What should i do?
Question:
ive been having very bad chest pains recently.. like very bad attackin pains on the left of chest mostly, centre and right abit too. plus upper stomach pain.
now ive taken.. diazepam to calm me down from any panic attacks and to ease the pain alittle, also i had two ibebrofen (painkillers) tablets which ease the pain too.
anyway i got rid of the pain with all the medication but now i feel the sharp chest pains + sting sensations coming through the pain killers.. is this totally normal that these can overpower the medication i am using?
i have been to 2 hospitals in a max of 6 times i think.. and have seen 2 local doctors twice too, each have said i have nothing wrong with me but the pain breaks through and stops me from sleeping. it keeps me up! =[
should i go to hospital again?
im kinda scared of goin to sleep because everytime i nearly get to sleep i have chest pains that suddenly sting and pound.
i feel like im going to die but in my sleep.
Answers:
Hi, sorry to hear you are feeling bad. Yes, I would go back to the hospital again. However, try the following steps as well. If it is panic attacks or anxiety related, they should help:
1.Breathe properly - if you control your breathing, you control panic. As soon as you notice the signs of anxiety, check your breathing: breathe in slowly through your nose pushing your tummy out (to the count of 5 or so). Breathe out slowly and for a bit longer (to the count of 7 or so) through your mouth. Do not breathe rapidly or shallowly (in the chest area). This will soon restore the balance of oxygen and you will feel a lot better.
2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy! CBT is proven to be the most effective thing for panic attacks, OCD and anxiety etc. It takes a bit of work, but it is super effective. (After 15 years of panic attacks, mine stopped completely). You can speak to your doctor about taking a course or you can take a course for free online at: www.livinglifetothefull.com
3. Try relaxation exercise tapes (progressive muscular relaxation). They really help if you practise often enough. You can get free downloads if you put "progressive muscle relaxation" into Google (e.g. lots of universities have them as free downloads)
With each step practise makes perfect. (i.e. practise the steps every day, not just when you are feeling bad). I hope you feel better soon. Best of luck!
Maybe it's indigestion, have them check that out. Try a medication for it like pepcid, and sleep with your head and shoulders elevated, like on a couple of pillows.
Go to the emergency room, the fact that you have anxiety about it isn't helping your condition. I'm praying for you, buddy.
The kind of pain you describe doesn't sound like cardiac pain. Cardiac pain is more like a crushing pain. Imagine 4 big concrete blocks sitting on your chest. What do you do just before the pain hits? Keep track of any activity that might bring it on. Also, if it wakes you up, write down what you did that may cause pain after a length of time. Keep a journal with foods you eat and activities you have done so you and your doctor may be able to get at the cause of your trouble. If you have been to the hospital and they could not find a cause, it probably isn't heart related. Nothing spooks an emergency team like a complaint of chest pain. Well, there are a few other things, but not pertinent to this. I am guessing here but I'll bet they have done EKGs and blood work that ruled out a cardiac problem. pain is an indicator of something wrong -- keep a journal and meet with your doctor and together you just might be able to get at the root cause. In the mean time, pain like you describe will hit you and wake you up from sleeping -- go to bed and get some sleep. You won't sleep through anything.
When did this start?
What does your family doc say? You should see him/her first.
Check out pain clinic in your yellow pages if you can't get relief.
I would be more concerned with what is causing it, and like the previous poster, I don't think it is heart related, than trying to take drugs to overcome it.
Good luck!
It sounds like the docs have cleared you for all the basic indicators of heart attack, but there is such a thing as "referred pain." Get a doc to check for reflux and for hiatal hernia. If those are negative, it is high time you find an alternative practitioner. Please don't mess about with this, and don't take "I don't know" for an answer. If they haven't scanned your for tumors or tested you for hernia or reflux or gall bladder problems, etc, etc, keep at it. This is the body that you have to live with and take with you every where you go.
I take it the panic attacks are new, brought on by the fear of the chest pains? If there is something that is worrying you, NOW would be a good time to deal with it. I take it that the docs think you have a psychosomatic problem, since you have diazepam?
It may be that being in a horizontal position is causing some of these problems. That is why I'm wondering about reflux, or some positional weirdness with a hernia. It could be anything else that has a tender spot that gets pressed down on more when you are lying down, or a tumor (don't want to scare you...tumors aren't that hard to cure naturally).
To solve the immediate problem of sleep, have you tried sleeping sitting up? This may relieve pressure that aggravates the pain...worth a try to see if a new position works. Or it might put you into a worse position. Try it and see.
Practice slow, deep breathing to relax if you possibly can. If you are in constant pain, that won't work so well...just try to breathe anyway. If you can do gentle stretching and breathing, do that.
My dh was just in the hospital, weekend before last, with chest pain. They didn't find anything but high blood pressure, though they did a full battery of tests and kept him 24 hours.
I had him lay off of coffee/caffeine, switch to small snacks of Whole Food Pharmacy Phi Plus for his meals, and his chest pains went away, and his bp is lower. I also had him take a special supplement called Microhydrin because it raises the oxygenation level in the body. If he was having pains because oxygen wasn't reaching an important part of his heart, I wanted him to have all the oxygen I could get into him!
(Various medical professionals have tested this supplement, and it actually does do a lot fo good in various situations.)
If you are still worried about having a heart attack while you are asleep, then by all means, take some Microhydrin to improve your chances of staying oxygenated.
If any of your problems are digestion-related, it will help you to simplify your diet to very easily digested food in very small amounts. If your gall bladder is involved, you'll need to keep the fat way down. If you are lacking in digestive enzymes, raw foods may be best. Raw foods sometimes kick up some unwanted action in the gut, a cleansing action if you will, so if that makes you too uncomfortable, switch to simple broths and light soups.
Take digestive enzymes if they don't aggravate you, and that will keep food moving along.
The pain killers will throw a wrench in your digestion, slowing it down, but use them if they allow you to rest. I think you might want to ask about a different pain killer if the one you are using isn't working any more.
If you are feeling to cruddy to feed yourself properly, try the Phi Plus I mentioned, as it is a completely balanced food in a sort of nutritional form, and comes in a convenient, resealable packet that can be stored at room temp. My dh takes it to work with him. You can order it at
www.plumfieldgardens.
wholefoodfarmacy.com
(on two lines, so it displays)
Otherwise, all-fruit smoothies, salads, soups, and all in small quantities with digestive enzymes to help out.
As part of my blanket advice, I suggest that people with weird symptoms go do a heavy metal chelation challenge, or at least a hair analysis, to test for heavy metals and toxins, and to treat it asap with IV chelation or an oral preparation like Biochelat or www.drnatura.com's Toxin-Out. A relative of mine went to the ER with symptoms of a stroke after being exposed to strong painting primers and oil-based paints in an enclosed area. I take toxins very, very seriously.
Sometimes eating carbs can cause weird and abnormally rapid heart-pounding. Try staying away from carbs, caffeine, overeating, eating within 5 hours of bedtime (to be on the safe side...if this helps, you can gradually eat closer and closer to bedtime, and see what happens).
Sounds hokey, but thank God for the pain, and ask for His help in managing it and getting better from it.
Anyway, I don't think I have said anything to take away the pain, but don't give up on searching for the answer. Medicating the pain usually doesn't solve the root cause.
I agree with them, it could be heartburn. I have the same thing and eating earlier in the evening may help because you don't go to bed on a full stomach.
I too have to sleep with extra pillows to elevate my upper body, even when sleeping face down.
If you haven't yet had an endoscopy, maybe you should get one and find out if you have acid reflux. Your doctor can prescribe Nexium or Prilosec or antacids. I took Protonix but when my kidneys started hurting I had to stop immediately, so, now I take Nexium and antacids.
It sounds like anxiety attacks more than cardiac related. You should try seeing a therapist that can get you on anti-anxiety such as Xanax or something along those lines. Ambien is a good anti anxiety/sleep aid. If you deprive your body of sleep with an anxiety disorder, you will only compound the symptomology. Your body produces the chemicals that make it want to fight or flight during an anxiety attack. This is not necessary right now since no one is attacking you. It is an over reaction chemically and may be caused by Seretonin levels due to stress. Here are my final suggestions:
1. Call a counselor/therapist/psychiatri... doc to start anti-anxiety medications
2. Start a work out routine to help reset the chemical balances (It helps I promise).
3. Decrease the amount of mental stress you are placing on yourself (Rid your life of drama, negative people, and problem issues).
4. Eat less fast food and garbage type foods (unbalanced diet can increase metabolic problems.)
5. Get plenty of sleep.
All of your anxiety problems should decrease and take with it the symptomology of chest pain.
Best of luck!
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