Stress Center Peer Support

First off, I would like to thank all of the people on here & in chat that have guided me through some rough times. You will forever be in my heart & prayers! This is a little LONG, but I'd appreciate some feedback on this.

I have been dealing with anxiety/panic attacks for about a year or so. I've been to 3 different hospitals, one of them I went back to 3 times - all within about a 8 month range. The only thing discovered was MVP (mitral valve prolapse - leaky valve).

I've also been to my PCP more this year than I have been to a doctor in my entire life!

Here's the thing, I believe my anxiety and panic are due to my leaky heart valve because it causes a rapid heartbeat occasionally. When this happens, I get scared because I (and anyone else) can see my shirt moving from my chest beating so hard & so fast.

I've had 2 stress tests, an angiogram - sonogram of my heart, and EKG, an CT scan of my head & several other tests to check my heart & the cardiologist says my heart is healthy & strong, that the valves are not blocked or anything like that.

But, my problem is that I sometimes forget the 'healthy - strong' part & worry about the leaky valve. He explained that my condition is not life threatening...but again, I still worry. It's hard NOT to worry about a real condition.

I have chest tightness and occasional sharp pain in my chest and it goes from my arm pit down to my elbow. The tightness is off & on all day, the sharp pains are sporadic. I have nitroglycerin tabs for chest pain and I have used 2 since I got them in January.

Regardless of what is causing it, I need help with trying to stop this fear/obsessive worry from getting me down & physically sick again.

Just 3 1/2 weeks ago I had all these symptoms:
-- Dizziness
-- Chest Pain/Tightness
-- Severe Nausea with Vomiting (not being able
to eat hardly anything)
-- Extreme Hot Flashes like my stomach was on
fire, then my upper body & then my legs
-- Tingling & Numbness in my head, arms & backs
of my legs
-- Extreme Fatigue
-- Insomnia
-- Overall Sick Feeling
-- Blurred Vision
-- Tremors/Shakes (like I was freezing)
-- I lost 12lbs in a week & 1/2
-- Felt Like I was Never going to get Better

As of last week, I felt almost completely better.
These are the only symptoms I have now:
-- Chest Pain (just a dull-achy feeling)
sometimes it goes from my pit to my elbow
-- Numbness/Tingling in my Arms & backs of legs
-- The vein in my neck on the left side gets
tight

Last night I started feeling like my chest was hurting worse & my mouth was very dry, like my throat was closing up...but of course, it didn't. I was also scared - so I took 1/2 a xanax (.25mg) and a nitro. It relaxed me enough to go to bed. This morning I woke up with a hot stomach (like on fire) and tingling in my arms, legs & head....this is how I felt when I started going downhill SOOOOO bad a few weeks ago & I don't want to go through that again!!

I need prayers, advice, tips, etc....
I can't keep running to the E.R. or the cardiologist every time I have chest pains because he's told me that I'm fine. Last time I went for chest pain, he gave me the nitroglycerin tabs & had me take one in the office. He also ran an EKG that was normal. I take meds that controls the rapid heartbeat.

Oh, I'm an otherwise healthy 33 year old woman.

Sweet TNL!! I know what you are going thru and I consider you my friend. I know how tough it is dealing with symptoms. YOU ARE OKAY! You are fine and you are not dying. I know that is hard to believe...believe me.. been there...and often am there a lot! You have been to countless doctors...as have I, and they have all told us we are healthy. If you go to the doc again, they are going to tell you the same thing, and you are going to get aggravated, and overall...make it harder on yourself. Be kind to yourself TNL, you are having real symptoms, but I think it is time for both of us to chalk all this up to anxiety. If there was something wrong, a doctor would have caught it by now. I think that a lot of this for both of us comes from wanting to control what we cant. If there is soemthing wrong with us...it is beyond our control. I dont think there is anything wrong with us. But if we go from doctor to doctor and they repeatedly tell us we are fine, what else can we do? Something that has helped me is that I pray before I go. I pray that God will help me have strength, and also if there is anything wrong, let that doctor be able to find it or detect that something is up. And when they dont, I thank God that I am healthy. Just pray and say look, God I am running around trying to find out what is wrong with me. I have done all I can...now it is in your hands, I cant do this to myself anymore. Believe me TNL, he will provide for his children, he doesnt want to see us hurt and he will ALWAYS See us through. We are in his hands and whose hands could be better to be in his than his? I mean honestly. He would allow those doctors to see if there was anything wrong with you, and there isnt. We need to accept that anxiety is doing these horrible things, and nothing else. I know how hard it is because im still dealing with it too. Just know that you arent alone and you can do this!

Mallory, your words of faith made me cry, but it's because I really needed to hear it in a loving, Christian, friendly way...just as you portray.

I know that I am OK - deep down in my heart, I really know that I'm good. It's just sometimes I can get caught up in the feelings of tightness, sharp pains, etc.... and then start thinking 'What if it's more serious than when he checked me a month ago?' or 'What if it's developed into mitral valve regurgitation - where the blood goes back into the heart & can cause heart attacks/failure' - and the list goes on. It's the "WHAT IF" thinking that really bothers me & it effects my well-being overall.

Although I am Christian & I have faith that God will see me through this - my human side still makes it difficult. Not that I don't trust or depend on him, but I still worry & really need to learn to LET GO & LET GOD!

Without disclosing the fact that I have GAD, I've made appts for my regular check-ups just to clear up anything else that may be going on. I will not tell them about the anxiety - unless I have to??

I've got a women's check-up on Friday & a mammogram on May 22nd (they found 2 tiny spots 2 years ago & I never went back....but I didn't have anxiety or 'freak out' spells back then)

Also, I went to my PCP this morning & he says everything looks good. He is sending me to a neurologist to ease my mind with the numbness & tingling sensations that I get in my head, arms & backs of my legs.

Did you go to the neurologist as well Mal? If so, email me & let me know the results if U will. Also, I won't forget the pact that we made about NO MORE unneccesary doc visits.

Thank you for being my friend in Christ ~ Tracy
(cracie_fl@yahoo.com is my email)