Should i go to the Hospital pls help

[ectopicsufferer]

Hi Guys

Been getting constant palps and pains in my chest for the last 3 hours, pains arent bad but my heart rate also feels like it is accelerated - was up town today shopping with kids was panicky up there cos im overweight and recently seem to get out of breath easy so walking round trying to breathe and also stay calm was madness.
Since i got home im getting thumping and light palps and pressure in my chest also my heart rate seems to go fast one minute and slow down to near normal the next.
Is this anxiety or should i pop over to A&E.
Please help - scared witless here.

[lizzie29]

It's hard to say, as this could be down to anxiety. Have you tried relaxing since you got home - sit down, cup of tea, watch tv, read a book, etc etc. Tried any deep breathing? Relaxation tapes, music, etc? If so, has this made any difference?

Have you ever had anything like this before? Has it got any better or worse over the past 3 hours?

Sorry, this doesn't really sound very helpful, but not being medically trained I have no idea! Have you got anyone with you? x

[ectopicsufferer]

my kids are at home with me, i have been trying to relax but due to what im experiencing its pointless, i know that the breathlessness thing is making me anxious and panicky and no i have never had this many palps in a short space of time, i am also coming off my period my palps have been worse over the last week which ties in with that - part of me is saying calm down stop being silly the other part is like dont like this cant handle it, i normally cope - am not coping well at all with this episode to the point im sat here ready to up and drive over to the hospital - i just dont want to make an idiot of myself :weep:

[paula lynne]

Ring NHS Direct on 0845 46 47 if you need to x but hope you feel better soon, try to stay calm, have you got a paper bag?..x

[ectopicsufferer]

it hasnt got better or worse over the last 3 hours it just seems to come in spits and spats.

[lizzie29]

You could call NHS direct maybe? Have you ever been to hospital before with anything like this? If not, I don't think they'd see you as an idiot.

[mrsworry]

try and get someone with you if no one there ask their advise too probably is the panicking but if it makes you feel better to be reassured go are you breathless?? try stay calm panic does so much to our bodies and sends us wrong signals . hope you get reassurance soon x

[ectopicsufferer]

went once when i started getting palps about a year and a half ago - think i will try calling NHS direct see what they say, thanks so much tho for answering - sometimes just coming on here and sharing what i am feeling and someone coming back to me helps, since i been typing on here ive not had one noticable palp - just sooooooo clueless with it - hate living life like this

[miss_moose]

If you can, go to A&E. Not because i think it's serious (i get chest pains too, and slow/fast heart rate), but you will be able to relax once you have had your mind put at ease by medically trained proffessionals.
I'm agoraphobic, and i actually get envious of people on here who have been to hospital to get their chest pains checked out and have had ECG's because thats something i would so love to do just to put my mind at rest.

So if you can, i would go and get it checked:hugs:

[Kerry B]

If it will but your mind and rest and give you reasurance then go to A & E, but i think its all down to panic and anxiety do you have any diazapam you could take to calm you down?

[nomorepanic]

Do you have an out-of-hours emergency doc to call rather than go to A&E?

[ectopicsufferer]

ty im not breathless sitting down normally only when i walk distances cos im so fat probably...and i worry about getting breathless which then brings it on, its mad.
It probably is panic, since i got on here and said whats wrong i havent had one ... think ill stay on the forum for a little while and see if it comes back, i guess i am moving up a stage in my anxiety and am starting to get attacks of them maybe.

[lizzie29]

If it's helping you, then stay on here and maybe see how you're feeling in an hour or so, then decide. Distraction helps me a heck of a lot when I'm anxious, so have a nosey on the forum, play games, go to chat, etc - anything for a bit of distraction.
Maybe then you can see how you feel. I'd imagine it could be anxiety, so if the distraction works then it probably is.

Thinking of you x

[ectopicsufferer]

Do you have an out-of-hours emergency doc to call rather than go to A&E?

yeah i do but they will only see u if its an emergency i have called them before and thats why i ended up going over the hospital because they said there wasnt much they could do for me.

[Anxious_gal]

ok I've been sent to the hospital twice by my doctor because i get a fast heart rate and irregular beats which can last for days, both times i was given the all clear.
the first time they wrote down the cause as a panic attack because i was in a right state,
the second time, they just wrote tachycardia because i was so calm so obviously wasn't caused by me being anxious.

to me it sounds like palpations and anxiety.
fast, slow, irregular heart rate, missed beats, the breathless sensation is caused by your heart beating fast.
how bad is the pain?

you could go to hospital, wait hours to be seen, they will do an ECG .

or if you have a 24 hour doctor, he would be able to listen to your heart, might be able to do an ECG, and advise you if you need to go to hospital. it would save you waiting around for hours. also you get seen at the hospital much faster if your refereed by a doctor due to heart issues.

[ectopicsufferer]

thanks lizzie, im gonna stay right here and see if i can get thru the next hour without panicking and feeling my heart go crazy ... if it doesnt do it over the next hour then it has to be cos of the anxiety i guess.

[mrsworry]

your not on your own and dont beat yourself up i get like this all the time.... having bad day today ive got chest pains too and had a headache for a week been doctors but no better sure they have put a mark next to my name oh no not her again!! so your no were near making yourself look like an idiot and i should know coz i do:ohmy:

[lizzie29]

Amanda - you can pm me if you want. I'm sure I can talk rubbish for the next hour to distract you if you need it!

[ectopicsufferer]

thanks mishel, the pain isnt that bad its more the fast heart rate and palps, i think the pain is muscle as i have been coughing a bit over the last few days and i know my chest muscles are very tense and tight at the moment cos if i touch my chest at all it hurts.

will hang around a little and see if they stay away.

thanks guys all of you i would be so lost without this site xxxx

[ectopicsufferer]

i now the feeling mrs worry - my doctor rang me at home the other night as i want to have a 24 hour monitor done due to the increase in palps i have been getting lately, she says she wishes she could wave a magic wand and make it all go away but i always feel like im being a hypochrondiac or considered to be one when it comes to the doctor it kind of puts you off sometimes but then where else can we go when we think there is something wrong and at the end of the day none of us asked to be like this.
3 years ago i wouldnt have dreamed i would be where i am now with anxiety and palps.

[lizzie29]

How you feeling? x

[Anxious_gal]

heart palps can some times feel pretty bad, I've been getting them for 4 years and still sometimes they manage to scare me.
I have noticed lots of different "types" theres the quite fast heart rate, that you can't feel but leaves you breathless,
there's the ones you can feel in your throat,
theres the hard thumping beats, like someone is banging on your chest,
theres the one where it feels like you heart just stopped and your chest feels empty,
then theres the one where your heart is racing hard as if you ran up a flight of stairs.
theres probably more sensations that I missed.

I'm waiting too for the 24 monitor after 4 years of palps. I bet when I get it my heart will suddenly decide to behave it's self :roflmao:

what is it about the palpitations that scare you??
for me it's the breathlessness, try relaxing your tummy muscles and breathing through your tummy rather than your chest :hugs:

[ectopicsufferer]

ok, my mum on the fone rambling on making sure im ok as well bless her, think it was panic after all so scary tho, thanks for checking lizzie im not logging out lol the site seems to keep me on the level.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[lizzie29]

Great hun! Panic is such a horrible thing, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. So scary, so out of the blue... but if you're managing now then you're beating it. Well done! x

[ectopicsufferer]

heart palps can some times feel pretty bad, I've been getting them for 4 years and still sometimes they manage to scare me.
I have noticed lots of different "types" theres the quite fast heart rate, that you can't feel but leaves you breathless,
there's the ones you can feel in your throat,
theres the hard thumping beats, like someone is banging on your chest,
theres the one where it feels like you heart just stopped and your chest feels empty,
then theres the one where your heart is racing hard as if you ran up a flight of stairs.
theres probably more sensations that I missed.

I'm waiting too for the 24 monitor after 4 years of palps. I bet when I get it my heart will suddenly decide to behave it's self :roflmao:

what is it about the palpitations that scare you??
for me it's the breathlessness, try relaxing your tummy muscles and breathing through your tummy rather than your chest :hugs:

i dont know how to breath from my tummy instead of my chest i also have asthma so dont know if that would make a difference.
its having a heart attack that scares me, i can handle the odd palp not a problem, but the last week they have just been getting worse and worse ( i do have issues at home going on as well which deffo wont be helping ) and my chest is tight and sore from coughing and also from how tense i am all the time so it feels constantly heavy i guess i am just in a bit of a mess and having an episode like i am getting now just aint making it any better its just making it worse.
i too believe when i get on that monitor i bet i dont get 1 palp!

[nomorepanic]

i dont know how to breath from my tummy instead of my chest i also have asthma so dont know if that would make a difference.


Have a read on this page - the bit about abdominal breathing. It may help

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/coping/

[mrsworry]

i know i wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy either really wish i wasnt like this always looking on the black side. i did have an issue with my heart i kept getting svt's when my heart would beat at 240 beats a min and make me feel awful took ten years to prove it after many attacks .when havin a longer than normal episode of 2 hours an ambulance came and did an ecg and caught it in the act.. it was just a wiring issue in my heart they said and i have since had an op and had it sorted but still i fear a heart attack like you mainly because my dad had one out of the blue at 60 that killed him.... dont think i will ever have rest from this anxiety that grips me

[ectopicsufferer]

Have a read on this page - the bit about abdominal breathing. It may help

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/coping/


thanks nicola gonna read it now xxx

[lizzie29]

It's been about an hour and a half since you first posted... how's it going now?

[ectopicsufferer]

been playing slingo and reading that link ... bit more back to normal getting one palp every few minutes chest still tingly and tight tho but i think thats the anxiety hanging around, just trying to ignore it

thanks hun xxxxxxxxxxxx

[xBettyBoopx]

Hi Amanda

How are you feeling now? So sorry you're feeling bad, hope you soon calm down.

When you get these palps etc, have you just eaten? 'Cause I know from experience that I can get heart beating fast and trouble with my breathing along with palps just because I have eaten a meal! Apparently it's quite normal as your system tries to digest the food, if you've eaten a big meal or fatty foods, it can be even worse. I also get all the symptoms for no apparent reason, so you're not alone. I had some chest pain earlier and freaked but it's gone now.

Hope you are feeling better.

Els

[ectopicsufferer]

ty els xxx im ok, hanging in there palps have more or less gone now just waiting for the general sore pain in my chest to ease up now

[lizzie29]

Glad you're feeling better. x

[xBettyBoopx]

Glad you're all but better, I'm sure the soreness around the chest area will go as soon as you are rested.

Take care
Els