Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
bay....yes...i agree that a lot of your symptoms are anxiety. but...look up costochondritis on the web. not sure of the spelling but it should still come up. you mentioned that you work out and costo can also be caused by a blow to the chest at some point in your life. and...want to lower that blood pressure fast? eat oatmeal with raisins every morning. let me know if this information was any help to you.
Last edited by ms_mod; 04-12-2012 at 04:33 PM.
Reason: Removed long quote. Ms_Mod
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Quote:
Originally Posted by bay7000
boobootwo -
i asked cardiologist if i had costochondritis he said, if my chest was sore to the touch or inflammed, then i would have it. but he told me i didnt have it.
mojo37 - how are you doing? are your palps, tachy, and other ailments improving?
i think ive come to the point where im just going to move forward with life right now and not think to much about my symptoms. ive done all i can with the tests and stuff, and ive seen chiropractors..
the chiropractor guy i met up with said my heart was fine and to just ignore my heart/symptoms...so thats what i will try to do from now on so i can move forward. i have a friend who has a deaf right ear, and my friend's wife who has a rare stomach cancer...there's many people out there who have it worse.. i guess all we can do right now is to keep fighting to live. i know that keeping busy, and distracting the mind helps a lot for me.
let me know how you are.
a cardiologist wouldn't know anything about costo. it's the tissue that supports the breast bone to the sternum. i started getting it quite a few years ago, just due to my chronic coughing. i had it so bad on xmas day that i thought i was having a massive heart attack, but since i was with family....i thougth...oh well...if i die at least i won't be alone...lol. inflammation in the chest area can only show up with an ultrasound. i think you should discuss this with your gp. i quoted one of your posts on here again, because i forgot about this post...lol. hope you got the oatmeal thing. i'm having quite the flareup right now. so much stomach acid i can't stand it. i'm wondering if i'm lactose intolerant because of the bowel changes, but yet milk is the only thing that soothes my stomach. although...i've heard that people with sjogrens and fibro shouldn't drink and i went to my home town for the weekend and actually had a great time. darn corona!! lol. keep in touch and let me know what your gp says about the costo okay. oh...still have the palps flutters etc but doing a stress test on the 30th of this month. my gp said i do have mild supraventricular tachychardia, but that doesn't usually involve the irregularities. but...i'm in my mid fifties and with menopause and all the other crap we women go through...who knows what the heck is going on...lol. you men have it lucky...lol.
Last edited by boobootwo; 04-12-2012 at 04:26 PM.
Reason: addition
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
mojo – yea thanks, i have already tried the magnesium and vitamin d. cant tell if the mag is working.. but the vitamin d has helped a bit with some of my hip joint pains. staying active like walking, and jogging help a bit.
boobootwo –
Can you describe how your chest felt when you had the costochondritis? im not sure if i get the symptoms of costo as I don’t get the inflamed feeling in the ribs.
What type of test do you take to get diagnosed and did you receive special treatment for it?
Thanks for the oatmeal tip. i dont eat oatmeal to often, only once in a while.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
i've been a chronic cougher since childhood when i nearly died from double pneumonia. also had pleurisy a few times. anyway...just started getting kinda tightness, made worse by coughing, but it just affected the breastbone area on the left side. it doesn't necessarily have to be inflamed...just irritated. if i would get a cold, it would get worse and be burning and just extremely painful and would become inflamed and i could tell it was because it hurt just to press lightly on that area. i still get it here and there, but haven't had the inflammation in a few years. i don't think costo goes away. i think by doing certain things that we irritate it and then it flares up. i work part time right now and have to use both arms to lift heavy objects. i find when they have me work too many days in a row....i can feel it starting to pull and then hurting. the motion i do is almost like when you work out your chest muscles at the gym. like bench presses i suppose...but lifting instead of pushing. not sure if this helps much, but it's the only way i can describe it. things that flare it up....coughing, lifting heavy things, working both arms back and forth, as if moving things from one hand to the other that are not really heavy, but a few pounds and repeatedly. talk to your gp....he/she may be able to describe it better to you. let me know what you find out.
Last edited by ms_mod; 04-16-2012 at 11:27 AM.
Reason: addtion
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Bay7000,
Vitamin D helps me quite a bit with my pains. Magnesium makes my arrythmias/ palpitations less severe and less often. I did notice a big difference once I started taking it. I take the magnesium pill right before I go to bed. It took about one to two weeks of taking magnesium supplements to notice a difference. I've been also staying as active as I can but I am not even at a fraction of where I used to be but like a friend of mine said; I have two options, one is to get out and have fun while I am feeling miserable or two, stay in bed feeling miserable. It is very difficult to get motivated to do something when you feel sick and with all kinds of pains but we have to do it. Staying active is another way to fight whatever it is that we have.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Bay7000 & Mojo37,
For the past few months, I've also been living with the exact same symptoms you both have described. As a matter of fact, I think I may be the spitting image of Bay. I'm also 30, have been fairly healthy until this all started, and my symptoms and my reactions to them are just about the same. The only differences are perhaps the high blood pressure (mine appears to stay within normal limits), the height (since I'm a little shorter), and that I've always had pretty bad cholesterol numbers despite diet and activity (I believe this is hereditary, in my case). Still, everything that Bay has written on the first page of this thread is exactly what I've been experiencing since late November, 2011. As a result, I've been a fatigued, sleepless wreck for months now.
The doctors I've seen are also at a loss to explain what's going on, and as you all have experienced by now, they insist it's "anxiety" and that it's all in my head. Of course, I also don't believe it stems from anxiety (though I freely admit that I've got anxiety to spare now that I have all these symptoms). I absolutely believe there has to be a physiological reason behind everything and that once I find what it is, it can be addressed. The only problem is convincing the doctors of that, and then getting them to invest in figuring it out too, rather than having them send me away with benzodiazepines and PPIs, just hoping something will stick.
What probably makes my situation a little worse is that I'm studying abroad, at the moment. Admittedly, I actually have health insurance here (since it's cheap for students and is universal), whereas I wouldn't be able to afford it back home in the States. However, the language barrier and the culture of medicine is much different here. Explaining to a doctor here that something they suggested isn't working sometimes returns helpless apathy, and sometimes tends to get them angry (imagine that!). Thus, it's taken me some time to find a doctor here that not only will listen to me and attempt different diagnostic tests. Only problem is, he also seems stumped and I think it's a matter of time until this medical mystery outlasts his patience.
In any case, I sincerely hope we eventually find out what it is that's afflicting us and that we can one day feel "normal" again. Months of searching the Internet seem to have uncovered a lot of posts on different boards of people with the same or similar symptoms, asking the same questions. I don't often see solutions or followups with clear answers which can be discouraging, but well, I keep searching, hoping for that eureka moment. With luck, we'll all find it.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
TLORS,
All my symptoms started late November as well. Like you mentioned, there's a lot op people with the same symptoms or very similar to ours. I am starting to wonder if it really is some kind of viral infection that just won't let go. I hope that we can figure out what it is because this is no fun at all. Where are you studying at?
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojo37
TLORS,
All my symptoms started late November as well. Like you mentioned, there's a lot op people with the same symptoms or very similar to ours. I am starting to wonder if it really is some kind of viral infection that just won't let go. I hope that we can figure out what it is because this is no fun at all. Where are you studying at?
I've wondered the same, actually. I've wondered whether it was viral, a food allergy, or even if it was something environmental (seeing as I'm far from home soil and all, but even I think this far-fetched notion was born of desperation and have since kinda' given up on it). Regardless, the doctors have said that they doubt it's viral or that it's due to an allergy. According to them, my blood tests and an allergy test seem to indicate that it's not a virus and, outside of cats and dust mites, I'm not allergic to the usual foods that cause allergies like gluten, dairy products, or shell fish.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Funny thing, my anxiety also started in November 2011. I tried to come off the Paxil and after two weeks into it it hit me like a door in the head. Ever since I am not feeling like my old self. Everyone tells me that it is all in my head and I do believe that it partly is, since when I get myself together and motivate myself (which is very hard) I do feel much better.
Was there some global event that took place in November that could have caused all of us have a sudden increase in some negative energy or so? I can't think of anything.
__________________
Method to face anxiety:
facing, accepting, floa-ting, letting time pass
Current medication: Paxil 16mg (10mg pill, 3ml oral suspension)
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
boobootwo: i do cough every now and then because of an itchy throat and to clear out some clear mucous, but its not a severe phlegmy kind of cough. i stopped seeing gp he doesn't know a dam thing, i wont be returning back there anytime soon. i will post it here if i find something about it though.
mojo37: yea, i hear you, its important to go out and enjoy life even though we feel wacky. i was feeling blue and extremely fatigued the other day that i went to bed early and stayed there for like 12 hrs! Even then, these symptoms make me feel so tired and blah during the day. one day i feel motivated, the next day i don't want to do anything. I feel like a hurt zombie.
TLORS: The symptoms i'm having seem to be making me more anxious/stressed, and i feel that my heart races easier in normal activities, ie: working out is tougher. It shoots up when docs check my bp. My heart is fine according to tests, which is assuring. But i feel wacky. do you still take the meds prescribed?
I can understand your situation. Your symptoms could be from environmental stress or something. did you notice the symptoms start even before your studies in Japan?
Just out of curiosity, what are you studying in Japan?
d0ink: yea, some kind of negative energy that stressed the body. maybe for me it was built up stress. Not quite sure. and yes motivating oneself is tough, but i guess it can be done.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Quote:
Originally Posted by bay7000
boobootwo: i do cough every now and then because of an itchy throat and to clear out some clear mucous, but its not a severe phlegmy kind of cough. i stopped seeing gp he doesn't know a dam thing, i wont be returning back there anytime soon. i will post it here if i find something about it though.
mojo37: yea, i hear you, its important to go out and enjoy life even though we feel wacky. i was feeling blue and extremely fatigued the other day that i went to bed early and stayed there for like 12 hrs! Even then, these symptoms make me feel so tired and blah during the day. one day i feel motivated, the next day i don't want to do anything. I feel like a hurt zombie.
TLORS: The symptoms i'm having seem to be making me more anxious/stressed, and i feel that my heart races easier in normal activities, ie: working out is tougher. It shoots up when docs check my bp. My heart is fine according to tests, which is assuring. But i feel wacky. do you still take the meds prescribed?
I can understand your situation. Your symptoms could be from environmental stress or something. did you notice the symptoms start even before your studies in Japan?
Just out of curiosity, what are you studying in Japan?
d0ink: yea, some kind of negative energy that stressed the body. maybe for me it was built up stress. Not quite sure. and yes motivating oneself is tough, but i guess it can be done.
I was lucky enough to get a big Japanese government scholarship which pays for my tuition and gives a monthly stipend that covers most of my day-to-day living. With something as generous as that going for me, it's kind of hard to feel depressed or anxious I think, but of course the experts I've consulted still think otherwise. Anyhow, I've been living and studying in Japan for about six years, so it's a very recent thing.
At the moment, I'm only taking PPIs (Omeprazole) regularly, and on occasion, I'll take one of the anti-anxiety meds I was given (I have three; etizolam, brotizolam, and alprazolam. I tend not to take the alprazolam, since it makes me feel very tired and strangely makes it harder for me to breathe--two things I'd rather not have when I'm already feeling quite fatigued). Other than that, I take daily supplements like a multi-vitamin, CoQ10, glucosamine, and fish oil. My diet is fairly clean too, as I eat mostly fruits, steamed vegetables (whatever I can get locally that doesn't come from the potentially irradiated north), lots of legumes, and a bit of fish and chicken from time to time.
I know what you mean though, about feeling really fatigued just doing your everyday activities. The act of going to the supermarket to stock up my kitchen with the aforementioned items gets me huffing and puffing where it never did before. Lifting otherwise light loads (like grocery bags) is at times a strenuous activity. Exercise becomes an activity I have to drag myself through, rather than enjoy for the duration. I've lost about 20 pounds over the past few months as well, though I'm suspecting a lot of that weight was muscle mass given my symptoms and fatigue? It's all pretty baffling and a little disconcerting, like, "wow, is this weakness the new normal for me?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by d0ink
Funny thing, my anxiety also started in November 2011. I tried to come off the Paxil and after two weeks into it it hit me like a door in the head. Ever since I am not feeling like my old self. Everyone tells me that it is all in my head and I do believe that it partly is, since when I get myself together and motivate myself (which is very hard) I do feel much better.
Was there some global event that took place in November that could have caused all of us have a sudden increase in some negative energy or so? I can't think of anything.
Yeah, that is a curious thing. In a similar vein, I got to thinking earlier that maybe this was an occurrence that might have been local to my area--like maybe a bunch of folks in my neighborhood started to exhibit similar symptoms, and that maybe something in the environment was responsible? Of course, it'd be a little hard to prove that.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
The majority of my physical anxiety symptoms are chest tightness, hard swallowing, fast heart rate, hard/heavy breathing and sometimes sweaty palms. You are not alone bay7000.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
bay
i read your post again and am wondering if you have seen a rheumatologist. i'm not sure....i know women are more prone to fibromyalgia, but maybe you should see a rheumy and talk to them about this?
Last edited by ms_mod; 04-24-2012 at 03:17 AM.
Reason: Removed long quote. Ms_Mod
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
bay7000,
How are you feeling? I am feeling "ok" today after having a couple of really bad days. I better enjoy the day with my kids because it is just a matter of time before I start feeling sick again.
I went to my appointments with the neurologist and my internal medicine doctor. My neurologist said that he highly recomends for my primary care doctor to refer me to the local medical university or the Mayo clinic because there is obviously something wrong with me and it is not anxiety.
My internist said that she would like for me to go and see a gastroenterologist before she gives me a referal to the medical university. If the gastro and the medical university don't find anything wrong then she will be sending me to the Mayo clinic.
It is looking more like I have an infectious disease that is just progressing now into something more severe or I have some kind of hormone producing tumor that is just dumping adrenaline or some other hormone into my system non-stop. I am really thinking that it could be the tumor because I have all the symptoms and the only test that came back abnormal was my cortisol which came back really high. The only thing that doesn't make sense is that I am loosing a lot of weight and high cortisol makes you gain. I will keep you posted. I hope you are feeling better.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Mojo37
I’m doing so-so. I’m just trying to hang in there with the symptoms and discomfort. And I still get aches, and heavy feelings.
My other doc that I’ve seen thinks there some issues going on with my stomach. so i have to follow up with him and maybe run another test.
Mayo Clinic will probably find out what kind of disease/ illness you have. You might have a tumor. Hopefully they will find something. Hang in there and get well.
Boobootwo
That might be a good idea to see a rheumy. I haven’t seen one yet. But I’m going to follow up with my doc w/my symptoms and see if i should see one. He also thinks i have some stomach issues going on.
Beatles 1984:
I saw the post about relaxation exercises, I tried it a few times. But I guess it takes time and patience and practice for it to be effective.
TLORS
are your symptoms improving? Did you find anything new with the doctors?
I tried taking PPI before, but I could not notice any difference so I stopped taking them. I think they prevented the absorption of some nutrients from some of the food I was eating.
What does the glucosamine help with? I’m taking magnesium, vitamin d, fish oils, and calcium.
I notice that it’s hard for me to put on pounds ever since I lost weight. I’m trying to gain back some muscle mass and it seems like I’m making very small gains. I’ve been working out 3x a week, but also still get the shortness of breath feeling during and afterwards. I’m going to try to see if I can push myself with more cardio exercise despite having sob.
How are you enjoying your time in Japan ? Anything cool you see? I'm sure a lot.
Last edited by ms_mod; 05-02-2012 at 04:05 PM.
Reason: Read and follow the posting rules in regards to PM's. Ms_Mod
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Quote:
Originally Posted by bay7000
Mojo37
I’m doing so-so. I’m just trying to hang in there with the symptoms and discomfort. And I still get aches, and heavy feelings.
My other doc that I’ve seen thinks there some issues going on with my stomach. so i have to follow up with him and maybe run another test.
Mayo Clinic will probably find out what kind of disease/ illness you have. You might have a tumor. Hopefully they will find something. Hang in there and get well.
Boobootwo
That might be a good idea to see a rheumy. I haven’t seen one yet. But I’m going to follow up with my doc w/my symptoms and see if i should see one. He also thinks i have some stomach issues going on.
Beatles 1984:
I saw the post about relaxation exercises, I tried it a few times. But I guess it takes time and patience and practice for it to be effective.
TLORS
are your symptoms improving? Did you find anything new with the doctors?
I tried taking PPI before, but I could not notice any difference so I stopped taking them. I think they prevented the absorption of some nutrients from some of the food I was eating.
What does the glucosamine help with? I’m taking magnesium, vitamin d, fish oils, and calcium.
I notice that it’s hard for me to put on pounds ever since I lost weight. I’m trying to gain back some muscle mass and it seems like I’m making very small gains. I’ve been working out 3x a week, but also still get the shortness of breath feeling during and afterwards. I’m going to try to see if I can push myself with more cardio exercise despite having sob.
How are you enjoying your time in Japan ? Anything cool you see? I'm sure a lot.
Nothing has really changed for me, outside of maybe wearing thin the patience of my doctor. I have okay days where the symptoms are only an annoyance that slows me down a bit, and some days where it brings everything to a halt and I can't really do much. The worst are nights when I can't sleep, where I'm constantly falling asleep and then waking up in sudden jolts and palpitations for no apparent reason. I'm not good for much on the days that follow those evenings.
I've noticed that I get more upset stomachs while using the PPI (omeprazole), but have decided to try and take them all, per the instructions of my doctor. He scolded me recently for not sticking with the PPI for longer than two weeks the first time I used them, since I also hadn't really seen a difference either. Apparently though, they can take up to a month or longer to have any real effect, or so I've been told.
Just in case my food isn't digesting completely though, I've also started taking probiotics and digestive enzymes. They haven't led to any noticeable change yet, and I still tend to get a lot of phlegmy feel in the back of my throat after meals (which is a big part of why my doctor is thinking that GERD might be the main problem), but I figure that keeping them up can't hurt. Besides, it's only been just under a week that I've been taking them, so maybe that too requires long term use?
Glucosamine is something I've taken even before all this stuff started. It's mostly just for joint cartilage health. As I no longer have a car here, I do a lot of walking and stair climbing, so glucosamine is supposed to help keep wear down to a minimum. It's more a preventative thing to take for me, rather than something I've started taking because of a particular condition.
As for losing weight, yeah, I've shed a lot of muscle too, it seems. About half of the weight I've lost (about 10 pounds) is likely muscle according to this electronic scale I've got. That makes sense since I don't eat as much now that I'm not as active, and even then, I tend to eat even more fruit and vegetable than I used to, rather than the usual amounts of chicken or fish. (Beef tends to be too expensive for me here, and pork is something I rarely ate even before coming to Japan.) I'm not too worried about gaining it back at the moment though, since I'm just more concerned with getting quality sleep, stopping the chest pain, palps, and the heavy sensation when I'm trying to get deep breaths down.
As for my time in Japan, it's like anywhere. It has its perks and drawbacks. There are definitely many amazing things that I'm probably taking for granted now that I'll be missing when I return home. While there's valid criticism that Japanese government and industry is too centered on Tokyo, it does make the city incredibly dense with distractions. If you've got the time, money, and energy (of which I'm sorely lacking the latter two!) then it's a great place to explore and have a great time. I just hope that when the next "big one" hits, it leaves this city intact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojo37
bay7000,
How are you feeling? I am feeling "ok" today after having a couple of really bad days. I better enjoy the day with my kids because it is just a matter of time before I start feeling sick again.
I went to my appointments with the neurologist and my internal medicine doctor. My neurologist said that he highly recomends for my primary care doctor to refer me to the local medical university or the Mayo clinic because there is obviously something wrong with me and it is not anxiety.
My internist said that she would like for me to go and see a gastroenterologist before she gives me a referal to the medical university. If the gastro and the medical university don't find anything wrong then she will be sending me to the Mayo clinic.
It is looking more like I have an infectious disease that is just progressing now into something more severe or I have some kind of hormone producing tumor that is just dumping adrenaline or some other hormone into my system non-stop. I am really thinking that it could be the tumor because I have all the symptoms and the only test that came back abnormal was my cortisol which came back really high. The only thing that doesn't make sense is that I am loosing a lot of weight and high cortisol makes you gain. I will keep you posted. I hope you are feeling better.
Despite how we're all feeling at the moment, it's kinda' nice that your doctors are at least inclined to escalating you to a research hospital like Mayo to figure out what the problem might be. I wish my doctors had that initiative, so I'm a tad jealous, here! A previous doctor (the one before my current one) basically once told me, "look, I can't find anything wrong, so it has to be all in your head. Come back in six months if it is still bothering you." I was pretty angry afterward, and that didn't help much.
In any case, I hope you get that chance soon. You deserve answers, just like the rest of us, and once you get it, you're that much closer to addressing the problem, rather than just trying to ease the symptoms. Good luck, Mojo!
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
TLORS,
I still have all my symptoms as well. I do a couple of things to minimize them like I drink tons of sugar free powerade and take tylenol PM when I am having lots of pain and jolts. I also take probiotics (Kefir).
I saw a gastroenterologist and I was diagnosed with a Candida infection of the esophagus and atrophic gastritis. The doctor told me that atrophic gastritis is only caused by H. Pylori or an autoinmune condition. I was tested for H. Pylori and I don't have it so now we are just waiting to get some lab results back to confirm the autoinmune diagnosis. I am also taking fluconasole (diflucan) twice a day for 14 days to get rid of that candida. After all, my problems seem to be coming from an undiagnosed autoinmune condition and like I said the onl things that really help me are the powerades and the tylenol PM. Hope you feel better soon.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Consider asking a rhuematologist about Fibromyalgia. I had similiar symptoms back in 93 - and not much was know then about Fibro. It is very hard to diagnose. Worth asking about.
Re: Chest tightness, constricted breathing, strong pounding palpitations day to night
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojo37
TLORS,
I still have all my symptoms as well. I do a couple of things to minimize them like I drink tons of sugar free powerade and take tylenol PM when I am having lots of pain and jolts. I also take probiotics (Kefir).
I saw a gastroenterologist and I was diagnosed with a Candida infection of the esophagus and atrophic gastritis. The doctor told me that atrophic gastritis is only caused by H. Pylori or an autoinmune condition. I was tested for H. Pylori and I don't have it so now we are just waiting to get some lab results back to confirm the autoinmune diagnosis. I am also taking fluconasole (diflucan) twice a day for 14 days to get rid of that candida. After all, my problems seem to be coming from an undiagnosed autoinmune condition and like I said the onl things that really help me are the powerades and the tylenol PM. Hope you feel better soon.
Hmm... that's interesting. I'll be sure to ask my PCP about testing to see if it's an autoimmune reaction and H. Pylori, next.
For the meantime however, I've been using traditional Chinese medicines (though "localized" for Japanese usage) since I've come to a point where I figured, "what could I lose from trying something else?" I've been on it for a month and a half, and while things have thankfully not gotten worse, they haven't gotten considerably better, either.
I have noticed lately that my episodes or near-episodes tend to revolve around eating however, leading me to think it might be related to digestion. I got an endoscopy recently, and they found a minor hiatal hernia along with mild reflux esophagitis. My doctor put me on aciphex and is having me see how that works out.
Will report back if and when this (hopefully) all clears up.
