Oh the Google monster... he lurks here too!! (I know a bit about him alright!), and the whole heart attack thing...wow it's so amazing to hear about other people who have to deal with this stuff and SO encouraging to read your victories. Outside of this site I havent ever heard of anyone else struggling with these issues. so this is just a breath of fresh air. Thanks a million for your encouragement guys.

oh, the Google monster!! HAHAHA i Know that guy ohh too well..I hope you start to feel better..I have been feeling better also, but the past week has been kinda hard..Good luck to us both _Vanessa

Hey Ladies! It's good to hear from you guys, too! I'm not on here very much anymore, except to check in every other day or so to see how everyone is, but I always think about all of you and hope you're doing ok. Or, at least hanging in there. Sometimes, that's all we can hope for! ;) Alison, my boys are doing good - thanks for asking. My oldest son just got over strep throat and managed to pass it around the family though. :confuse: I'm home from work today because I am really not feeling well. I think it's my turn with the strep bug. I went in and got it tested while I was at the doctor's with the chest pressure but I haven't gotten the results on it yet. So fun! I hate being sick!! Moms just don't have time to be sick!! How are your kids doing? LynnP, have you ever had your chest pressure diagnosed as gastro problems? Do you get it alot? And, is it in your upper chest, the middle of your chest or in your upper belly area? Sorry - lots of questions! ;p I know the doctor told me my heart is very healthy and strong and I know he told me I am at a very low risk of heart problems because of my lifestyle and family history, but the anxiety side of me keeps saying, yeah, but what if? I'm trying really hard to just remember the positive self talk and I keep telling myself over and over what the doctor said. Sometimes it's hard to not listen to that little voice in the back of my head! :mad: Thanks for the replys! It's good to hear from you guys!

hi vickers4, ihave alot of chest pressure i habe alot of acid reflux and when its playing up it causes a lot of pressure in my chest i also have a hetal hernia with becomes very aggressive with certain food.at the moment i have gained a lot of weight my doctors says its a side efeect from my anxiety meds.this is making things alot worse as i feel very bloated sometimes i feel i have no space between my stomach and chest and it causes me to panic.the meds are helping with the anxiety but i feel so unfit with the weight gain.i have tried to change my diet to see if i could reduce my weight but almost everything that is slimming agrivates my hernia.the chest pressure sends me on the rocky road to panic when its reall bad. i pleased to hear that you stayed at work and kept things under controll.i hope all is well with you and your family.i feel the same way as you no one posts no more and i thought everyone must be well i browse most nights to check everyone is doing okay nice to hear from you again take care lynn

Hey there old friend! Good to hear from you! I have nothing to share in regards to chest pressure but I just wanted to say that I know when I have a setback it is quite upsetting but it does also make me realize how far I've come. I KNOW :( the shame in health anxiety. My doctor is now retired and her replacement is a friend of mine, who is my age. Well, that has put an abrupt end to all my crazy appointments. I came to a great revelation about my googling (with the help of my psychologist!), and that is it's an addiction comparable to an gambler or alcoholic. I start googling convinced that I am going to hit it right on what is wrong with me and I'm going to find something that will make me feel better. Eventually after some time I realize that (a) my eyes are burning and (b) I must leave a loser because I did not find what I was looking for. And what amazes me is that I enter into googling with the exact same expectation and leave with the same disappointment but I haven't made the connection until now. So I don't know if that made any sense to you or if you can relate at all! How are your boys doing? It was good to hear from you. We all have our good days and bad...you should feel so proud for working through the anxiety right then and there. Good for you. Today was not a failure but a success, the storm came and you survived it. ;p Take care :)

Oh - I do have a question by the way! Does anyone else have chest pressure that has been diagnosed as gastrointestinal problems? Any advice?

Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well!! I check in every couple days to see how everyone's doing but I've noticed there aren't a lot of posts lately. Maybe that means everyone is doing well - I hope!! I've been doing really well the last three months or so. I've had some anxiety off and on, but no real panic attacks. Today I had a serious doozy!! I've always had bouts of chest pressure for years, but the last couple days it's been really bad. I get short of breath when I have the chest pressure, but no other heart attack symptoms. I made the mistake today of Googling - oh, the Google monster!! :confuse: What was I thinking?! Of course, everything came up as Angina and Heart Attack symptoms. And, of course, the more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. I got so anxious that I had a full blown panic attack. I was at work and I stood up because I was going to go home and I stopped myself and remembered what I've learned with the CBT and made myself stay in the situation. I did a lot of positive self talk and got to feeling better, but it came back around a few more times throughout the day. I work in a doctor's office so how stupid am I to not just go see a doctor while I was there!! I just couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't want people at work knowing that I was having a heart phobia panic attack - a personal source of shame for me I guess. Anyways, when my husband picked me up from work I told him what was going on and he took me to another doctor's office on the way home. It's the same medical group as where I work, just a different office. They did an EKG and listened to my heart and told me that my heart is really healthy and there was nothing wrong with the EKG at all. I had my cholesterol checked a few months ago and it was low, I have low blood pressure, no diabetes and don't smoke but I am considered obese. I'm working on this by working out every day and changing my eating habits (I've lost 50 lbs so far - yeh!), but I am still considered obese and that is a risk in itself. But, he told me that I am at a very low risk of heart problems because I have no other risk factors and I work out every day. He wants me to take antacids for a few days and see if it helps. He thinks it's a GI kind of thing.