Struggling with intense fear/anxiety

[Dogluvr95]

Anyone else struggle with intense fear doing simple tasks or even just living their life? This has become so taxing on my mental health. I’m scared to do anything that involved moving my body for fear of pushing myself too hard. I just want to feel like myself again.

[jeanjeannie50]

I think most of we people on this forum all suffer at times from the fear of having a particularly bad attack of AF. I used to be the same, but since going into permanent AF last November my life is so much better and I can lead a relatively normal life. I still become aware of my heart beating fast at times, usually caused by stressful situations but they are rare.

Yes, oh to be normal and lead a full life. People with normal hearts don't realise how lucky they are.

I always thought that when I retired from work I would be joining the local rambling clubs, as I've always loved walking, but that's not to be.

On the bright side there so many other ailments we could have had which are far more disabling than AF.

Jean

[Dogluvr95 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

The anxiety that accompanies it is horrible isn’t it 😣 I definitely find myself being jealous of people who can easily do anything they want without fear of something happening. Something I’ll have to accustom to I guess. Thanks for your reply Jean!

[Gowers in reply to jeanjeannie50]

All you have said resonates with me Jean. I'm Better after last ablation & being in perm af sinceMay

[PlanetaryKim]

I can sympathize! One thing that can help with that is starting to identify triggers and understanding what type of afib you have (vagal vs adrenergic, or mixed)... and by extension what situations are likely or unlikely to trigger it. This takes time.

Keeping a detailed afib diary is helpful for identifying triggers - noting when an episode starts, when it ends, what you were doing at time that it started (and earlier), and what you were doing when it ended. See if any patterns pop out involving caffeine, exercise, certain foods, mealtime, dehydration, sleep loss, heartburn/indigestion/bloat, lying down vs standing up, antihistamine use, etc.

For some people, a cup of strong coffee can trigger afib (adrenergic afibbers). For others, it will actually convert them out of afib and back to normal sinus rhythm (vagal afibbers).

In my own case by keeping this afib diary I have discovered a number of things, and that puts me much more at ease about doing certain things - like drinking coffee or mowing the lawn. These are not problems for me I now know.

For one thing I have discovered that I am a vagal rather than adrenergic afibber, meaning exercise is extremely unlikely to ever trigger afib for me while I am in midst of the exertion, and as far as I know from my diary it never has. However the rest and relaxation phase 2-4 hours after big exertion when I am in recliner with feet up, and when vagus nerve is becoming dominant, is a time I can (and have!) gone into afib. (Position in recliner and having just eaten are also factors for me.)

Also, I have discovered from my diary that I am on a fairly regular 3-week cycle of afib episodes. And once an episode ends, I am almost bullet-proof for a couple of weeks until I start to approach the start-time of next episode.

Good luck! It's never easy.

kim

[PlanetaryKim in reply to PlanetaryKim]

I just read your earlier posts, and I see you are post-ablation. So probably nothing I just said above about keeping an afib diary pertains to you because you probably are not having afib episodes anymore. Sorry! And good luck!

[Dogluvr95 in reply to PlanetaryKim]

I still appreciate your response! I actually don’t have AFib, I only had SVT and I believe the ablation actually cured that (knock on wood!!) but I’ve been suffering with PVC’s/ectopics which have been what has triggered this very intense anxiety. So I will still definitely take in all of that feedback! I appreciate it again

[PlanetaryKim in reply to Dogluvr95]

So wonderful that the ablation may have cured your SVT! That's super!

[Tickerprobs in reply to PlanetaryKim]

Hey Kim...You sound like the double of me. But much better looking, I’m sure.

[PlanetaryKim in reply to Tickerprobs]

Hahaha! I'm sure you're very dapper!

[Hidden]

I think that as this is still quite soon after your ablation, you could speak to the cardiac nurses at the hospital where you were treated and explain that since having the procedure you have developed chronic anxiety. It’s really the responsibility of the hospital to treat any condition which arises as a result of the procedure, whether it’s physical or psychological. They might be able to offer some short- term medication for anxiety or therapy. There are also good books you can buy, mostly based on CBT or ACT therapy which should help. Some of these come with CDs or mp3s of relaxation exercises.

[Dogluvr95 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much for your response. I have notified my EP that I have developed bad anxiety, however I did just start therapy for it. So hopefully I can get it figured out sooner rather than later because I think my anxiety makes the ectopics worse.

[Becksagogo]

People don't understand anxiety and how debilitating it can be. I have literally eaten scraps from the fridge/freezer because I can't face going out shopping in case of ....... what? I wish I had a pound for every time I've been told to pull myself together by someone whose heart works fine. I too had visions of retiring next year and spending my days visiting all the places I have wanted to go to because finally I will have the money. I try not to wallow in self pity and look on the bright side of life. My little dog helps but he is very old now and I dread the day he goes over the rainbow bridge.

[DeeFish71]

Every single day I dread because of the way I feel and then the anxiety cripples me. I push myself to carry on but I am in immense pain in my back, muscles and even when I laugh I get a tight chest and throat and breathlessness. It's been getting worse for 19 months now and I cannot see how I can ever get better now. I am on a waiting list for a few things but never seem to get sorted as my tests come back normal. Something is making me feel like this but once a test returns negative the doctors just leave me to it and think I am a hypocondriac. It all worsened after a virus in March 2019 (so before covid was here) but the "long covid" symptoms seem to match mine to a tee what I read about - how can it be before the illness was here? I have terrible ectopics and tried HRT for them as a specialist said it was worth a try but had to come off them after 3 months as made me feel even worse.

[Auriculaire in reply to DeeFish71]

Long covid is probably a very nasty form of post viral fatigue a condition that has been around for a long time. It has been called ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and back in the 80s was referred to very disparagingly as "Yuppie flu". It has been appallingly badly treated by the medical profession and sufferers have often been labelled malingerers or hypochondriacs- especially if they were women.

Have you by any chance been treated with a Fluoroquinolone antibiotic before this started? They were often given for UTIs, sinusitis or post viral bacterial chest infection . As a sufferer from Fluoroquinolone Toxicity ( a bad reaction to this class of antibiotics which does not go away- my first afib attack came after my last exposure to Cipro ) I have been struck by the similarities between long covid symptoms and floxing ( FQ toxicity) symptoms. Crippling anxiety is one of the mental symptoms that floxies can suffer from. Magnesium supplements can help with this . Another very common problem for floxies are tendon, muscle and joint problems as these drugs attack cartilage and collagen production. Digestive problems and heart arrythmias are also common.

[DeeFish71 in reply to Auriculaire]

I was on a course of Doxycycline for a week after I was given a week;s course of clarithromycine which did nothing to make me better, and that's when I noticed things changing for the worse so you could well be right, but why is this still affecting me 19 months on? Does it stay in your system??

[Auriculaire in reply to DeeFish71]

Neither of these are Fluoroquinolone antibiotics but I have read accounts of people who have had reactions to both these antibiotics that are similar to being "floxed" ie poisoned by a Fluoroquinolone. The FQ family all have flox in the generic name ie ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin. And yes it does stay in the system or rather the damage done continues. You might have been given one years ago and forgotten all about it. I was first floxed in 1989.

[Grigbey56 in reply to Auriculaire]

Back in June I suffered a severe case of cellulitis where I ended up in hospital for five nights and pumped up with lots of antibiotics (it was here I started to realise that something was badly wrong with my heart but was too afraid to admit it) I also sort of hoped I'd already had Covid and had the long symptoms but I'm grasping at straws really. I am so depressed I just can't go on and have considered ending it all.

[Auriculaire in reply to Grigbey56]

You need to find out what antibiotics you were given. If you have had a Fluoroquinolone antibiotic it is possible you have suffered an adverse reaction -been "floxed " as those of us in this club that no one wants to be in say. Do not despair- anxiety , depression and even suicidal thoughts are common mental side effects of Fluoroquinolone toxicity either in themselves or as a consequence of having to deal with the often devastating myriad physical side effects of this class of antibiotics. But most people recover from this assault to their system though the time frame for recovery can differ enormously. There are things you can take to help and magnesium supplementation is the most important. Also make sure you have a good level of vitamins D. Ubiquinol or Co enzyme Q10 can help too. The most important thing to do is find out what exactly they gave you in hospital.

[Bob56]

You have already had some good replies and found some kindred spirits which will hopefully be helpful to you. I can also add my personal experience which isn't all that dissimilar.

I actually coped pretty well with my AF over many years, but it was the additional burden of frequent ectopics/pacs which seemed to start making me very anxious.

After my ablation, I managed to reduce my AF episodes to no more than a couple a year, and I can live with that, but my ectopics carried on as usual.

I'm not sure why the ectopics cause so much anxiety, but by their very nature they are unsettling, especially as they come and go entirely of their own volition. Plus we all know that the more anxious you get, the more ectopics seem to thrive on it, so it's very much a vicious circle.

I have tried quite a few things to reduce them, but there really isn't a silver bullet, and because they are generally classed as benign, they aren't really a great focus of the cardiologist. community.

Dr Sanjay Gupta does take them seriously and, if you haven't already, watch a few of his You Tube videos, as he's a very reassuring voice for many on this forum.

I have also tried to find ways to relax, and been reasonably successful in accepting the ectopics are probably here to stay and I have to find ways to live with them. I know you will say that's easier said then done, which is true, but I persevered with some tapes/apps devoted to relaxation which might be worth trying. You can often get free trials of things like 'Headway', which was recommended to me on this forum, but there are plenty around.

I have also become a man of routine, boring as it is. I eat properly (most of the time!), which is little and often to keep my ectopics at bay. I avoid stimulants such as alcohol (ectopics love a drink) and caffeinated coffee, and don't rush around everywhere like I used to. Better a boring life than an anxious one.

Whilst a dodgy heart is at the root of all our troubles, I think they are also pretty resilient organs, and I no longer feel like I'm going to fall over anytime soon. I'm not going to utter the terrible words 'Positive Thinking', and if anyone tells me to pull myself together, I will hit them. But, to stay in control, you have to accept your limitations, and construct a new reality which fits. I have done that to a degree, and it has helped.

Good luck. It is a struggle but you're not alone

[Dogluvr95 in reply to Bob56]

I absolutely love Dr Gupta. He makes me feel validated in my feelings! If they continue to get worse I’m going to see how taking a magnesium supplement helps it. Thank you so much for taking time to reply! I appreciate it loads

[Auriculaire in reply to Dogluvr95]

I would not wait. Since supplementing with 300mg magnesium taurate split into three doses with meals I have not had any anxiety attacks. My anxiety was not crippling but it was very unpleasant.

[Bob56]

I didn't mention magnesium, but I have been taking it now for about 3 years. I can't claim it has definitely reduced my ectopic burden, but as I am having fewer ectopics than I was 3 years ago, I'm not complaining!!

[Grigbey56]

Could and have written that myself only I had the anxiety first. Horrible way of life at the moment.