I constantly feel pressure on my chest, it even wakes me up. I am stressing about my blood pressure as I just know it is going to be incredibly high, despite being perfectly normal just over a month ago. I cannot even look at my blood pressure monitor without feeling anxious and I just need to find a way back to being calmer. The same thing happened earlier in the year and I went to the Emergency Department, who said it wasn’t heart related, but sometimes it certainly feels like it is.
I have turned into a real worrier since my husband had three life threatening conditions, which absolutely knocked the stuffing out of me and ever since I have bouts of terrible anxiety.
I am wondering if hypnotherapy could perhaps help.
I would be grateful to hear how others manage to cope.
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Twitchen
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Hi Twitchen, Yes this happens to me frequently, and I agree it is scary. My husband also has life threatening conditions, he has Becker's Muscular Dystrophy, severe heart problems and is fitted with a MERLIN defibrillator, in January of this year he had a fall and can not long do as much as stand up (medical incompetence) I am constantly checking him to ensure he is still breathing. Like you, my blood pressure is usually very high, but in the evening it goes too low, 61/59 - Anxiety can be controlled when you feel confident nothing will happen to you during an episode. I have a heart condition called Atrial Fibrillation, which comes on in episodes of palpitations - used to scare the hell out of me. My grandchildren invested in a small E.C.G monitor which works with my smart phone, it wasn't very expensive, but whenever I now have an episode of A F, that feels threatening, I do an ECG, the result is never as bad as I think it is. and I now just allow those pains over my chest to pass by naturally. I acknowledge this is my body's response to how I am feeling. I've never used hypnotherapy, but do meditate - as Agora1 has said, I also use my prayer group and parish priest and have prayer with the 'laying on of hands' which works every time - for me! I am a Christian minister and believe in the power of prayer. Try not to worry about the stress and tension in your life, try instead to see it for what it is, a strong emotion with hormones reacting to sudden traumas in your life. Be at peace!
Thank you for your very detailed reply. I am still waiting to hear back from my local surgery, it will be week tomorrow since I contacted them asking to speak to a GP but it is virtually impossible to get appointments where I live. I just feel so breathless, which makes me anxious and is probably causing the feeling of pressure - I just don't know what it can be. However, on the plus side, although it has been going on for a couple of weeks now, I am still here.
My OH also suffers from A F and I agree it is very scary. He is on a tablet called Bisoprolol daily and if he has an attack, he has to take a much stronger one just once and basically wait until normal heart rhythm returns - last time it took 3 days.
I am so pleased you have gotten back Twitchen. I hope you hear from your local surgery soon. Sadly the NHS is not as helpful as it were when it was first set up. Too many people now living on a smallish island who abuse the system, by taking the smallest of health issues to their GP's, A & E's, and other health care places, when they could just as easily go to a pharmacy and get all the help they need - by this I mean people with slight temperatures, scratches, headaches, colds, cough, many still asking for anti-biotics which are of no use at all to the symptoms I've just mentioned - though obviously some people with a genuine infection will need them, these drugs do become expensive when lots of people insist on them. Also the NHS - which I do not agree is underfunded - is overloaded with administrators who pay themselves huge salaries, and have to pay out 'court settlements' for mistakes, and bonuses for doing 'diddly squat. We must remember GP's get 'nice little earners' for getting their patients to take part in trials and surveys, and other payments, they are paid quite handsomely for the number of patients who take statins, so they are doing nicely - part time - £10,000:00 this year increase, what more could they want? They certainly do not see the patients they need to be seeing. On this note, may I suggest to you next time you are waiting for your surgery to get back to you - wait until the practice is closed for the day, then call 111; this is the 'out of hours' service. They ALWAYS get back, they will assess you over the phone and 8 times out of 10 will arrange for you to see a GP at a specific place not far from home. Or if they don't deem it too urgent, they will have the O.O. Hr's doctor call you back. Within each Area Health Authority, these doctors have access to your medical notes and will ask your permission to look at them, they are then able to treat you accordingly. Do not be afraid to use this service, it is much better than sitting at home worrying or going to A & E.
My GP service is more than useless, the number of times I have phoned in, found I am number 25 in the queue, an hour and half later I'm down to number 1, then suddenly the call is terminated by the surgery - Tea break time, No doubt! Sadly this is happening throughout the country.
Try not to use your blood pressure monitor too often. Once or twice a week is ample, but what is helpful because BP goes up and down so quickly - try taking it 3 times in one sitting with about 4 minutes between each reading, then add the upper figure together, then add the lower figure together and divide both by 3. You will achieve a better more accurate reading.
Remember also anxiety is a normal response to our bodies being under attack from other issues, it is how you treat anxiety that is the key. If you tell yourself straight away you are ill, or mental or convince yourself you're going to die, you are actually feeding your fears. Try some meditation, or something to take your mind off what is happening to your body - it will pass.
Sorry to hear your O H has AF it is really scary, Bisoprolol, is good, I take 7.5mg a day - My cardiologist told me it was better to take this at night, because it has other benefits that work better while at rest. I have been doing this for about 8 years. I also take Lisinopril 5mg in the morning. I have a tablet called Flecainide Acetate, which I take 2 at onset of A.F. If it hasn't stopped in an hour I take another, which always works. I also take Warfarin - this is prescribed for life, because of A F; and helps stop a stroke in the future. Many people think it is a 'blood thinner' Warfarin does NOT think the blood, it does however stop blood clots forming. Do please keep us updated as to your progress, we shall continue to pray. xx
Thank you Babel1213 for you very kind reply - almost made me burst into tears.
I agree with absolutely everything you say. Our NHS used to be so good and the treatment and care my dear parents had was wonderful. However, now it is a shadow of its former self and seems to me to be completely broken and I also don't believe it is down to money. As Jeremy Paxman said in an article I read recently, its problem is that it is perceived to be free and anything that is free is simply not valued. Perhaps if people realised the actual cost of treatment if they had to pay privately, they wouldn't be so blase about not bothering to turn up for appointments etc. As you say far too many people using it for very minor issues. Also not helped at all by GP's earning so much that they only want to work on a part-time basis and many simply as locums who know absolutely nothing about you. We have a few GP's living in our village, but none of them want to work locally whereas in the past your local GP was an integral part of the community and knew you and your family and nothing seemed too much trouble.
If I hear nothing tomorrow, I will do as you say and telephone 111 out of hours. I just wish we had a private GP nearby, as I would happily pay to see somebody for peace of mind.
Tears are good Twitchen, they release tension, stress, and anxiety all in one go, so don't hold back on them. I really do know what I'm talking about on this - I have not cried 'naturally' since I my very first day at school in 1952. Parents didn't tell us what to expect in those days, I was very scared and wet myself in front of the class - to hoots of laughter - I cried my eyes out that day, then went right through to 1963 without a single friend. If I feel the need to cry nowadays, I have to pray for tears. God always obliges, I always say, Thank you, Lord. Take care xx
Hey Twitchen! I can relate to what you are going through. I suffer from an anxiety disorder myself and it often makes things really difficult for me. I have consulted doctors but I’m also taking up hypnotherapy sessions with Susannah Saunders as alternative treatment. They have significantly helped me calm down and be in control of how I process and react to certain triggers. I would say go for it.
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