Worried...

[AarStar]

I am a 29 year old male. I smoke and drink occasionally. I have chronic headaches due to trigger points in my neck and take dimenhydrinate a couple of times a week for the nausea the headaches inevitably cause. I have anxiety as well. I'm not extremely active but I am not overweight.
I suffer from heart palpitations. I miss a beat or get an extra one. There are times (maybe once a month or every two months) where the palpitations -or PVC's(?) as I've seen them called - are pretty much constant for a day or two. Maybe 4 extra beats a minute whenever I breathe deeply. Sometimes they occur when I lay on my left side. My doctor told me once that those instances could be from cold medication and I was wondering if the dimenhydrinate might be having the same effect as well. The paliptations/PVC's/extra/skipped beats then go away for weeks or months except for the odd time I get one. My blood pressure is fine and I had an EKG about two months ago. They said everything was fine. I tried to get them to go into more detail about what was going on, but it being an emergency room, they had other priorities. I don't really have any other symptoms other than some shortness of breath that I figure is caused by smoking, anxiety and a seemingly chronic congested nose.
Needless to say, all of this is quite worrisome to me.
I guess my question is this: If I wasn't experiencing any palpitations-PVC's-extra beats during the EKG, was the test pointless? What could they tell from that test? Would you suggest any other tests?
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this...

Aaro

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Hi Aaro,

The EKG is pointless--it helps exclude things like long QT syndrome, tachycardias, ventricular tachycardias.  I would order a holter monitor to objectively document the frequency of the extra heart beats and perhaps an echocardiogram if I had any questions about your heart function.  In the presence of normal left ventricular function, EKGs and labs, PVCs are not a health concern, although they can be annoying.

That is how I would approach the question.  I hope this helps.

[dquenzer]

I would approach the problem this way:
1) Stop smoking.
2) Start exercising.
3) See a counselor to deal with anxiety.

[Barbarella]

I hope he will find better counselors than the ones I had.  The ones I had did have NO clue about anxiety/panic attacks and I saw quite a few.  Two of them took the cake along with the icing.  One of them was doing her "filing" while she pretended that she was listening to me and the other one sat in front of me and was yawning the whole time, the boring kind of yawning.  I have absolutely NO use for therapists.  If they are good ones out there I have not met them yet, I helped myself instead with a book by a Psycholigist who knows EXACTLY how to deal with people who suffer from anxiety/panic attacks etc.

[Wolfjohn]

Has anyone ever experienced a type of shortness of breath that sometimes feels like you can't get all the air you need into your lungs, then in a minute or two later, you can take a dep breath? I've had this for about a year off and on- feels like a spastic windpipe- opening and closing...I walk about 3 miles a day and it doesn't get worse while walking or while sitting- about the same either way...I'm not bothered by it when I sleep either(lying flat even). I do get an evening ankle swelling- nothing serious...just curious.
Thanks

[dquenzer]

Counselors differ in skills just like doctors.

Anxiety is caused basically by our misperceptions of reality, combined with autonomic reactions to those misperceptions.   Anxiety can also be caused by a chemical imbalance as well.

If Aastar has generalized anxiety disorder then it would be helpful to see not only a counselor but a good psychiatrist.  There are meds that deal very well with GAD that are not addictive and have little or no side effects.  GAD can be caused by chemical imbalances much like depression.  Indeed some anti-depressants also deal with anxiety disorders.

I am a pastor and have done a significant amount of counseling and I would ask one basic question, "What are you afraid of?"

Identify the fears and then begin to deal with each one of them in constructive ways.  Don't try to deal with all of them at one time, but just one at a time.

Second I would take some biofeedback courses.  As I said sometimes when we get into a panic attack the body kind of takes over.  If a person can learn to control breathing and learn to relax it is possible to shut down that reaction.  This can often give people confidence to overcome just the idea of a panic attack.  As they say sometimes we have nothing to fear but fear itself.

[Barbarella]

I had counseling, group therapy, bio feedback, EMDR, ALL kind of tranquelizers AND anti depressent.  Tranquelizers made me fatigue and are only a band aid and mask the problem temporarely.  Anti depressant did not help me either.  "what are you afraid of" is exactly what people like me resent HIGHLY.  The anxiety/panic attack comes over you and unless the Therapist experienced such an attack him/herself he/she has NO clue.  We are NOT afraid of any particular situation, the anxiety/panic comes over you out of the blue all of a sudden you feel "impending death".  Some people including me developed "agorophobia" where I was afraid such an attack would hit me while outside of the home, especially while driving.  But thanks to Dr. Weeks who wrote 4 books and who UNDERSTOOD people like me and knew exactly how to deal with us WITHOUT medication, and WITHOUT asking us "what are you afraid of" I'm now 99% panic/anxiety attack free for the last 30 yrs. And so are many others including another person on this board.  People with depression lots of time are helped with anti depressants because especially if its bi polar its a chemical imbalance but most panic attacks are not a chemical balance, I'm living proof, I suffered from these horrible attacks for 20 yrs until I got ahold of Dr. Week's books.  And I'm forever grateful to her.  She took the fear out of me WITHOUT meds and sessions, she UNDERSTOOD and knew HOW TO TAKE THE FEAR OUT OF PEOPLE LIKE US.

[dquenzer]

You seem to resent any type of counseling simply because you had a bad experience.  I know of many many people who have been greatly helped with counseling.  Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean that everyone is going to have a bad experience.

You seem to be generalizing your situation and stating that everyone has the same experience.  And if you figured out how to overcome your anxiety then that's just great.  Not everyone is so fortunate.

And although you couldn't identify in particular fear related to your panic attacks many other people can. For example I had a partner that got stressed out so bad with work one day he had a panic attack.  Was he afraid of something?  You bet.  He was afraid of not getting his work done!  We had to figure out a way to lighten that load.  

But here's the predicament that people often get into.  Some people have so much anxiety all the time their body is always close to a fight-flight.  This can result in panic attacks coming and going because the body chemistry is out of whack. Indeed they can just come and go without any apparent reason.  The original source or cause of the panic attacks cannot be readily identified. But generally there is an original reason and source.  Note I said GENERALLY.  

Also I did not suggest that EVERYONE or even that MOST would be benefited by meds. But the fact is SOME people are helped by meds.  

This is exactly why someone who is dealing with constant anxiety should go to a good counselor-psychiatrist so as to diagnose what the anxiety is coming from and what the proper treatment should consist of.  

And if you seem to have figured out THE SOLUTION you should become a counselor.  You could help a lot of people.

Just because YOU were helped by one particular idea, concept, or whatever doesn't mean everyone is in the same situation.

[Barbarella]

If you read one of my other posts I said "I'm sure there are good counselors out there I just have not met them yet".  That is NOT generalizing. I'm not the only one who had bad experiences with counselors.  If it works for other people and if they found good ones more power to them.  I tried everything.  I did not just give up after one bad experience or one bad counselor or one medication which did nothing for me.

[Barbarella]

One more thing:  "I haven't figured out the solution" Dr. Weeks did it for me.  She did not waste time in her books "why and what causes it" i.e. early childhood, stress etc etc. she taught me and others how to deal with the panic attacks, she pumped into us "that it will NOT kill us", she pumped into us "why" our body reacts like that, and she taught us "to let it do its very worst" until the attack is over and we'll see that it has NOT killed us.  She stresses over and over in her books to have a complete physical to make sure nothing is wrong with our heart, thyroid, diabetes etc etc.  she explain how fast a "healthy" heart can beat and how hard it can beat WITHOUT killing you.  ALL that helped me and others tremendously. Sorry, but none of the counselors I saw could help me like she did.  But like I said if there are counselors who can help people with panic attacks and who UNDERSTAND panic attacks then I'm happy for these people.  For I know how grippling this condition is I've lived with it for 20 yrs and tried to get help before I got help from these books.  

As for "find a good psychiatrist", this is fine if you have the money and very good insurance and the shrink will take HIS TIME  with you, but if you have an HMO insurance they tell you WHO to see, and the one I saw had me in and out of his office in 3 minutes tops, the minute I walked in he already had the prescription pad ready with ink pen in his hand and hardly even looked at me never mind was interested about my situation.  He handed me the prescription which was for "Xanax" and said "this will be your security blanket" see you in a month for a refill.  My husband spent enough money on therapists to get me help which our insurance did not cover he for damn sure couldn't afford a "good" shrink on top of it.  Thank god for a magazine which caused me to come across an article about Dr. Weeks who became my life saver, and her book was a hell of a lot cheaper.

[hapecamper]

I just got the book and audio tapes of Dr. Weekes last week. I learned more in a day from reading her book then from any Dr. I've seen. I am already starting to feel better. The book tells down to the tee of how I felt for years. I've had anxiety and panic attacks for 25 yrs. I don't know what it was but just ready her book lifted a ton of weight of of my shoulders.

[Barbarella]

I'm sooooooooooo happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I highlighted certain paragraphs and if I feel the need i.e. PVC's (skipping heart beats) I get her books out and read and re-read what she has got to say, it feels like she is sitting right next to me calming me down.

To dquenzer:  Your remark "why I don't counsel people" or something like that I've told people about these books and they can't thank me enough, Dr. Weeks can do it even better than I ever could, and yet they were people who simple refuse to read a book because they claim "I don't have time to read a book".   As for deadlines and work loads I agree they too bring out panic attacks and have in me that is why I changed jobs and took a huge pay cut, and lost all my excellent benefits I had with this job.  I had a very stressful job with multiple deadlines and my heart skipped none stop.  Lots of people with panic attacks are "perfectionists" and take their work load and deadlines a lot more serious than some people without panic attacks. I changed jobs my husband and I decided we will settle for less because my health was more important to him, me and my family.  I also make sure that I get to the airport an hour before what the airlines require i.e. if they say we have to be there 2 hrs before I am there 3 hrs before.  I get to my dr. appointments half an hour earlier than I'm suppose to.  Even though Dr. Weeks taught me how to "accept" without "fighting" a panic attack why do the things who bring one on if you can avoid them/or change your life style?  Now I do understand that there are people who cannot afford to give up their stressful jobs with multiple deadlines for whatever reasons and I understand that but lots of people could and don't want to because the money and benefits are so good.

[chrisr]

I live in the USVI and cannot find Dr. Weeks' book or tape. Could you kindly indicate a source on the mainland where I could?
Thanks

[Barbarella]

You can find them on amazon.com  I don't know what country you are in but amazon.com is world wide.  Dr. Weeks had died several years ago but her books and tapes are still selling strong.  She was a Psychiatrist from Australia.  BTW, I never met her nor do I know her relatives or friends.  There is nothing in it for me I just like to share with people what helped me so very much.

Good luck to you!

[AarStar]

I find it interesting that my heart query started a debate about anxiety/depression treatment. That's actually something I have passionate opinions about.
I feel that medication is overprescribed - mainly by doctors who don't know what they're doing with regards to treating mental disorders. And a lot of the people taking said medications, are doing it blindly, without figuring out their problems. I guess there are two ways you can approach it. You can go to your doctor, tell him or her your symptoms, and accept what they tell you and give you. Or you can research on your own, figure out your problem and go from there. I did the latter and I'm glad I did. I'm glad that, while I suffer from this horrible anxiety, I really have come to understand myself on a very deep level. And I think that when I sort everything out, I'll come out of this a person with much more depth than I'd possess had I not gone through it.
Psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists - that's a tricky one. It's so important to find someone intelligent enough to understand you. Intelligent enough to not be fooled by you. Intelligent enough to not waste your time and your money. This has been a problem of mine. Quite a few times I've gone into appointments and left them feeling so misunderstood. My most recent attempt at therapy was a couple months ago. I'd seen this therapist ten years ago when all of my problems began. I was impressed then with his intelligence and his understanding. He made me feel like, with his guidance, my fears were something I could overcome on my own. Ten years later, it wasn't the same. I went in with very high hopes. I'd reached a point where I was absolutely sick of living the way I live. I had always been able to rationalize it. 'It's good for my creativity - good for my art' but I was lying to myself because I wasn't living anything that resembled a fulfilling life. All of my hopes of him helping me again were crushed when he gave me a test to fill out. It was a depression and anxiety checklist. I was 'severely depressed' and had 'moderate anxiety' and the therapist suggested medication as the only solution. I was shocked. He made this decision based on a test. He didn't ask me about my life. If he had, he'd have found out that I was horribly unhappy in my relationship, horribly unhappy with my career, anxious about being on the verge of 30 and on and on. Had he taken the time to ask, he surely would have said "No WONDER you're depressed! Let's work on these things." He must have thought I was just another everyday patient who doesn't have a clue about his or her problem. I didn't make another appointment. I walked out feeling oddly empowered. It's like I wasn't in as bad a shape as I thought I was. I'm still leading a horribly unhappy life though.
Medication has it's place. Sometimes it's the only way and sometimes people don't want to be bothered with therapy and the suffering of working through their problems. But I do think it's horribly over-prescribed. Given to people who, through no fault of their own, place too much trust in a family doctor or therapist.

[Barbarella]

I agree with you 100%.  Your last paragraph about the meds is so true.  "Some" people want to take or lets say think they are taking a short cut with popping pills.  Same goes for the shrinks prescribing them this way the patients are out of their hair, the shrinks get paid for one hour but it took only 3 minutes to write the prescription as it was in my case the FIRST time I saw the shrink.  And lets not forget the "kick backs" they are getting from prescribing these drugs.  You're right, there are people who don't want to be bothered with therapy and rather pop a pill.  A book has helped me yet I have met people who were in my shoes and flat out refused to read a book because "they don't have time to read a book".  They are on 2-3 anti anxiety meds for the last 15 yrs prescribed by their family physician.

[jkf]

I'm not going to add much.  Only that Dr. Claire Weeks cured my anxiety..period.  And I agree with Barbella, THAT one question "what are you afraid of" doesn't get you anywhere.  Frankly it is stupid.  Sorry but it is.  Learning to overcome specific "childhood" fears etc. does not rid one of anxiety attacks.  Panic attacks come out of nowhere.  Discovering what you are afraid of does not help them subside.  Learning how to live through them helps them subside.  Her books are a blessing and if you take the time to read them, they WILL work.  Hope and Help for your Nerves was the one I read and re-read the most.  And same as Barbella, they are in my closet now for 20 years and I refer to them whenever I feel the need.
Jodie

[AarStar]

I totally agree that those things are helpful. I have been trying lately to get out three nights a week. And a lot of those times, I don't want to but I force myself. It's hard, however, when I'm out and feeling really good and proud of myself and I get a palpitation. It's such a downer and I really just want to go home. I stay out though and my fear goes away most of the time.

[AarStar]

Anacyde, do you ever get PVC's or palpitations when you don't necessarily 'feel' anxious?

[dreamboat]

I have pvc's all the time. I wake up at night with them when i get up in the morning they are there all through the day and at night.Sometimes I feel them in my stomach or my throat.This forum has helped me deal with them better. It helps to know that i am not alone and it won't hurt me. None of my friends seem to be afflicted as i am. If i mention it they say oh no i don't have them that is awful.I went over three years without having them or noticing if i ever did. I ate at taco bell one night last September. I got bloated up and was having stomach pains then the pvc's started again the next day and have bee here since everyday. What could that be? It surely can't all be related to anxiety when it is constant can it? Any thought on this would be appreciated.

[AHEARTBEATWAY]

Seems most of these relpies should go under depression and anxiety forum. Worried should have TOE in the UK and US or a TEE in canada. Could rule out any CHD's that may be a cause. I have spent the last 8 years being told i have severe anxiety. i even took 3 months off work to go to some psycho tharapy but didn't help. A liitle pissed off that finaly after not seeing any doctors for 14 months, my symptoms progressed. couldn't bear to be told i was crazy by yet another doctor so decided that i would just live with it. Problem is anxiety never progresses, other than into some other mental disorder. Mine progreesed right into pulmonary hypertention and right sided heart failure. Seems a have a large 4cm hole in my heart that was never diagnosed before. (ASD) I have a moderate degree of tricuspid and pulmatic regurgitation. My right ventrical and atrium are enlarged. My rt. side of my neck bulges and is painful. I am all for shrink treatment but only when everthing else is ruled out. I trusted these people, only to be told i was whinney and needed to adjust better to changing situtions. So i beleive worried, should have a second opinion and only when they rule out cardiac should he settle for a diagnosis of anxiety! Otherwise all these post belong in a differnt place other than the HEART forum. Many people with heart conditions do have anxiety associated with it. Although it's only secondary to the heart condition, unless all these people that replied have an actual primary heart condition, they should stick to the forums that deal with these other syndromes