So I'm a 27-year-old guy, quite athletic and active. But then about a week ago I ended up in A&E thinking that I was having a heart attack. However, it turns out that my current diagnosis is GERD and severe anxiety, with the two making each other worse.
The main thing I want to ask of everyone else is this: is it normal to suddenly feel so overwhelmingly panicked when I get the GERD symptoms that I end up struggling to breathe, shaking, feeling pins and needles around my body? Like I'm going to die? Like I can barely walk because I feel so weak?
Because that's how I've felt about once a day since my A&E trip. Of course, I think at least part of this heightened anxiety is from the lifestyle changes I've made in the last 6 days: mostly quitting vaping after 7 years, and also quitting caffeine.
Also as a follow up question, will this get better? Will these symptoms slowly (or possibly even relatively quickly) heal if I stick to my lifestyle changes, maintain a good diet, and take the omeprazole that I've been prescribed for the GERD?