Hi thank you for your replies to me anyhow yes i do watch my diet caffeine intake etc...i also have started doing yoga within the past 3 months which i have felt better and i pretty much conquered all the other fears of panic and started with this heart thing its scary and aggravating at the same time the only thing the drs have found is yes marianne i has gastoitis sp? so i am always full of excess gas i guess youd say lol seems like this is the last thing i need to overcome i just spend 90 % of the time worring if it s a heart attack or if im just dying it gets disgusting when i know in my mind im ok but then feel the racing heart going =( i also use pure lavender oil it is a natural realaxent so all you need to do is breath it and it relaxes you i hope this helps someone anyhow thanks again and i am glad to be here with people who understand and not judge that is the best feeling so thanks :)

Hi, Lesa. Welcome to the group! One of the things that is most probably happening is nicotine withdrawal. Please click on our Outside Resources and don't hesitate to visit our sister site listed there, the Stop Smoking Center, for more information on this. Marianne gave you some good advice about caffeine. Keep tabs on your intake. Perhaps you might consider switching to decaf or drinking non-caffeinated sodas/pop/soft drinks? -- Anne-Marie, Site Administrator

Oh God Lesa, I'm exactly like you. I'm so sorry for you that you too have to go through this horrible pain and fear, I really really feel for you! I hate it so much! I've had it since I was 17, now I'm 37. It started some months after my father had his first heart attack, although that didn't really shock me all that much at the time, and my father was fine for another 14 years afterwards and ultimately died of cancer. I wish there was something I could suggest to you that really makes a big difference, but if there is I haven't found it yet. Having said that, I'm not nearly as bad as I was in the first few years before I understood what was going on and how it all hangs together. Now at least I know it's mainly panic and indigestion, but no doctor had told me this for the first few years, and for years I was convinced there was something seriously wrong with me. One piece of advice: get your stomach checked out, and read up on what you can do to avoid indigestion. I always thought I had a stomach like a horse and just didn't make the connection between chest pain and stomach trouble. Neither did my first two doctors. I always thought stomach pain is much further down, and I've always eaten everything without any problem. But believe me, it can cause pain that goes right up to your chest, and exactly where you think your heart sits. You say you smoke, do you also drink coffee or Coke? If you do then try to cut down, first of all it messes with your heart rate and secondly it's poison for the stomach. I always noticed that my chest pains seemed to appear after I had my breakfast black coffee and cigarette. Also, it helps me to try and keep the pain and the panic reaction apart. (Haha, easier said then done, but it's something to work on.) Next time you get a heart pang try to keep in mind that the cold sweat and the trembling and the sick feeling is the FEAR and not the HEART! If it's any consolation I get 'heart' pangs maybe once a month, sometimes a lot more, and after 21 years of them I'm still here to tell you about them! Sometimes I'm ok for a few months in a row. They normally come out of the blue. They feel different every time so you can't even get used to the bastards. I've last been to an ER about a year ago when the pain wa

Hi everyone i am new here well 2 weeks(My name is Lesa ) though i have been dealing with panic attacks for some 9 years now =( i have also been to every group counseler and doc looking for answers and what else is wrong with me though i keep getting the same answer panic disorder anyhow my step dad just had a heart attack my biggest fear then my cousins husband also had one age 33 my age which of course pushed me into a frenzy i was doing so well till this its been a month past since but everyday i have chest pains i even ended up in er yesterday with a ekg which showed my heart rate at 82 and just fine so why all the pain ??oh though i did cut down from 25 cigs a day to around 4 within the last 3 days my sponser says its anger and stress i think its more though i have been checked out by 3 differant doctors any advice as how to get on with my life i fear im turning into a hypochondriac all i do is sit and focus on each pain know each time its a heart attack in disquise as i sit here now i have had 2 heart pangs anyhow thanks for listening and letting me ramble a bit id appreciate any input or idea thanks again :quest: