Struggling again..

[Melly11]

Hi all,

I apologize for the long post, but please read... I need some advice

I have posted in here before, but it has been a while since I have. I wanted to come in and ask if anyone else has had this happen to them. I had my anxiety pretty under control... not saying that I was cured lol, but I was able to cope with it more than I had in the past. I guess you can say I had a pretty stressful week at work, but I felt fine. I work in the office at a middle school doing attendance and other office work. It was a Thursday night, and I was winding down for the night and I was indulging in a little snack, I bit into a chocolate covered pretzel and my heart started to POUND out of my chest, I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I dropped down to my knees. My mom was with me and had me go outside and it still wasn't calming down... We prepped to go to ER and in that time, I was able to get my watch on... By the time we got to the car I had started to calm down and we only went for a drive we did not go to the ER... I had then read my stats on my phone and my watch read that my heart had gone to 210... But it was fluctuating between 210 and 130 within seconds so I do not believe that it was accurate... I had a hard time sleeping that night and decided to make an appt with my dr for that following Monday. Monday comes and I am happy to be seeing my dr.... Boy was I wrong, he told me that without a doubt my watch was accurate and that I should google what happens to people with SVT for too long and suggested I start a beta blocker... He basically told me that I would not make it if my heart went high again if I did not start the pill... I was alone and terrified and left the office in tears. I went home and immediately made an appt with my cardiologist which thankfully was for that Wednesday. I tried to get through work the next day, but I was unable too, so I left and went to the ER. Got my bloodwork done and an ECG... Everything came back normal... The next day I went to the cardiologist, he first went over my holter monitor and echo results that I had done back in April of 2024, which were remarkable. Then we went into the reason I was there for the day... He told me that what happened was a common thing among women my age. He does not believe I need to be on a beta blocker daily and it is perfectly normal for my heart rate to go above 120 in the morning getting ready esp if I am rushing around, as long as when I sit down and have some water it returns to normal then I have nothing to worry about. He told me if it was to occur again and more frequently than we will get into another test and possible ablation, but for now continue to exercise, drink water, and get proper sleep. Even after hearing that I am still absolutely terrified of it happening again. It is consuming all of my thoughts. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and how you got past the terror of it happening again. It has been 3 weeks since it has happened, and I am just so scared of it happening again.

 

[Phillies Phan]

Melly, I would never, ever go to your GP again! What a jerk! Watches that track heart rate and the like are notorious for being off. For him to tell you what he did borders on malpractice. First, throw that watch away, or at least in a drawer. Things like that are poison especially for people who obsess with their health.

You seem to have a smart cardiologist who doesn’t even feel you need to be on medication. Try not to focus on the what ifs. I would suggest setting an appointment with the cardiologist every 4-6 months just to get a check up and reassurance. And ablation if it were suggested is a minor procedure. Some folks on this board I know have had it done.

 

[Jonathan123]

Bloody hell!! Your doctor told you to Google?? He/she should be struck off and never practise again. The fact is that very few GP's have any idea about health anxiety, and so many don't belive it even exists. Change your doctor. If my GP told me that I would refer them to the General Medical Council. (UK). Googling when in an anxiety state is about the worse possible thing you can do.
Anxiety, especially HA is all about suggestiion. We tend to pick up on negativity all the time and it's difficult to see any other way. The glass is always half empty. As Phillias Phan says, chuck the watch away. Self diagnosis in anxiety can be dangerous.
I am honestly shocked by your post. I have never heard of such nonsense from a GP in all my days associated with anxiety. When counselling my advice was always KEEP AWAY FROM Dr. GOOGLE. There should be a health warning on Google. 'Reading this advice could damage your mental health'.
Chocolate, even a small piece is like coffee, it contains a lot of caffeine. That will often cause a fast heating heart.

 

[MARCC]

I would not be too hard on yourself as most people would be worried if they had an episode like you had. I had a 14-day monitor which did record a couple of episodes of SVT, which the cardiologist was not really concerned about. It can be difficult not to worry but try to occupy your mind with things you enjoy. I was told it helps to stay away from caffeine and alcohol.

 

[Melly11]

Melly, I would never, ever go to your GP again! What a jerk! Watches that track heart rate and the like are notorious for being off. For him to tell you what he did borders on malpractice. First, throw that watch away, or at least in a drawer. Things like that are poison especially for people who obsess with their health.

You seem to have a smart cardiologist who doesn’t even feel you need to be on medication. Try not to focus on the what ifs. I would suggest setting an appointment with the cardiologist every 4-6 months just to get a check up and reassurance. And ablation if it were suggested is a minor procedure. Some folks on this board I know have had it done.

This is the second time he has done this to me and ruined my holiday season, he made me think I was going into kidney failure last year!! This was my last straw and I am looking for a new PCP currently!! I assumed my watch was incorrect because within seconds it went from 210 to 135.... & I have felt a high heart rate and would assume that it was going at least 170-190 before I got the watch on... It was just shocking to me going in to the dr and hearing those words!! My cardiologist was the least bit concerned about what happened as I just had an echo and week holter in April! He listened to my concerns and assured me everything was fine! & he seems to not want to push me on medication even if there was an ongoing problem he seems he would much rather get down to the cause which I love! I will take your advice def on the check ups as I feel like it would ease my mind... I am just hopeful my next dr is not like this one i just had

Bloody hell!! Your doctor told you to Google?? He/she should be struck off and never practise again. The fact is that very few GP's have any idea about health anxiety, and so many don't belive it even exists. Change your doctor. If my GP told me that I would refer them to the General Medical Council. (UK). Googling when in an anxiety state is about the worse possible thing you can do.
Anxiety, especially HA is all about suggestiion. We tend to pick up on negativity all the time and it's difficult to see any other way. The glass is always half empty. As Phillias Phan says, chuck the watch away. Self diagnosis in anxiety can be dangerous.
I am honestly shocked by your post. I have never heard of such nonsense from a GP in all my days associated with anxiety. When counselling my advice was always KEEP AWAY FROM Dr. GOOGLE. There should be a health warning on Google. 'Reading this advice could damage your mental health'.
Chocolate, even a small piece is like coffee, it contains a lot of caffeine. That will often cause a fast heating heart.

The thing is my dr was never like this before!! It has just been in the last year he's been so different, last year he made me think I was going into kidney failure... I feel like he has just taken on too many patients and wanted me out the door... I have only ever had 2 drs my first one was from I was a baby till I was 19 when he retired, and I've had this guy ever since so about 11 years! I am glad my cardiologist was able to somewhat give me relief.

I haven't had any caffeine really in about a year because I have been afraid of it making my heart rate elevated. It's just the constant worry of my heart just starting to pound in my chest out of nowhere that has me so stressed out

I would not be too hard on yourself as most people would be worried if they had an episode like you had. I had a 14-day monitor which did record a couple of episodes of SVT, which the cardiologist was not really concerned about. It can be difficult not to worry but try to occupy your mind with things you enjoy. I was told it helps to stay away from caffeine and alcohol.

Yes, I had a week monitor back in April.... When I had the monitor on though the highest my heart rate went was 146... Which wasn't bad, I am okay with my heart rate being elevated esp in stressful situations and things like that! I know that it is going to happen... It's just it coming out of nowhere unprovoked that makes me terrified!! I started my anxiety in Dec of 23.... & my last drop of alcohol was in Nov of 23 and I last had coffee in Jan of 24... So I am trying to stay away from that stuff def until I have a real good handle on my anxiety and I can slowly add the things back in my life that I like!

 

[shay1988]

Hello, I can't believe your Dr told you that! Those little watches and heart monitors mess up all the time! It could of definitely been a little off. Mine scares me all the time. It'll say my heart beat is like 35 bpm! And I freak out! Or my oxygen is like 80! But I just turn it off and back on and everything is normal! If my battery gets even a little low it doesn't read right at all! It has scared me many times. But I myself have had very high readings then it drops back to normal after I calm down some. My DR told me once that our hearts are very strong and they can beat at over 200pbm for a couple days straight before any amount of damage is done! That made me feel a little better. Right now I'm dealing with my throat being really tight all the time which is sending me into bunches of panic attacks. I Kno they suck! U are not alone!