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Anxiety Community
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Post traumatic stress and adrenalin
by quillswriting, Jul 22, 2007 02:25PM
Can anyone shed some light on Hyperbeta adrenergic syndrome. I have been suffering from constant sinus tachycardia and with it high bp. I have undergone extensive tests (including thyroids) and they can't find a cause, but it all kicked off after giving birth, I read an archive post on here from a lady called Roberta, she said her daughter had the same symptoms as me even down to the severe weight loss and that it was all after the birth, it stated that she had sinus tachy, with it high bp and that she had become very thin and weak like myself. I read the posting on medhelp.com about a woman who's daughter of the same age as me had it in 1999 but there was not much mention of the condition of hyperbeta blah blah. On wikipedia it is related to post traumatic stress.
I have adrenalin racing round me all the time, and am on beta blockers and have been prescribed SSRI's also.
I developed a fear of giving birth, then of course, I had to give birth, I was relieved after the birth but there was so much adrenalin whooshing round me that I literally could not sleep at all for three days after the birth, I had, on the first night conditioned myself not to sleep after the birth. After that I started sleeping normally, but of course, was using babycentre forums to chat to other mums who had been supporting me and I supporting them through our pregnancies. Then... one of the Mums got a nasty infection a few weeks after the birth, followed by another. Then I got a tooth infection and had gone from fear of birth, to fear of infections. I then stopped eating - fear of getting more food stuck down the gap where my wisdom tooth has not quite come through properly which has caused 5 infections through the pregnancy and that one after the birth. I tried to eat on the other side but was so nervous that I couldn't swallow properly. I would have literally a mouthful a night.
As well as that I then noticed I had got a womb infection like my friends and was "crapping myself" about it. I was convinced it was bad, because I had looked up the name of the infection and saw what its complications were, I was ULTIMATELY terrified! It was a nasty one. I was given antibiotics and then took another swab test which said it was all clear. But I was not convinced, I had developed other symptoms and was convinced it had become a secondary infection. I noticed I was getting petechaie, flushing, my blood pressure was going up, and more and more symptoms arose. I was getting severe pain in my pelvic area and was in and out of the doctor's on a daily basis in sheer panic.
I then caught a virus that was going round, shortly after I developed a painful rash on my legs, then the rash disappeared but I felt weak and drained. I was still not eating. I had not noticed that I had lost weight by this point.
I then noticed my skin had gone very pale and transparent, I could see all my veins, I felt weak, my breathing was weak. Something, to me, was very wrong. I felt like my muscles were wasting. I then caught another virus, a bad one this time, it was sinusitis with a throat thing. I could not breathe properly. I had also been crying a lot with anxiety. One night I laid on the bed coughing and my lungs were literally spasming, forcing breath out, it was terrifiying. I could feel the congestion daily working its way down onto my chest. I had earache and my sinuses were heavy. I could feel this tight band around my middle all day one day. My mouth was full of sores when I had tried to eat. I was in a mess. I literally one night ran down to the doctors in fear and when he checked my bp and heart rate he immediately admitted me because they were both sky high. Only to be told after lots of blood tests and chest x ray that my problem was psychiatric!
The heart rate never calmed down, I was diagnosed with sinus tachycardia, I then got lots of pvcs and pacs etc... and developed an arrhythmia also. I was referred to the cardiologist who said it was stress but has booked me for an echo. Meanwhile my symptoms got worse, I noticed the weight loss and I eventually weighed myself, I was 8 stone, from 10 and a half stone in 2 months! I had lost all my body fat/muscle mass. I was bony, pale and my veins were popping up all the time. I had gone greyish white in colour, dark circles under my eyes. I was back in and out of the doctor's convinced it was physical, my fingernails went bluish, I developed fungal infections in my toenails and feet, I was in pain all of the time in my joints (my joints even went red). I was tested for everything and tests came back normal each time. (thyroids, blood counts, blood cultures, serum levels, electrolytes, esr, ACE, PTH, glucose, you name it) the only levels that have been out recently are my FSH and LH which are both elevated but that can happen in a normal cycle and I was due my period when I had them done so they have to be repeated.
I have since developed neurological symptoms and I am very scared, I have asked for an MRI but have been refused. (I was granted a referral recently by another doctor but my doctor put a stop to it, insisting it is purely psychiatric). I also have suspected ME which doesn't help.
So, after babbling on like that (sorry), is there a chance that it actually IS psychiatric? Has my living in constant fear caused this? Is my adrenalin whooshing round all day every day?
Before birth, my normal bp was 100/60 the highest it went was 110/60. It has always been like that. Now, on the beta blockers, it's 130/80!
Can someone give me some advice?
I have adrenalin racing round me all the time, and am on beta blockers and have been prescribed SSRI's also.
I developed a fear of giving birth, then of course, I had to give birth, I was relieved after the birth but there was so much adrenalin whooshing round me that I literally could not sleep at all for three days after the birth, I had, on the first night conditioned myself not to sleep after the birth. After that I started sleeping normally, but of course, was using babycentre forums to chat to other mums who had been supporting me and I supporting them through our pregnancies. Then... one of the Mums got a nasty infection a few weeks after the birth, followed by another. Then I got a tooth infection and had gone from fear of birth, to fear of infections. I then stopped eating - fear of getting more food stuck down the gap where my wisdom tooth has not quite come through properly which has caused 5 infections through the pregnancy and that one after the birth. I tried to eat on the other side but was so nervous that I couldn't swallow properly. I would have literally a mouthful a night.
As well as that I then noticed I had got a womb infection like my friends and was "crapping myself" about it. I was convinced it was bad, because I had looked up the name of the infection and saw what its complications were, I was ULTIMATELY terrified! It was a nasty one. I was given antibiotics and then took another swab test which said it was all clear. But I was not convinced, I had developed other symptoms and was convinced it had become a secondary infection. I noticed I was getting petechaie, flushing, my blood pressure was going up, and more and more symptoms arose. I was getting severe pain in my pelvic area and was in and out of the doctor's on a daily basis in sheer panic.
I then caught a virus that was going round, shortly after I developed a painful rash on my legs, then the rash disappeared but I felt weak and drained. I was still not eating. I had not noticed that I had lost weight by this point.
I then noticed my skin had gone very pale and transparent, I could see all my veins, I felt weak, my breathing was weak. Something, to me, was very wrong. I felt like my muscles were wasting. I then caught another virus, a bad one this time, it was sinusitis with a throat thing. I could not breathe properly. I had also been crying a lot with anxiety. One night I laid on the bed coughing and my lungs were literally spasming, forcing breath out, it was terrifiying. I could feel the congestion daily working its way down onto my chest. I had earache and my sinuses were heavy. I could feel this tight band around my middle all day one day. My mouth was full of sores when I had tried to eat. I was in a mess. I literally one night ran down to the doctors in fear and when he checked my bp and heart rate he immediately admitted me because they were both sky high. Only to be told after lots of blood tests and chest x ray that my problem was psychiatric!
The heart rate never calmed down, I was diagnosed with sinus tachycardia, I then got lots of pvcs and pacs etc... and developed an arrhythmia also. I was referred to the cardiologist who said it was stress but has booked me for an echo. Meanwhile my symptoms got worse, I noticed the weight loss and I eventually weighed myself, I was 8 stone, from 10 and a half stone in 2 months! I had lost all my body fat/muscle mass. I was bony, pale and my veins were popping up all the time. I had gone greyish white in colour, dark circles under my eyes. I was back in and out of the doctor's convinced it was physical, my fingernails went bluish, I developed fungal infections in my toenails and feet, I was in pain all of the time in my joints (my joints even went red). I was tested for everything and tests came back normal each time. (thyroids, blood counts, blood cultures, serum levels, electrolytes, esr, ACE, PTH, glucose, you name it) the only levels that have been out recently are my FSH and LH which are both elevated but that can happen in a normal cycle and I was due my period when I had them done so they have to be repeated.
I have since developed neurological symptoms and I am very scared, I have asked for an MRI but have been refused. (I was granted a referral recently by another doctor but my doctor put a stop to it, insisting it is purely psychiatric). I also have suspected ME which doesn't help.
So, after babbling on like that (sorry), is there a chance that it actually IS psychiatric? Has my living in constant fear caused this? Is my adrenalin whooshing round all day every day?
Before birth, my normal bp was 100/60 the highest it went was 110/60. It has always been like that. Now, on the beta blockers, it's 130/80!
Can someone give me some advice?
I recently wrote to a MD in the states who told me that anxiety CAN cause constant sinus tachycardia, is that right? What is the best thing I can do to calm the heart rate down? I have tried relaxation techniques and breathing exercises, it just doesn't seem to calm it. I can be sat down watching the TV late in the evening and it feels like the beta blocker has worn off and the heart rate goes nuts! This has only been recent, usually the beta blocker works pretty well, but more recently I have had to take another half a beta blocker at night.
I had asked this doctor if merely thought and emotion can keep it going mad and he said yes, and that subconcious thought can also do it, so I may not be physically thinking about it but because it is something I have been thinking about all the time it psychosomatically goes mad all of the time.
I can feel the adrenalin though, I admit that, but my breathing etc... will be normal when the rate goes mad so I don't think it's panic attacks. My bp also goes up. I have recently had to do a test for pheochromocytoma (adrenal tumor), the 24 hr urine test to check my adrenalin. We shall see what that comes up with.
But, did you get the same as me after giving birth? I heard that birth injury may cause it too but I don't know what kind of injuries. I had a natural birth and my husband said it looked shocking when I was delivering the baby, I don't know what he saw, but he said the baby came out so fast. I was induced. Before the tachy started I do remember still getting severe pelvic pain at night.