Heart anxiety..again.

[Brooke/beldam]

Laying in bed trying to sleep and can’t because what started out as what I thought was gas and me needing to burp,has led me to sitting up paranoid I’m going to go into cardiac arrest and die. It started out feeling I couldn’t feel my heart beating,then went to feeling like my heart was pausing too long between beats. Tried laying on my left side to help maybe burp and nothing,I could feel a weird bubbly feeling in my stomach and chest though and I felt my heart speed up for a few seconds and then slow back down over and over again while laying here. Wasn’t anxious at all beforehand,was actually laying in bed about to fall asleep when this hit. I’m home alone with my little boy. My fiancé is at work until 4am and it’s currently 1:04am and I’m too scared/paranoid to sleep but also having a hard time holding my eyes open. It’s like my body and brain want to sleep and be comfy but then a part of my brain is like NOPE. had a stress test done about 2 weeks ago,I’ve had multiple ekgs and chest x rays and they’ve never found anything (I actually go get my results from the stress on Wednesday.

 

[karlae99]

Hey as someone who has gone from being calm to randomly starting to freak out, I’m sure you’re alright especially if your doctors haven’t found anything. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made myself feel like I’m not breathing properly etc etc I know it’s hard but just try to get your mind off of it and focus on something else and you’ll see all those symptoms you’re feeling will most likely subside

 

[richietozier]

I've gone through a very similar anxiety. (also heart-disease related). Like the user above, I have also made myself believe feel as though my breathing was slow, irregular, or that my brain was losing oxygen and I was going to pass out any minute. But if the drs are sure you're okay, try to breathe and find healthy outlets to relieve your stress <3

 

[Kelculator]

You heart never really "skips" a beat, when you can't feel a heart beat and a stronger one follows shortly afterwards, it's just palpitations in which the last beat is too weak so the next THUMP makes up for it. I think your heartbeat being irregular is very normal as you were in a stage of anxiety or possible panic. I get chest tightness too when anxious... You will be alright. It is anxiety talking to you, fogging your rational thoughts away. I'm sorry you're feeling this way.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Hey as someone who has gone from being calm to randomly starting to freak out, I’m sure you’re alright especially if your doctors haven’t found anything. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made myself feel like I’m not breathing properly etc etc I know it’s hard but just try to get your mind off of it and focus on something else and you’ll see all those symptoms you’re feeling will most likely subside

My stress test ended up coming back perfect and I’ve been fine the last little bit up until Saturday night at my towns fall festival and idk if it was the crowds or what but I freaked out bad and usually crowds don’t bother me at all. They don’t trigger it usually so we left and I felt fine after getting home. Fast forward to today,finally feel better and able to eat again (we had some sort of tummy bug over the weekend) so I got up and ate and did my makeup and my fiancé and our little boy went out to pay bills before he had to go to work for the night well we got back home and my mom showed up after while I was eating lunch and she’s tore up because of some relationship problems going on and all the extra stress from it so my little boy and I go to Walmart with her to shop. We get there and we’re almost done and I keep feeling this full body hot flash and pressure in my head feeling creeping up on me like I’m going to panic and go numb. I ignored it the first few times it hit cause I knew at that point it was anxiety,my little boy started to throw a fit (we’ve all been stressed,I’m about to get married in less than 3 weeks and my younger sister is due with her first baby shortly after,plus worrying about my mom) so we walk away to self checkout so I can take him on out to the car and as we’re walking I feel it hit hard. All over my body I get this weird squeeze feeling and I bring out in a hot flash again and my head got all swimmy and felt like I was going to pass out and the head pressure came back and then my heart started flying. So we get checked out and he buys his toy plane and I get the keys from my mom and go out to the car to wait. The overall feeling peaked again in the car and then went away when I got home and called the 24 hour nurse line on the back of my insurance card because just talking about it and them walking me through checking my pulse usually calms me down quickly. Well the lady says to call an ambulance and have them come out and check me over just to be sure. I got off the phone with her and then that feeling rushes over me again but worse than it has this whole time and I feel like I can’t move or breathe and like I’m not in my head anymore. So I call and they come out and check me and everything is fine other than my heart beating too fast and my blood pressure being slightly high from freaking out. Oxygen levels were perfect,heart rhythm perfect just too fast,blood sugar perfect and they stayed until my blood pressure came down to 125/88 and then gave me the option to stay home or go on the hospital. I chose to stay home and my mom came back by on her way home to check on me. Everyone thinks I’m fine and I feel like my heart and lungs are but I keep getting that weird head pressure feeling and my ears stopping up and dizziness. Idk if it’s sinuses being awful cause the weather is trying to change and the leaves are falling but it’s still hot outside (we live in southern KY and it’s 87 today) or if I’m just plain crazy but I am ready for everything to calm down and go back to normal because I cannot handle this crap anymore. I hadn’t had a panic attack in almost a year until the end of June this year when I got dehydrated and almost collapsed and it started my anxiety back up hardcore. Sorry for typing a novel I just felt like I needed to get it all out.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

I honestly feel like since I know for sure my heart is fine cause I did so good with the stress test that my anxiety symptoms are trying to switch up on me so I don’t get rid of it entirely or so I can’t fully overcome it? Does that sound weird at all? It’s like symptoms I’ve never had before started up these last two times and made me feel like it was more than a panic attack. The emt in the ambulance even told me that at my age and health condition and me being a non smoker and not even drinking caffeinated stuff that my chances of getting struck by lightening are higher than me actually going into sudden cardiac arrest. I’m just annoyed with myself about it all cause I was doing so well and wasn’t on meds and now everyone is pushing them on me and I don’t want to take them I want to wait all of this crazy stress out and see if it goes away again and I go back to normal like before,before I actually start trying different medications for it.

 

[avocado]

Anxiety can be really strange sometimes. At least for me, I get anxiety over my mental health. I used to get anxiety over my physical health like having heart problems this one time I had a bad dream and started feeling sharp pains in my chest. I'm 21 and in fairly good health, regularly exercise, etc. My doctor basically told me that I should really only be concerned if I get chest pains after strenuous exercise. The thing with anxiety is that when you think you gotten over it, it does change up on you like you said and come back with a vengeance. That's how it works. We get thoughts and worry, which causes us to obsess over sensations in our bodies, which then fuels the never ending cycle. One really good book I know of is by Dr. Claire Weekes. She was an Australian psychiatrist (I think, maybe a therapist) and wrote a really good book about how to overcome this. I ordered the book and will start reading tomorrow but I have listened to the abridged audio version several times when my anxiety about my mental health gets bad (it's quite ironic, I have a mental illness, GAD/health anxiety, and it causes me to worry that I'll have other mental illnesses lol). Here's a youtube link to part one of the series, it goes up to part 4, which you can find on youtube as well. I highly recommend and Claire Weekes narrates it herself.

The book is called Hope and Help for Your Nerves.

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Anxiety can be really strange sometimes. At least for me, I get anxiety over my mental health. I used to get anxiety over my physical health like having heart problems this one time I had a bad dream and started feeling sharp pains in my chest. I'm 21 and in fairly good health, regularly exercise, etc. My doctor basically told me that I should really only be concerned if I get chest pains after strenuous exercise. The thing with anxiety is that when you think you gotten over it, it does change up on you like you said and come back with a vengeance. That's how it works. We get thoughts and worry, which causes us to obsess over sensations in our bodies, which then fuels the never ending cycle. One really good book I know of is by Dr. Claire Weekes. She was an Australian psychiatrist (I think, maybe a therapist) and wrote a really good book about how to overcome this. I ordered the book and will start reading tomorrow but I have listened to the abridged audio version several times when my anxiety about my mental health gets bad (it's quite ironic, I have a mental illness, GAD/health anxiety, and it causes me to worry that I'll have other mental illnesses lol). Here's a youtube link to part one of the series, it goes up to part 4, which you can find on youtube as well. I highly recommend and Claire Weekes narrates it herself.

The book is called Hope and Help for Your Nerves.

Thank you so much for posting this! It was so relaxing to just lay here and listen to her talking,it actually calmed me out of feeling panicky tonight. My wedding is in 15 days and I’ve figured out I’m not anxious about actually being married,it’s the actual wedding itself I’m afraid of. It’s the standing in front of everyone and them all staring and taking pictures. Plus we’re having our wedding in a national park up on a mountain called the pinnacle where you can stand in 3 different states at the same time (Kentucky,Virginia,Tennessee) and there may be tourists up there at the time and although tourists are told to be respectful of any ceremonies happening at the time,they’re still strangers and it makes me anxious lol.

 

[avocado]

Thank you so much for posting this! It was so relaxing to just lay here and listen to her talking,it actually calmed me out of feeling panicky tonight. My wedding is in 15 days and I’ve figured out I’m not anxious about actually being married,it’s the actual wedding itself I’m afraid of. It’s the standing in front of everyone and them all staring and taking pictures. Plus we’re having our wedding in a national park up on a mountain called the pinnacle where you can stand in 3 different states at the same time (Kentucky,Virginia,Tennessee) and there may be tourists up there at the time and although tourists are told to be respectful of any ceremonies happening at the time,they’re still strangers and it makes me anxious lol.

Yeah no worries! Glad it helped haha. I've listened to the audio version of the book at least 2-3 times a day this past week because lately I've been getting anxiety for no reason and it helped a ton. Also, congratulations on getting married!

 

[CC83]

Anxiety can be really strange sometimes. At least for me, I get anxiety over my mental health. I used to get anxiety over my physical health like having heart problems this one time I had a bad dream and started feeling sharp pains in my chest. I'm 21 and in fairly good health, regularly exercise, etc. My doctor basically told me that I should really only be concerned if I get chest pains after strenuous exercise. The thing with anxiety is that when you think you gotten over it, it does change up on you like you said and come back with a vengeance. That's how it works. We get thoughts and worry, which causes us to obsess over sensations in our bodies, which then fuels the never ending cycle. One really good book I know of is by Dr. Claire Weekes. She was an Australian psychiatrist (I think, maybe a therapist) and wrote a really good book about how to overcome this. I ordered the book and will start reading tomorrow but I have listened to the abridged audio version several times when my anxiety about my mental health gets bad (it's quite ironic, I have a mental illness, GAD/health anxiety, and it causes me to worry that I'll have other mental illnesses lol). Here's a youtube link to part one of the series, it goes up to part 4, which you can find on youtube as well. I highly recommend and Claire Weekes narrates it herself.

The book is called Hope and Help for Your Nerves.

That audio was great. I'll have to get the book. I've tried the DARE response book and thought it was great too. I can't remember the authors name. It's on Amazon.

 

[Xhemal Leka]

His name is Barry Mcdonagh

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Figured I’d pop back in to update. 4 days away from the wedding and we’ve rehearsed where everyone is going to stand and how it’s all going to go down,got the restaurant for the reception and everything. I’m not as anxious as I was before over everything and I’ve been a lot calmer the last week or so but I still have my moments. My mom got me a bottle of low dose peppermint cbd oil to see if that helps any,she takes it for hers and it helps her a lot and my mamaw takes it daily for her blood pressure and it even helps her so we’ll see. Has anyone else tried it? Idk if this needs a trigger warning or something but at one point I did smoke weed to help my anxiety and help me eat (I get too sick to eat when my anxiety is super bad) but I quit after it caused a very bad panic attack that sent me to the er so even though it’s not exactly the same thing,I was a tad bit wary of trying the cbd oil lol. I hope everyone is doing well!!!

 

[Brooke/beldam]

Also forgot to add,something else that has helped me and kept me in a good mindset is telling myself that I am healthy and there is nothing wrong with me and that it’s literally just my brain chemicals getting out of whack and that it’s nothing I’ve done to cause it,it’s just something that’s going to happen and possibly get bad from time to time and it’s time for me to accept it. 24 years old,mother to a 4 year old boy,and idk why it’s taken me so long to be like yeah,ok I have this and even if I am stuck with it,I’m ok and will be ok. I’ve akso had to talk my son out of panic a few times these last few month and he’s only 4. My mom told me that’s about when it started for me as a kid. He’s very smart for his age (almost too smart lol) and tall like I am so even I forget he’s only 4 and doesn’t exactly understand the feelings his brain is throwing at him. I’m hoping that unlike me,he’ll grow out of it because it’s something I suffered with a lot for all these years and only literally recently that I’ve accepted.