Event Monitor a Double-Edged Sword

So I got my event monitor yesterday, and I'm wondering if having the HR show up on it is a benefit or a hindrance for me.

I'm laying in bed last night, watching TV and doing a little light reading, with the monitor in easy view.  HR it's showing is fluctuating between 55-65 (normal for me).  Then I have a big, gaping yawn, those kind where your lungs are as full as they can get, and I see the monitor jump to 90 bpm.  Immediately after the yawn it drops right back down to the low 60's and stays there.  

And then I'm thinking I shouldn't be yawning. :|  

And then I'm thinking I might need to be locked up because this business is making me crazy, and I should put electrical tape over the screen of the event monitor.

Of course I press the button.  But now it's the next day and I'm thinking I'm going to be embarrassed when I call in to transmit a rhythm strip of a yawn that caused a vagal response.

Am I crazy?

[Zachs]

Nah... Don't be worried.  I yawn and stretch from a resting position with a HR of 55-60, and it jumps to 90-100 some times, especially if I have one of those super stretches.. I can feel my heart beat too when I do this.  It quickly goes back to a resting HR, unless I scare myself and wonder why my heart rate increasing so much from a slow rate.  This had caused my panics in the morning for several weeks back in November. I have since realized that most of my panic and worry resulted from being irrational about the situation, and ignorance.  Hope this helps.  Zach

[jkfrench]

Coughing can do that too.  When I lay on my husbands chest his heart is nice and slow.  Even if he raises his hand to scratch himself it jumps up.  

I have my holter on today too.  When I got to the doctor my heart was all over the place.  I guess that is good but I also worry that maybe there really is something wrong.
They put the moniter on and my heart skipped the entire time I was there.  My blood pressure was also high 150/90.  He thinks this is underlying anxiety.  He may be right.
I got home and my heart hasn't skipped much at all and my blood pressure was down a bit to 132/84 (which is still high for me).  I want to eat a bunch of chocolate today but I'm kind of afraid to.  This is a catch twenty two for me.  I want to know if I'm alright but I don't want to have the symptoms.

Hope you are having fun with your "King"

Jodie

[Wisconsin2007]

Thanks for the responses.  Jodie, while I wasn't having PVC's (oddly, I really haven't had many PVC's lately, but this other rhythm thing is goofy), my heart rate was all over the map, too, when I was getting the monitor, just sitting in a chair, talking to the nurse.  It'd be 70bpm.  Then 95.  Then 72.  Then 98.

Something to think about, about your triggers - though we all know caffeine is a trigger, I think the trigger works differently for different people.  I read how caffeine has an immediate effect, increasing heart rate and such, but that that initial effect goes away after about 2 hours.  However, the caffeine also can cause a much longer lasting anxiety reaction, for 12 or more hours.  Have a string of caffeine intake over the span of months, and it would not be unreasonable to expect your system to take several days to eliminate all the things the caffeine is causing.

So I guess what I'm saying is, if you think it might be anxiety and you've been avoiding caffeine - go have a Coke.  And a smile.  :)

And a skippy heart.

Might help to figure things out.

Oh - you said you run an in-house daycare, right?  I have two small kids, and I swear, there each have this certain, high-pitched sound they make that drives me crazy.  Enough so that if I am forced to be near it for a period of time (like during a car ride), I either end up predisposed to PVC's, or the kids get tossed out onto the highway.

Since the kids have never ended up on the highway, I've been more prone to PVC's at these times.  I would think an in-home daycare would make that potential much greater.  

Just an idea.

[jkfrench]

You're funny.  Belive it or not, the daycare keeps me calm.  My kids are great.  I know about that high pitched voice and when you have 6 or 7 running around it can be crazy.  But I'm structured like a preschool.  We do art, and lessons,etc.  It keeps things sane.
I used to teach preschool in my twenties before I realized I would never make enough money to buy all the shoes I desire.  So I went into sales and actually did very well.  I was the Director of Sales for AT&T for years.  Then came the time to manage my daughter instead of my sales team so I did what I had to do.  I was really surprised how much I enjoy the daycare.  My plan was to always go back into that rat race when she was out of high school.  But, here I am still running the daycare and loving it.

I think I'd rather eat handfuls of chocolate!!!!

Jodie

[nervouslady]

Funny, I have the same problem.  Whenever I'm being monitored (not at home, but at the doctor) I get nervous and can't stand knowing what my pulse rate is.  I know that I'm anxious and maybe for me it's anxiety producing because, great, now everyone else knows it too.  Or they will misinterpret it and think something is crazy wrong with me.

When I did my stress test last week my resting heart rate was 135.  I was so nervous to take a stress test.  And when I was in the ER last summer for a crazy run of arrhythmia that I had ( I was pregnant at the time) they of course hooked me up to a heart monitor and the alarm kept going off because my heart rate was jumping to over 140.  Then the alarm would go off and I'd get even more freaked out.  And the more I tried to calm down so the alarm would quiet the more panicky I'd get.  I think I had the worst panic attack of my life that day.  And I probably would have been okay if the monitor wasn't on me.  LOL.  Retrospectively, it was kind of funny...the alarm would sound, doctors and nurses would run into the room and look at the monitor, and I'd just be sitting there all tense. Finally I said, 'Um...I...am really nervous.  I think I'm having a panic attack'  Most of the time I'd just take a xanax but because I was preggers no xanax for me.  They just let me 'ride it out'  Good times.

Anyway, yeah.  I hate knowing what my pulse rate is, or my BP or any other sort of 'stat'.  The more aware I am of these things, the more anxious I get.

[Wisconsin2007]

Ok.  Just deleted the yawning spike in HR from the monitor.  No sense making a fool of myself.

[jkfrench]

We were made out of the same mold.  The minute I start driving to the doctor my heart goes from around 72 to over 100.  Before I start my stress test it is always around 120.  My doctor always said I'm like football player before a big game.  My adreliene is flowing overtime.  I have NO IDEA why this happens.  It is OUT OF MY CONTROL.  
Today when I was driving to the doctor,  I put on a Carpenters CD  (don't laugh I love her voice) to keep me calm.  I was absolutely fine until I walked into that room to have my holter put on.  The baseline they gave me before the holter was over 90 and it just got worse.  The skips started immediately and have continued to this minute which is over 4 hours.  YUCK...I don't know what it is either except I feel like I want the doctor and nurses to think I am healthy and nothing is wrong with me.  The more I want to be that calm person, the worse I get.  Then today, here is sit with the moniter.  I run a daycare so I am up and down stairs, carrying kids, playing, bending over all day.  I don't want to do anything but sit because I'm worried the tech that reads this will think something is wrong with my heart because it might be up and down all day do to whatever activitiy is going on.  Is that anxiety?????  I'm really asking because I don't know.  If it is then that is my biggest problem.
Frenchie

[Wisconsin2007]

In all honesty, because I see some of that in myself, I think it might be.  I've now had two people in my family suggest I look into some anti-anxiety meds.  I just told my situation to my sister, who's a physician's assistant (and married to a GP) - if she suggests the same thing, I may look into it...so long as it isn't a daily medication thing.  

And Karen Carpenter?  Sorry, I've gotta chuckle.

[Wisconsin2007]

Frenchie -

Do you talk about this stuff with your husband?  When you do, and you're able to put it all out there, how do you feel the next day?  Better?  Same?

I've tried to make mental note of when things are better or worse (and I also have an Excel spreadsheet dating back more than two years for the same reason), then tried to reason out what made it better or what made it worse.  Often times it was a psychological thing that made the problem better, like unloading all of what's been on my mind with my wife.  Tracking the issues that make it worse are harder, because so many times they are so subtle, like the approach of a distant deadline, the slow addition of burden after burden in my job, so small at first, but looking back, it's been so many little things that have added up to quite a few big things.

[jkfrench]

Yes we talk.  Sometimes I feel better.  But here is the thing.  We had a nice talk the morning before church and look what happened to me there that day.  He thinks I need anxiety medicine temporarily while dealing with the per-menapause because he does see a subtle change in me.   My daughter just came home and told me that her friends mom just started seeing a shrink due to peri menapause so I know I'm not alone out there.  The thing with me is that I am and always have been a very strong person with a strong personality.  I was a single mom for years and made great money, worked from home, worked at the school etc..  This kills me that I can't get a handle on it.  It is so unlike me.
Jodie

[Wisconsin2007]

Conversations in the morning never help me - too much to get done in the day to be able to relax while talking.

And yeah, for me the idea of taking any kind of medication that addresses the mental side of it versus the physical is not an idea I'm real excited about.  I own a construction related business, which provides the majority of the family income  (I also run a web business, which provides most of the rest of it).  As I'm sure you know, the economy is not conducive to anything relating to construction.  I've watched competitors going out of business with regularity.  I have to consider not just myself and my family but the livelihood of my employees and their families.

I know what it means to work 90-100 hours per week.  I know what it means to suck it up, grind it out and get the work done, no matter what.

And I've had a lot of the same heart issues and have yet to take anything for them, except that tea (did it arrive yet?).  Not to brag or to compare strength (wanna arm wrestle?), just saying that years and years of piling on stress has to take a toll at some point.  Kenneth Lay of Enron died of heart issues before he could face the music for his financial shenanigans.  Coincidence?

The idea of needing some sort of mental help to get through this, for me, is really something I don't like considering.  Makes me feel weak, and I hate feeling weak. Sounds like you might feel the same.   But I think that at some point I'm going to need to pursue these other avenues to figure out why this is happening, perception of weakness be damned.

My $.02, anyway.  Hope you start feeling better.

[jkfrench]

Yep, I know just what you mean regarding everything you said.  I hate feeling week too!
My tea should be here sometime this week.  Hey, is there mint in it?  I hate mint but I'm willing to drink it if it might help.  For what it is worth, my doctor doesn't think fish oil or anything else for that matter help with skips.  He feels the most important thing is to control the anxiety.  He upped my atenolol to 1/2 of the 25mg.  I guess that drug is supposed to help a little with anxiety.  Personally nothing is going to do any good until they read this monitor.
Frenchie

[Wisconsin2007]

It's part of the mint family, but it has no mint flavor to it.  Tastes like lemon.

[nervouslady]

First of all, I like the Carpenters too. I have that song "don't you remember you told me you loved me babyyyy' on my iPhone.  I sing really loudly to it in the car.  

Anyway, er, we all sound stressed out.  LOL.  I think it's hard to be objective when you are experiencing anxiety.  I have to tell you I went through the same thoughts myself and only recently am I *kind of* accepting the fact that, yeah, I have anxiety.  And, yeah, it make me feel like total junk most of the time.  

I will never forget going to a shrink after my first severe bouts of anxiety.  I had to fill out a questionnaire that asked stuff like, 'have you moved in the last 2 years'  'has anyone close to you died in the last 5 years'  'have you started a new job/school in the last 2 years'  'have you gotten married/divorced in the last 3 years'  etc etc.  EVERY single one was checked 'yes' on mine.  So the psychiatrist looks it over and says, 'um, WOW...you have a lot going on here, no wonder you are having panic' and my response was, 'No.  I don't understand why I'M panicking.  I don't panic.  I've never had this before'  That list of stuff, I thought was not enough to cause me to feel like this.  I always was a pretty togther person.   To be honest, I remember being stressed out and very busy, and I had just lost my dad very suddenly, but I still, to this day, don't think all of that should have or could have brought on a panic attack - or panic disorder.  I am hard on myself, and I have learned this much about anxiety - IT IS NOT BEING WEAK THAT CREATES ANXIETY, IT'S BEING TOO HARD ON YOURSELF THAT CAUSES ANXIETY.
Perfectionism, the inability to delegate responsibilities, wanting to appear healthy, well adjusted, perfect, that is what creates anxiety and panic.  I don't want to freak out at the doctors office (that panic attack I had at the ER while pregnant was humiliating to me.  Absolutely humiliating.  I don't think I got out of bed the next day I was so embarrassed).  Caring too much about what everyone else thinks - wanting to have control over things - everything.  Including our heartbeats.  The more you try and figure it out, the more you try and take control, the MORE anxious you get.  I think we do it because we think taking control will lessen our anxiety, but in reality it makes it worse.

I am currently trying to chill.  Just chill out.  I bet if I were successful at it, these skips and blips would disappear - I'd probably get them occasionally like I used to but I could live with that.  I just haven't gotten a handle on chilling out yet.  I've gotten somewhat better...but I kinda wonder if running to the doctor (considering how worked up I get) all the time needs to stop...or slow down.  I worry so much about stuff.  My severe health issues never were figured out (stroke, etc).  And I think I want a reason.  An answer.  But I think I need to learn to live with not knowing.   ???

Sorry I veered off the topic a bit, kinda rambling, but as hard as it is, maybe it's best for all of us (who have been reassured by docs that we are okay)  need to try and not focus so much on our hearts and focus more on things to calm us down and make us laugh or something.   Because keeping close watch on things isn't calming me down.

[jkfrench]

Perfectionism, the inability to delegate responsibilities, wanting to appear healthy, well adjusted, perfect, that is what creates anxiety and panic.  I don't want to freak out at the doctors office (that panic attack I had at the ER while pregnant was humiliating to me.  Absolutely humiliating.  I don't think I got out of bed the next day I was so embarrassed).  Caring too much about what everyone else thinks - wanting to have control over things - everything.  Including our heartbeats.  The more you try and figure it out, the more you try and take control, the MORE anxious you get.  I think we do it because we think taking control will lessen our anxiety, but in reality it makes it worse.

THAT IS ME!!! THANK YOU FOR POINTING IT OUT.
Jodie

[nervouslady]

No problem.  It's me too.  When I tell people have I have anxiety, (which is not often - not in person with people I know anyway) they are always surprised to hear it.  Even my husband will be surprised.  We'll go out with some people, and afterward we'll get in the car to go home and I'll say, "Whoa, man, I'm glad we got out of there, I was panicking for like a half hour"  And he'll say, really?  Wow.  You seemed fine, I never would have guessed it.   I make myself sit there and act fine, I don't want anyone to know anything is wrong with me.

I think that's why the monitors are so awful for me.  I can walk into a drs office and sit there, appearing to be calm, heart racing, palms clammy, but they don't know it.  But put the monitor on, and now I can't hide the anxiety anymore.  I get, 'oooh.  The heart rate is very high.  Are you feeling okay?'  gaaah.  It's so embarrassing to me.  I feel like people think I'm a nutcase or something.  I dunno...

My anxiety therapist is having me work on A) leaving a situation if I feel panicky - excuse myself, get up, walk around.  I actually did it in the middle of a funeral last month.  I would have never done that before, but I just got up, walked out of the chapel, and zip!  my anxiety left just like that.  I needed to be up and out of there.   Oh, the other is B) not care so much about what people think about me.  I shouldn't expect to be totally together, cool, calm and collected all of the time.  I have a lot of guilt and shame associated with my anxiety.  I think she's right, in that if I just accepted that I'm human and flawed, my anxiety, these skips and blips and whatever else would fade away...

[Wisconsin2007]

No sweat on taking the thread off topic.  I'll do the same...

I was just inhaling some semi-sweet chocolate morsels.  I AM A MADMAN.

And also a dork.

I think there's a lot of truth to what you laid out, nervouslady.

[Zachs]

sheesh..... I don't think I've read so much in a post like this..

Have any of you tried or implemented any anxiety courses out there? ie.  panic-away  or  midwest ?

[Wisconsin2007]

I looked online at the Midwest Center for etc, etc, and the fact that they didn't mention a single thing on their website about HOW they go about their program made me skeptical.  Googling further it sounded like it's a matter of putting some mantras on some cards and carrying them around all the time to remind yourself of certain things in times of stress.  If that's all it is, I can probably do that myself.  And I can just keep it in my head.

I thought I remembered seeing a discussion here during my searches about that program, too.    And who knows - it might be just the thing for some.  But I'm not sure it'd work for me.

But I do appreciate the input - I'll field any and all ideas.  :)

[nervouslady]

I actually have (had?) the Midwest Center for Anxiety CDs and workbooks.  A family member ordered it for me.   It's a bunch of CDs of people talking about their anxiety - the best thing I got out of it is that I'm not unusual or unique - LOL - there are lots of other people thinking the same things as me and having the same problems as me, and that I for certain have an anxiety issue.  Other than that, I don't know if it helped too much.  Like I said before, the key to anxiety is finding a way to not care about the anxiety and all of the physical symptoms that go along with that (like palpitations), and I think that is too tricky to learn via CD or workbook.  They were for me, anyway, but I suppose this method works for some.  But the worst thing about it was that it was old - the CDs, etc were recorded like 20 yrs ago and a lot of the advice, too, was outdated.

I think the hard thing about anxiety is that we lack a coping mechanism necessary for curing the anxiety.  So you do kind of need a 3rd party to intervene and teach us this skill.  And it is very difficult...I'd recommend seeing someone (psychologist/psychiatrist) who specializes in anxiety disorders.  I've seen people who don't specialize and that is a waste of time.  I've been given bad advice because they didn't know how to manage an anxious patient and it made things worse.  They'd tell me to do stuff and sit through the panic and that is exactly what you are NOT supposed to do.  You should do things when relaxed, not anxious, to build up positive experiences and avoid panic.  If you do get anxious or panicky, you should excuse yourself or allow yourself to mitigate the panic and feel better.  Which was great news for me because sitting through panic was horrible and exhausting.

[bundleblocker]

Anxiety triggers for the past few years:  2001 my dog dies of cancer. 2003 suspicious eye exam means possible brain tumor. Cat scan normal luckily. 2004 my other dog dies of cancer. I have parathyroidectomy surgery.  2005 I adopt a senior dog who dies after 2 months. 2006 my son has rotator cuff surgery. 2006 I move after 37 years in the same house. 2006 my "homeless, jobless and could care less" son moves in with me. 2006 suspicious lump on lip. (after 3 months finally heals) 2007 suspicious lump on ear, biopsied, heals after 2 months. 2007 I begin having irregular heartbeats shortly after my son moves out. He is now both homeless and jobless and doesn't seem to care. 2008 I begin Afibs. 2008 I break wrist and need surgery. 2009 I break hip and need surgery.


The point of all this is, everyone has stresses, but if you have a lot in a fairly short period of time they add up and that's when it becomes difficult and you body begins to rebel with giving you warning signs like panic attacks, palpitations, etc. Your body is telliing you to chill or else.

At least that's what I think.