Is It Panic Attacks

It may be acid reflux. When it gets bad, you sometimes feel like you are having chest pains and you may have tenderness in the area if you are still having smaller bouts. The acid from your stomache is actually starting to burn a hole in your esophagus. Check with your MD, or you can try rolaids soft chews and if that helps, you know the problem.

Not sure what kind of chest pain you are having but a lot of people will mistake heartburn for heart problems. Stress is the number one cause of acid reflux and or a build-up of stomach acid, causing heartburn and sometimes causing ulcers. Next time see if an antacid helps. I take Pepid.

I suffer from anxiety as well. However, I also have Costochondritis, which is inflammation of the cartilage in my ribs and sternum area. It causes me to have chest pain and rib pain that can be almost unbearable. Mine radiates to both sides of my chest, but mostly left side. Also, it can cause my arms to go numb, arms to hurt/ache, fingers to tingle, shoulder and neck to hurt/ache. What happens is the cartilage being inflammed causes your muscles to tighten, which causes muscles attached to those muscles to tighten. It's like a domino effect. It sucks!!!!

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/sprainsstrains/a/costocho...

Mine is chronic, probably because of my anxiety and stress issues. I've had it since I was about 20 (I'm 27) but it's only become chronic since the beginning of this year. You won't see it say stress or anxiety is a cause on many websites, but my doctor has assured me that that is what mine is caused from. I have had many, many cardiac tests done and nothing has been wrong. One thing about costochondritis that is distinctive is that you can "touch" your pain. If you push slightly on your sternum or chest and it hurts when you push, most likely it's costo. However, it's important to have your heart checked out as a precaution.

People with costo have to find what works for them. Different things work for different people. For some, anti-inflammatories and pain meds can help. This doesn't help mine. Therapeutic massage can help. I took Pilates at TCC this semester, and it helped keep mine from flaring up.

I'm not saying this is what you have, because I am no doctor, but it's something for you to think about. You can ask your doctor about it. There is no test they can do to "see" Costo. After having been cleared of any heart problems, my dr diagnosed me by pushing on my sternum and when I cried out in pain, he said I had Costo.

I have had the same problem. I have chest pains that are on either side and sometimes they go up into my collarbone and neck. It feels a little better if I press on the pain, but I can have them constantly for days at a time. My dr. checked out my heart and lungs and they are fine. (EKG and x-ray) I also started taking Protonix for Hearthburn or acid reflux - but that didn't help - so my dr concluded it was anxiety. I do have a lot of stress I guess. I now take valium only as need and it really helps. The dr. gave me xanax at first - but I hated it - it made me too loopy and forgetful. I hope that helps!

"five" kids and you wonder why you are having chest pain??? God bless you girl! You are probably just responding to the stress of everyday life with 5 kids (mostly teenagers) and arguing with your husband! If the arguments are about trivial things, try just letting them go! Let him win a few, and perhaps your chest will win also! Try some yoga or at home meditation! Turn that brain off with some deep breathing! I can write you some techniques that would help you relax if you want, just email me back if you are interested. Your husband could use these techniques also. The more relaxed you both are, the less stress, the less to argue about! Good luck.

I could be acid reflux and/or heart burn. If you are having a great deal of stress and your heart is OK, that is what I'd put my money on. I had acid reflux several years back and sometimes my chest would hurt like that. There are some over the counter stomach acid reducers. When I had reflux the doctor put me on Prevacid. It took awhile to heal up, but eventually the prevacid did the trick (along with avoiding some foods). I'd talk to your doctor about what you are experiencing.

Holiday season can be stressful without the arguments etc. Try to make some time for yourself to decompress if you can. With 5 kids (3 of which are teenagers) I can imagine it is difficult to get any time to yourself that that you have your fair share of daily issues to deal with. Even if it's a 45 min bubble bath in dim light a few evenings a week it might help you out. Give it some thought and see if there might be some small things you can do to help you relax and catch your breath from time to time. Stress can do some crazy things to the body. Last holiday season I actually lost some hair. :-)

Best wishes to you.