Panic/heart rate PLEASE HELP

[Rosiemarie82]

My biggest symptom of (my now diagnosed) panic disorder is palpitations/high heart rate. It isn't freakishly high, but I am so super sensitive to it that a rate of 90 may as well be 150

I have been struggling with it all day, to the point that I'm either going to have to take an emergency-only xanax...or go to the e.r.

I will add, my uncle had a heart transplant last night (they started at 2am), so I was up and down several times and didn't sleep well.

Any words of advice, words of encouragement, anyone who can relate?? Please talk ♡

[Agora1]

Rosiemarie82, you are okay...heart rate of 90 is not dangerous but a reaction

to your uncle having heart surgery last night. I can almost guarantee that. Our

nervous system, our subconscious mind take in everything around us and we

feel the physical effects.

I would say to take your emergency Xanax, just to break the fear cycle right

now. Find a quiet spot, place a blanket on your lap and sit up tall and breathe.

Allow the Xanax to help calm your mind/body down while you breathe.

I wish your uncle well on his surgery. Try to separate your thoughts of him

with your own health anxiety. It's going to be okay. Sounds like it was a long

night for you emotionally and physically. Time to give yourself some respite.

Breathe dear xx

[Rosiemarie82 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you Agora ♡

I am feeling a little better now without the meds, but may take one before bed to ensure a good rest.

He is doing very well, considering a 10-hour surgery. He is still sedated, and my aunt and cousins have to come home (the hospital is 4 hours away). Because of the virus, they are not allowed to visit him for a minimum of 5 days.

You are probably right, my brain worked overtime last night, and I got up especially early this morning to check for updates (I had been dreaming that I was talking to him, and he was showing me his gnarly scars).

[Agora1 in reply to Rosiemarie82]

Rosiemarie, I'm glad your uncle is doing well. I'm also glad that

you were able to calm yourself down on your own. Good job xx

[Ironj]

First I hope all is well with your uncle. As far as your fear of a fast heart rate. I suffered from that as well for years. My average heart rate was 110. My psychiatrist prescribed me atenolol it’s a bata blocker. It is a blood pressure medication but also used from anxiety. It blocks the adrenaline. My average heart rate is 75 now. A normal heart rate is a # under 100. You will be fine try and us breathing exercises to slow down the rate and slow down your emotions. Have you tried any medication fir your anxiety? Maybe ask you Dr if a bata blocker is good for you.

[Rosiemarie82 in reply to Ironj]

My uncle is doing well, thank you! He is awake and got to talk briefly to my aunt on the phone, which was good for both of them.

Honestly, I feel like my gp thinks my anxiety is a joke. Ironically, he is my aunt's boss 😂. He refuses to change any of my bp meds (I have been on many different combinations over the last 8 years), because "we finally have a combination that works well" for me. That is part of the reason I reached out for a second opinion.

I do take buspirone 3x a day for anxiety. That dosage was upped from 2x a day 2 weeks ago, and other than that panic attack yesterday, it usually does a great job of at least taking the edge off.

The new doctor wants me to try paxil, but I had a very unhealthy reaction to zoloft, so I am terrified to try it.

Today has been much better, there is a little residual anxiety, but I'll take it after what I had yesterday. ♡

[Rosiemarie82 in reply to Ironj]

Did your racing heart make you have chest pain?

[Ironj in reply to Rosiemarie82]

Yes sometimes. Most often it’s from tightening up your chest muscle without knowing it that causes the pain

[Rosiemarie82 in reply to Ironj]

Drives me bananas!

[Ironj in reply to Rosiemarie82]

It’s more likely just muscle tension I get it everyday for the past 30 years. I’ve been check out maybe a 100 times. If you’ve been checked try and say screw it when you get them as it’s just tension. At some point you’ll just roll with it.

[Unky]

Anxiety & fear feed upon more anxiety & fear !! My rate would go up & down depending on what I was thinking about. Now on the road to recovery I don't even notice or worry about it.

[Rosiemarie82 in reply to Unky]

In my mind, I know this...but somehow I still let it flood over me.

My body has been through so many changes in the last year and a half (I quit smoking, cut WAY back on caffeine, I used to be a 4 soda minimum a day drinker) I wonder if all that time I was smoking that I was just masking all this craziness.

In no way would I ever start again, because my blood pressure WAS a real concern, but it is well controlled with half the medication I used to take.

So glad you are on the road to recovery! Hopefully soon, I can be right there with you

[Unky]

I wish you the best also !!

[Rosiemarie82]

Went back to the dr office today, saw a different doctor (it is a group, so I get who I get unless I specify), anyway, she suffers anxiety too...she wasn't terribly upset with me for not taking the paxil and came up with a completely new game plan. I feel like she listened and understood more than any md I have seen. She wrote orders for a full blood workup (which I have been requesting for months) so we can recheck my cholesterol (quit smoking, curious to see if my good cholesterol is up), and check my thyroid function (I have convinced myself that this is my nemisis).

Hopefully with the new meds regimen and a fresh set of lab work my brain will take a chill pill 😅

In the meantime...pretty good day until the palpations started this evening. I hate that aspect of this more than anything!

Can't wait to get those labs done!!

[Glitterpink07 in reply to Rosiemarie82]

I go tomorrow to Dr and asking for blood work as well, I feel like I have thyroid problems as well, pretty nervous since I haven’t had a blood test done in a couple years now. Good luck on your blood test results. I also get bad heart palpitations do you feel them in the middle of your chest?

[Rosiemarie82 in reply to Glitterpink07]

I do. And when they subside, my chest is sore/achy.

It is terrifying, but since all this started I have had clear xrays and ekgs, so my brain just needs to chill!

I have been asking for thyroid check for a while, and finally talked to a doctor that agrees and was willing to do it on the spot, but I had already eaten breakfast, and need to be fasting for some of the labs. So I will be going back tomorrow.

Thanks, I wish you luck as well ♡

[Glitterpink07]

Yes I’ve been getting high heart rate as of lately over 100 i need to sit down and relax for it to go down.

[Rosiemarie82]

Just an update:

Started my new medication (celexa) last night. I also went from 45mg of buspirone to 15mg yesterday....she recommended trying to go to 30mg to reduce chances of withdrawal, but when it was my normal time to take it, I didn't feel like I needed it, so I just skipped 2 doses...anyway, no noticeable side effects 🙌.

I can't tell you how nervous I was to start a new ssri. But I am so glad I did! I don't know if it was the absence of the buspirone or the effects of the celexa, but I had the best sleep I've had in over a year last night! No jaw clenching, no nightmares, just good, peaceful sleep, and I woke up in a good mood!! 😁

I am hoping this is a sign that I am headed in the right direction! ♡