120bpm resting rate...

Hello all.

I have anorexia and recently I have been struggling.

I also have yellow in my eyes which im worried about.
I am making a docs appointment tomorrow.

Any ideas if this is normal for somebody with anorexia or if is bad?

Thanx

[Jerry_NJ]

Anyone with a resting heart rate over 100 should be checked by a doctor, if just over 100, say even 120, I'd say in most cases it can be done on a non-emergency scheduled basis - depending on other symptoms.  In your case and in the absence of any specific knowledge about anorexia I can't make a connection, but I suspect anorexia puts stress on one's body and that could be at least part of the driver for the above normal HR.

I suffered from an unexplained loss of hemoglobin (red blood cells) several years ago and recalling that besides being tired my skin was developing a yellow cast, I am a light complexion Caucasian, and I may have had some similar problems with my eyes, I don't specifically remember. Is it possible that anorexia is accompanied by low hemoglobin?

[Jerry_NJ]

Back with this link, which may provide helpful information.
http://www.medhelp.org/tags/show/700/anorexia

[ToastiestMuffin]

Heres a pic of my eyes. I'm not too sure on the hemoglobin.
http://m1291.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/claire12342/20121208_190234-1_zpscc27eeb1.jpg.html?o=1&newest=1

If it is linked with hemoglobin...is it bad?

[spade22]

Hi, I'm sorry you are struggling.

Yellow eyes (and/or yellow skin) is a sign that the liver is not functioning properly and is an indiciation that a  serious, potentially life threatening, condition is occurring,  When you make your appointment tomorrow, be sure to mention you have an elevated HR and jaundice- you need to be seen sooner rather than later.

Take care.

[ToastiestMuffin]

Thank you. I will make sure I tell them that. Would you say it was Jaundice?

[spade22]

You can tell them you have yellowing of the eyes (That is a form of jaundice.)

[ToastiestMuffin]

I went to the doctors today. He said the yellow in my eyes is just pigmentation? He said my high heart rate is down to panic. He is sendind me for bloods to test for polymyalgia and to test for other muscle things. I didnt think yellowing in the eyes could be classed as normal...

[spade22]

Thanks for updating us!

Jaundice is a medical term that means "yellow discoloration of the whites of the eyes or skin".  Im not sure what your doctor meant by pigmentation either.  Hopefully your blood work will give some insight into your general health and what may be going on.

Is your HR always above 120 or only during certain situations?

[ToastiestMuffin]

Hopefully! My heary rate only seems to be high on a night time? I habe noticed im aching like mad jow too. My shoulder is stiff. Polymyaglia is for over 50s! Im 25... it cant be that

[spade22]

Do you feel anxious when you have the elevated HR?  You might try keeping a journal of symptoms you feel, what you were doing before and during etc - that might help pinpoint any triggers.  I dont know what your eating patterns are w/ the anorexia but that might have something to do with the elevated HR also (eg if you dont eat during the day and have something in the evening that would cause an insulin release which could elevate HR - this may be very pronounced in your case if you body is in a starvation mode.)

I had a very rare form of arthritis when I was 27.  I had to see a rheumatologist and I was definitely the youngest person I ever saw in her office ;-)

[ToastiestMuffin]

Thanx, spade.

I dont think im anxious on a night  i do have chronic anxiety though. So although I feel calm i might not be.

As for eating patterns. I do tend to eat better once the kids have settled at bedtime. So you could be right about that.

My doctor didnt seem to be concerned about it.
I thought he would have least listened to it. He only checked my eyes though.

I suppose arthritis is highly possible considering my dad has it really bad. It took years to diagnose him with the correct form!

My anorexia has probably helped bring out whatever complications I was going to come across alot quicker.

[achillea]

Anorexia is so hard on the body's organ systems:  There just isn't enough food to supply everything.  The heart suffers greatly, and I'm sure you know that this can be a mortal issue.

You might find this article helpful:

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/12/from-58-pounds-to-thriving-one-womans-story/?hpt=hp_bn12

Oh, the yellowing in your eyes?   I looked at your photo, and I think you have something called 'Pinguecula':

http://pingueculae.com/pinguecula-pictures

It's a fairly common patch of thickened, yellowish cells on the cornea, but it's not a tumor and is not dangerous.  Some people think it comes from sun exposure, but no one really knows yet.

This is what ocular jaundice looks like.  The whole white of the eye is unmistakably yellow:

http://midlevelu.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Screen%20Shot%202012-09-13%20at%2012.30.15%20PM.png

[ToastiestMuffin]

Thank you for those links. They were helpful.
My anorexia is mostly due to my GAD. So I really worry about the impact the anorexia has on my body. I dont want to be anorexic. But anorexia takes over when im stressed, anxious or depressed.
I dont think I have had a day without at least one of those ha.

Anyway. My blood results came back fine on my muscles. Which is great.
Im still worried about my heart rate. It is still high. Resting rate 110-113bpm. When I stand up it is 120-127bpm.

It feels as though the doctors forget about my anorexia. What if it isnt panic? How would he know?

[achillea]

Are you under treatment by an anorexia specialist?  As you may have learned, the disorder is very, very difficult to treat.

There is a little evidence that certain antidepressants of the SSRI class may help somewhat.  I don't have anorexia, but I do have panic attacks, and my experience is that if your shrink tries you out on several (I tried 4 or 5), one of them may prove to be the magic bullet for that problem.  In my case, a wee dose of Zoloft did the job.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by your last two sentences, though.  Could you elaborate?

[ToastiestMuffin]

I am currently waiting for the community treatment teams CPN to see me.
I am on 100mg of Sertraline. I have tried all kinds of meds over the years.

My last two sentences:
How would my doctor know if my heart rate was just down to panic.

I have been underweight for a long long time. If he didnt check my heartbeat then how could he claim it was just panic?

[achillea]

He probably has seen you often enough and run enough tests to have formed a diagnosis of panic to account for many of your symptoms.

However, technically, if he did not actually use a stethoscope or take your pulse or hook you to an EKG, he probably should have done one of those things.

I think you should call him back and ask.