Dehydration Anxiety

[Brooke/beldam]

New to this forum,trying to not have a massive anxiety attack so I’m going to try and post here,forgive me if I’m not doing it right.
So..Saturday was a super hot day where I live,I’d felt weird off and on all day that day but brushed it off thinking it was just anxiety (sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe when it gets too hot because I’m paranoid,so I figured that’s all it was and I wasn’t going to let it ruin our date day). Drove around a little bit but then decided it was too hot so my boyfriend took me shopping at the mall,well we walked into one of the stores only to have to turn right back around to leave because I literally collapsed on him and he had to help me walk back out to our car and drive me to urgent care. Urgent care did 2 ekgs and sent me on down to the er where they did another ekg and blood work plus gave me an iv of fluids. Bloodwork and ekgs were all fine,perfect even,only thing that showed up was according to my urine test i was slightly dehydrated. I’m so paranoid that that’s not all that’s wrong with me. I’m worried the ekgs and testing missed something cause I’ve been obsessing over the symptoms I had leading up to right before I almost blacked out. My symptoms were,I got this weird bubble feeling in my chest near my heart and it felt like a regular gas bubble like I needed to burp or something simple but then my left arm went completely numb,my heart slowed and skipped a couple times in a row and then took off beating so fast it felt like my chest was going to burst. I then got super dizzy and my vision got fuzzy as my boyfriend was helping me walk out of the mall and I was having a hard time holding my head up,everything felt like it was in slow motion until we got into the car. There was this awful pressure in my head like I couldn’t focus on anything but the pressure and I was so dizzy I kept feeling like I was going to faint. The whole time I was able to breathe just fine,my oxygen levels never dipped the whole time I was in the er but my heart did skip around and beat really hard and fast until I got a little ways into my bag of iv fluids and then it’s like this wave of calm hit my body and I was okay and able to walk around again. The iv made my tongue and eyes feel cold and I went through the bag of fluids really fast and the pressure in my head cleared up and I felt human again. The rational part of my brain is telling me it was literally just dehydration because I hadn’t been drinking enough water the last week and it’s been 97 and sunny almost everyday where I live,plus I was nearing the end of a very painful crampy period,but the irrational part of my brain is convinced I have heart disease or I’m going into cardiac arrest ever since that episode. I do have a follow up appointment with my doctor on Monday but I just feel like I needed to get this out somewhere other than repeatedly bothering my family over it and googling stuff to only freak myself out further. I know what happened wasn’t a panic attack but now I’m paranoid of it happening again and it being worse or something even though I’ve made sure to drink a ton of water/Gatorade like my discharge papers said to do so it doesn’t happen again but I’m still so freaking scared about it.

 

[Kaynil]

Hello and welcome, Beldam.

Right now the important thing is that you are in the doctors' hands now and that you have been following their advice. I think if the doctors thought it could come again or was something else they wouldn't have discharged you without giving you more instructions so for now trust the rational side and wat to see what the follow-up appointment can help you with.

To be honest I think it does sounds like different things got together and gave you this dehydration episode. Maybe on their own the hot weather, a bit of neglect in drinking water, if you did any other physical activities it all piled up. It is good you wrote everything very detailed that can serve you as a log for your doctors. Don't be afraid to ask them about the things you experienced so you can feel more relieved.

And I'd suggest to refrain from googling it for now, instead just get another doctor's opinion if after the follow up you still feel they might be missing the mark. Best of luck. I hope things go well.

 

[Adirv14]

Did you feel bad when you had your ekg? I believe you said it felt like your chest was skipping around until the you recieved the iv bag. Ekg monitors heart rhythm. It would be pretty easy for anyone to read the results if something was off because all the lines the ekg records should be the same. I have a fear with my heart as well i have been to the cardiologist. My cardiologist said i was fine. The time to get an ekg is when you feel bad, if its normal when you feel bad thats a good sign. I am also not a doctor just speaking from my experience. Also an occassional pvc is normal as well, everyone has them from time to time is what my doctor told me.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Thank you! And I did feel bad when they did my first 2 ekgs at Urgent Care,they told me my heart was beating even and fine just too fast and that I needed to go ahead and go to the er to be fully evaluated. While I was there they did another one and said it was beating fine just really fast and causing itself to skip. All my blood work came back fine,potassium and sodium and iron were all good (I’ve had problems with super low iron and potassium in the past) and my blood sugar was fine even though I was starving at the time they checked it. My nurse happened to be my cousin and she said if there was anything at all possibly wrong she would have told me immediately and that my tests came back better than hers would. I’m feeling calmer about it today because it’s almost the weekend again and that leaves me just a couple days til my appointment. It’s been super hot and humid where I live (southeast ky),a lot hotter than last year was. It also doesn’t help that our house has no shade from the sun and it literally feels like we’re melting in certain rooms even with the air conditioning going nonstop! I’ve been trying to at least drink 2-3 full bottles of plain water throughout the day while sipping on lemonade or Gatorade between each bottle to kinda split up drinking so much boring water. I’ve felt better,stronger like I didn’t realize how weak I was before all this from not drinking water like I’m supposed to.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Also,forgot to add that back in March I wore a 24 hour heart holster monitor and even had skipped beats while wearing it and they told me everything was fine and normal. I just hate that my brain needs constant reassurance that I’m ok and healthy. It’s exhausting,I’m 24 and can remember being paranoid about my health at a really young age. It’s literally the only thing I have anxiety about,I worry about all the big and bad health things that could go wrong (like heart attacks,cardiac arrest,and cancer) that I forget about the little things that can go wrong. I take vitamins,avoid caffeine,try not to eat too much junk food,eat at least one fruit a day,don’t smoke or drink heavy,and most of the people around me think I’m crazy for not being like every other 24 year old out there living life and being wild while they can lol.

 

[Adirv14]

Yup i do the same things. Im 25 just had the 24 hpur monitor had a few skipped beats they said were normal. I also avoid caffeine, and try to treat my body good.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Ok,so I figured I’d update lol. Doctor said everything literally pointed to me being dehydrated,but she took some more blood and urine anyways and said she’d call me tomorrow with the results. I go back in a month just to kinda keep an eye on my heart since I discovered after contacting my dad that heart issues do run in the family on at least his side.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Last Saturday I spent the day in the ER. This passed Saturday I got engaged so that’s a bit of good news to go on this post

 

[Kaynil]

Congratulations on your engagement!
Thank you so much for coming back and update us. It was quite a good catch to realise about the heart issues being in tje family. It is important the doctors know and I am happy they explained to you your symptoms and that they agreed to give you another blood test. Hopefully it will be alright.

About dehydration, the 4 glasses a day is an average and not to be taken straight, depending on your body, the location temperature, exercise, etc varies how much you need. It is a good starting point to explore your water needs. However learning to interpret our body symptoms is a pretty good way to keep us aware. The few things that helped me that may be of help for you:

I used to mix hunger and thirst because I tended to drink only while eating. So kow I drink some water first and see how I feel about it. It usually becomes clear to me it was just thirst or not.

I got the easy sympthom of dry lips or thick saliva, but I sometimes get other symptoms like a headache or pain near my eye, no matter how mild it is, in my cade they are usually a sign of my body needing water and the sympthom disappear shortly after.

So be aware on how your body reacts and lets you know you need more water. I hope this can he of help.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Checking back in! That same heart skip thing happened again and I almost passed out again but I’m not dehydrated this time. Currently in the Er hooked up to machines to see what’s going on again. Hopefully we figure it out this time. Had to ride in an ambulance and everything tonight :/ fiancé thinks I’m just over stressed and it’s my anxiety but it doesn’t feel like the attacks I’m used to. So far ekg in the ambulance was fine and oxygen are good (hooked up to oxygen to keep me calm) they took blood and urine waiting on results to tests and chest X-rays and the current ekg. I truly hope I’m ok. Sorry if this seems a little scatterbrained I’m here alone cause my fiancé is stuck at work and my family has my little boy. I’m so scared I’ll die here alone in the hospital,I don’t know how nurses do their job but they are amazing.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Also forgot to mention my anxiety had been bothering me all day,and yesterday I had a bad attack where my pulse hit 120 sitting down and it took me a long time to calm down. And today it was in the back of my mind and my left arm was aching (probably from deepcleaning my house yesterday) so I’m hoping that it was just an attack but I don’t know. It sure didn’t feel like it was one and it felt exactly like what happened to me while I was dehydrated but no dehydration this time. The ambulance driver said it might be the vasovagal nerve or however you spell it. Wish me luck,good vibes,happy prayers,anything to get me through this.

 

[Adirv14]

Well its good to get checked out. Its qlso hood your ekg is coming back normal. Coping with stress when you have anxiety is really tough and i have yet to master it. Sometimes days later after a stressful event i will have bad anxiety attacks. I am a big believer tho in good diet and staying hydrated. I have ate bad for about a werk now and my anxiety has been through the roof. Im sure the doctors will come back with good news on all your tests. You are strong you are ok. You have felt this before and survived. You admit you felt a little different a couple days leading up to this and you exerted yourself cleaning. Keep us posted. Im sorry you feel bad at the moment but it will pass.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Thank you so much,I just now got home and in bed. They came back and said the only thing that was off with my blood tests was my potassium. Normal levels are 3.5-5 and mine was literally 3.4. That’s it. That’s the only thing that came back slightly off. Chest x Ray was good,heart and oxygen fine,ekgs all fine. The doctor told me to check in with my family doctor to see about maybe doing a stress test or wearing another heart monitor for a few days to try and catch it again. I still don’t know what happened. I was sitting down and then all of a sudden it felt like there was air in my chest like I needed to burp but then my heart skipped a beat so hard my whole body felt numb and limp so I jumped up and try to chill out by pacing (it helps me to calm down if I move),called my mom,Mamaw,and a 24 hr nurse line all within the span of barely 10 minutes before my Mamaw showed up with my brother and the ambulance like 3 minutes away. I’m so thankful my grandparents only live a minute up the hill cause I know if anything bad does happen they are right there near me. I will say that for a split second in the ambulance before we left for the hospital,I got this clear moment in my head and a voice just telling me I was going to be ok and that I was alright. It helped me calm down enough to not pass out or throw up riding in the ambulance as we drove just 5 minutes to the hospital. Both paramedics were great too,the older one told me that if I was displaying signs of anything dangerous or crazy he would take me straight to the landing pad and load me onto the helicopter to go to a bigger hospital cause ours can’t really deal with super bad stuff (it’s very short staffed,sadly). He kept asking about my little boy and told me when I felt better to bring him down to the fire station to get a tour and a free hat and badge! My fiancé also got out of work at 11:30 pm and made it to the hospital before midnight and the place he works at is well over 30 minutes away from where I was.