PVC's causing anxiety and depression

[regan]

I am a 29 year old female having horrible anxiety due to pvc's. I started getting them in March last year. I have tried Zoloft and Celexa but they both caused me to have a racing heart and I ended up having a panic attack with both. I take .25mg Xanax maybe once a month but I need something daily for my anxiety/depression. Is it ok to take Xanax daily? Will I become addicted? Is there any other medication that I could try that won't give me a racing heart? My resting pulse is usually 65-75 even while feeling anxious. But meds made my pulse closer to 100 and then I could really feel the pvc's. I felt like I was going to die. I don't want to take beta blockers because of the side effects; low blood pressure and depression. I already have those. I want to exercise to help the anxiety and depression but I am afraid to because of the pvc's (they seem to get worse w/adrenaline). If I could just eliminate one of these problems I feel I could cope better. I use to exercise regularly but stopped the day of my first episode with pvc's. I just want a plan to help myself overcome some or all of this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.    April

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

April, I assume you have had an ekg and are being followed by a physician.  You are correct in avoiding the traditional ssri's because they do have a stimulating effect, and that's not what you need.  Have you asked your doctor about klonopin or ativan, both of which are like xanax but longer lasting and less addictive?

[pandora9048]

Hi
I get pvcs and racing heart often. I had a pvc tonight that literally took my breath way.  they r very scary and I know first hand the anxiety that they cause.  Im told though that in the presence of a structurally normal heart, they are considered benign and not life threatening.  if u read through the posts on the heart forum, you will see just how common a condition this is.
As for xanax, they are addictive.  Ive been taking .5 mg 2x a day since june after a rather nasty panic attack.  while they work wonders for calming me down, they r really not for heart palpitations.  they just make u less anxious about them, i guess.  But im at the point now where i take them just to feel normal, and I wish i hadnt started taking them on a daily basis.
Maybe if u have an echocardiogram done and its ok, u will feel better.
Regards,
Pan

[njrob]

I had a similar problem with pvcs and racing heart that began last Aug.  I started taking xanax daily, but I became dependent on it.  I weaned off and started an SSRI- zoloft works for me. You should ask your doctor for another SSRI (Paxil?) to take daily for the anxiety.  Hold the xanax for "if needed" basis.
I had also discontinued exercise, but now I've started again.  I suggest that you start very slowly and gradually increase intensity.  It's important to get back to it because it can ease anxiety besides keeping your heart healthy.  Good luck.

[regan]

Thanks for your comments. I am started to forget what normal feels like. I think I will try exercising again slowly. If anyone has any more suggestions I'd love to her them. Thans so much. -April

[LORIANDTOM]

Wow.  I bet you would be surprised how many of us know how you feel.  I too, get lots of pvc's and I believe they are what triggered my anxiety and that doesn't help the pvc's and then you get scared worried etc....what a vicious cycle.

I have been dealing with pvc's for about two years.  I did try toprol and ateninol (sp) but they made me feel terrible.  Zoloft worked great.  Not because it got rid of the pvc's but I became much less aware of them.  I had some side effects and switched to Lexapro which had been working well.

A couple of things I learned about my pvc's- Excercise does help and it is proven that regular cardiovascular activity helps regulate pvc's.  I jump rope and if I quit doing it for awhile then the pvc's come back with more repetition.  You don't have to spend the day at the gym just do something regularly every day or so even if it is for a few minutes.

Avoid caffine, peppermint, chocolate and alcohol.  This can aggravate and cause more pvc's. I love chocolate  so this is hard for me, but I have found that dark chocolate seems to bother my heart less- thank goodness.

I know it is scary.  Even though I know much more than I did, I still am scared when I feel the skip and thud in my chest.

Lori

[regan]

Thanks for the great comments and advice. I have an appointmet in February and I will ask about the ativan. I'm still scared to exercise but I think I am going to start out slow by walking. I just need to get the anxiety under control. If anyone can tell me what they did to get their live back I love to hear from you.

[LORIANDTOM]

I did read a book that was quite helpful called THE RELAXATION RESPONSE which is a great simple book that deals with relaxation techniques and it might sound goofy but it really did help me.  I use the technique when I am having a good run of pvc's and it helps keep me calm and not totally lose it.  It a good book but if your not a reader you can skip to the relaxation technique and start right away.

I hope that you are doing better.

Lori

[Kelleyd]

Hi- I suffer from something very similar and had become very HEART FOCUSED for a long time.  I still do just not as bad.  I have learned that if I feel anxious/PVC/jittery, whatever- I get moving.  The first 10 minutes is hard because I feel wound up tighter than a drum and want to run back in the house sit down and take a Xanax, but if I keep plugging I find that after about 15 minutes it just breaks.  I had a panic attack summer of 01 while driving my car to work.  I didn't know what happened to me, I thought I was dying.  I also tried so many SSRI.  Celexa made me gain weight BAD, it also gave me the sweats and I just didn't feel like me, Wellbutrin made me nuts period, Lexapro- forget it I felt like I had drank 20 cups of coffee and Buspar- well I felt like my body was on the ground but my head was 5 feet above it.  So I quit all those.  I use Xanax as needed.  Someday's I need it (maybe even twice a day) other days I don't need it all.  I find days that I get in a good walk are days I don't use it.  Good luck.  Also try some counseling.  Sometimes getting to the root of what you're afraid is and addressing it makes dealing with it start to become OVERCOMING it.

[regan]

I really like hearing about what you do to help alleviate the anxiety. I get scared when I start feeling this way during exercise and I guess I need just keep exercising and get past it. I hope I can do it! Thanks. Also thanks to all of you who posted. It all helps to hear your words off encouragement.

[sarabot]

i'm 23 and i've been dealing with anxiety for about 2 years now, i had a panic attack and i went to the ER not knowing what was going on with me, i was freaking out in the hospital because no one would tell me what was wrong with me, i thought i was dying, they admitted me as a patient because my heart beat was all over the place, and they were very concerned, i had an ekg, an echogram, and a 24 hour holter monitor, they told me that my pvc's were benign, i even went to see a cardiologist to follow up and everything was fine, i was still having major anxiety, being in the hospital alone was one of the scariest things i have ever been through, for a few months i would have panic attacks everday, i never felt normal, i felt like i was in a dream, i couldn't eat, i couldn't sleep, it was effecting every part of my life...i started taking xanax, i didn't like the way it was making me feel, so i would take only a quarter of the lowest dosage possible, once i got my anxiety sort of under control i started using relaxation techniques, doing yoga stretches, drinking chamomile tea, and taking hot baths with lavendar, it helped control my pvc's to a point where they were bareable, my pvc's definately act up when i have stress and anxiety, i don't take any medicine for my anxiety, i've learned to talk myself out of panic attacks, recently i decided to join a gym, i went to my doctor for a physical, he listened to my heart and said that my heart sounded really weird, he wants to give me a holter test, i'm a bit nervous, but i can't consume my time with thinking about it, i'm sure the beats were just strange because i was having anxiety about being at the doctor's office,....whatever the results are, all i can do is just go on with my life, you can't worry about pvc's if they're not going to kill you, the more you worry, the more anxiety you have, and the more pvc's you're going to have, it's good to know that there are so many people that go through the same things that we all do, it's very comforting to know that you're not alone.

[regan]

It is very comforting to know someone else knows what I'm going through. If you are ever having a bad day with your anxiety and need someone to chat with you can e-mail me at; ***@****                                       I know I feel better talking with someone after a bad day with anxiety. You are definitely not alone and I love your positive attitude toward this. I'd love for some of it to rub off on me. Take care -April

[2monkeys]

IAM SO LUCKY TO HAVE STUMPLED ONTO THESE SITES,I HAVE BEEN SPENDING ALOT OF TIME GOING INTO DIFFERENT FORUMS FOR THE MOST PART I AM FEELING BETTER NOT TO BE ALONE IN THIS.  I TO CANT REMEMBER WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE NORMAL, I GUESS ITS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND I AM 35 AND BEEN SO ACTIVE MY WHOLE LIFE AND HONESTLY STRESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY WAY OF LIFE I USED TO INTO ANY PROJECT WITH A HUGE STRESS LEVEL AND IT FIT ME WELL AND THEN ALL THE SUDDEN OH MY!  I END UP IN THE ER THOUGHT I WAS HAVING HEART ATTACH ALL THE SIGNS AND THEN SOME, DOCTORS TESTS, ER DOCTORS TESTS MORE DOCTORS EKG ABNORMALLY NORMAL {WHAT IS THAT?} DOC SAID STRESS I AM NOW TAKING ZOLOFT 50MG AND FOR 2WEEKS NO PVC'STRESS LOWERED BUT ONE DISAGREEMENT WHILE SHOPPING WITH MY HUSBAND AND I THOUGHT MY HEART WAS GOING TO JUMP RIGHT OUT OF MY CHEST, HAS MY BODY GOTTEN USED TO THE MEDS? DO I NEED HIGHER DOSE?  I HAVE NEVER BEEN ONE TO TAKE MEDS, NOT EVEN IF I HAVE HEADACHE I JUST WORK THROUGH IT, BUT I AM FINDING MYSELF DESPIRIT, I CANT EVEN REMEMBER WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE MYSELF, STRUGGLING WITH WILL I HAVE AN ATTACK OR WHAT.  SOMEDAYS I FEEL OUT OF MY MIND AND SO LOST.  I WISH THE BEST FOR EVERYONE WHO SUFFERS FROM THIS AS IT IS SO HARD TO FIND YOUR PLACE AND SELF. WENDY

[AliG]

Hi, I can't tell you what a relief it is to find someone close to my own age who is experiencing pvc's.  I am a 24 year old female who has been experiencing pvc's now for 4 years.  At first they were rather mild, only experiencing a few here and there.  Now I'm going on 36 hours of straight pvc's, usually about 1 or 2 a minute.  I went to the ER last night and fortunately they caught those nasty pvc's on my EKG.  I had never had them caught before so it was actually a relief that they acted up in the ER.  Now, my problem is I can't get any sleep.  When I lay down I keep feeling them.  I am so tired and all I want to do is sleep but it's a little difficult when you are experiencing so many.  Has anyone found any coping mechanisms for sleep?  Thanks and blessings to everyone that goes through these viscious cycles of pvc's.

[Jumpy]

Stupud question really, but what do the initials PVC stand for?