STILL SOOO SCARED OF MISSED HEARTBEATS-LOADS AGAIN

[linjane]

Hi,

I'm sure you're all sick of reading about my constant posts about my fear of the missed/ectopic heartbeat thing, but I really can't stop being scared of them and wish I could find a way to learn to accept them.

For example, today at work, totally out of the blue I felt them come on. Right in the middle of my chest I could feel the missing beat. I hadn't done anything to bring them on at all......If I'm not feeling the missing beat, I feel like my heart is fluttering and sometimes when I check my pulse at these times, it is beating IRREGULARLY. These are not like palpitations where you feel your heart pounding and beating faster.

I would just like to hear from others who suffer from these too. Also, is it really not doing me any damage getting them daily?? I have had them for over three years now and had all the usual tests three years ago.

I am sorry to go on about this again, but I'm sure if I could conquer this fear I would be on my way to conquering my anxiety.

Love,
Linda.xxx

[Quirky]

Hi Linda,
I'm sorry I can't be a huge help as I don't get exactly the same symptoms but as you know I do get heart symptoms and get myself scared from time to time.
I'm not bored of hearing you mention this several times, you were kind enough to keep relying to my repetitive posts, and I understand how you feel.
From what I know about missed beats they can't hurt you even if you have several every day. If they were harmful your doctor would have said in the past and as you said you have been checked out in the past. Are you being checked out again now you're pregnant? I think I remember you saying somewhere that you might be?
The only way to stop being scared is to accept them as being annoying but harmless and try and ignore them when they happen. I know that is so easy to say and so hard to do. I really think CBT would help you so much Linda. Is there any chance of you having CBT?
Anyway thinking of you, big hugs,
Love Lisa x

[ANXIETY26]

Hi Linda,

Hope I can be of help to you here. I am someone who has constanty listened to my heartbeat for as long as I can remember. If it skipped a beat I thought I was about to die or something It was'nt until I started CBT and I mentioned it to my Community Psychiatric nurse that I realised that it wasnt a normal thing to do. I thought everybody done it , duh! My challenge was to go the whole of the next day without listening out for it. Boy did I find it weird. It was like quitting smoking, wanting a fag but knowing you should'nt really.

[NANAX10]

Hi Linda!

Hope I'll be of some help here. I am a 58 year old woman who has had palpitations the hard kind that wound me up in the ER a couple of months ago. Dr. said they were all 'benign' and for me not to worry. Well, I've had them everyday for the past month. Don't know if I have them when I'm sleeping because so far they have never interrupted my sleep, but I know how SCARED you are! I have been trying not to obsess about them as my Dr. says they are stress related (even though I have days where there is no stress, least I don't think I am)! How old are you? Could this be peri-menopause? They say some times hormones will do this to you. DO KNOW that I've had them all this time that I've just decided not to let them get the best of me and to go with my life. Funny thing is, when I'm BUSY I don't even feel them. Even walking for 30 minutes doesn't even bother them. I'm hoping that they'll eventually go out of my life! If you want to PM feel free to.

Kathy

KATHY LYNCH

[Piglet]

Hi Linda,

You know that I'm with you on this one.

I do get all the symptoms like you, with all the different varieties but more in patches like for say a few weeks or very occasionally a couple of months and have done consistently over the last 6 years.

I think that is down to the treatment I have had from my Gp. When it happens and we discuss it I do genuinely feel reassured. When I am truly reassured the fear goes, then slowly they disapear because I really have lost my fear of them for that time.

They return again as my anxiety levels rise (even if I'm not thinking I'm anxious) and so I ask again. This time I also have Meg for reassurance.

May I make two suggestions, firstly when you have your appointment on the 27th, make it very clear to the consultant the extent these symptoms are bothering you (like Meg has said before, make the most of this opportunity for some top advice). Secondly if having had the advice that all is fine then consider the CBT to see if you can get your head around it.

Also I once printed off a post Meg sent me and kept reading it for days which really helped.

I had a few missed beats last week out of the blue but applied what Meg had said about seeing them as annoying sneezes and it didn't spoil my day then.

Truly empathise with you here as its hard to feel ok when you are not reassured.

A big fat squeeze and please tell us how it goes on Tues - I know its the obstetric guy rather than a cardiologist but still interested in what he has to say.

Love Piglet xxx

[linjane]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies.

Kathy - I'm 38 and I did wonder, a while ago, if the missed beats could be a very early sign of the menopause, but don't know if you've realised, I'm 3 and a half months pregnant now.....not quite in menopause yet!!! Seriously, I do think hormones could have something to do with them, but I did hope when I found out I was pregnant, that the pregnancy hormones would somehow be different and I wouldn't get them anymore. Never mind.

Lisa and Piglet - Thanks for your support again!!!!! How boring am I, why I can't I find a new symptom to be scared of LOL!!!!! I will discuss everything next week with my obstetric consultant and also tell him about my fears re the caesarean and what might happen if I get missed beats then. I am worried they will become more harmful during the operation, especially if I'm as scared as I'm expecting to be.

Anyway, today not started of too bad, but its early yet. The tiredness seems to have passed and has been replaced with me hardly sleeping. At least I now have more energy and don't feel so washed out, even though I'm hardly having any sleep. Strange what pregnancy does to you.

The other thing that worries me about the missed beats I get, is that they come when I'm occupied as well. I can be busy and notice them, yet others seem to say they don't get them when they've got other things on their mind?

Oh well, I'll shut up now.
Speak to you all later,
Love, Linda.xxx

[Piglet]

<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">
The other thing that worries me about the missed beats I get, is that they come when I'm occupied as well. I can be busy and notice them, yet others seem to say they don't get them when they've got other things on their mind?


<div align="right">Originally posted by linjane - 22 September 2005 : 07:30:04</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

If I'm getting them, then no I can get them busy or not busy same as you.

Have a good day mate.

Love Piglet x

[Quirky]

I get symptoms even when I'm distracted too, you're not alone in that.

Hope today is better for you Linda,

Love Lisa x

[dizzyd]

Hi Linda, Your missed-beat buddy! Yup - I get them out of the blue and every day. I can wake up with them, be watching TV and have a series of them, they can last minutes or go on for 'ever' I can have them on and off all day or miss them for weeks there is no way I can predict them. I can have had a stressfree day and be totally relaxed and 'wallop' off they go...... bump,bump, pause quick bump, bump, long pause and so on. Like your GP has told you, I have been reassured they will not harm me. They do not cause any undue stress to your heart. Please be reassured by me Linda. I know exactly what they are like.
Love Dawn x

[Cinders4]

Hi Lin Jane, I also get what I think are the misse bats, sometimes it just feels like its stopped or a bubble is passing through, others its a real wallop and feels like someone has squeezed my heart just for a second... Its really bizzarre but so many people get these kind of symptons it must be normal!!!!!

Im a heart watcher, pulse taker etc etc but quite good at the moment, but pregnanvy did make me more aware than ever as to what was going on.......

xxxxxxx