Please can you help me?

[dave316]

Hi guys, I hope you can advise me.

Firstly, I have had arrythmias for a very long time now (2 years or so). These consist of fast and slow heartbeats alternating sometimes after breaths (ie i can breathe in and out once and feel my heart racing and then after the next heartbeart, my heart can go slow again. This also happens when i stand up after being seated or lying down. I also get skipped beats very frequently and a sensation of never been able to get a deep breathe. I everyday wake up with what feels like a blocked nose, but it doesnt feel stuffy like when you have a cold but is more like constricted airways. It is weird to explain but it feels like there is something heavy around my heart area, like theres something there.

I have had panic attacks, anxiety, hypochondria and health anxiety since 2001 and at first the main problem was just the panic attacks but over the years its got more like funny sensations in the heart area, a pulsating above my navel, arrythmias and difficulty breathing. Are these still just symptoms of panic and anxiety or have i got something more sinister do you think? I am terrified of doctors and so i haven't been to check myself over at all.

Secondly, I need your advice guys on this also. I lately have been really bad travelling in cars. Over the last few times i have been in a car, I have felt myself not being able to breathe, closed in and hyperventilating as a result of this, making me feel lightheaded. I am terrified of fainting as it is what happened to a family friend of mine initially which acted as a trigger, giving birth to my panic attacks and anxiety back in Sept 2001. This is bad in general when travelling but worse when at traffic lights or in a situation where easy escape from the car is not possible such as when the car is in the middle lane of a high street. What can i do to remain calm in such situations? I have a spray called 'rescue remedy', does this really actually do anything to dissolve the sensations of panic attacks as they arise?
Are there also things i can do to divert my brain from the thoughts of panic (like when you pinch your skin to send signals to brain, breaking the train of thought of panic symptoms). Are there any other similar things you can do to your body externally to divert these signals and stop the panic symptoms in their tracks? If so, please can you tell me? Thanks. I appreciate that breathing deeply helps loads but unfortunately i have trouble concentrating on this when in times of extreme anxiety and panic so if you can tell me of the other ways to divery panic thoughts, please share them :)

I asked someone once about panic attacks and if they can cause severe damage to you and someone said they can cause you to faint and have breathing arrest (cessation of breathing). Has anyone else heard about this ot whether it can happen?

Can prolonged anxiety and panic also cause you to suffer from the following: heart failure, heart disease, heart attacks, cardiac arrest, enlarged hearts or strokes?

By the symptoms i listed at the top of this message, when i asked someone else about what they could indicate someone said left ventricular failure. I am terrified now. Do you think this is true? can anxiety and panic cause this by the arrythmias and skipped beats/difficulty breathing mentioned earlier? Please advise

I am male by the way, 24 years old (almost 25).

Id appreciate your advice on the above items if you can!

Cheers,

God Bless

Dave

[Meg]

Dave ,
Wow, someone has really been feeding your fear centre beautifully.

Firstly, I strongly suggest that you do visit your doctor and have a check up. All the symptoms you list commonly exist for panic and anxiety but they all can also have origins in other problems too and it is extremely wise to get yourself looked at before anyone jumps to any conclusions.

Read our article on palpitations on the Health Worries section on the left, the pulsating above the navel is a normal function - line up friends and check them all like I did once and it is of no consequence.

It is extremely highly unlikely that you have Left Ventricular Failure at your young age and as for scaremongering about the respiratory arrest - NO !! It does not happen. If you hyperventilate enough or stimulate the vagus nerve you may in extreme cases faint but that is natures way of correcting your hyperventilation and certainly not stopping breathing, That is BS.

The car thing is likely to be panic and anxiety with clautraphobia and this leads to hyperventilation which leads to the lightheaded symptoms you describe . This is normal for anxiety.

You need to learn to control and regulate your breathing to prevent this happening, doing exercise is very helpful to but when stuck in a car and not possible playing an air guitar, playing car games from game boy to 'I spy' can all be very helpful to distract you if you cannot do the breathing thing yet which does take practice.


Long term extreme stress is not good for any part of the body but there is no evidence to suggest that it causes heart disease etc

Read posts and threads on here and learn as much from the articles as you can, it helps to understand what is going on within you when you are scared.

There is a recommended reading list too in the welcome section.

[Piglet]

Meg has covered it all there and I hope that helps to reassure you.

One of the reasons I would go to the doctors is for your own reassurance. We waste so much time on wondering 'what if's' and really making life one big stress for ourselves, when one visit to the doctor could sort it out and allay your fears.

I ruined a whole summer (maybe longer) fretting over a mole on the back of my leg. Determind not to let that happen again the next summer I had the mole removed and it was all totally fine. A big lesson to me to nip things in the bud!!

Piglet :)

[RLR]

Hi Dave,

All of the symptoms you describe, in the presence of negative diagnostic tests, are the consequence of somatic features of anxiety disorder. In order for you to gain any degree of comfort that the symptoms are only features of anxiety rather than actual organic disease, it's critical for you to understand a little about human physiology so that you can better relate to what is actually occuring.

In order to avoid replication of any explanations, I invite you to visit the Heart Palpitations Forum website at http://rlr.qersys.com/cgi-bin/yabb.pl and read my postings entitled HEART PALPITATIONS 101, parts 1 through 6. Once you've done so, please feel free to contact me at either forum of your choice to discuss your concerns. If you're comfortable with discussion, please remember to post questions or concerns on the open forum so that dialogue and my response can be of potential benefit to others visiting the sites.

First and foremost, you're going to be fine so take a breath and relax. Once you have a firm understanding of what's actually occuring, the knowledge itself will bring a good deal of relief and help start you on the right track.

Best regards and Good Health

[DavidJ85]

Dave dont worry I feel almost exactly the same with the same sypmtoms.

Im going to have a neurological test done in April and get fully tested then and will relay my results on here but if you feel your condition isnt getting worse and worse you more than likely are suffering from Anxiety attacks as most of us on here.

Don't worry mate you're not alone!

[Under~The~Stars]

Hey Dave,

I'm sorry your feeling bad just now, so I'm sending you (((((BIG HUGS))))) :hugs:

It sounds to me like your anxiety is really playing up just now, and by worrying about the symptoms could be making them worse. Why not go have a chat with the doctor and see what they advise. As for people telling you i.e. it could be left ventricular failure, the only person who can tell you that is a doctor, and I really think it's more likely anxiety rather than that.

Dave I suffer from health anxiety and panic attacks too, so I know what it feels like to want to have reassurance all the time. It's just trying to tell yourself that anxiety can cause lots of horrible symptoms, and by wanting reassurance about them is actually feeding it. I know it's so tough. We get symptoms and automatically think the worst. It's a long journey, but you'll get there with time and the right support. :okay:

Also, about your question regarding can prolonged panic and anxiety cause other things i.e. heart failure etc. I worry about that myself, however, I really think the worse thing that can happen during a panic attack is we faint, but if you can learn coping techniques then that won't happen. I've had loads of panic attacks and haven't fainted, as have loads of other people. It's just about trying to cope better, and we will be stronger people for it. :)

I would recommend going to your GP having a chat about your symptoms, and about how your feeling. And maybe ask for counselling or CBT. It's just about trying to find something that works for you, so you can live life to the full.

Good luck hun and let us know how your getting on. You'll be fine :hugs: