Awareness of Heart and Pulse Pounding - Anxiety?

[kellyyouse]

When I go to sleep at night, I can feel my heart pounding in my chest and my pulse beating in my neck.  It's driving me crazy because I can't help but focus on it, and then I start worrying that I'm going to hear something abnormal.  I've reached a point where it takes me nearly 2 hours to fall asleep.

Considering other things I've been experiencing, I wonder if it's anxiety.

The past 6 weeks have been difficult for me. . .it all started with chest pain that had me more scared than I've been in my life.  I thought I was dying.  An ER visit and lots of tests found nothing cardiac.  Following that, I had head pain that made me think something was wrong with my brain.  Again, I thought I was dying, and again an ER visit and a CAT scan found nothing wrong.

During all of this, I had episodes of crying, anger, depression, and an overwhelming fear of death.  At some points I felt weak and thought I would pass out and became afraid of going outside in case something happened while I was out and couldn't get help.

Can anyone offer support or advice here?  Is all of this anxiety?

I am seeing my primary care doc this Friday and my therapist later in the month, so I'm going to ask about it then, but I just wanted to see if anyone has had similar experiences, so I can try to reassure myself that I'm not alone.

[magen7984]

it sounds like everything when i first started getting panic attcks i thought i was going crazy and i did not know what was wron but just try and relax it probley is just anxiety try and kick it before it gets worse i let mine go ans go because i was really young you will be fine just think positive

[396SS]

Been there, done that.  Sorry you feel bad, and I'm not a doctor, but I am an anxiety sufferer and everything you are experiencing sure sounds like it to me.  I can hear my heart pounding, and I've had several cardiology tests - nothing's wrong with my heart.  I get weak, don't want to leave the house - the whole thing.  Number one piece of advice:  try, try and try not to feel like you are dying!  Panic attacks/anxiety cause chemicals to be released (adrenaline, etc.) that make you have the "fight or flight" feeling and you feel like you have a gun to your head.  It is a survival instinct in all of us.  In people with panic attacks - we have suffered some stress, etc. and seem to kick off that instinct a little quicker or hold our emotions in until - BOOM! We explode, with all that adrenaline and of course it affects your body.  Your whole body is made up of chemicals - so a big burst of adrenaline is certainly going to send you into a tizzy.  I hate meds - but Zoloft and Valium helped.  Ativan helps me sleep or Ambien.  Get checked out by your doc and see what he/she thinks.  I got myself an excellent psychiatrist who also counsels me.  (Some just deal out meds, but cognitive therapy is also necessary - whether it be by a psychiatrist or therapist).  Hope that helps and remember - you are NOT dying.  Just take deep breaths down in your belly, like a newborn breathes (this sounds strange but it helps).  Newborns bellies go up when they breathe IN (if you're stressed you'll notice you breathe up in your shoulders)and their bellies go down when they breathe out.  Count to four for inhale, then to four for exhale.  When I felt really bad - I would do this for about half an hour.  Hope you feel better.  Take care.

[kellyyouse]

I just want to thank you both for your responses. . .it helps me to know that I'm not alone and that others have had similar experiences.

I do go to a psychiatrist who does talk therapy as well as the medication stuff, and he's been a great doctor.  I'll tell him about all of this at my next visit and see what he thinks is the best course of action.

Again, thank you!

[Am I having panic attacks????????????]

I went through the same thing and actually still do sometimes.  It seems to be mostly at night.  Maybe because we are not busy doing things to take our minds off of it and were resting so we notice it more.  I too went to the ER thinking I was going to die.  I thought I was having a heart attack and for about a month after was afraid to go to sleep thinking I might not wake up.  I have had all of the testing EKG, CT Scan, Chest X-ray, Nuclear Stress test, Echocardiogram and all came back normal with the exception of a small leak in the Mitral Valve which my cardiologist said was nothing to be concerned about.  I just need to have a follow up Echo done annually to make sure it does not get worse.  This leakage is what caused the palpitations for me which seemed to come out of nowhere all of a sudden one night with no warning.  The palpitations scared me and then I had a panic attack on top pf that.  I have been much better and like I said earlier only sometimes at night do I feel my heart beating and feel my pulse in my neck.  I was prescribed Klonopin 0.5 3X's a day but only take it when I feel the palpitations which is always a night and it stops it right away. It has been wonderful. So maybe you should talk to your doctor about prescribing Klonopin for when this happens. It has worked great from me and sometimes just knowing it is there just in case makes me feel much better. Also if you keep telling yourself your fine, your just panicking, calm down it seems to help too.  Hope this helps and best of luck with you.