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Are Somatoform and Anxiety Disorder Manifesting my Physical

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Are Somatoform and Anxiety Disorder Manifesting my Physical
Posted: 01-23-06 11:06am

Hi.
Almost a year ago I had an episode of Anxiety, shortness of breath and dizziness. Went to the ER and after examination and several EKGs been diagnosed with pretty much nothing (neuro-vegetative disturbances) and prescribed to take calcium and magnesium supplements. Checked with my doc and he ran blood tests which came back normal, except for a mild Anemia (low Iron, magnesium and calcium levels, not too low but near-minimum). Doc prescribed iron supplements.
Gradually the sensation of not getting enough air pretty much dissapeared.
During the summer I experienced a mild sinus Tachycardia (rate about 90) treated with Propranolol. Now my pulse is around 70 and I do not take any more pills for it (sometimes is rises up to 85-90 bpm, but it doesnt bother me..btw whats the normal pulse for a man of my age?).
However, I still get a permanent feeling of shortness of breath, like my lung doesnt fill normally with air or like I cant yawn right. Also my chest hurts, sometimes in the left area, sometimes in the right, near the sternum or under it. The chest hurts when pressed with my finger. Ribs are painful too. The pain is not intense and goes away for a few days, comes back for a few days in some other area in my chest. Sometimes my ankles hurt a bit and my right hand, the small bones right near my fist. Fingers at my right hand are painful at times. These pains go away quickly when applying Ibuprofen or the like(spelled it right I hope) to the area. However they are back after some hours and are quite acute at times.
I have done blood tests 3 times in the last year, went to 3 different cardiologists, had Echo of the heart, Echo of the abdomen, neurological exam, etc. etc, everything is OK. I went to the cardiologist when I was at peak with my symptoms and nothing was found (the only mention was I have high R waves in leads V5 and V6 caused by thin chest).
I am currently taking mineral supplements and following psychological counselling since I have developped a strong fear that something is deeply wrong with me. When in session and days after I feel ok, no more symptoms.
My syptoms are generally not very intense, I feel like my fear is amplifying them somehow.
I am a 25 year old male, no heart disease or other medical condition, good health, good family health, not overweight, smoker (under 1 pack a day), not in best fittness (sitting job - programmer).
My questions are:
1. If sometimes were wrong with my heart, would it have been diagnosed yet?
2. Need I do more investigations regarding my heart/lungs?
3. Does all this look more like a psychological condition than a physical one?
Thank you for reading this message.
Bogdan


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DoctorAnswer
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Anxiety & Stress Answer A255
Posted: 02-02-06 20:55pm

If something was wrong with your heart/lungs, it would have probably been diagnosed by now. No, you don’t need any more investigations regarding to your heart/lungs. It seems, instead, that you are suffering from somatoform disorder, a psychiatric disease. You can consult a mental health professional to learn more about how you can relax your anxiety about your health and begin to enjoy life again.


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