How do you cope psychology?

[donna80]

I have had lots of tests, echo, ekg, one 24 holtor picked up sinus tachi, and my latest 48 holtor picked up pvc's and pac's (more off)..

BUT i can't get my head round that there is nothing wrong with me, cardio was a bit against taking meds, (he gets them and says he can cope)... But gave me a script for bisoprolol which i am weary of taking, i would rather proponol, but everytime i am getting these palps they are really freaking me out and i cant stop thinking the worst, my life is limited, and i can't cope psychology :(....

My heart rate never goes above 120 on rest, which i am sure is good, as there are lots of you who are worse!! But it's the skipped beat,s the flutters etc that are frightening me..

I have stopped having take aways due to msg, can't drink alcohol, stopped heavy meals, stopped choc, no caffiene, and i am wanting to stop smoking (which is the hardest thing for me).... Yet i am still getting them?

I hate them... They are ruining my life, to the point where my hubby keeps telling me to go to the doctors to get some psychologic medication, and my friend keeps saying proponlol (inderal) because you can take as needed, and more than 1 a day, and it is giving to anxious people and it would do me good rather than bisporlol..

But what scares me, is i have had antidepressents before in the past for postnatel depression and they always raised my heart rate and i had quite alot of flutters, so doctor took me off them..And i am scared of being dependant on them? (this was 9 years ago)

Oh i don't know what to do,

How do you cope?

[grendslori]

The very first thing you have to realize is that all people on the planet have PACs/PVCs; they are a normal and natural function of the heart. They are the back-up system for the primary electrical system: the SA and AV Nodes. How you respond to them is how they respond to you; in other words, the more you worry about them the worse they will get, not only in the number of them per day but in the strength of them. The reason for that is because you are flooding your body with catecholiamines, it's the form of adrenalin that gives the body the "fight or flight" response to a threat. Inderal or propranolol is not a good drug and whoever told you that you can take it anytime you want and more than 1 a day is wrong. Propranolol is a serious drug and like many other heart drugs should NEVER be stopped suddenly. I took the drug for a period of about 10 years. It caused weight gain and it caused me to hallucinate, badly, tends to make me wonder exactly what it was really doing to my brain!! Premature beats should never limit your life and if they are, then you need to seek psychological help.

[LBBBguy]

I'll second what Cindy says. Beyond that, what helps me is exercise, which can be a bit tricky for some people with arrhythmias, but if you can find some routine that works for you and doesn't aggravate your symptoms, then I think it's great for the mind as well as the body. The other thing that I find helpful is just mindful breathing. Breathe slowly and deliberately and put your focus on the air going in your nostril and down into your lung and then back out again. It's not easy to do, but keep at it, and it gets easier to do for a bit longer at a time, and it takes your mind off of your heart. It has other benefits for your mind as well.

[donna80]

Hey thanks Cindy for your reply, was wonderfull :-)

He is the second cardio i have seen over 3 years, he is lovely, and explained it all to me, but again i left in tears because i can't cope with the flutters, they scare the crap out of me :-(...  The ones i get now and then are ok.. But the ones that last for 10 mins, 7 hours even a few days are the ones that scare me..

They say there is nothing wrong with me, and i know deep down there is.. BUT why am i getting them? To top this all off, i have other psycological problems going on too, fear of meds, fear of dying.. etc..

I have my wedding to look forward too, but am scared of taking on the stress etc.. and the fact it will be a long day and a big doo (big family)... Not till the summer and i am happier in the summer.. but still what if's are popping up..

I think he may of offered me the bisoprolol because i natuarlly have low bp anyway, on the low side of normal!!

I think i will go to my gp and have a chat about it all, and your right i will write it all down and go through it all bit by bit with them..

Thanks again x x

[cindy707]

I know this is hard for you but there are a couple of things to be addressed here.  I am assuming since you had a work up done that you had some probs. prior to the work up.  I honestly believe Donna that this is one of those situations where you need a second opinion but i find it hard to believe that a heart doc would be against using beta blockers and in his stating that he gets them and copes just doesn't sound right to me.  His body especially being a male is completely different than yours genetically.  Bisoprolol is in the family of BB however it is notorious for your blood pressure going up where with say antenolol, etc. is actually lowers your blood pressure and regulates your heart.  .  I know the skipped beats are scary but are generally pretty harmless.  It was natural for your heart rate to come up post natal because your body is working hard at returning everything to its normal status but it has been a few years from what you say since you had a baby and if you get a second opinion you really should ask them about the anti depressants and if they are necessary because there are alot of side effects to them incl. those you described.  Believe me it is completely normal to be going thru mentally what you are when you think something  may be wrong with your heart and your heart doc didn't sound like he did anything to calm you down and give you more info.  All of our lives are lilmited Donna whether or not we have heart problems and you seriously need to focus on your family and try to put this out of your mind after  you've gotten a second opinion with someone who will sit down and answer all of your questions.  Sounds to me like you need to write down every single fear, worry, etc. no matter how dumb you may thing they are and ask your second opinion doc so you have no more  questions and know where to go from there.  We all think at one point or another that we're going to die from what ails us with our hearts and we find a safe place in our hearts and know our lives cannot stop because of our fears.  You need some sort of distraction if you aren't having problems on a daily basis and learn to accept the fact that everything may not be perfect and that you'll have to put up or accept an occasional flutter or off beat in your body.  It is obviously effecting your whole family and i think you sound fairly young so time to take the bull by its horns and get your answers once and for all and take your life back so you aren't waiting for the ax to fall at any moment because from what you've told us it probably won't and chances are something else will get you just like us before this situation does.  Relax..volunteer at your childs school, take on some type of project at home, plan a vacation now for the spring so you have something to look forward to, take a ceramics class, take a nite class at your local college about something you've always been interested in....but my vote is go see another doctor in your area one that gets good reviews from his/her patients on line.  They can get your records from the other doc because your current one sounds like they need a little more patience and needs to be a little more informative with their patients...good luck and relax Donna you'll probably be here longer than we will............keep us posted......