I don't know what to do

[hearthealth1]

Hello,

I am hoping that some on can give me some information.  I think I am suffering from kind of heart condition or panic disorder, or both.  I will sometimes have a VERY hard time catching my breath or taking in a full breath of air in my lungs.  It will keep me up and night and my chest will literally hurt from trying to get a full breath.  This happens to me all the time.  This has been happening since I was in Jr. High, but not always this severe.  I don't know if its the fact that it has gotten worse or the fact that I'm starting to really worry about it more.  It feels like I can feel my heart skip a  beat and feel it beating in a crazy rhythm and speed. I got put on Adderall about 1 1/2 years ago, and also have a prescription of 3 -.25g xanax per day.  I will usually take a 20mg Add XR in the am and another in the afternoon.  I only take the xanax at night, and not every night. This week is finals, so I have been taking a little more adderall than usual.  

I have gone through some recent changes in my life that may be effecting my health.  I just quit smoking in February and I quit drinking as well. Before I quit however, I drank and smoked alot!  Because I don't drink anymore, I have started to take the xanax more often than before.  And on top of that, for about the past month I have been smoking pot at night about 4-5 times a week. I have recently been having really bad anxiety about everything.  Sometimes I will get light headed, everything gets sorta blurry, my body gets tingly, and I feel like I can't move.  Things start going black and then i start coming back to normal.  I guess these are dizzy spells, but i just had one a few hours ago in my apartment by myself and it really scared me.  What scares me more than those spells is my heart.  after that happened, or maybe it was before it happened, my heart was beating out of control.  I could see my pulse beating in my veins and feel the veins in my temple. This is the second time this week this has happened to me.  I have trouble breathing at some point everyday usually.   I've never tried to tell anyone about this problem because it sounds so stupid.
There are also alot of heath factors that I'm afraid may have effected my heart/ health.  I'm not bulimic but there have been periods where I have made my self throw up.  I started in about 6/7th grade and up till a year ago I continued to make myself vomit occasionally. I would do this in little stages, for about 2 weeks then stop for months. I have never told anyone about this. I'm just afraid that it may have done damage to my heart or something else.
Sometimes I will go through periods were it is very difficult for me to sleep.  Some nights I will lay in bed for hours, wide await, trying to catch my breath and my mind racing.  Sleep has always been a problem for me, but it seems to come and go, just like the breathing issue.  I have thought that maybe the breathing thing was just in my mind but I am finally beginning to accept that it may be something more.  It is not normal to be sitting down watching tv and having your chest ache because you are trying to get a full lung.  I remember my dad having breathing troubles too.
I have a family history of heart problems.  My dad, who has passed away (he had ALS) had a heart transplant when he was in his early 40, his father died of heart attack and his brother had a very serious heart condition as well, I think heart disease. Both of my parents were/are heavy alcoholics(I'm not using that term loosely).

I know this has been a really long rambling question, but I just wanted to know if anyone knows what I should do.  
I have an almost constant pain in my chest because I cant get a full breath of air, which then leads to anxiety.  My heart feels like it is racing sometimes and actually skipping beats, which I'm not even sure is possible.  I have recently been suffering from increased panic attacks.  I know I have a history of health problems which makes me terrified to really go to the doctor.  And I don't want to have to tell my family about this, I don't even know what kind of doctor to go to.  Is the adderall and xanax a bad idea?  If I go to the doctor, are they goingto tell me to quit taking the adderal?  I don't even feel like the xanax does anything to calm me down.  Did making my self throw up when I was younger have anything to do with this?  



  

[ddavey]

first, how old are you?? why are you taking adderall and xanax???   did the same dr prescribe both of these meds??    are you seeing a therapist, i ask this because i know that adderall is a medication used for people with ADHD but i know that it is also used by some for weight loss    if you are taking adderall for ADHD there are other meds out there (strattera is a good one) but if you are taking it for weight loss you need to remember that adderall is basically a form of speed if used by someone who is not diagnosed with ADHD and if you are taking xanax to calm yourself from the effects of adderall then you need to stop and think about this...   there is a possibility that what you are feeling are panic attacks, and the adderall is certainly not going to help that.  you have a family history of heart problems, so you have valid concerns, but you need to talk to the dr who is prescribing the adderall and look at other options...  my daughter is 23 and has cardiomyopathy (a serious heart condition)   she also has ADHD and takes strattera for that, she also takes lamictal and seroquel (these are mood stablilizers)   i hope that you are able to let your dr (and your family) know what your concerns are, because keeping all of this to yourself isn't going to help you try to get a handle on your fears.     please let me know how you are doing and if there is anything we can do to help          dawn

[hearthealth1]

I am 22 years old, 5'5 145-150 lbs.  I'm taking adderall for ADHD.  I'm not taking  xanax because of the adderall, but for anxiety.  I have not talked to my doctor about any of the panic attacks that have happened recently.   The same doctor did prescribe me both. I am in good shape and until this past semester, I attended yoga class at least 3 times a week.  I first started having shortness of breath when I was in Jr. High and went to the dr to be tested for asthma.  They said I was fine so I haven't back since.  A part of me thought that it was normal.   There are somedays when every 4th breath I take is difficult.  I'm not sure when it is worse or what sets it off.  I'm not sure if its anxiety or panic attacks, or something more serious.  I remember growing up watching my dad at night struggling for his breath.  I can feel my heart beat irregularly at times and its really scary.  Last night I really thought I was about to have a heart attack, stroke, or something horrible.  I am also constantly under emotional stress because my mom and her drinking.  She is a heavy binge drinker and now that all of the kids are in college, no one is there to watch her.  There are also many issues that we kids have with her and each other.  I would rather be anxious than depressed so when i start to get that gloomy dread feeling, I force myself to focus on school or something else.  Do you think that my shortness of breath and chest pains are because of stress or something physically wrong?  They started in 7th so that might be a little young for anxiety.  And if something was wrong with my heart/heath, wouldn't I have known about it by now?  Am I too young to worry about my heart?  

[ddavey]

no, you are to young to worry about your heart, amber was twenty when we found out about her heart problems.  check with your dr to ask him to refer you to a cardiologist to get things checked out due to your family history... if your heart is okay that may ease your mind a bit.    with everything you are going at this age it may be that you are having anxiety or panic attacks, but you should get a check up with a cardiologist first.   i would also ask your dr about strattera   the good thing about strattera is that it is not the type of ADHD med that you have pick up the script every month, it can be written with as much as 6 refills    i know that some people who suffer from panic attacks have shortness of breath and feel as if they are having a heart attack, and if you saw your father have these same issues with his heart that can be pretty frightening   i hate to see someone your age have to go through all the issues that you are having with your mom when you should be able to focus on school and just being 22...  get in to see a cardiologist, let your dr know about what you are feeling.  i wish i could tell you not to worry about your mom...you can't fix an alcoholic, they have to do it for themselves, but i know its hard not to worry...  but  if you have panic attacks or heart trouble the stress from worrying about your mom's issues will only make either condition worse...   please let me know how everything goes...           dawn