Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
I've had anxiety since I was in elementary school. A couple months ago it had gotten pretty bad (my doctor prescribed me Xanax, which was a life saver). I only take Xanax as absolutely needed so I don't become addicted to it (I haven't taken it in almost two months).
My anxiety has since stabilized and I've been feeling pretty well. I started seeing a therapist every week, journaling, and practicing yoga. There is still one thing that plagues me though and that is my constant fear of having a heart attack.
I've had three EKGs (all normal), full blood work (all normal except my Vitamin D levels were low, I'm currently taking a supplement), and my blood pressure was within normal range (although on the "high side" of normal).
What bothers me the absolute MOST is heart palpitations. I absolutely hate feeling my heart race. I avoid exercise, alcohol, and caffeine so I don't have to feel it beat fast.
The time that is most often beats fast is when I wake up. I have no idea why. I will wake up and roll over and my heart will be beating around 110 beats per minute or so. And it's not a hard, pounding beat; it's a soft, fast beat.
I would love to go to the doctor and do a 24 hour holter monitor, but I'm absolutely maxed out on hospital bills right now. I truly can't afford another run to the doctor.
Can anyone shed some light on my situation or talk some sense into me?
My anxiety has since stabilized and I've been feeling pretty well. I started seeing a therapist every week, journaling, and practicing yoga. There is still one thing that plagues me though and that is my constant fear of having a heart attack.
I've had three EKGs (all normal), full blood work (all normal except my Vitamin D levels were low, I'm currently taking a supplement), and my blood pressure was within normal range (although on the "high side" of normal).
What bothers me the absolute MOST is heart palpitations. I absolutely hate feeling my heart race. I avoid exercise, alcohol, and caffeine so I don't have to feel it beat fast.
The time that is most often beats fast is when I wake up. I have no idea why. I will wake up and roll over and my heart will be beating around 110 beats per minute or so. And it's not a hard, pounding beat; it's a soft, fast beat.
I would love to go to the doctor and do a 24 hour holter monitor, but I'm absolutely maxed out on hospital bills right now. I truly can't afford another run to the doctor.
Can anyone shed some light on my situation or talk some sense into me?
like your heat skips a beat and can sometimes take your breah away
for a split second. The holter monitor would be able to tell if thats what
is happening . I wore one for 48 hours and had 24 during that period..
some while I was asleep. IF thats what they are they are scary but harmless. I am a heart attack survivor , so if there was any danger from them , they would have been all over it. Avoiding alchohol and
espescially caffine is good but you should not avoid moderate exercise.
Your heart is a muscle and working it will make it stronger. Hope you get a diagnosis that will help your anxiety.
I had just about every test you could imagine, including heart ultrasound, heart monitor, and more. I had panic attacks a few times where I thought I was having a heart attack or chest pains to the point where I took myself to the emergency room 3 different times. Eventually this led me to get a stress test which led to a cardiac cath.
In the end, there was nothing wrong with me other than my own thinking and anxiety! I learned how to overcome my anxiety, stress, and panic attacks and now I am free from them .... For the most part.
One of the best things I did to overcome it was to start exercising regularly. This helped me to overcome my fear of my heart beating fast because each time I did it, I didn't die or faint, or have a heart attack. I read about understanding how the brain works with anxiety and it helped me alot.
There's so much more I could tell you about my situation. I think you need to understand how anxiety and obsession is causing your issues.
If you're interested in reading the report I mentioned above you can get it from panicspell.com. Its free
I wish you the best. Hang in there and consider starting to exercise little by little to prove to yourself that you're OK
I was having severe heart palpatations and anxiety a few months ago. I did end up going to the cardiologist over it because it was driving me mad. I also have a huge fear of having a heart attack. The cardiologist ran a bunch of tests on my heart, ECHO, EKG, and a 24 hour holter. I was sure that the tests would come back abnormal...well they all came back normal. He did say I had a few PVCs, but that they are normal and everyone has them occasionally. I find that when my anxiety is at a high my palpatations are really bad.
Hang in there. As you know with anxiety, our minds can make us think the worst of every little symptom, but is almost always anxiety.