So it all started about 2 years ago, i started having some panic attacks and then chest pains and ectopic beats and sometimes my heart would start racing for no reason for a few seconds then go back to normal. It worried me but not too much because back then i wasn't obsessed about my health like i am now. I went to the doctor and they did some blood tests and an EKG and said everything was fine.I also had a echocardiogram and wore a holter monitor for 24 hours, they still said all was good. The panic attacks continued along with the heart stuff. From then on i have been completely obsessed with my heart. I am constantly checking my pulse and my heart pounds out of my chest throughout the day for no reason at all. I have been to the ER countless times and i get the same report every time. They say all is normal, but i know what normal feels like and this isn't it. I also have nightmares and its hard to explain but i can feel my heart going crazy, flip flopping, beating extremely fast in my sleep but it doesn't wake me up but like i know its happening and i remember it the next day. The other day i went to a fast care clinic because i started having some chest pains unlike any i had in the past and the doctor wanted to do an EKG. They did one and he came in and was talking to me and said my EKG looked "pretty good" then he said he wanted to do another one just to be sure. Of course this freaked me out because im thinking he saw something he didn't like. They did another one and he came back in and told me he my P-waves were inverted on my EKG and he said that is common in people that has ischemia, which is where there is reduced blood flow to the heart. So i drive my self to the ER panicking the whole way. I get there and they run a bunch of tests and did an EKG and left me hooked up to a heart monitor for about an hour. The ER doctor comes in and tells me he doesn't know what the other guy saw and my heart and everything looks great. WTH!!! That was 3 weeks ago and things have been semi normal with my heart except for the accelerated heart rate from time to time and me always checking my pulse. i did have one of those nightmare episodes the other night that scared me, Starting yesterday i started having more ectopic beats than i have ever had before, im having 60-70 a day! i've had probably 10 while typing this. Im scared to go to sleep now because im afraid something will happen to me in my sleep. I literally cant go out and do anything that i used to enjoy doing anymore, especially anything that might get my heart rate up, Im just constantly in a panic. Im only 25 years old around 160lbs. I try to eat semi healthy, i dont smoke or do drugs. i do like to drink beer but i have cut way back because i thought some of this could be caused by this. I do have terrible acid reflux and eat tums like they are candy and take gaviscon sometimes and it seems to help with the reflux. Sorry for the long post guys but i just needed to vent to someone, my wife or anyone in my family don't understand, they just think im over reacting so i just keep it to myself the best i can. Any help is greatly appreciated, i just want to be the happy guy i once was, thanks in advance.
I understand how you feel. My health anxiety started with chest pains which turned into full blown panic attacks. I was sure that because the chest pains caused the panic, something was wrong with me, but I've been to urgent care twice and my primary doctor twice and they say everything is fine. I too get those ectopic beats, sometimes it's a fluttering feeling, sometimes a beat or two are way too hard, sometimes it feels like it misses a beat and it takes my breath away. The doctor said they are harmless. Last appointment he thought he heard a missed beat so he did an EKG but said it looked okay. My bloodwork came back great too. I'm only 28 but I feel like my body is falling apart.
I'm on citalopram now and I'm waiting for it to start kicking in, but even as I type I'm feeling like I can't breathe properly. It's very hard to deal with, but if we have had testing and the doctors say we are okay, I supposed all that's left to do is believe them so learn how to cope. It's just very difficult.
Hai zach, it's tough suffer anxiety especially with family that don't understand. With your long post and in and out doing ecg and with the results that comes out, i think your heart is fine. Anxiety often doing weird things to our body, and mind is powerful things. Symptoms often shows up according what we thinks we have even tho its's not true when seeing your ecg results. I hv anxiety, now too. Tried to control it with eating healthy and taking vitamins and exercise. I take chamomile tea for my anxiety too. Don't take any alcohol, it could worse the anxiety. If you stressed out about something lately, you should talk to someone about it.
I feel where you are coming from i suffer the same exact problems and have had all sorts of e.r,dr visits and test ran.Everything was perfectly normal they put on lexapro 10mg for anxiety it helps a little but I think I need a bigger dose to deal with this
Thanks for the replies guys, maybe we all can learn to cope with it or beat it.