Hi guys, its been a long time since my last post, probably about 3 years. Since then I have been relatively anxiety free, apart from an odd few times that I have coped with. Anyway I feel like this has been building for a few weeks now i think about it, since last monday my anxiety has reared its ugly head again. So much so that i cant eat or sleep. every time i close my eyes i feel this swoop in my chest and jump up in a panic. I am currently living on a couple of cans of Nurishment a day and an odd Banana thrown in, i dont want to be like this, i enjoy my food and i hate how this happens. My worst fear about anxiety is fainting and i become obssessed that I'm not eating enough to sustain myself, people say "just eat then" but i physically cannot. Then throw on top that I haven't slept for 2 nights in a row and im really struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have become pretty mad about constantly checking my pulse to, literally 10 times an hour or more because i almost feel like if it goes back to normal i might just drop dead. It has been at its peak 140bpm but averaging about 105bpm. I used to take sertraline and propranolol but came off them because i was doing so well and i just dont think i could cope with going through all that again. I find myself constantly pacing and checking my pulse. Can my body handle all this. Sorry if this doesnt make much sense I tend to ramble. Thank you so much xx
Hey, I am going through/have gone through exactly what you describe. 4 weeks ago due to a very bad reaction to Sertraline my anixety/panic attacks became out of control and I developed obsessive compulsive behaviours! I would check my pulse with my fingers, app on my phone and even a small at home ECG every 3-5 minutes. If I did not check my pulse I would be convinced I was about to go into Cardiac Arrest and drop dead. My family had to take all devices off of me but I was still checking my pulse 24/7. I would freak out if it was “too low” and further freak out if it was high. I also developed Ectopic heartbeats so my heart would also skip beats and add extra beats making my pulse irregular. This made me very, very mentally unwell and I could not eat, sleep or drink and was constantly up the Emergency department and eventually was admitted. I cannot tell you how much I believed I was going to drop dead any moment! I can safely say I am 80% over all of that in just a few weeks! When you are going through these times it feels as though it will never end and you will always feel that way, but honestly it does get easier. 4 weeks ago I was in a Hospital bed hooked up to a load of machines utterly convinced I was going to collapse and die with racing heart, heart flutters, extra beats etc which made me feel I would pass out. I was so weak I could not even walk and my blood sugar was dangerously low from not eating or drinking for nearly a week. Please do not give up, it does get better. I still suffer with anxiety and I wake nearly every night once with a racing heart and panic but it only lasts 10 minutes and I go back to sleep. I would take those any day from what it was like a month ago! I was having a panic attack allllllll day everyday! Paramedics were called to my house basically everuday until I was admitted lol! If you are worried about your heart it is always worth getting it checked out, but what you are experiencing is a chronic state of Fight or Flight, your body is constantly pumping out adrenaline so your heart is always beating faster. Try to distract yourself, keep buys even if it is doing something like drawing. You need to divert your thoughts away from your body.
ps - my pulse easily reaches 165-170 when having a panic attack!
If I am anxious it will easily be in the low 100s. When I would go from sitting to just standing it was reach 140. This was because I was a) dehydrated b) not eating right c) exhausted d) FILLED with anxiety.
Now I am relatively calmer my resting heart rate is 70-80 and when I stand it goes to 95 which as you can see is a HUGE difference!
are you on meds ??
No I take nothing. Medication made me 10000x worse and to be honest I really do not think it solves all anxiety disorders. SSRI medication is highly effective for depression but there are still alot of question marks as for whether it actually cures anxiety and panic disorder. It is so common that I see people on here on high doses of medication yet are still massively struggling with anxiety and panic. Do not get me wrong it probably does help many people but for me personally it made me very sick, gave me OCD (which I have never had) and left me in a constant state of anxiety and panic with no control over my thoughts. I got hugely better by CBT. Re-programming how I thought and reacted to situations, basically accepting the panic and assosciated symptoms rather than freaking out about it. I an not cured by no means lol but I am getting better. Do you take meds?
I am not on meds howevor I have come to find I have been diagnosed with IST which is probably contributing to my anxiety
Hey @vicky8444 how low does your heart rate decrease ?
That will not be helping! Have you always had a fast heart rate? My heart really does vary MASSIVELY depending on the time of the month etc and it is so variable. I have a really high heart rate variability so my heart can hit 170 with exercise quick but as soon as I stop it will drop back to 90-100 within less than 2 minutes which is a bit crazy. The same with stair climbing it will go to like 140 but after 20 seconds it will be at 90 even when still walking around etc!? I am not an active person either. I have had a fast heart since I was a kid though so it isnt anything new to me. If I am going through a bad or anxious patch in life my heart rate is affected so much and will be so much higher than usual.
What is your resting heart rate? Mine varies day by day so I never really know
what do you mean by resting ?? Laying down , 65-70.sleeping 53-68 watching movie sitting 70-80. If im sitting having a conversation ot standing around not moving at work 85-99. When i walk bad days 100-130. good days 88-110. I have moments in goes to 130 for no reason . Working out is 160-180. heat increases my heart rate too.High heart rate growing up.
Yeh sounds really similar to me to be honest. I try really hard not to focus on it anymore as it tends to freak me out, i stopped wearing my FitBit in the end as I was becoming obsessed