My struggle with Plaps.

So this is my story... My names Tim, I'm 25 and work as an insurance broker. My problem strted about 2 years ago. I used to drink all the time, party hard and work hard.

One stupid night I'd tried cocaine....which led to me having the feeling of having a heart attack....a hospital trip later and I was fine, a panic attack they said. I did not understand?!? That's for wussys right?!? So began the worst 2 years of my life.

Immediately I was constantly checking my pulse due to feeling "funny".... Then started the palpitations....the feeling of my blood in my chest suddenly turning to concrete... Crushing my chest, blurry vision and shaking violently...fearing the worst. Trips to two cardiologists followed. All clear they said. Then followed a good month...veryfew palps!!!

Then i broke up with my gf, it all got 100 times worse. Palps whenever I ate, after drinking was the worst, unbelieveable palps, so I stopped drinking booze. This led on to quitting smoking to stop them, then to no more coffee, then to no fizzy drinks, then to no chocolate, then to no artificial sugars. Yet still.....every night, every day, every time i excercise I get these palps....which are sometimes so severe they lead to full on panic attacks....

They are ultra bad and scary after excercise or "intercourse"!!!!! when your thinking your heart should NOT be doing this when its beating fast....It's taken nearly my whole life away. I am seeing a pyschotherapist on Monday in harley street. I've had 24, 48 hour holter tapes, numerous ecgs, scan of heart.....all clear yet still I feel far from right. My pulse goes mental when I drink alcohol, when I'm having palps it's like my heart goes into fast mode. Like a car when u start it when cold, the engine runs faster, thats what i feel like....like everythings running fast...then suddenly as fast as it starts it stops. A steady 100 bps I reckon with horrible palps until I get so tired I sleep. I'm just fed up and the amount of times I have been on here reassuring myself is unreal.

This website is used every day by me and its a lifesaver. I just wanted to share my story....I feel for everyone on here. Coz we r the only people who understand what it's like. How terrible it can b and how even when love ones try to understnad, they cant. I wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy.

Anyway!!! I'm having palps as I write...so I'm going to cough, burp, and drink cold water and try to distract myself!!! If anyone replies i'd love to chat to other similar people that are going through this hell!!!

Stay Panic free people. ;-)
Tim x

Hi Tim, like you i had the wildest palps and iv had a few ecgs, bloods etc etc all came back clear yet i still wasnt convinced. The doc put me on anitriptiline originally for shoulder pain ( apparantly in small doses its good for nerve pain) but i found almost immediatly it lessoned my anxiety , around the same time id read about starflower oil and how it helps hormone balance so i was taking them too. The palps got less and less so i dont know if it was the meds or starflower, and i dont want to come of either of them coz i dont want to experience palps again! Yours is obviously connected to the cocaine night, thats all it takes to start anxiety of , a bad experience and then you spend what seems like forever battling the demons it brings. Are you on any meds at all? I think pyschotherapy will be good for you it gets to your fears and once you know what they are you can deal with it. Good luck on monday i hope all goes well love paige x

Hi Tim,

A lot of what you posted applies to me and probably a lot of others here.

Try to take some comfort in the fact we are all suffering the same things and something I have just realised is that if we are all seeing different cardiologists and GPs from all over the country, all over the world in fact then they can't all be wrong.
All of our symptoms are so similar we all have the same tests and go through the same worries and fears and yet we don't believe that our anxiety can cause it. But it must. All these people can't be wrong.
We feed the symptoms with our anxiety. My GP explained to me as I am sure yours has about the fact that when we are so anxious and stressed we relaease so much adrenaline and other things into our bodies that they feed the ectopic beats and tachycardia etc.
We have to learn to calm down and starve the symptoms of the fuel.
I need to take my own advice here and try it i think lol.

Hope you feel better mate.

Thanks for the replies....

Saw the pyscho dude today and it went great. Hes prescrivbed me some Citalopram, which allegedly will sort me out, but it makes symptoms worse before they get better (YIKES) so i also have some Diazepam to counter it. Alos being booked into some CBT courses. The Diazepam has made me feel all floaty its great..... ;-)

So fingers crossed this will all help...Doc said that he sees hundreds of cases just like me, what a relief to hear that. If anyones interested in this guy as hes in london, his names Dr. Michael Craig, do a search for the Cappio nightingale group who specialise in panic attacks and anxiety. They are great and were quiick to help me.

will keep updates of what happens!!!

I was so relieved to read this post, as like you, I had one stupid night where I tried cocaine. I also had a panic attack-like feeling, but it wasn't on the night I tried it, it was about 48 hours later. I laid down to sleep and all of a sudden my heart started going like the clappers! I honestly thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. My breathing was really laboured and stuttered. It was terrifying. I didn't go to A&E with it as it settled down after a few minutes. But for a few weeks afterwards I had palpitations and I'd convinced myself that I'd done serious damage to my heart/circulation, and it was all down to one stupid night. Haven't touched cocaine since, and I don't plan on doing so. That experience was enough to put me off for life!

My palpitations have settled down now, but I still have this odd sensation where I can feel my pulse in my lower back. It's happening now as I type! Anybody else ever had anything like this?

Kirstymc...thanks for your post!!! Wow, someone else like me!! I know it's horrible but it's a relief that someone else had experienced what I did. I am a living walking ezample of how coke is just so wrong....some of my friends still do it and I cantnget my head around it...I wouldn't wish what I have on my worst enemy!!! It's like that experience has set off some chain reaction in my body... I feel so pathetic and weak with it sometimes...just coz my palps r so uncomfortable and scary, I meant I can't eat a meal without knowing I will get the palps after....it's just so bloody annoying!!!! I console myself in that I'm trying everything and anything to fix it. Your lucky yours r better...I really hope mine get better soon!!! Thanks again for replying!!! Tim