alaskahope
06-06-17, 02:23
Apologies for not posting this in the Heart Things category under Symptoms, if that's where it's supposed to go; I'm not sure if it's a symptom or not so I'm putting it here instead.
I'm an 18 y/o girl, recently diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety (anxiety a couple years ago, but I didn't believe the diagnosis because the idea of something being physically or mentally wrong with me was so scary). I've been worrying about my heart rate a lot for a few months now. At rest (eg when I first wake up), it's fine — 85 bpm, not excellent but not bad, about right for a young adult who doesn't exercise much and didn't eat super healthily for the majority of her life. However, I will sometimes take my HR manually or with my FitBit and discover that even if I've just walked around a little, it'll hit as high as 110, more frequently around 100. Of course, me realizing it's higher than it ought to be leads to me freaking out and making it higher (or keeping it there!). Sigh.
I had an EKG at school in April, which started this whole shebang. I'd gone in to have my ADHD meds script transferred so I could get them from the school pharmacy and the doctor who had to see me before I was okayed took my HR and said, surprised, "It's pretty fast!" Which was true (it was 113), but I was anxious as a mother (haaaate clinical settings) and also on stimulants ...... thus came the EKG, just to be sure. The doc who did the EKG said my HR was a bit high, but as I was on stimulants, she'd leave the final opinion to the cardiologist. The cardiologist emailed me: "Your results are fine. Have a good day." Suuuuper reassuring, right ....
Anyways .... my HR situation is as above, and there are several factors that could contribute to it: I'm on a stimulant for ADHD, I just started Lexapro which can make things like HR worse while the body adjusts, I'm ill right now which can raise HR, and I'm probably not drinking enough water. Oh, and I have anxiety! LOL. Should I be worrying about tachycardia (as I most certainly am), or trying to schedule another appointment with my home doctor even though the cardiologist okayed my EKG? Or am I most likely suffering a beast of a drawn-out anxiety attack and would do best to try to stop thinking about it?
I'm an 18 y/o girl, recently diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety (anxiety a couple years ago, but I didn't believe the diagnosis because the idea of something being physically or mentally wrong with me was so scary). I've been worrying about my heart rate a lot for a few months now. At rest (eg when I first wake up), it's fine — 85 bpm, not excellent but not bad, about right for a young adult who doesn't exercise much and didn't eat super healthily for the majority of her life. However, I will sometimes take my HR manually or with my FitBit and discover that even if I've just walked around a little, it'll hit as high as 110, more frequently around 100. Of course, me realizing it's higher than it ought to be leads to me freaking out and making it higher (or keeping it there!). Sigh.
I had an EKG at school in April, which started this whole shebang. I'd gone in to have my ADHD meds script transferred so I could get them from the school pharmacy and the doctor who had to see me before I was okayed took my HR and said, surprised, "It's pretty fast!" Which was true (it was 113), but I was anxious as a mother (haaaate clinical settings) and also on stimulants ...... thus came the EKG, just to be sure. The doc who did the EKG said my HR was a bit high, but as I was on stimulants, she'd leave the final opinion to the cardiologist. The cardiologist emailed me: "Your results are fine. Have a good day." Suuuuper reassuring, right ....
Anyways .... my HR situation is as above, and there are several factors that could contribute to it: I'm on a stimulant for ADHD, I just started Lexapro which can make things like HR worse while the body adjusts, I'm ill right now which can raise HR, and I'm probably not drinking enough water. Oh, and I have anxiety! LOL. Should I be worrying about tachycardia (as I most certainly am), or trying to schedule another appointment with my home doctor even though the cardiologist okayed my EKG? Or am I most likely suffering a beast of a drawn-out anxiety attack and would do best to try to stop thinking about it?