Scared to exercise

[nlh]

I'm a new member desperate for reassurance that I can beat the anxiety I am suffering. I will give you my history - sorry it's a bit long but please stick with me.
It all started 3 years ago when I was training for a marathon, two days after a 20 mile training run I nearly passed out after running up a flight of stairs at work. This really shook me up since I had always been fit and participated in sport regulary all my life. I saw the nurse at the GP's surgery for a check-up and was told just to rest for a few days before training again. I continued training and completed the marathon a month later with no problems. However, during the weeks following the marathon I started monitoring my health more closely, especially my heart rate after climbing stairs. I felt my heart pounded strongly I quite often felt light-headed and just didn't feel right. I also read that someone had died of a heart attack in the marathon I had run it and this just made me worse. I booked an appointment with my GP and she thought she could hear a slight heart murmur and booked me in for an ECG. The results showed a slight abnormality and I was referred to a cardiologist.
To cut a long story short I had many ECG's an echogram, two 24 hour monitors and a stress test - the results showed the murmur was very slight and was just a benign flow murmur, the ECG abnormality was slight and could be due to stress, the near fainting episode before the marathon was put down to blood pressure change after running up the stairs and was not dangerous and would probably never happen again - everything else was normal and I was discharged from the cardiologist effectively with a clean bill of health. But during this period the anxiety had taken over due to the health worries and even the reassurance from the specialist did not help, I was still convinced I would pass out or have a heart attack and die. Mild exercise became impossible for fear of what might happen and I ended up being off work for 6 weeks virtually housebound.
I was put on citalopram by my GP accompanied by cognitive behavioural therapy. Things gradually improved, I returned to work and started exercising again but not to the intensity of before. I eventually came off citalopram after 9 months and was fine for about 2 months when I relapsed again, I went back on the citalopram (+ CBT) and was on it for 9 months again until I came off it in July this year. Again I felt well and completed the Great North Run half-marathon in September this year with no problems, but during the race 4 men died and this again started the thoughts that it could happen to me. The anxiety returned and I am again scared to exercise (just 3 monts after running a half-marathon!). I'm back on the citalopram and recieving anxiety therapy again. My life is again being disrupted by this anxiety, I seem to be able to just about live my life but cannot enjoy it.

Has anybody else suffered like this? Can I ever get back to how I was before where I could exercise without any worry of collapsing and having a heart attack?


PLEASE HELP !

[Meg]

Hello

All of our anxietyies coem from real or perceived danger. We dwell and muse over the stats and extreme possibilities and then settle on the 'probability' of the worst case scenario happening to us.

In your case, your mind has stacked up the real odds of death being higher for you than others.

Look at the facts : Yes you have a very slight abnormality in your heart and Yes you do indulge in a sport that does increase the likelyhood of sudden death of healthy males by x 50.

So you need to decide whether you are willing to gamble with those odds.

In everyday life your excellent fitness level is a huge bonus and dramatically decreases your odds of dropping dead or developing many chronic illnesses.

Its a balancing act once you're in possession of the facts. Its true that the 4 men who did die were also healthy, fit men but they were all very driven and determined to reach their goal at all costs and they were found to be totally anatomically exhausted and with severe dehydration.

Maybe it is time that you might want to consider a compromise of keeping fit, active and healthy to reduce daily risk - which it catagorically does - but not pushing yourself to the very extreme.

Health Anxiety

Common Symptoms of Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Phobias and OCD.

First Steps to overcoming Panic and Anxiety



Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[feege]

Hi nlh

I really feel for your and I think you have come to the right place to get the help you need. Your anxiety is relatively recent and you know you are capable of recovering from it.

You don't say how old you are but it struck me that you went back to really serious training very quickly last time. Perhaps you need to accept that anxiety takes time to heal as well and start right from the beginning and build up much more slowly next time?

Anything fun or exciting has its dangers (unless you count watching tv - and even then....lol). But you are obviously fundamentally very very fit and healthy and will enjoy sports again but running marathons is a choice - not everyone can carry on doing that sort of thing for the rest of their lives - I know some do but then when they die at 70 running everyone goes 'see - it's dangerous' but heaven only knows when they would have died if they hadn't been running!!

I'm NOT an expert, but if your cardio thinks it's safe for you to run then go for it, but take time to build back up your confidence.

People drop dead in their armchairs (I probably will - your idea of a warm up would be a marthon to me lol).

I know this must be really frustrating and frightening at the moment but give yourself a break - you had a shock suddenly nearly passing out when you had been training so hard. You need to reinforce what you can do lots to erase that memory without pushing your mental self to the point that you panic. Do what you know you can do easily regularly and build it really really slowly with no deadlines on it.....

Good luck x

fee
xx

[Piglet]

Have a look at the thread Exercise and Panic attacks too!!!

I think Meg is absolutley right about keeping fit and healthy - I think we all come to an age when the type of exercise has to be apropriate for us though!!!

Love Piglet xx

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[nlh]

Thanks for your comments and advice. I am 38 yrs old by the way.

One thing I have noticed is that when I exercise when feeling anxious - even light exercise, I get one or two ectopic beats soon after I start or when I am warming up which only heightens the anxiety. (It feels like a flutter in my throat) I then find it hard to carry on exercising. I mentioned this to the specialist and he suggested it may be an adrenalin surge as I start exercising and is not dangerous.

Has anybody come across this before or had similar symptons?

[Meg]

Yes its very common to get these ectopics both when starting exercise and when coming down after exercising. They are totally related to adrenalin.


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

[nlh]

Why do the ectopics seem more prevelant during periods when I'm generally feeling more anxious ?

Before I suffered from anxiety I never remember having ectopics ?

Is it dangerous to carry on exercising after having an ectopic?

nlh

[Meg]

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/default...c=palpitations

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?