Topic: Anxiety, but my only Symptom is Chest Tightness and Discomfort

[BengoB]

Hi Everyone,
Hope you all are well and I thank you for taking time out to read my post. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

My story starts about 6 months ago. At the time I was smoking a fair amount of marijuana, and it got to a point everytime I smoked my chest would get tight and feel uncomfortable. This continued until one time after smoking I actually had a heart palpitation, followed by a panic attack. At the time I thought it was a heart attack but later I discovered it was a panic attack.
After this event my chest was very tight, and the sensation didn't seem to want to leave.
Also in the time since I have undertaken every test imaginable, including ECG's, 24 hour halter monitor test, blood tests, stress test and even an ultrasound of my heart - all coming back with positive results.

After time the constant tightness ended up getting a bit better, but after lockdown ended I had 2 big nights of drinking within a 3 day period, and after that my chest was incredibly tight for a week.

Its hard to explain the feeling - it often feels really tight, and i can feel the tightness through to my back. It can also feel like my heart is almost 'airy' and I describe it as being able to feel a sensation of my heart in my chest. It is incredibly uncomfortable and stops me from getting on with day to day life due to my discomfort with it.

Since this incident where it got tight for a week - it has been tight for the past 2-3 months with NO let up. It is constantly tight throughout the day and it doesn't seem like theres anything I can do to help it.
I have quit coffee, marijuana (and all other forms of smoking) and drinking for the past 2-3 months but It is still not improving.

I then seeked help from a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with anxiety and I started taking medication for it .

I have been taking these medications for a month and noticed no change in the chest tightness.

But it just doesn't make sense to me - I don't feel anxious. My mental state is clear and I feel fine in that regard, but my chest is constantly tight - essentially 24/7. To me I couldn't imagine a worse symptom of anxiety, and it makes me confused when my emotional and mental state doesn't match up with my physical one. It is really ruining my life, holding me back from being with my friends, working, doing university work, and even exercising due to the intense discomfort.

Again, any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.

[Yana8216]

Hi BengoB
Firstly I want to say well done you for being so proactive in making changes to support your health.
The chest tightness you are experiencing sounds very uncomfortable and I can see how it would affect every part of your life. I've had some weird heart symptoms myself as a result of anxiety. It freaked me out. I've had GP consults, blood tests etc in the past, nothing bad showed up, and now that I'm 37 I kinda know when my symptoms are from anxiety/depression.
You're in a tough situation at the moment but can you see a way out in future? I hope so.

Yana