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Chest Pain and Anxiety

utopiaSenior Contributor22 May 2018, 7:53 pm AEST

Chest Pain and Anxiety

Disclosure / Warning: always get checked out if you have chest pain.

Hello everyone. As some of you may know I have Major Depression. I also have Anxiety. Although mine is very mild and no longer requires any medication. Most of the time I can just breathe through my anxiety. Occassionally, I'll scream through it.

Lately, (past 6 months or more) I've been having high blood pressure readings, even though I'm on bp medication. I've been getting really worried about it, as I had a stroke one and a half years ago. And do not want a repeat of that experience. So my gp suggested that I go to my pharmacy daily and have my bp tested and to record it in a little book and to report back to her in 2 weeks.

So last Friday I had my bp tested at the pharmacy and it was 172/113. Not a great number at all. Then I started getting chest pains. Strong and persistent. I've had these before. For the past 12 months I tend to get chest pain when anxious. Nothing extraudinary about that. Because the lower reading was so high, I was worried about a possible stroke and Nurse On Call, rang a Doctors service who called me back and said to phone an ambulance and go to the Emergency Department.

So I spent Friday night and Saturday morning in the ED. All clear. No heart attack, which is what they were worried about. Today I had a stress Echocardiogram. All clear.

I went to the doctors and this time I saw another gp. As I wasn't happy that the old gp was not changing my blood pressure medicine. After chatting to the new gp for about 10 minutes she slips the bp cuff on my arm and continues chatting with me while she takes my bp. Perfect bp. 123/83. Very good for me. Wow. I couldn't believe my bp was that low. It's normally in the high 150's to 180's. Then she explained to me that I have what is called, 'White Coat Syndrome'. Apparently my bp goes up as soon as I'm aware my bp is being taken. So she took it again. And it had risen by 20 points. Took it a third time and I was in the 150's again.

I can't understand why this happens. As I feel really calm and relaxed when I'm geting my bp checked. I don't feel anxious at all. That's when this wonderful gp explained to me, what no one has bothered to tell me in the past 4 years since diagnosis.

Beause I have anxiety (as a diagnosis), I am extremely sensitive to stress, to worries and every day life events. She explained when I walked in and she said 'How are you'. I responded with 'good'. But in my mind my head is full of worries, often times I'm not even aware of them.

So just like I am chemically sensitive to perfumes and chemicals, my mind and body is very sensitive to worries. I never really realized this. As it's now very rare for me to have panic attacks or anxiety attacks.

So while I am smiling and saying everything is 'good'. My mind is silently screaming in the background. And I didn't even know. I really thought anxiety was when I was having an attack or when I can't make my brain shut up from obsessing over things.

No! It can be far more subtle than that. And that's why I've never understood why the hospital and the doctors have told me that my chest pain is due to my anxiety and not to any heart conditions.

Did other people know this?

Is it because I have gotten really good at not thinking about my worries? Because I do anything I can to avoid thinking about them? I tend to try distraction, rather than 'sitting with the feeling'

48 replies

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In response to: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Unknown userMember31 May 2018, 3:32 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Hi @Owlunar
Good to see you ❤❤❤

In response to: Chest Pain and Anxiety

utopiaSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 4:05 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Hi @Owlunar. Everyone has stress in their lives. It can't be avoided. But for those of us who react 'negatively' to stress, that's where we need to try to reduce our stress loads and find ways of trying to reduce the effects it has on our body.
It's a tough one. But I keep hearing the same things. Breathing exercises, meditation, mindfulness, yoga, exercise.
I struggle with doing these at the moment. I used to do them. But stopped when I got sick again. Will have to force myself to do them.

In response to: Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

OwlunarSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 4:34 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Hi @Former-Member

Great to see you - I'll catch up with you soon

And @utopia

Stress is inevitable and I accept it but it seems there are so many things happening that need not and seem to make life harder - I am sure everyone has these things - like My Aged Care - I have yet to hear about that working - and the help I do have atm is good but the council staff who organise this make my life a state of nervous flux - I do not like phonecalls at 9.00 am - I have the sure knowledge as I pick up the phone it is the council changing my shifts and this is an on-going and frustrating issue that gives me a pain in the rear-end I could live without

Maybe My Aged Care will help with the uncertainity of all of this so atm I am waiting and seeing

I am seriously into my versions of meditation and breathing techniques - after all these years it has become habitual - I hardly think of doing it - I just find a place to rest and take myself into some other dimension - so good at it I can even float away having and MRI but it has to my variation on a theme

Alas - my BP does it's own thing OR maybe it would be worse without my inner life - who knows? I think it might be a form of self-hypnosis -

However - seeing as my blood tests are okay - I knew they would be - I am feeling so much better on different medication I am walking each day - once around the block which is a fair sized block - and I will extend that next week when I get used to it and my BP has even-out - it's on the safe-side all day and no more desperate lows in the morning - low BP is something I had when I was younger and fainted in public now and again - ah well that is enough

Yes - do your best to get back into your own relaxation patterns - but here's a thing - I get bored stiff doing what other people suggest - I am of an inventive turn of mind and made up my own imagery - I don't often fall asleep but I can if I want to at night - I have a lot of places I can start with - it's more fun that turning my mind off - in fact I have never been able to do that

Yes - stress is part of life and I think life would be darned boring without it - still - it is not pleasant having things outside of our control interferring -

But I do feel better this week and walking outside is something I really like doing and I have missed all these months while my legs were sore from one thing or another

Cat wants in - cya

Dec

In response to: Chest Pain and Anxiety

utopiaSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 6:03 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Cat wants in lol @Owlunar. I can relate. My dogs dictate opening and closing the back door depending on when they want to go outside or inside. We can be ruled by our pets. Lol.
I also struggle with the stress of Centrelink and WorkCover. Again, I have no say. They controlit all. Not bbeing in control causes me a lot of stress.

In response to: Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

OwlunarSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 6:30 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Animals do rule our lives @utopia but I would not be without this little miss - in fact I have had her for so long I can't imagine what life would be without her - she came here just after I moved in here and I believe she was conceived with the sole purpose of my enjoyment

But the front door and the cat is establishing epic proportions - I have trained her to stop scratching the furniture and look at the door - now - I could hear her scratching the furniture but I can't hear her staring at the door - then there is the door dithering thing - I stand there holding the door opening counting "One..........twooooooooo - threeeeee!!!" at which stage she will charge through the doorway before I close the door or look at me innocently and jump onto the back of the couch - [sometimes Dec feels a bit crackers - all this door stuff for a cat!!!!!!!!!!!! What?]

Of course I love her but still - ah ha ahhhh sheesh

We could do with some peace from those Government Bodies that have so much control and still give us grief. I know what you mean about not having any control over it - having some stranger making decisions about how we live and somehow get by is so hard to be easy about - and the person who makes these decisions for us is usually a stranger - been then in my distant past now - when I was on the DSP I was convinced I was being watched to see if I was really having a disability - chronic pain - it's an eerie feeling that disappeared when I went onto the Age Pension - we never have to prove our age thank God for that

All the best with Work Cover Utopia - I understand that they want people to go back to work asap but what they are doing is just making it harder for that to happen - I really wonder who is the dingbat who works out the decisions for that

Sending more hugs

Dec

In response to: Chest Pain and Anxiety

utopiaSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 6:41 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Yes I never get to meet these people that make decisions about my life @Owlunar.

In response to: Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

OwlunarSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 7:51 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

Of course we never meet them @utopia - they don't want us to know they are only 18 and have been there for a week on temporary assignment or maybe someone in year 10 on work experience

I really hope that is not the case 😞

ooohhhhhh

In response to: Chest Pain and Anxiety

utopiaSenior Contributor31 May 2018, 10:48 pm AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

I don't think they could meet their targets @Owlunar, if they had to look us in the eyes.
WorkCover expects to have an 80% rejection of claims. That's there target. And they expect a certain number of people to pull out of their claim because the stress is too high.
But to look someone in the eye and try and deny your claim or your need for a hospital stay or treatment - that would be too hard.

In response to: Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

AppleblossomSenior Contributor01 June 2018, 12:33 am AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

I was on the anti cholestrol and high BP meds for about 8 years. I am glad I am off them as I am taking enough other stuff now, but maybe one day I will get off those.

Yes I count at the front door with my cat ... not holding the door open for ever puss. lol @Owlunar

Neuroleptics depresses respiratory function, which worries me, and is an extra reason to pay attention to breathing exercises I guess.

@utopia Wish you had decent experience with WorkCover/ Centrelink.

In response to: Chest Pain and Anxiety

utopiaSenior Contributor01 June 2018, 1:23 am AEST

Re: Chest Pain and Anxiety

@Owlunar @Appleblossom. I've been on bp medication for almost 2 years. Had side effects with one bp med - but only when an anti psychotic med was added. So I was swapped to a better bp med. No problems with this one. But also no longer taking the anti psychotic.

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