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Heart Rate.. All the way up to 160??

Hi. I am a 22 year old Caucasian female. I have troubles with mental illness and also some sort of physical pain/symptoms. I am worried about my pulse. I have a little oximeter made by ReliOn. My doctor said it was probably not accurate, but ive tested it with other medical equipment and the heart rate on both ran about the same. I was standing while ago and i got real dizzy all of a sudden, i grabbed my oximeter of my bed and took my pulse with it. ( my pulse is very hard to find to do it manually) My pulse was 160. That is the highest ive calculated yet. My dr put me on artane in place of cogentin. I have been diagnosed with hypertension. I have numbness in my hands, legs, feet, lips, and  tongue. The numbness has carried on from may 2014. I have chronic pain in my joints and muscles. I take lyrica for my "fibromyalgia". Sorry, i dont believe in it, or maybe i hate that its a fact. Im just worried about what could cause my pulse to get that high. I quit smoking approximately 81 days ago. I quit because my o2 sat went way down while i was smoking a cigarette. My fingers and hands turned purple. The hands turning purple has stopped, my o2 sats are up and now im just worried about my pulse. I am on several psychiatric meds, but, they seem to think my tachycardia is a byproduct of my meds. What should be done for a proper diagnosis? As of right now my pulse is 90bpm laying down (for over five minutes) 100bpm sitting up and 146bpm after one minute of standing. Help, please.
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Avatar universal
UPDATE:
I was diagnosed shortly after wearing my holter monitor with inappropriate sinus tachycardia. I just recently.. November 2015 was put on Metoprolol to help with my heart rate. It helped at first. But then it stopped working, my heartrate got up in the 130+ again at rest and they added digoxin and Dilitiazem. I just went on April 27th, 2016 for a second opinion for my heart problems because even with the three heart meds my heart rate has not slowed down, the new doctor thinks indeed that i have POTS. He took me off dilitiazem and digoxin and is going to take me off the metoprolol soon in order to run the tilt table test without the heart medicine skewing with the results. He also is going to do the proper test for Inappropriate Sinus Tach and have me wear a holter monitor again. I am only afraid of what this dr has done by far as just yanking me off of my heart meds cold turkey. I noticed after only one day elevated blood pressure and extremely elevated heart rate. 149 this am. When it normally runs 110 in the mornings. My bp was 157/105 this am. I am concerned that the dr took me off the heart medicine too quickly. But there is nothing i can do about it because i do not live at home, i live in a facility where they monitor my meds and everything else. Has anyone else had a misdiagnoses of inappropriate sinus tachycardia that turned out to be POTS? Thank you for reading, postive vibes to you all.
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1807132 tn?1318743597
The chest pains, if they come and go could be a product of some ectopic activity.  PVCs or PACs. They are simply extra beats in the heart that are of no consequence in a healthy heart.  I don't know anything about he meds you are taking but I would look up the side effects and see if heart related issues are a consequence.  As well if you are on bp meds for your high bp you may want to make sure the dosage isn't too high.  There are a number of things that can lead to having sinus tachycardia and it can be a needle in a haystack to pinpoint the issue but if it turns out to be lifestyle issues then you may want to try making adjustments to your meds and see if it helps.  Obviously you need your psychiatric meds but it could be possible that changing them or adjusting the will give you relief.  I would also suggest trying to drink a lot of water and see if it helps.  Water helps the heart function better in general so try to take more in and see if it helps.  Best of luck getting handle on all of this.  I know it can be quite upsetting but try to stay as rational as you can.  The more you stress the worse your symptoms will be.  I know that can be hard in your situation but just try and do a lot of deep breathing to calm yourself when you find yourself getting upset.  It will help.  Take care and feel better soon.  
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Avatar universal
I cannot simply go a week nor a few days without psych meds without my health being at risk. I went to the cardiologist and he thinks I may just have sinus arrhythmia. Which he says is common. He believes me taking birth control and smoking at the same time may have caused something else to be wrong though. He ordered a 24 he holter monitor, which I am wearing now. I do not believe that there is simply nothing wrong. Laying here I have had sharp chest pains three times in the past 20 minutes. They are recorded on monitor. I think this dr may be pulling the old "it's just anxety" bit. It's not. My anxiety disorder is well maintained. There is a difference between my anxiety induced chest pains and the ones I am having now. I will ask for a second opinion from another dr office if I find this dr to be giving me the runaround. Thanks for your concern.
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Avatar universal
Tumblr. I will still suggest you go for a week or even just a few days without your psych meds. They often cause heart problems.
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Thanks for the reply. My parents have finally decided this is not a byproduct of my meds. My mom was with me at the dr appointment yesterday and she was concerned. The dr has referred me to the cardiologist, did an ekg, and took blood work. He (dr) actually witnessed my pulse jump up on the oximeter after i walked and then stood still. He told my mom to get me to the dr if it gets worse or if i have chest pain.
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Avatar universal
I know how it can be. Its because your a mental patient. They discriminate heavily against us. Its a fact, thats why you should keep going to different doctors until you find one that takes you seriously.

You might have POTS
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get of the psychiaric pills and find out. ask your parents for a loan and go to a reputable cardiologist. Dont believe the BS the psychiatrist feed you about your heart.
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The dr thinks i may have had a pulmonary embolism. He did an ekg and then had me walk around the office with an oximeter on my finger. While walking with the v oximeter on my pulse was within normal range, but my o2 sats decreased. I then stopped walking and my pulse went up by about 30bpm. I have to get fasting lsbs tomorrow as well as a chest xray. He is referring me to cardiology. I'll keep yall posted.
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Avatar universal
I have a dr appointment at 4 with just a regular MD. I am going to ask them to refer me to a cardiologist. I hope they can figure out what is going on. Sitting right now after several minutes my pulsev is running from 93-100bpm it just keeps going up and down. I will keep you all posted. Thanks for reading.
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Avatar universal
I am taking it serious, the problem is that no one else seems to be. I am making a dr appt tomorrow for a referral to see what's going on. Hopefully due to the severity of the problem i will be able to get in quickly. Thanks fir your reply. Im glad you got the help you needed.
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Avatar universal
Take your heart rate serious, you say your pulse clocked in at 160 BPM, left untreated it can lead to heart failure. I checked myself into the hospital and my pulse was 175 BPM I was in atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response caused by binge drinking and their first priority was to control my heart rate and second restore normal sinus rhythm which took 10 hours they told me I was probably going to have to go under the defibrillator but luckily I didn't my normal rhythm returned on its own.
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Avatar universal
No, i don't have a cardiologist. Everyone is so sure it's my medicine doing it. So, they add Artane. It actually has been worse since starting the Artane. I just checked my pulse while standing and it was popped up to 150+, yet again. I dont know what to do from here. Everyone thinks i'm a hypochondriac, little do they know is that these symptoms are real and valid. I take a large amount of "downers" per day. Prescribed, that is. I am not sure if that plays a part. Im pretty sure it isnt the medicine. I just wish my dr and my family would believe me.
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Avatar universal
Same (heart rate symptoms) here. They put me on a low dose of propranolol and said I have "Inapropriate tachycardia syndrome"

I can be in the mid-50's BPM resting an up to 150-160 just getting up and walking for a minute.


Do you have a cardiologist?

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