Chest Pain! Air Bubble?

[[Ho...]]

I have been having chest discomfort for a couple of weeks now.  Also, my breathing seems a bit labored (but then it has off and on for years since all this started). Feels like it could be an air bubble as I also have dysphagia.  Could be muscle-skeletal as well.?.?

 

Can’t help feeling like I might be having a cardiac episode of some kind and that just makes my anxiety spike. I have an appointment with a cardiologist late July but the wife thinks I should just go to the emergency room and get checked out.  Every time I do for something like this it’s always benzo related.

 

Has anybody else experienced this?  If so, did it go away?

[[Ea...]]

Highly doubt that your chest sensations have anything to do with an air bubble. I’ve dealt with similar pain & discomfort & have chalked it up to just sensory nerve related issues. Just entered month 9 & it has gotten much better since I began exercising regularly around 3.5/4 month’s ago. Hopefully you’re the appointment with your cardiologist will help ease any concerns you have. Seems like what ur experiencing seems to b pretty common among those going through benzo withdrawal. Take care, all the best.

[[Ho...]]

Highly doubt that your chest sensations have anything to do with an air bubble. I’ve dealt with similar pain & discomfort & have chalked it up to just sensory nerve related issues. Just entered month 9 & it has gotten much better since I began exercising regularly around 3.5/4 month’s ago. Hopefully you’re the appointment with your cardiologist will help ease any concerns you have. Seems like what ur experiencing seems to b pretty common among those going through benzo withdrawal. Take care, all the best.

 

Thank you for the reply Easy!  I’m sure you are right about the BWD sxs, but sometimes I can’t help that my mind goes to the worst case scenario.  I try to exercise (walk) as much as I can, but sometimes the fear of a heart attack or something similar cripples me.  One day I’ll look back and think how silly I was to think that.

 

Best wishes!

[[NH...]]

If you have to burp and have dysphagia the air in there will not be comfortable and the anxiety will make you focus on the heart because of the proximity.

Other times it could be that you need to cough.

And yet other times if you find a lot of your muscles twitching you could be experiencing twitches in the diaphragm.

If you experience a pounding heart that causes fear then you have a fear of heart attacks and your mind will find a way to twist any chest sensation into that fear.

I know this because it was the number 1 reason I went on xanax long ago, and it has been the number 1 symptom that I suffered through after I started my taper.

 

I pulled a pectoral muscle and my fear went completely nuts!

 

Things that will make this far worse are hyperventilating and tensing up your muscles.

Try meditative breathing. Breath in for 5 full seconds. Hold your breath for 5 full seconds. Exhale for 5 full seconds.

If you find your mind getting scared at the point where you hold your breath, as though your mind thinks that holding your breath will kill you, then you know that the fear is irrational.

If you feel that you are not getting enough oxygen and it will kill you then that too is an irrational fear.

The source of the problem IS the irrational fears. If you have googled "symptoms of a heart attack" more than once then it is likely the irrational fear that is causing all your suffering.

Once you KNOW that your heart is fine then you can start to recognize the fear for what it is and develop ways to cope with the fear when you experience it.

I've spent the last day with chest issues, it feels like a hamster is crawling around in my chest, and yet when I check my pulse it's always the same strong steady heart rate. If I can manage a burp I always feel better. Lately my throat has been too tight to get much of a burp out, so it's been a bit rough, but knowing what is actually causing the sensation, and that it ISN'T the heart is of incredible value.

I know it's just the fear and not a heart issue so now I get the sensation without the fear and that is 10000 times better than having the fear.

 

If you need to go to the emergency room to get the closure that it is not your heart then I would do it. You need to get that fear out of your head as soon as you can or you will be stuck in the nightmare. I wouldn't wish that sensation on my worst enemy for 2 months, so again , go to emergency if you need to, or go to your doctor and get him to check your heart-rate and blood pressure and let you know if you should even be concerned.

Anxiety sucks and this is certainly one of the worst ways it rears it's ugly head. Fear of death is not fun at all, and feeling like you might die any second is akin to being waterboarded. It's torture. Do whatever you have to in order to get out of that state of existence.

[[Ho...]]

If you have to burp and have dysphagia the air in there will not be comfortable and the anxiety will make you focus on the heart because of the proximity.

Other times it could be that you need to cough.

And yet other times if you find a lot of your muscles twitching you could be experiencing twitches in the diaphragm.

If you experience a pounding heart that causes fear then you have a fear of heart attacks and your mind will find a way to twist any chest sensation into that fear.

I know this because it was the number 1 reason I went on xanax long ago, and it has been the number 1 symptom that I suffered through after I started my taper.

 

I pulled a pectoral muscle and my fear went completely nuts!

 

Things that will make this far worse are hyperventilating and tensing up your muscles.

Try meditative breathing. Breath in for 5 full seconds. Hold your breath for 5 full seconds. Exhale for 5 full seconds.

If you find your mind getting scared at the point where you hold your breath, as though your mind thinks that holding your breath will kill you, then you know that the fear is irrational.

If you feel that you are not getting enough oxygen and it will kill you then that too is an irrational fear.

The source of the problem IS the irrational fears. If you have googled "symptoms of a heart attack" more than once then it is likely the irrational fear that is causing all your suffering.

Once you KNOW that your heart is fine then you can start to recognize the fear for what it is and develop ways to cope with the fear when you experience it.

I've spent the last day with chest issues, it feels like a hamster is crawling around in my chest, and yet when I check my pulse it's always the same strong steady heart rate. If I can manage a burp I always feel better. Lately my throat has been too tight to get much of a burp out, so it's been a bit rough, but knowing what is actually causing the sensation, and that it ISN'T the heart is of incredible value.

I know it's just the fear and not a heart issue so now I get the sensation without the fear and that is 10000 times better than having the fear.

 

If you need to go to the emergency room to get the closure that it is not your heart then I would do it. You need to get that fear out of your head as soon as you can or you will be stuck in the nightmare. I wouldn't wish that sensation on my worst enemy for 2 months, so again , go to emergency if you need to, or go to your doctor and get him to check your heart-rate and blood pressure and let you know if you should even be concerned.

Anxiety sucks and this is certainly one of the worst ways it rears it's ugly head. Fear of death is not fun at all, and feeling like you might die any second is akin to being waterboarded. It's torture. Do whatever you have to in order to get out of that state of existence.

 

NHF1976,  Thank you so much for the detailed reply.  This makes a lot of sense to me and I do agree.  I probably just need to get checked out, check the box of no heart issues and move on!  I also have been diagnosed with severe acid reflux that could be causing some of this.

 

Best wishes!

[[NH...]]

Acid Reflux could be causing all of it.

For me it's any sensation in the region of the heart. A terrible stomach ache is fine because my brain knows it isn't the heart.

The idea that there is a "part" in the body that if it fails kills you is scary.

The esophagus runs right through the center of the chest. The airways do as well.

Any sensation near our heart makes us think of a heart attack.

 

Once you get used to the different sensations and know what the cause is you will be fine.

The torn pectoral muscle was scary because it was a new sensation, it was actual pain instead if just an uncomfortable sensation so my brain went into panic mode instantly. I could feel that it was on the outside of my rib cage, but the source of the fear almost seems to be the subconscious mind. It is an unintended reaction to a physical sensation, and so getting used to that sensation and understanding the actual cause is the best way to avoid the fear.

 

I wish you the best at overcoming this one. I know how much it sucks and I am so glad I've found my way out of it. If sharing my experience helps 1 person it is totally worth the time it takes to reply.

 

[[Ea...]]

Highly doubt that your chest sensations have anything to do with an air bubble. I’ve dealt with similar pain & discomfort & have chalked it up to just sensory nerve related issues. Just entered month 9 & it has gotten much better since I began exercising regularly around 3.5/4 month’s ago. Hopefully you’re the appointment with your cardiologist will help ease any concerns you have. Seems like what ur experiencing seems to b pretty common among those going through benzo withdrawal. Take care, all the best.

 

Thank you for the reply Easy!  I’m sure you are right about the BWD sxs, but sometimes I can’t help that my mind goes to the worst case scenario.  I try to exercise (walk) as much as I can, but sometimes the fear of a heart attack or something similar cripples me.  One day I’ll look back and think how silly I was to think that.

 

Best wishes!

 

No problem. I know exactly what ur talking about. Once u get that idea in ur mind that something could possibly be seriously wrong it begins to take over like a virus. And I know exactly the feeling u describe when u use the term air bubble. It feels like ur actually feeling little bubbles traveling through ur veins or arteries. I used to think the same thing until I had every test under the sun done including multiple EKG’s & even a stress test with nothing but good results. It can be scary at first & even for awhile. But once u understand & accept that it isn’t going to harm u & it’s a part of withdrawal it’s almost like ur brain lets go of all the fear u once associated with that feeling. Then it just becomes more of an annoyance than a concern. Glad I was able to help, hang in there, it does get better.

[[Ho...]]

Easydoesit45 and NHF1976, Thank you both for the replies and the reassurance I was seeking!  It’s folks like you that make this site such a success! 😊

 

Best wishes and healing thoughts to all!

[[Fo...]]

I have come to clean and say I had two trips to uk type ER around Christmas.  I knew I was wound up but the paramedics EKG always showed a minor variation (which I have had for twenty years), and they insist on going to ER.

In Feb I had a stress cardiac ultrasound and all was fine.  So if I get a bit puffed or wound up I just carry on regardless.

Don’t be ashamed to get checked out. ?

Dick