Junot
02-08-14, 17:27
Since I have anxiety/panic (going by what doctors say, though I don't trust them that much anymore), I fear doing physical exercise because many of the symptoms I have are in my chest - palpitations, tight chest and other strange things. Moreover, one of the first full-blown panic attacks I've experienced was while I was jogging (about 7 years ago). When I left home I was already feeling anxious (bloated stomach, kind of dizzy, etc.), but I tried to ignore it and I thought "this is just anxiety and that does not kill". Well, that didn't work. I started feeling my heart racing and pounding in a chaotic manner, I felt extremely lightheaded and I thought I was going to die. I called an ambulance and the rest is easy to guess. In the hospital they told me I suffer from anxiety/panic.
So, all this to say that I fear physical exercise, even though I do it. But it gets me anxious anyway because I can't get that episode (and others that were similar) out of my head. Even today, I felt a flutter in my chest while I was bicycling at home, along with lightheadedness. I tried to keep on but I had to stop it. I felt that if I had continued I would have passed out or died due to ventricular fibrillation. Last week I got my holter results, it accused five ectopic beats, one of which was ventricular. My cardiologist told me these ectopics were benign and didn't need treatment but, to reassure me, he told me to do a treadmill stress test. I'll do it this tuesday and I'm getting really scared. I'm afraid that it accuses ectopic beats or any other kind of arrhythmias or that I experience a ventricular tachycardia leading to a fatal ventricular fibrillation. They even have a defibrillator in the room, just in case. That gets me even more anxious. Simply put: I HATE arrhythmias! They're my worst nightmare. I remember that the first two holters I did (about 5 and 6 years ago) were both perfect: no arrhythmias! But since then it seems that my anxiety/panic is affecting my heart... The third holter accused 2 supraventricular ectopics, the fourth accused 2 supraventricular and 1 ventricular and the last one (last month) accused 5 supraventricular and 1 ventricular. I HATE THIS!!!
Now I'm going to do another treadmill stress test (it's not the first one, the others were OK) and I'm afraid of doing it (as explained above) and I'm afraid that it might accuse as well one of these damn ectopics, but induced by exertion! This would mean that my heart is deteriorating due to anxiety/stress and I'm only 29 years old. I just can't stand this heart symptoms anymore... I've had enough of this!
Have you ever experienced this or are you experiencing a similar situation? How do you cope with these damn ectopics while exercising? I'm tired of doctors, they only know to prescribe medicines and expect that they work, they don't reassure us, they seem cold and distant prescribing machines... At least that's the feeling I get whenever I see them.
So, all this to say that I fear physical exercise, even though I do it. But it gets me anxious anyway because I can't get that episode (and others that were similar) out of my head. Even today, I felt a flutter in my chest while I was bicycling at home, along with lightheadedness. I tried to keep on but I had to stop it. I felt that if I had continued I would have passed out or died due to ventricular fibrillation. Last week I got my holter results, it accused five ectopic beats, one of which was ventricular. My cardiologist told me these ectopics were benign and didn't need treatment but, to reassure me, he told me to do a treadmill stress test. I'll do it this tuesday and I'm getting really scared. I'm afraid that it accuses ectopic beats or any other kind of arrhythmias or that I experience a ventricular tachycardia leading to a fatal ventricular fibrillation. They even have a defibrillator in the room, just in case. That gets me even more anxious. Simply put: I HATE arrhythmias! They're my worst nightmare. I remember that the first two holters I did (about 5 and 6 years ago) were both perfect: no arrhythmias! But since then it seems that my anxiety/panic is affecting my heart... The third holter accused 2 supraventricular ectopics, the fourth accused 2 supraventricular and 1 ventricular and the last one (last month) accused 5 supraventricular and 1 ventricular. I HATE THIS!!!
Now I'm going to do another treadmill stress test (it's not the first one, the others were OK) and I'm afraid of doing it (as explained above) and I'm afraid that it might accuse as well one of these damn ectopics, but induced by exertion! This would mean that my heart is deteriorating due to anxiety/stress and I'm only 29 years old. I just can't stand this heart symptoms anymore... I've had enough of this!
Have you ever experienced this or are you experiencing a similar situation? How do you cope with these damn ectopics while exercising? I'm tired of doctors, they only know to prescribe medicines and expect that they work, they don't reassure us, they seem cold and distant prescribing machines... At least that's the feeling I get whenever I see them.