Sternum Pain, Insomnia GERD, and Anxiety. My road so far.

[EduardoHors3]

Hey guys. I'm a 22 year old male with a history of anxiety, depression, and fibromyalgia. As Ive gotten older I've been better at managing them. I work at a cold meat storage doing maintenance. I dont know what happened but while working there I began to feel short of breath. My doctor thinks it was an Asthma attack. It's really hard to say but breathing heavily for an 8 hour shift in the cold left me weak and powerless. I went back the next day and the same thing happened again. That along with my chronic fatigue and a minor panic attack just left me defenseless. Since 5 days ago I've been battling chest pain in my sternum area that feels like a stabbing pain. It upset my Acid Reflux and caused me to have insomnia. I began to panic because of the tightness and the shortness of breath. I was so afraid to eat because the heartburn exacerbates the symptoms so my blood sugar was like falling and rising as a result. I feared I had pneumonia or something along those lines. After waiting a day or 2 to be seen by someone I finally went to the doctor yesterday. Before that I was constantly told by everyone to just go to the Emergency Room, but I was convinced to wait it out despite the fact that I felt like I was dying. So they put me on medical steroids for inflammation and gave something for anxiety attacks. That was yesterday. Today I woke up without the stabbing pain and hungry like a bear. I ate like I never had before. The only thing now is the fatigue and a bit of trouble breathing in the cold morning air, but once it's warm I'm fine. I haven't been to work in 3 days now. If I can recover by Monday I'll keep my job. If not well fuck it. Maybe it's for the best. I just wanted to share this experience of hopelessness that turned into some kind of hope.

[Agora1]

Hi Eduarso, I'm glad you found relief in being put on medical steroids as well as something for anxiety. You had great results so quickly and that's a good sign. The Fibro (which I have) can cause that sharp pain in the sternum as well as the GERDS. Insomnia is usually what causes Fibro to surface. Not going into a deep restful sleep doesn't give the muscle a chance to regenerate. So it's been a combination of issues causing you to feel like this. You have a good attitude regarding your health. Keep that as #1 on your list. Take it day by day and see what happens. As you say, things may happen for the best in the long run. Keep positive. Good Luck on Monday.

[EduardoHors3 in reply to Agora1]

Yes. Yesterday I was very fragile and ready to loose hope. Today I'm feeling a bit more me. There's no shame if I loose my job because honestly it's a harsh environment with a 6 day mandatory work schedule. The money is nice but my body is more important. I've been here before and I've been able to get though. Thanks for the kind words😉

[tuffy33]

Pray and keep pushing. It will get better.