i relate to everything you said..i have a crazy fear of my heart ...have had EKG's about 50 at least stress test, echocardiogram...i mean I'm talking the works and everytime they tell me I'm really healthy ...now i feel as though my virdigo is off so i want to run and get a ct scan...have held back though...and now my stomach is killing me and i think i have some kind of infection in my stomach cause I'm so bloated all the time...but as soon as I get out of the doctors I have this sense of complete calmness...i just want to be back to normal and not be so fixed on my health

it does help to accept that the problems are from anxiety, some refuse to do this and keep demanding more tests looking for a physical problem

remember that panic attacks have never harmed or killed anyone, I had them for 20 years with many problems, including freezing up solid

I too worry abut my heart CONSTANTLY. I have had a bunch of ekg's and echo and stress test. I do get the palpitations and have two small minor leaky heart valves (which are normal and dr. said not to worry). yeah right!! I am a mess constantly. I am now waking in the all of a sudden for no reason feeling like my heart is racing. It's really not though. Is this a panic attack or my anxiety? I know that I am out of balance w/ body, mind and spirit and am working on that.

Thank you both so much for your replies. This place and everyone who goes through what I do makes me feel like maybe I am not such a freak after all. It makes me feel not so alone.This condition is a terrible thing to live with and people who do not go through it, no matter how understanding and empathetic, just do not get how awful it is. All of us who do go through it need to support and back each other up. Again thank you both so much for your replies.

hi, first i can tell you i have been a sufferer for over 25 years. mine started at a young age. you are not alone. i know what you are going threw. first let me assure you, that you will not die from panic or anxiety. panic attacks use to rule my life, i have been on so many medicines, i have lost track. i use to get a panic attack out of no where, i would think of my breathing and bring one on. in my case i would feel like i wasn't getting any air in my lungs and were dying. when that happened, i would grab a nerve pill, even if i had just taken one an hour ago. chew it, to get in my system faster and call someone, any one, once i relized i was talking, well kinda talking, i was still gasping for air, it would start to get better, till my breathing was normal. they would last up to 3 minutes. i was still shaking like a leaf, but i was breathing. the good news is they went away after 20 years. then i got agorphobia, afraid to go outside in case i had a major attack. i only feel safe at home. if i do go out with someone, i am fine as can be., just NOT alone. as bad at that might seem, it is better then panic attacks. now i do get anxiety, but not social aniety, just plain nervous anxiety. i get knots in my stomach and i have colitis. the colitis only flares up when i get over stress, which is easy for me, as my huband is a binge gambler. i am on 3 medication for my nerves, colopin, paxil, and depakote. (because dts. think i have a chemical inbalance). the depakote evens me out. your right what panic and anxiety does to us. i started at 17 years old and i an 53 now. i sometimes wander how i got married and had my two great kids. please don't let them scare you, they will go away, you are right though, while having a panic attack , then being o.k. is so weird. I HATE PANIC ATTACKS!!!!! i live in fear they will come back. i have become a chain smoker, i'm in a rut, but i am alive. as much as my nerves pull me down though, i always push myself back up. it might take days, but i decided they were not going to control me anymore, even though i don't get p.a.'s anymore, i am still a nervous person i worry about my kids, even their on their own, my daughter has 2 little boys, i worry about them, i worry about my dog, because he is a chiuhauha and he is such a picky eater, i worry about everything. i swear, i should have worrier tatooed on my forehead.lol. just pray to GOD to help you, and if your not on any meds. go to your doctor and get something to help you. if i can help you in any way, i always check in d.s., everyday. i can answer any questions you might have. don't forget as bad as it is, your not alone. alot of ppl have got better. i hope you do too. Ronna

Well, at least I'm not feeling like such a freak. About 2 weeks ago I had to be rushed to the hospital because I thought I was having a heart attack. I was fixing my hair after just getting out of the shower and all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in the center of my chest. As time went on, the pain got worse and it started to go into my shoulder. The thought of a heart attack went through my head, but I just denied it. The pain got worse and started to go down my arm towards my left hand. I wasn't sure what to do and I started to get scared. Long story short...I started having trouble breathing when the EMTs showed up, but after getting to the ER, the ekg and chest Xray showed nothing wrong with my heart. For a few weeks before the incident, I was dealing with some extreme stress with my son, husband and work. It just so happened that just before the attack I had to deal with my sons probabtion officer and then I had to talk to my husband about money...These are now things I have to keep out of my mind, because I get a little burning now whenever I let these things get to me.