I have always had anxiety. I worry about nothing all the time. But Wednesday I have a panic attack that landed me in the hospital. The doctor checked my vital signs but didn't do any x-rays or EKG but said he believed I was perfectly healthy. We talked and I calmed down. Everyday since that visit i have NOT had a full blown panic attack but my chest is super heavy, my heart rate is at a constant high and sometimes I feel like I can catch my breath. Like I strained something in my chest if that is possible. I want to go to a regular doctor to get checked but the second I say chest pain they want me to go to the hospital. does anyone else have these symptoms days even weeks after having a really bad panic attack?

Hello Ashton and welcome!

I am sorry to hear about this bad attack, and the rough time you had the last few days as a result. Anxiety can certainly be cyclical, and since you did have an attack, the triggers/factors that brought it about culminated in that episode, but things have not completely settled down again for you...and this is to be expected if you think about it.

Physical symptoms can linger around post attack...and conversely, they can be present without an attack at all. I have isolated random symptoms here and there, but not full blown attacks any longer.

To really disarm the underlying anxiety that brought on the attack, you will want to use the tools that you have available to you at this time. Do you use a rescue med? If so, you may want to take this regularly until your symptoms subside. How about therapy? Can you get in an extra session or two? Do you practice self help? This is something that you can easily increase. Up your practice to twice a day on your chosen exercises!

If you need fresh ideas for coping skills/mechanisms...please see our Resources at the top of the main forum page here. There is great material that you can get started with right away.

Keep posting with us as well if you find it helpful. We care, understand and support is key!

Scaredy Cat

Can definitely relate to the chest strain. Mines never been right since I first had anxiety last year. Some people describe it as chest tightness. Not the case with me.

Generally if I have an anxiety attack I'm left feeling 'broken'. Depending on the severity, I can have this feeling for hours, sometimes days. I think the bigger attacks fuel future attacks. Could be wrong though.

I also feel that after an anxiety attack I am exhausted for a while. I did end up in the ER in December and it took a while to feel a little better. Now, I have also high anxiety and I am so tired and in physical pain. And feeling this way makes me more anxious... what a cycle