hating this 48hr ecg monitor - has anyone had one?

[white1989]

hey guys,


I've just had a 48-hour ecg monitor fitted this morning which I've got to wear until Thursday morning. I'm really struggling with it and I just can't get used to having it on, the main reason being that it is really making me focus on my heart and start to get really panicky about my heart. I'm trying to distract myself and just get on with day to day tasks at work, but while I'm sat at my desk I can't stop thinking about the pads stuck to my chest and it picking up waves from my heart and its making me want to rip it off badly! (I'm not going to haha) has anyone else had one of these and found it really horrible to wear? I just want it to be Thursday so I can get rid of it!! I'm also worried i'll have no symptoms while I'm wearing it so it'll be a complete waste of time!

[Fishmanpa]

You've been wanted to be taken seriously about your heart from the beginning. Your cardiologist believes this is benign (he said everyone gets palps and ectopic beats and some notice them more than others) but is giving you this test for confirmation and reassurance. After all these months of worry, this will show that your heart is Ok. You asked for it, you got it

Positive thoughts

[white1989]

hi fishmanpa,

I definintely want the test doing as I'm desparate to find out if my ectopics are a cause of anything serious, but its just the attention having the machine on is drawing to my heart! I've managed to forget about it a bit now to be honest, Its just making me really anxious knowing that its there when I think about it too indepthly. guess I'm going to have to keep myself distracted for the next few days

[missyladybug]

Hi,
Last year I had to wear one for TWO WEEKS! ACK! At first I thought I couldn't tolerate it, because just like you, I was focused on my heart and scared of what would happen next, etc. Then eventually I forgot about it, except when I showered as I had to keep it fairly dry.

After a while the only thing that bugged me was that the leads were up on my chest "high enough" that I couldn't wear a lot of my clothes due to it showing and it was Christmas and I ended up wearing the same outfit over and over again. Silly! But it's surprising what bugs us!

This monitor will really help you as far as catching beats, etc, and my bet is that it will be very reassuring. My doctor told me that some people wear these monitors for up to three months!!!!!!!!!

[2Anxious]

This is a good thing. Let the panic in. Try and get your heart to act up as much as possible. You want to catch as many feelings as you can. Run up and down the stairs as many times as you can if you're scared of high heart rates. If it comes back clear you will know there's nothing to worry about.