I’m 21F, and for about a month I’ve been experiencing some really strange and terrifying physical symptoms that are genuinely starting to take over my life.
It started with these sudden episodes of an overwhelming sinking or dropping sensation throughout my entire body. The closest comparison I can make is the feeling when a roller coaster suddenly drops, except I’m completely still. Sometimes it feels like my heart is dropping, or like a giant weight is pressing down on my chest, head, back and entire body. I genuinely feel like I’m about to collapse, although I’ve never actually fainted.
Along with this, I’ve been experiencing chest pain, heart palpitations, and a strange sensation when taking deep breaths. I can physically breathe deeply, but sometimes it feels like my breath stops around my sternum.
I also get this bizarre woozy, almost drunk or disconnected feeling. It’s not typical room-spinning dizziness, and my vision doesn’t go black. I just feel physically off, heavy and unstable, almost like I’m not fully present in my body and feel wobbly like I’m gonna trip even though I am actually walking perfectly normal.
Initially, these were isolated episodes that happened completely randomly, including while I was relaxed in bed. They would eventually disappear, and I’d feel completely normal afterward.
However, over the past couple of weeks, things have gotten progressively worse. After two frightening ER visits, the episodes became much more frequent, and now I’m experiencing these sensations practically every single day, sometimes with lingering symptoms between episodes.
It’s gotten to the point where I haven’t been able to workout anymore (I did daily) because I’m too scared of how I’m feeling. I’m experiencing these sensations while I’m at work, trying to get through an entire shift, smiling and talking to customers on the outside while internally feeling like I’m about to collapse.
I recently celebrated my birthday with friends, and even then, while everyone was having fun, I was sitting there terrified because I genuinely felt like my heart was going to stop or I was about to pass out.
I’ve even started sleeping in my mom’s bed because I’m so scared something will happen to me at night. The strange thing is that once I actually fall asleep, I sleep through the entire night without any problems. Even if I feel absolutely awful before bed, I wake up feeling completely normal. But shortly after I get up and start my day, the sensations begin all over again.
The symptoms are also incredibly inconsistent. I’ve been able to walk for hours and do physically demanding work without any issues, yet other times I feel terrible just sitting or lying down.
I’ve been to the ER twice and have undergone quite extensive testing:
-Multiple ECGs, normal rhythm
-Normal troponin, electrolytes, thyroid bloodwork and other routine blood tests.
-Normal chest X-rays.
-Normal CT pulmonary angiogram with contrast.
-Normal echocardiogram.
-Exercise stress test where my heart rate approached 200 but the rhythm remained normal.
-Several hours of continuous heart monitoring in the hospital without an abnormal rhythm being identified.
-A four-day Holter monitor that I just finished wearing. Results are pending, but I experienced one of my typical sinking episodes while wearing it.
-Normal oxygen saturation during my medical assessments.
I’ve never dealt with daily anxiety or panic attacks in my life, which is why I’m having such a hard time understanding how this could possibly be anxiety. I know anxiety can cause physical symptoms, and I understand that being frightened of these episodes might be making things worse, but the physical sensations usually come first. They happen even when I’m completely relaxed, happy, or distracted.
At this point, I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like my life has been put on hold. I’m scared to exercise, scared to be alone, and constantly worrying about when the next episode will happen. I’m trying so hard to continue with my normal routine, but internally I feel awful. It has quite literally been an every single day occurrence !!
I’m waiting for my Holter results and following up with my family doctor, but until then, I feel completely stuck. Every emergency test I’ve had so far has come back reassuring, and nobody seems to know why I’m feeling this way or what to investigate next.
I’m grateful that nothing serious has been found, but it’s also incredibly frustrating to feel this physically unwell every day without an explanation.
