Heart Skipping Beats

[bin_tenn]

Ah, I see. Well, everyone is different, but I've personally not had side effects from the Atenolol I take, and I've been on it for six years. Mine was prescribed to help with anxiety symptoms, but also mildly elevated blood pressure. If I skip it once, my blood pressure is elevated and I'm more prone to palpitations. But I'm okay with taking it every day, if it means it'll keep those things in check. I'd say don't worry about things like that, and continue taking it properly. I think it'll help you.

I don't think it's needy at all. Haha. The whole point of you making a post is to talk about you, and that's perfectly okay! But I also don't mind giving some background on myself.

My health anxiety troubles began around 2010 or 2011. I had frequent headaches. I did a harmless (so I thought) Google search to find out how to get relief from frequent headaches. Brain tumor showed up as a possibility, and for whatever reason, I convinced myself I had a brain tumor. Turns out it was actually due to lack of proper sleep, drinking way too much caffeine and rarely drinking water, etc. I changed some things, and the headaches stopped.

But health anxiety didn't stop there! Instead, I moved on to worry about (in no particular order): lymphoma, leukemia, various types of skin cancer, probably some others. The one that really stuck? Heart disease. I was so convinced my heart was failing. I finally had a physical in 2015, after not seeing a doctor for any reason in over a decade. He told me I was a perfectly healthy 28 year old male with obvious anxiety issues. I was so happy ... but I ultimately couldn't let the heart fears go.

So for the past four or five years, my health anxiety has revolved exclusively around heart health. I've been to the ER three or four times because of it, and I've been to a cardiologist twice. I now have a pretty good grip on it, but I occasionally find my mind wandering into that territory still.

Does that answer your questions?

 

[ThankfulJen]

It does lol and thank you for sharing your struggles. No palpitations today, knock on wood or whatever cancer was huge for me, too. Took all of my meds and vitamins this morning. Hoping for a normal day even if I have forgotten what that looks like. I tried joining a Facebook page for HA but it just doesn't have the same vibe as this forum. Somehow this place seems more safe? Anyways. I'm rambling. Hope you are having a good day!

 

[bin_tenn]

normal

What language is this? ...

I tried joining a Facebook page for HA but it just doesn't have the same vibe as this forum. Somehow this place seems more safe?

Eww. I can imagine that definitely didn't have the same vibe, or sense of safety. Yikes! I got off Fakebook a while back; best decision I've ever made.

My day is just a day, I suppose. Haha. I signed off work a bit ago (I'm a software engineer, been full time remote since October 2017) so that's cool. I don't have any plans for the weekend, I never really do. But I enjoy not making plans, and just winging it instead.

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?

 

[ThankfulJen]

What language is this? ...



Eww. I can imagine that definitely didn't have the same vibe, or sense of safety. Yikes! I got off Fakebook a while back; best decision I've ever made.

My day is just a day, I suppose. Haha. I signed off work a bit ago (I'm a software engineer, been full time remote since October 2017) so that's cool. I don't have any plans for the weekend, I never really do. But I enjoy not making plans, and just winging it instead.

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?

Yes. Normal definitely is a foreign concept. That's for sure. Lol I would get off of Facebook except I communicate with half my family on there. I have found myself spending less and less time on there which jas been a breath of fresh air. Your job sounds interesting. What exactly does it entail? I have not did anything too exciting today . Just some laundry and hanging out with my kiddos. I'm really thinking on cruising some back roads this weekend. Seems to really relax me and the weather is finally getting nice here! A couple people told me they have been diagnosed with pac's and pvc's so I looked them up because I wasn't really sure on what they are. Then I went to the comments and of course one had to set me off. Which is ridiculous since I have went all day without having any! But he said in the last five years, doctors have determined that frequent PAC and PVC can lead to to afib and heart attack. And I was starting to have hope again. I should have just avoided looking anything up.

 

[bin_tenn]

Yes. Normal definitely is a foreign concept. That's for sure. Lol I would get off of Facebook except I communicate with half my family on there. I have found myself spending less and less time on there which jas been a breath of fresh air. Your job sounds interesting. What exactly does it entail? I have not did anything too exciting today . Just some laundry and hanging out with my kiddos. I'm really thinking on cruising some back roads this weekend. Seems to really relax me and the weather is finally getting nice here! A couple people told me they have been diagnosed with pac's and pvc's so I looked them up because I wasn't really sure on what they are. Then I went to the comments and of course one had to set me off. Which is ridiculous since I have went all day without having any! But he said in the last five years, doctors have determined that frequent PAC and PVC can lead to to afib and heart attack. And I was starting to have hope again. I should have just avoided looking anything up.

I get it. A lot of people are practically "stuck" with social media because that's how they communicate with people they care about. I deactivated my account and only use Messenger. That was almost two months ago, and I've never been happier. Haha.

As a software engineer, I do all sorts of things. Primarily design and develop (programming) software systems, web applications / web sites, etc. There's a lot more to it, hence the engineering aspect, but that's the gist of it. I love it. I'm self taught, started when I was 11. I don't even have a GED, let alone a college degree.

Eh, I'd take that with a grain of salt. Don't trust that info. If you want to know if there's a link between PVC/PAC and afib or heart attack, ask your doctor - or even better, a cardiologist. There's a cardiologist on youtube, his name is Sanjay Gupta. He has TONS of videos about palpitations, and they're extremely informative. I recommend you check them out.

Cruising back roads is always great. I have my son this weekend, so that's great. We'll just be hanging around like usual.

 

[ThankfulJen]

I get it. A lot of people are practically "stuck" with social media because that's how they communicate with people they care about. I deactivated my account and only use Messenger. That was almost two months ago, and I've never been happier. Haha.

As a software engineer, I do all sorts of things. Primarily design and develop (programming) software systems, web applications / web sites, etc. There's a lot more to it, hence the engineering aspect, but that's the gist of it. I love it. I'm self taught, started when I was 11. I don't even have a GED, let alone a college degree.

Eh, I'd take that with a grain of salt. Don't trust that info. If you want to know if there's a link between PVC/PAC and afib or heart attack, ask your doctor - or even better, a cardiologist. There's a cardiologist on youtube, his name is Sanjay Gupta. He has TONS of videos about palpitations, and they're extremely informative. I recommend you check them out.

Cruising back roads is always great. I have my son this weekend, so that's great. We'll just be hanging around like usual.

Well, bravo! Sounds pretty amazing to have that much knowledge and freedom in the work you do and loving it is just as important!
I think I may try that! It would be nice to keep in contact without all the random junk constantly flowing through the Facebook feed. More stress than it is worth. That's for sure.
I will definitely check out the doctors videos! And I'm getting off that anxiety page. It is doing more harm than good lol.
I guess we are going for a ride now so I will cut this short. I hope you and your son have an amazing weekend together. I really do appreciate your support. It means a lot!

 

[bin_tenn]

I think I may try that! It would be nice to keep in contact without all the random junk constantly flowing through the Facebook feed. More stress than it is worth. That's for sure.

Indubitably. It becomes such a habit just going to FB that we often don't think about it. I used to pull my phone out of my pocket and click on the app without even thinking about it, even after deactivating my account. I'm at a point now where I don't even think about the app (I uninstalled it from my phone) and I don't think about going to the site in the browser.

I will definitely check out the doctors videos! And I'm getting off that anxiety page. It is doing more harm than good lol.

Haha, cool! I do recommend it. He has a lot of great info. He can't replace you seeing a cardiologist on your own, but his videos can definitely be helpful in understanding what's going on when you have palpitations.

I guess we are going for a ride now so I will cut this short. I hope you and your son have an amazing weekend together. I really do appreciate your support. It means a lot!

Sounds like a plan! Have fun, and I hope you can keep yourself calmed down tonight. Take care.

 

[ThankfulJen]

Having a rough day which is ridiculous because I'm alright. We went for our ride and ended up stranded because the truck my husband bought with the covid relief money would not shift gears. We are hoping it's something to do with the computer rather than the transmission going out. We have no family or close friends so, thankfully, our neighbor gave us a ride. We paid someone 60 dollars to help tow the truck home. The good part about yesterday was no skipped heartbeats all day. It was so nice to not feel that fluttering. Later that night we had lasagna and after I was finished I felt a big fluttering in my chest. I waited to see if it would continue. It did not. An hour later, here they come. Not bad like they have been. Not continuous. Just maybe every 3 or 4 minutes. Had them this morning. Not continuously. But noticeably. They seemed to have slowed down. I went to watch some of those videos and all of could think was I should get the opinion of a cardiologist but how? I feel very alone. I feel very stuck. I feel hopeless. I keep trying not to bawl like a baby. Hate days like these.

 

[Cuchculan]

When I was in hospital ( Burst Ulcer ) they had me hooked up to a heart monitor and they were all worried. Skipped and irregular heartbeats. I was telling them to chill out, it was just my anxiety. Calm my anxiety down and the heart will go back to normal. The faces of these doctors. They wanted to put me on something for my heart. But I managed to get them to give me my normal anxiety medication. They had not been giving it to me because I was hooked up to drips and the likes in the ICU for close on 3 weeks. Second I got my anxiety medication, the skipped an irregular heartbeats all vanished. Me telling them to chill out? I just find the two can go hand in hand. I still get them from time to time. But they don't bother me. Because I am used to them. With hospital it was that bloody heart monitor that made doctors aware of them. My anxiety was high when I was put in another ward, after been moved from ICU. I was coming off of a lot of hard drugs they had me on. They were to be expected. Just my own view on such things. If we look for them we will find them. If we let them bother us they will drive us crazy.

 

[bin_tenn]

Having a rough day which is ridiculous because I'm alright. We went for our ride and ended up stranded because the truck my husband bought with the covid relief money would not shift gears. We are hoping it's something to do with the computer rather than the transmission going out. We have no family or close friends so, thankfully, our neighbor gave us a ride. We paid someone 60 dollars to help tow the truck home.

Car troubles suck! Plain and simple. I hope you get that issue resolved sooner than later. Automatic transmission or stick? I'm glad you were able to get some assistance from your neighbor.

The good part about yesterday was no skipped heartbeats all day. It was so nice to not feel that fluttering. Later that night we had lasagna and after I was finished I felt a big fluttering in my chest. I waited to see if it would continue. It did not. An hour later, here they come. Not bad like they have been. Not continuous. Just maybe every 3 or 4 minutes. Had them this morning. Not continuously. But noticeably. They seemed to have slowed down.

Having palpitations after eating is actually quite normal. Ever heard of the vagus nerve? There's supposedly a connection between that nerve and palpitations, if the nerve is stimulated. Which can occur after eating, especially after a large meal. And yes, it's safe to Google "vagus nerve and palpitations."

Do you have a history of GERD / other acid reflux? That can also stimulate the vagus nerve. Also, it's possible what you're feeling is NOT your heart AT ALL. Whaaaat?! Yes. The esophagus and heart share nerve pathways, making it virtually impossible to distinguish the source of pain and other sensations from one organ or the other. If it occurs after eating, and especially if you have history of GERD, it's possible that what you're feeling is actually spasms of the esophagus. It can feel just like the heart because, again, they share nerve pathways.

I went to watch some of those videos and all of could think was I should get the opinion of a cardiologist but how? I feel very alone. I feel very stuck. I feel hopeless. I keep trying not to bawl like a baby. Hate days like these.

I understand! Most of us do, 100%. It's not a great feeling, but you do have us, at least. If that helps at all.

 

[ThankfulJen]

When I was in hospital ( Burst Ulcer ) they had me hooked up to a heart monitor and they were all worried. Skipped and irregular heartbeats. I was telling them to chill out, it was just my anxiety. Calm my anxiety down and the heart will go back to normal. The faces of these doctors. They wanted to put me on something for my heart. But I managed to get them to give me my normal anxiety medication. They had not been giving it to me because I was hooked up to drips and the likes in the ICU for close on 3 weeks. Second I got my anxiety medication, the skipped an irregular heartbeats all vanished. Me telling them to chill out? I just find the two can go hand in hand. I still get them from time to time. But they don't bother me. Because I am used to them. With hospital it was that bloody heart monitor that made doctors aware of them. My anxiety was high when I was put in another ward, after been moved from ICU. I was coming off of a lot of hard drugs they had me on. They were to be expected. Just my own view on such things. If we look for them we will find them. If we let them bother us they will drive us crazy.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me! I can imagine your anxiety at an easy 10 having to spend any amount of time in a hospital. Last time I was in, they had me hooked to a monitor and the doctor told me he didn't see anything wrong. I could literally feel the fluttering in my neck and chest each time my heart paused or whatever it does but he said I was fine. So I should be OK. Easier said than done, am I right? At least it hasn't killed me yet so I have that to be thankful for. I am really going to try to keep my mind focused on other things today. We shall see how that goes!

Car troubles suck! Plain and simple. I hope you get that issue resolved sooner than later. Automatic transmission or stick? I'm glad you were able to get some assistance from your neighbor.

It's an automatic. And yes, thank goodness for good neighbors. I also live in a town of about 300 people. Most of that 300 are far out on ranches and farms, so getting a good neighbor is definitely a plus!

Having palpitations after eating is actually quite normal. Ever heard of the vagus nerve? There's supposedly a connection between that nerve and palpitations, if the nerve is stimulated. Which can occur after eating, especially after a large meal. And yes, it's safe to Google "vagus nerve and palpitations."

Do you have a history of GERD / other acid reflux? That can also stimulate the vagus nerve. Also, it's possible what you're feeling is NOT your heart AT ALL. Whaaaat?! Yes. The esophagus and heart share nerve pathways, making it virtually impossible to distinguish the source of pain and other sensations from one organ or the other. If it occurs after eating, and especially if you have history of GERD, it's possible that what you're feeling is actually spasms of the esophagus. It can feel just like the heart because, again, they share nerve pathways.
That would actually make a lot of sense. And then, having felt the spasms, it could set my anxiety off and cause palpitations. I was told about 8 years ago by one of the best doctors I ever had that he believed I had silent GERD. I was complaining of a lump in my throat and food coming back up after I had eaten. That is when I was convinced I had throat cancer or esophagal cancer. I was prescribed propump inhibitors...at least I think that's what they were called, but I haven't taken those in a while. Today I keep getting random palps. Very random. Some are within 4 minutes. Some are coming after 15 minutes of normalcy. Trying not to let it overwhelm me.



I understand! Most of us do, 100%. It's not a great feeling, but you do have us, at least. If that helps at all.

I am so thankful for that. I know I keep saying it but that's because it is absolutely true.

 

[bin_tenn]

Proton Pump Inhibitors, as in PPIs? How come you haven't taken them in a while, if I may ask? I was on one (Protonix 40mg) following my afib episode in 2016 (afib was a byproduct of a severe reflux episode and a few other things combined). Protonix did the trick for me. I took it for about two years. Now I eat a little better, and just take Tums when I start feeling some reflux.

You were confirmed to have palpitations, yeah? As in a doctor saw them on an ECG or similar? Esophagus spasms feel just like palpitations. Maybe you experience a mixture of both? I think that's the case for me. However, I can sometimes feel the palpitations in my pulse, such as if I put my finger on my wrist. I try not to do that, because it makes it feel more scary. Haha.

 

[Cuchculan]

We are all strong people. No matter what hits us we keep on going. I am sure we have all had our fair share of crap over the years. But we are all still here. Not giving in. I always say that about people with anxiety or depression. They are all very strong people.

Just seen Bin mentioning PPI's. I take one every morning. I think a lot of people hate them. If they read the side effects first, people would run from them. Luckily I have never had any side effects from them. But so many people hate them.

 

[ThankfulJen]

Proton Pump Inhibitors, as in PPIs? How come you haven't taken them in a while, if I may ask? I was on one (Protonix 40mg) following my afib episode in 2016 (afib was a byproduct of a severe reflux episode and a few other things combined). Protonix did the trick for me. I took it for about two years. Now I eat a little better, and just take Tums when I start feeling some reflux.

Life, honestly. Not long after all of this, our house caught fire. We were forced to move to a new town and I ran out of pills and never got them refilled. Poor excuse, I know.

You were confirmed to have palpitations, yeah? As in a doctor saw them on an ECG or similar? Esophagus spasms feel just like palpitations. Maybe you experience a mixture of both? I think that's the case for me. However, I can sometimes feel the palpitations in my pulse, such as if I put my finger on my wrist. I try not to do that, because it makes it feel more scary. Haha.

He didn't really confirm the palpitations. He just said that my blood work came back fine with what he tested for. He said the xray showed my heart looked good as well as my lungs. He said the EKG looked good, too. He did say he didn't think I was crazy and that if anything got worse as in a fever, breathlessness, dizziness to come back and he would try to take care of it. That kind of tells.me maybe he didn't see any skipped beats? I hate it because even after we left I was questioning why I didn't specifically ask about the irregular heartbeats. When I first went in, I said palpitations and explained what I was feeling. I know they were happening because I was obsessively checking the pulse in my neck and could feel it. When I went to my gp I of course was not having any and she thought they were due to anxiety, which I agree at times they are.

 

[bin_tenn]

Well, the cardiologist / doctor may not mention skipped beats because they're actually very common. Folks without anxiety get them, but they don't usually even realize it. Some do, but they don't think twice about it. So either they were seen on the ECG or not. Either way, they would've told you if it was a problem, so apparently it isn't.

 

[ThankfulJen]

I feel so dumb reading this and feeling myself sob with some relief. I know you know the feeling. It just makes me feel like a child. My husband is a great support but I can see when he gets irritated with my constantly asking him to check my pulse and the like. Yesterday was such a good day but today I'm feeling defeated. Thank you.

 

[bin_tenn]

It's understandable that you feel that way. Just know that there will be plenty of setbacks and defeating moments along the journey to getting past anxiety. Don't feel discouraged, but it is healthy to experience these emotions, too. It means you're human, and you're functioning as such. Take it a day at a time, work on one thing at a time, and you'll get better eventually. Just takes time and patience.

 

[ThankfulJen]

So, no irregular heartbeat today. Yesterday all day. We were up until three because I was afraid to go to sleep. By 3, they had slowed quite a bit. Woke up today and won't say it out loud but yeah. Nothing so far. I think I really need to figure out everything that is triggering them. I think it was initially a lot of stress and anxiety that snowballed into an out of control episode of full on panic and anxiety. After the doctor and emergency I was able to better cope because I kept telling myself along with the help of you all that the doctors would most likely do more if they thought something was wrong. So my anxiety was not as high. I guess I'm posting all of this because maybe I can look back at it and maybe it will benefit any future struggles. Hope you all are doing well.

 

[Cuchculan]

One thing we all guilty of is focusing on certain things. Just how I see it. It has happened to you many times now. You are aware of it. So you expect it to happen again. So you begin to focus in on that one area of your body. A panic attack works the exact same way. We have one. We expect another one. Is like we sit in wait for it to happen. You might be doing similar. Odd that when nothing happens and we are having a good day, we wonder why. Think there must be something wrong because this is not how it normally is. We can go looking for what we are used to. Not feel right until those normal things are happening to us. Learn to accept that it does not have to happen every day. That you are allowed some good days too. If it happens at a certain time of day as a rule, don't expect it to happen at that same time of day every day. The trigger could simply be a certain time of day / night that it happened before. All a learning curve. Hope you manage to have a good day with no problems at all.

 

[ThankfulJen]

One thing we all guilty of is focusing on certain things. Just how I see it. It has happened to you many times now. You are aware of it. So you expect it to happen again. So you begin to focus in on that one area of your body. A panic attack works the exact same way. We have one. We expect another one. Is like we sit in wait for it to happen. You might be doing similar. Odd that when nothing happens and we are having a good day, we wonder why. Think there must be something wrong because this is not how it normally is. We can go looking for what we are used to. Not feel right until those normal things are happening to us. Learn to accept that it does not have to happen every day. That you are allowed some good days too. If it happens at a certain time of day as a rule, don't expect it to happen at that same time of day every day. The trigger could simply be a certain time of day / night that it happened before. All a learning curve. Hope you manage to have a good day with no problems at all.

Yes, yes, and yes!!! It's an everyday hill to climb and sometimes we make it to the top and sometimes we can barely take the steps necessary to start climbing. And the focus becomes a terrible habit hard to break. Thank you for your advice and insight into it all. You have given me much to think about!