I'm obsessed with my heartrate...need advice.

[oceanminded]

This is my 2nd post. I had my first noticeable PVC a few weeks ago that seemed to last a couple of hours and I ended up going to E.R. They said I was fine and that they were the harmless ones. I've also had really bad anxiety and panic attacks the last couple of years but never any noticeable PVC's. Well, ever since my PVC's, I can't stop checking my pulse (just waiting for the next PVC to occur). It's got so bad that I can feel my pulse all the time throughout my body especially at night when I'm laying down. It seems to be beating really hard and very noticeable. I just started Lexapro a week ago so hopefully that will help as time goes on. I also had every test under the sun done   with prior health related anxiety symptoms so I know everything checks out fine. I guess my question is how do I stop obsessing about my heart. It's driving me crazy which makes my anxiety worse which causes palpations. Any advice would be great!

[WORRYTOMUCH81]

OMG...i so know how you feel Oceonminded. I am having the same issue. My problem started about 5 yrs ago...i started getting palpitations out of the blue...had several EKG's that were normal. I even had a child and had no palpitaions during my pregnancy. Abt 6 months after i had my daughter i had this huuuuuugggggeeeee panic attack...the first one ever...or should i say the first noticiable one. I went to my doctor's and he did an EKG which was abnormal...i am not sure why but i think it was b/c my pulse was at 163. Anyways he sent me to the ER. In th ER they did another EKG, and lots of blood work...at this point my blood pressure was apparently very high too. Anyways long story short....once the ER was ready to discharge me after spending the whole day there, my doctor actually called in and asked them to admit me. So....i had a echocardogram done, a nuclear stress test, my thyroid was checked and i also had a doppler test done to check for clots in my legs....all came back normal. I saw a cardiologist who said that my heart was healthy. I also saw a psychiatrist who said i had anxiety...and i was discharged with anxiety meds. Then my next follow up with my PCP revealed high blood pressure and i was eventually put on blood pressure meds also. So, anyways i took the anxiety meds and bp meds and was fine for a couple of yrs. I felt so good that last yr this time i came off the anxiety meds. However, i decided that i was going to try for another baby, so i spoke with my gyno who reccomended to try to wean of Atelenol (BP med)...so he put me from 50mg to 25mg...my blood pressure was fine at 25mg also...but when it came time to go to 12.5mg...i became very anxious because i felt scared to come off the medicine,..my theory being....if i needed 50mg one time surely i can';t be completely without meds.... anyways long story short my pulse raced and my bp went up slightly and my gyno reccomended to go back on 25mg for a few weeks.

In the mean time i have had some big issues with anxiety.....i started getting the palpitaions all over again. I went to my PCP last week and he did blood work, ekg and a urine test and thank god everything was fine. I asked him if i should go back on anxiety meds...he said no...he said i need to stop thinking and relax.

Now since my last visit to the PCP i have had palpitaions almost none stop...but they are wierd...it feels as though my heart is beating hard instead of fast. I wake up feeling like this every morning and its on and off during the day. Its driving me crazy. I am taking my pulse and bp at every possible moment. I don't know what to do...i want to believe the doctor that i am ok but for some reason i still have a fear that something is wrong.

I had almost every heart test under the sun done in 2006 and i had a ekg last week...i don't understand what could be wrong apart from ANXIETY....but i don't know how to control this nonsense. The funny thing is that when the cardio told me everything was fine and once all my meds started working i was fine but now i think my resting heart rate of 61 is too slow....when its 75 i feel as though its racing...i dont know what to do. This is taking over my whole life at the moment...

Any advice anyone?? Sorry its so long.... also i forgot to mention i have also become obsessed with reading online stuff abt heart disease etc....in the past this alone has caused problems for me....i read stuff online and then convince myself that i have that condition etc...

[lucyluu]

Its so hard to tell someone to just cope with this heart stuff.  I was like you for a long time but I didnt know that I was having PVC's until 2 months ago.  I just felt bad for 2 years and would have all these weird thumps and sensations in my chest followed by rapid heart rate.  I was on anxiety meds for a while and chose to go off because they are bad and its even worse trying to go off of them.  What has helped me since I was diagnosed with the PVC's.  I purchased a blood pressure monitor.  When Im feeling panicy and worried I check my blood pressure.  I used to check my pulse constantly.  My husband would say do you want to tape your fingers to your neck.  The monitor helped me because by seeing for myself that my vitals are ok and after being in the ER enough with all these issues.  I have learned to stop checking it all the time.  When I first got the monitor I was checking my pressure all the time and now I only do it a few days a week.  Im sleeping better also.  When I do have a PVC or a high heart rate I just check the monitor and I know that Im ok.  Obviously if there are more symptoms I will call the doc but I am known to have anxiety lately so for the most part I know its just me.  I just move on with my day and its a little easier now.  At some point you just have to accept things and flow with it and hope that it will go away.  I met someone last weekend who had bad PVC's due to stress for a year.  He changed jobs and the PVC's slowly went away and he has been free of them for a while now.

Hope this helps
Lucy