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What Causes Chest Tightness, Shortness Of Breath And Palpitations?

Posted on Sat, 4 Jun 2016

Question: just left hospital after spending two days...with chest tightness and mild shortness of breath. Have palpitations were in can hear in my ears. They thought heart related did XXXXXXX nothing.. I have also noticed slight muscle twitching on right calf, right hamstring andleft hamstring, slight numbness or riggt calf comes and goes,facial itching at night especially around nose, now I have lump sensation on throat again like something is stuck....I find myself clearing my throat alot. My vision is blurry at times and eyes feels pressurre, I also feel slight numbness around outside of eyes closed to cheekbones, extreme fatigue, trouble sleeping, left hand slightly weaker than right ....I find my hands go numb if I rest my elbows on anything, get that ant tingly feeling. I get pain on outside of left elbow and radiates to hand making it hard to pick up heavy things because I'll get pain. Headaches alot, slight confusion at times, and short term memory loss, anxiety and depression due to undiagnosed....I can also hear my heart beating in ears.joint and muscle pains on most joints come and go...wrists, knees......bones feel tender.....maybe not related but alot of gas.. no trouble walking...can walk on tiptoes toes and heels painful but can do it fine. Please forward last time I need several experts to weigh in on this. I have no insurance using VA so worried...primary symptoms that started 2 1/2 plus years ago was joint pain, headaches, and fatigue.... they have done 2 mris, spinal tap, emg last yeareply on hands, legs, and feet, and countless of blood tests nothing. Please put this to rest ......this is not ALS or MS is it? need another view please.

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Consultation

Detailed Answer:
Hello, and thanks for your question.

Your description of your symptoms and related testing make this a classic case of severe anxiety. All the symptoms you describe are consistent with common somatic symptoms of anxiety, each and every one of them. This is not to say they are not real symptoms or they are not incredibly distressing -- they absolutely are -- but with a negative cardiac workup and negative neurologic tests including an MRI and lumbar puncture, that seals the diagnosis here. This is not ALS or MS, this is generalized anxiety disorder. I recommend treatment with an antidepressant combined with cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT). I do offer text-based CBT via my direct private link on this website which I list below, in case you do not have access to a CBT therapist in your area.

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In the future, for continuity of care, I encourage you to contact me directly at my private link below. After you ask a direct question, it would be my pleasure to be your dedicated personal physician on this website. My name is Dr. Sheppe, and I am an XXXXXXX doctor working in New York City at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, ranked #1 for Psychiatry in the United States (tinyurl.com/psyrank). For a personalized comprehensive evaluation, treatment recommendations, and individual therapy, ask me at HealthCareMagic at this private link: tinyurl.com/DrSheppeAnswers

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Deepak