks suck :( feels like you're dying not just the first time. When i wake up with a fast heart and hot flash/sweating im not panicy and super calm just like "erm wtf" ----- I have been on my computer chair for 12years doing 15 hour sessions everyday so could it be a clot? or something from not moving ever im also super thin like BMI 17
In dealing with anxiety attacks you need to understand a few things:
- They will NOT hurt you. They FEEL like you're dying, but they're not. The only time they are dangerous is if you have a severe heart condition that requires you to keep an extra low blood pressure. Guess what? You just got that ruled out pretty authoritatively! So no worries there.
- your job during an anxiety attack is not to try to stop it. Once that adrenaline hits your blood stream, you're going for the ride until your body metabolizes it. And it WILL metabolize it. Your job is to make yourself as comfortable as possible until it passes. Which leads me to my next point.
- It WILL end. An anxiety attack is a little like having a drink or smoking a joint. You've got "panic" hormones dumped into your blood stream and they have to work their way out. And they always do. You can minimize their impact by just keeping in mind that you're okay, it will end, and making sure you're breathing slowly, calmly, from your diaphram and not taking shallow breaths from your chest and shoulders. This is an uncomfortable annoyance, not a danger.
- Some people report thinking of their grandmother actually helps shorten attacks. If you had a good relationship with her it may be worth a shot.
- if you can, seek therapy. You CAN weather these on your own, but there are psychological tools a little general counseling can equip you with that will make the process more efficient for you.
- This may go on for a while. Or it may pass quickly. Even if it does go on a while, know that these periods do end so long as you don't obsess. You can actually get into a negative spiral of being afraid of the attacks...which can tirgger more attacks! Again, this is uncomfortable and obnoxious, NOT dangerous. You don't feel fine during one, but you ARE fine. Your body goofed up. It thinks it's being chased by sabre toothed cats and dumped the hormones into you to give you the power to escape.