Worst case in the world…
PS: I’d also like to add that I would really appreciate hearing how other people cope with this, or how they eventually solved it — whether through physical examinations, neurological evaluations, or anything else. I’m looking for something that can still give me hope… For now, it seems I’m not alone in this, and while I’m sorry that others go through it too, at the same time it makes me feel a little less alone ❤️
My name is Andrea, and I’m a 33-year-old Italian guy. For the past 7 years, I’ve been fighting with my main symptom: chest pain, along with everything that comes with it. Left arm pain, jaw pain, sweating, sometimes shortness of breath, stabbing pain in the center of my chest, sometimes sharp and sometimes crushing. Sometimes it gets worse when touched, other times it doesn’t. This happens every single day, in completely different situations — whether I’m calm or distracted, whether I’m thinking about it or not. This situation has psychologically destroyed me to the point that, at times, I’ve thought about ending my life.
My medical history is the following: in 7 years I’ve probably gone to the emergency room at least 200–300 times. I’ve had at least 50 cardiology evaluations with ECGs, more than 20 echocardiograms, and over 30 stress tests. I even had a bubble test because of a very minor atrial septal abnormality, and a coronary CT scan with contrast because one time the hospital became concerned despite negative troponins, since there were slightly peaked waves on the ECG.
The result of the coronary CT scan was: Agatston score: 0. Zero atherosclerotic plaques in my coronary arteries.
And yet I still have pain every single day. Sometimes it happens when I smoke, other times not. Sometimes during exercise (I’m slightly overweight), other times not. All of this has put enormous pressure on me. I ended up taking 90 drops a day and trying 5 or 6 different antidepressants, but nothing changes. My quality of life is now zero.
I have a business, a home, money, a partner, and a family who are always there for me — but I feel like I have nothing, because nobody can give me these years back. I used to be a high-level DJ, but this situation destroyed me.
Around me I only see people who don’t even know what it means to run to the emergency room, let alone what it means to go there 3 times in 2 days.
I need the pain to disappear, so that the anxiety can disappear too.
All of this has also led to problems with “arrhythmias” — except they aren’t really arrhythmias. Tachycardia, palpitations, and constantly feeling my heartbeat. I check my pulse or feel my heartbeat in my throat a hundred times a day. I monitor myself constantly, but it doesn’t work anymore.
I also have some stomach issues that sometimes make everything worse, although honestly I associate those more with burning sensations rather than actual pain.
Just for the record, in the next few days I’ll be seeing a pain specialist and a physiatrist. I’m tired of hearing that it’s fibromyalgia, that it’s all in my head, that it’s costochondritis or Tietze syndrome…
I don’t know if there’s anyone who could be worse off than me, but if there is, know that I understand you when you feel like life is no longer worth living.