Palpitations are ruining my life!!!

[Jsp]

Hi everyone. I'll try to keep this one short as I don't want to bang on too much like usual!

I'm so fed up with my palpitations. I'm 19 in a few days, and I've been getting palps for about three years now. Sometimes, they are nearly constant everyday - I mean a few a minute. Sometimes I may go a day or two without them, but this is rare. They are 10x worse at night and I have a lot of trouble sleeping because of it. Sometimes they're just a flutter, sometimes it's a strong thud, sometimes they actually hurt, and they are often when I am moving around/exercising, or I can just be laying in bed. I get chest pains, pains which radiate down my arm and into my chin too (these do tend to worry me to quite an extent) #

I've had three ECG's in all this time, one the other day - all which came back fine. I also had an echocardiogram and several blood tests which all came back fine too. Propranolol seems to make me faint for some reason so that's out of the question. I tried Fluoxetine, but by the fourth day I was very ill with stomach problems (I do have a stomach ulcer as it is so I didn't want to carry on taking them and risk making this worse)

I don't know what to do anymore :( I wish I was like most people my age, going out, drinking, exercising, etc, but I physically can't do it. These palps get in the way of everything as they're there most of the time! I can deal with some, but it's the extent to which I get them. Even when I'm not anxious :( no amount of deep breathing, relaxing, cutting out caffeine, etc etc seems to work.

Anyone have any advice? :/

[Catherine S]

Hi there, sorry you are suffering so much, but just wondered if you are aware that if your stomach is irritated so can your heart be too? A lot of doctors don't make the connection but it does happen. You mention an ulcer, it could be that this may be causing your heart to be irritated. Just a thought.

---------- Post added at 00:58 ---------- Previous post was at 00:53 ----------

Are you on any meds to treat your stomach ulcer?

[Jsp]

Hi there, sorry you are suffering so much, but just wondered if you are aware that if your stomach is irritated so can your heart be too? A lot of doctors don't make the connection but it does happen. You mention an ulcer, it could be that this may be causing your heart to be irritated. Just a thought.

---------- Post added at 00:58 ---------- Previous post was at 00:53 ----------

Are you on any meds to treat your stomach ulcer?

Yeah I've heard of the relationship between stomach problems and heart palpitations! I take 20mg Omeprazole everyday to keep my stomach acid under control - it helps a huge amount! I don't tend to get any bad symptoms with my stomach unless I start to take certain medication, like ibuprofen, or I stop taking my Omeprazole.

[theablac]

HI Jsp, I am on fluoxetine 20mg a day and they gave me a bad stomach and I know this is one of the side effects , I felt terrible for the first few weeks and like you I had tests for stomach ulcers , mine turned out to be a nervous stomach and gastritis , Also I get palpitations and this is an awful feeling but with the help of my doctor I stuck to fluoxetine which I have been on for the last 12 weeks , this is my second time on this meds. and now I can really say I am starting to feel loads better , The people on this site are great and will try to help you through if you need it , Try and take each day as it comes and try not to look too far ahead , Try to talk to your doctor there may be something they can help you with that would help you get through the first few weeks of taking fluoxetine or another medication xx

[dom1991uk]

I know this thread is almost four years old, but what you have described is exactly what I have been experiencing for the past few years. My palpitations almost always follow the same pattern, a huge crashing thud that causes me immense panic, in fact I just had one a few minutes ago! Very occasionally I will get a few minor heart palpitations in a row, like two or three. I can go a few weeks without having any noticeable ones, and then some weeks (like this one) I'll have as many as five a day. They can occur when I am active or at rest, and the unpredictability of when they will occur causes me anxiety in itself. I have also undergone lots of tests, such as ECGs and blood tests, but all of them have come back completely normal. I haven't had a 24 hour ECG or a Echocardiogram, but this is because my doctor didn't feel that this was necessary given that my other tests were fine. I even asked my doctor if they were ectopic beats and he assured me that they were not.

I hate the situation I am in. As I type this, my mind is constantly occupied by the thought of another impending palpitation. I have tried literally every lifestyle change to see if I can rid myself of them, such as cutting out caffeine and relaxation, but to no avail. I have to keep trying to remind myself that there is nothing structurally wrong with my heart and that my palpitations are completely benign as per my doctor's conclusions, but after having a scary palpitation I become convinced that I am a heart attack waiting to happen!

I wish I had some advice to give you, but unfortunately I don't. The only thing I can say is that I suffer with them too. Hopefully we can all find some way of overcoming them soon. :(