Still worried about my heart

[sadie]

Hi all,

Hope you are all well. I havent posted here for awhile, in fact this is my first posting since they new improved forum.

I have just been feeling really up and down lately. I feel positive one minute and then down and negative the next. I am feeling quite low at the moment because I feel like I am just not getting anywhere with my fears and I feel I go on and on about the same thing all the time, everyone must feel I am not wanting to help myself or something. I still worry constantly about my heart and everyhting it does and I feel its dominating and ruining my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I have countless ECG test and I have my blood pressure checked just about everytime I go to the doctors but because I still get the constant awareness of my heart beating, missed/irregular heart beats, dizziness and palpitations I just think there is something wrong with my heart. I just dont know how I will ever get over this and I feel at my wits end. Would the ECG have shown if I had something wrong with my heart rhythm or had heart disease??? I am waiting on a 24 hr test but I think I will be on quite a long waiting list for this.

I have read that anxiety does not cause heart attacks but can all the constant worry and stress cause heart disease??? I used to just suffer palpitations but now its all the other weird symptoms around the heart area etc that worry me.

I just feel so unwell all the time and I know this is just not right. I constantly feel dizzy, aches and pains, tired, low energy etc.. I have been trying to watch my diet a lot more recently as I have been feeling quite strange particularly at night and find that I have to get up and eat something to feel better.....


I turn 30yrs in a few days and I feel so low becasue I just cant seem to get over these fears about my heart and health. It just seems that my life is ruined.

Sorry for going on but I just needed to get things off my chest.

Take care

sadie

[Rennie1989]

Sadie

i think ur paranoid. i sumtimes feel the same wid u wen i go 2 skool, i keep thinkin im missin sumot from my bag wen infact iv already cheked and its there

try not to worry about it hun!!!



Scooter Girl

if i wa hungry would u feed me, if i fell u you help me up, if i was crying would brush away my tears

[kate]

Hi Sadie,

Sorry to hear that you are not feeling too good at the moment.

I also very rarely post because my worries are exactly the same as the ones I had when I joined the forum, with a few more thrown in for good measure.

I always think that people will be under the impression that I don't want to get better, but of course, like you, nothing could be further from the truth.

Although I do not have health worries like you, my anxiety manifests itself in different ways, and I can't get the positivety going to believe in myself.

I'm sure you know, deep down, that all the tests you have had would have shown up any abnormality of your heart, just as I know that most of the bad things I worry about won't happen.

BUT, to rid yourself of the anxiety about the "what if's" is not an easy thing to do.

You feel that you have been given the tools to tackle the issues and that because you can't overcome it, then you are a failure. Well, that's how i perceive it all, correct me if you don't feel the same!

The fears are real to you, as mine are real to me, and I am afraid I can't give you any guidance on how to overcome your fears as I'm unable to overcome my own.

I'm sure that someone else will be more helpful!!

Take care

Kate x

[nomorepanic]

Hi Sadie

Aren't we a strange lot eh?

My panic/anxiety is manageable at the moment but I still have symptoms that I can't explain away and think the worst.

I have a problem with swallowing at the moment but after many months of suffering I am going to have to see the doc cos until I do, I will always worry. It used to make me panic but now I just put up with it but the niggling feeling is still there and I have to be told I am ok.

My doc also gives me full blood tests once a year and does everything - kidneys, liver, thyroid etc etc so that helps to reassure me.

Sorry to hear that you are feeling so worried but there comes a time that you have to just accept that it is ok and it is not serious. If you don't you go mad and the symptom will get ever worse and more pronounced.

Try to relax a little more or do some exercise to get the heart working and that may help you to realise that it is ok.

Hope you can work through this one

xx

Nicola

[sadie]

Thanks Nicola,Kate and Scooter girl,

Its really reassuring to know that you can come here and get help and support when we need it.

Nicola - you are soooo right about having to accept the symptoms as anxiety or other wise you will go MAD!!! I think I am slowly but surely going mad!! There must be something stopping me from believing that my symptoms are something more than what they are...I guess I just have to learn to accept them.

Kate - I do feel the same as you - that I am a failure because I still feel the same way I did when my anxiety began. I dont think I am as bad but the feelings are defintely still here.

Scooter girl - I am not sure I am paranoid but more obsessed about my health.....

Thanks for the help and support, I am sure this 'blip' will pass just like all the others.

Take care

sadie

[lainey]

Hi Sadie

I was feeling like you a few weeks ago -very up and down, and feeling very low with palpitations, dizziness and awareness of my heart pounding and I think when you are low the symptoms are worse. i decided to go to the GP AGAIN and talk things through with her and I must admit I feel a lot better as I have decided I must accept the symptoms for what they are and not get wound up about them. I think what we have to do is learn to live with these feelings and the more relaxed we become about them they will start to get better. I know you probably don't feel that positive at the moment but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Your life is not ruined and you will get better.

Happy 30th in advance !!

Take care chuck

Elainexxx:D:D:D

[hazel]

I can completely relate to your fears about heart disease. I had exactly the same fears as you last year. I think you are right to keep seeing your GP and having tests as this is the only way you will finally be reassured that there is nothing wrong. It takes a lot of work, but the more you ignore the symptoms, the more they will disappear. I used to get chest pains and palpitations all the time, sometimes it felt like my heart had stopped!. Now I have stopped worrying about them, they have gone. I hope you feel better soon and it is definately just a little blip!

Hazel

[jo-jo]

Hi Sadie

Hope you're feeling a little better today, its so awful when you want to get better but your body doesn't seem to behave as it is.

I know how you feel about your heart, I'm always aware of mine and what its doing and I check my pulse loads. That usually makes me feel worse because I walk briskly for half to a full hour a day and so expect my resting heart rate should be low, but it isn't. It's often between 70 - 80 bpm even when I'm not doing anything although I've been told it could be related to the fact I have asthma and take loads of meds for it which can raise heart rate.

I've had ECGs too and I'm sure they would indeed show up anything that was untoward so please try to rest assured there's nothing wrong on that count. But like you I do worry about the long term effects of a fast heart and whether it can cause me any damage ....

The best thing I can recommend is exercise. Sometimes you are more conscious of your heart than ever when you start but stick with it and after a few minutes you start to feel better. Exercise really does help reduce anxiety and of course the other benefit is that you're doing your heart lots of good in the process, so really there is nothing to lose.

Take care hon, let us know how you're getting along.

Lots of love Jo xxx

[Meg]

Hi Sadie,

You are not going mad and you are not a failure at all.

Would the ECG have shown if I had something wrong with my heart rhythm or had heart disease??? It would show all rhythm issues which is what you complain of , it would not show up some cardiac disease BUT those present with symptoms you have not mentioned -ever !

I have read that anxiety does not cause heart attacks but can all the constant worry and stress cause heart disease???
Having a raised cortisol level over many years can lead to health issues .

I have been feeling quite strange particularly at night and find that I have to get up and eat something to feel better.....
Not heart issues but do ensure you're eating regularly.



I'm not sure that there is anything else I can say that will make you feel better and fully reassured but do email me if you want to.

Hope your halter monitor date comes up soon.


Meg

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind.
If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
Robert Albert Bloch

[sadie]

Thanks Meg, Elaine,Hazel and Jo,

I do feel a bit better after sharing my fears with you all and its reaasuring to know others feel the same.

I do remember a time when I stopped worrying about my heart and the feelings did go away so I know it can be done....its just finding the will power and strength to do it again.

I have suffered anxiety for a few years now and I do think I have had most of the symptoms over this time. The thing is I think things are different now..... not so much with the heart symptoms although I do feel the missed heart beats more! But I feel really dizzy a lot and I do feel like I will faint sometimes and over the last few weeks. I have been feeling like my anxiety has something to do with my diet.....I need to eat something to feel better a lot of the time. Could this be to do with blood sugar problems? Or maybe its just my migraines without the headache??

Anyway, thanks for listening.

Meg - I will give you an email if thats ok.

Thanks



sadie

[Rennie1989]

sadie

dont worry, im obsessed botu my health 2



Scooter Girl

if i wa hungry would u feed me, if i fell u you help me up, if i was crying would brush away my tears

[Meg]

Sadie,

email through here initially as the one you used to use is defunked ..

If its diet its easily solved . Eat a complex carb or protein something each 3 hours during the day for a few days and
see if it helps.
I was really sensitive for about a year but can get away with most things now.


Meg

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind.
If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
Robert Albert Bloch

[april tones]

hi sadie, i understand, my dad has this problem too, i think its is just anxiety symptoms. I get twitches sometimes near my heart and that makes me feel worried, i think thats nerves, you be ok, love april x

apriltones

[Magster]

Hiya Sadie!

I have the exact worries as you do. I have had several ECGs and I still feel that there is an underlying problem. It's as if they aren't detecting what I'm feeling. It drives me crazy. Everytime I get a wierd pain or sensation on my left side I freak out. My first reaction is the want to rush myself to the emergency room. It can be the slightest twitch or ache and I am positive that it's my heart. I've learned to do one thing that helps me get through it. Whenever I get chest pains and I can't really explain them I start to walk or do something active. If it were my heart the pains would become more intense....which they NEVER do. As a matter of fact, they usually diminish or go away completely. I can say for 100% I know what you're going through and it's a terrible feeling. Keep smiling and keep enjoying life!! I know the fear can be so paralyzing but we gotta pick ourselves up and just keep going!!

Wishing you and everyone else the best of health!:)

[angie3077]

Hi Sadie,

When I read your postings its just like its really coming from me!
I understand completely where you are coming from. I have not posted here for a long time either as I feel when I do I don't really have anything positive to say so I think people will think I do not want to help myself.....does that sound weird?
Anyway I always find something to worry about and more than anything else it is my heart! I always get these palpitations/missed beats and they scare the hell out of me, and then thats it for the day, I will be constantly waiting for them to happen, hence bringing them on even more! its a vicious cycle isn't it.
I would like to ask you one question though, Do you keep yourself busy? as I think this is vital for people like you and me and many others that experience this anxiety/panic. I notice that when I am doing nothing or very little I experience a lot more symptons, aches and pains than what I do when I am keeping myself active.
I also wanted to know if you get your palpitations/missed beats when you are excercising, do they come more frequent as they do for me and this really worries me as I start thinking 'oh my god my heart can't cope, its not strong enough' as they come very frequent when I am running or dancing etc!
Please don't say that your life is ruined, if you lose faith in yourself what else have you got, no one is going to be able to climb this hurdle for you its really something we have to do ourselves.
I noticed that you siad 'I have read.......' You should really stop reading all these health books too as these just fuel more negative thinking and more things that could be wrong with you, well in my opinion they do, but certainly if they help you then thats great!
I really hope you are feeling a little better, please let me know.
Also you should realise that by coming to this forum and letting it all pour out you are helping yourself and many others, like me because I can look at your message and think.......wow I am not the only one that thinks/feels like this perhaps its not so bad afterall !
Angie
xx

[jo-jo]

Hi there Sadie and Angie

I'm totally with you on the worrying about your heart thing. Since I started taking my meds I haven't had a full on panic attack but I still get anxiety and am often preoccupied about the state of my health. Just lately, my heart has been worrying me too and for the first time last night I noticed that it was missing a beat here and there. I know how hard it is to ignore it but I agree that we seem to notice these things more the less we have to do or the quieter it is [^]. We'll get there though, sometime will be harder than other but so long as we accept that its an anxiety thing and try to focus on that, there is a ray of hope and this thing doesn't have to ruin our lives.

Lots of love, Jo xxx

[sadie]

Thanks all for your support,

My worries about my heart have got less frequent again, which tends to happen for me when I manage to stop worrying about it for a bit but then another symptom appears and off the cycle goes again!

Angie - you are so right about reading health books, after awhile they fuel more negativity than comfort as they keep you in the 'panic' place. Also I know what you mean about not keeping busy, you do tend to focus more on how you are feeling etc....which brings more symptoms.

Jo- I feel like you too so you are not alone. The best thing to do when you experience one of these symptoms is just acknowledge it and smile. Accept the symptoms and dont fear them, they will not harm you.

I hope I am making sense as I have a migraine at the moment and keep writing the wrong words etc...

Take care






sadie

[Meg]

Sounds better Sadie .

Well done

Meg

[Jules31]

Hi Sadie

Glad you are starting to feel a bit more positive

I still get lots and lots of dizziness and other odd feelings.

In fact even as I sit here I feel like I'm moving. I still have lots of odd head stuff too.

Anyway take care and feel free to pm me if you want

Jules

[angie3077]

Hi Sadie,
Just wanted to say I am glad you are feeling a little better when you last posted and I really hope you still are :D

Angie
x