how can you tell the diffrence between anxiety and sinus tachycardia

hi my name is izzy and it all started about six months ago, suddenly i started to fell sick all the time dizzy weak didnt want to eat i was realy out of it..one thing i always felt  was my heart rate was always high ,at rest its would be anywhere from 90-110 and once i would stand up it would be from 120-140+ it would scare the sh%^& out of me. i whent to the docs and they ran all the test possible... the only thing the could find was sinus tachycardia and that i had anxiety.the docs ended up putting me on a beta blocker...the other night i was laying in bed and my heart rate whent fron 60-130 i thought i was gonna die it was like that for about 1min 1/2 i dont remember it ever getting like that usually it was always hight but not suddsenly like that... i dont know much about anxiety or sinus tachycardia or a mix of both.. i would love to hear peoples stories that r simlilar to mine.. im realy scared and dont realy have anyone to talk to that will understand what im going through....sorry bout misspelling...

[AnxietyGuy1976]

You need to talk to your doctor and let him/her know that the beta-blocker isn't working, at least in the prescribed dosage/frequency.

Whether or not it's anxiety induced, is far too complex for anyone to diagnose by way of a forum post.

If it's bouncing around, and you don't seem to associate anxiety with it (prior), that doesn't mean a beta-blocker wouldn't be a proper treatment, but it may mean that it's not anxiety in origination.

Typically the dosage of say Propanolol, is very low, if it's assumed to be anxiety based, compared to the dosages given for those with high blood pressure or severe tremor (which can easily be 20 times the average anxiety dosage, if not higher).

In my personal experience (I've been on a beta-blocker for anxiety for well over 6 months daily), if it were simple anxiety, a dosage of 10-20mg of Propanolol would calm an attack within 30-60 minutes of oral consumption. It would then affect a calmed heart rate for 1-4 hours after that.

How frequently you take the beta blocker, and how long its' effecation period is, could obviously differ from the 10-20mg of propanlol (non-extended release) that I take.

In short. Ask your doctor. He/she may need to change the dosage/frequency, or pursue other routes.

[izzy87]

well the beta blocker was given to me for sinus tachycardia not for anxiety , eventhough all my other symptoms where told to be caused by anxiety..... im currently taking acebutolol 200mg the lowest dose i take it once a day everyday my heart rate at rest goes from 65-75 average but every now and then it will go up out of no where and im not sure if its the tachycardia or an anxiety attack ....when i have attacks i will go to the docs and my ECGs r always normal and like i said the only thing they can find is my high pulse.... it frustrates me because i will fell sick all the time or like i cant breathe... all my docs tell me is that i have thoughs two issues... and i dont know much ABOUT THEM or what to expect..

[AnxietyGuy1976]

If I gave the impression that the beta blocker couldn't have been for the tachycardia, I apologize.

That's a far higher dosage than what is typically given for anxiety, so while anxiety may be a factor in the equation, it would seem that it's not purely anxiety driven.

You should definitely speak to your doctors right away, and have them look at the issue again. While you may have anxiety issues, it seems unlikely that the anxiety is pushing your heart rate that high, considering your beta-blocker dosage.

My fight and flight is mostly disengaged completely, even at my low dosage.... I've been in near miss car accidents, where I would have felt close to having a heart attack a year ago (before taking a beta blocker), and now I could probably jump out of a plane and have my heart rate stay as stable as a navy SEAL.

You should push the issue, and ask for more tests.

[izzy87]

thank you for your post... its just hard because at first i felt what people descibed as an anxiety attack.. and sarted to fade to just fast heart rate... i tried to talk to my doc but they told me they have done all the test and have found nothing they told me that its safe to have my pulse that high and if i wanted  that i could even get off my meds but i dont  think its normal for my heart to start to race suddenly my last visit was a day ago my doc said my ECG was normal and she dosent know what other test to do because they did them all so she is referring me to cardiology...so i feel like they keep making me go in circles....