Aa
Frustrated with chest pressure/heart and GERD symptoms
I've posted a lot of this info here before, but I am really having trouble accepting that everything I experience is just caused by anxiety. Anxiety definitely intensifies everything, but I strongly disagree that it is causing all my current problems. I am very frustrated as I feel doctors just don't understand.
Anyway, I am 23 yrs old and I was very sick in the Winter with High Blood Pressure and Tachycardia (constant for a couple months). My blood pressure and heart rate was high all the time, even when I was in deep sleep in the E.R. on a high dose of I.V. Ativan. Nothing would make my heart rate come much below 100 for a few months. I was even told doctors that "some people just have a high resting heart rate, and maybe you have just developed primary hypertension since it runs in your family." None of this was true as the HBP and Tachycardia became episodic, and is now gone. I wasn't suffering from anxiety when this all started but anxiety increased as my health got worse. They never found out what caused all this. Despite the underlying anxiety and some other issues, I think I am better off now.
Now I worry about my health, and I can admit I have developed Panic Disorder. On top of this I had a bad few weeks of gastrointestinal issues. I get clumps of food stuck in my esophagus creating a tremendous amount of pressure. I've had the same types of symptoms during the winter months when I was ill, and thought about seeing a GI doctor, but I was more concerned about the heart symptoms and blood pressure. I still have a lot of trouble exercising as it makes me feel really ill. If I do a few pullups, i get a lot of chest pressure and chest discomfort. The discomfort feels cardiac related, but I am pretty sure it's not since I have had a huge workup throughout the past 6 months or so. Recently, I tried to convince myself that everything was just anxiety, and had a doctor prescribe me Prozac and Klonopin. Prozac made me 10x worse, so I stopped that, but I still take the Klonopin as needed. Klonopin helps with my anxiety and panic, and HELPS with the chest discomfort, but it doesn't make it go completely away. I tried Pepcid AC, Zantac, Rolaids, etc, and nothing was helping much. I thought nothing would help until someone had me try chewable Acidophilus. As long as I take them religiously after I eat anything, it gets rid of my chest discomfort. I went a couple days without any, and as soon as I got my own bottle, I had relief. My resting heart rate is also much lower and recovers much faster when I take the Acidophilus.
I saw a GI doc today that told me if the Acidophilus is working, continue doing what I am doing. He told me the gastro symptoms is not related to my heart, but I say ********! I didn't know my true resting heart rate is close to 60 bpm, and the Acidophilus has everything to do with it.
What's also strange is that I get a very slow heart rate sometimes (bradycardia). I get tachycardia 99% of the time, but I've had a couple nights of bradycardia. One night I had chest discomfort, so I took my pulse and it was in the 40's. This scared the living **** out of me as my pulse has never been close to that, and visited the E.R. with with a panic attack. Of course when I got to the E.R. my pulse and blood pressure were elevated, so no bradycardia has been seen by a doctor. Last night I had chest discomfort and a slow stuck heart rate again that stayed about 60 even after climbing a set of stairs (very abnormal for me). I felt pretty anxious about it last night, and surprisingly, the anxiety didn't have much effect on my heart rate. Normally that type of anxiety would increase my resting pulse to around 100 bpm, but it was like my heart rate was stuck.
After my doctor visit today, I tried to see if my heart issues could possibly be caused by by my GI system. I know self-diagnosing isn't good, but I am frustrated as I don't think anxiety is the heart of my problem (no pun intended). I guess I would fall under the definition of a hypochondriac as I don't think I have been given a correct diagnosis by my doctors, and want a better answer. I am always analyzing what my body is doing, and think about my health constantly. I will go some weeks trying to ignore everything and not pay attention to my body and health, but it's hard to ignore everything when I am in constant physical pain. My body screams "help me". I know the obsessive thinking can make me feel physically worse. I don't obsess about my health at all when I feel good physically.
Anyway, after my appointment today, I googled something along the lines of "bradycardia and tachycardia with GERD". I don't recall the exact search phrase I used, but I ended up finding something very interesting called "Roemheld syndrome" on Wikipedia. The syndrome is not very well known in the U.S., but basically gastric pressure stimulates the vagus nerve causing either bradycardia or tachycardia. Now of course I can't self diagnose myself, but I do fit the description of that syndrome pretty well. Sigh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roemheld_Syndrome
Anyway, I am 23 yrs old and I was very sick in the Winter with High Blood Pressure and Tachycardia (constant for a couple months). My blood pressure and heart rate was high all the time, even when I was in deep sleep in the E.R. on a high dose of I.V. Ativan. Nothing would make my heart rate come much below 100 for a few months. I was even told doctors that "some people just have a high resting heart rate, and maybe you have just developed primary hypertension since it runs in your family." None of this was true as the HBP and Tachycardia became episodic, and is now gone. I wasn't suffering from anxiety when this all started but anxiety increased as my health got worse. They never found out what caused all this. Despite the underlying anxiety and some other issues, I think I am better off now.
Now I worry about my health, and I can admit I have developed Panic Disorder. On top of this I had a bad few weeks of gastrointestinal issues. I get clumps of food stuck in my esophagus creating a tremendous amount of pressure. I've had the same types of symptoms during the winter months when I was ill, and thought about seeing a GI doctor, but I was more concerned about the heart symptoms and blood pressure. I still have a lot of trouble exercising as it makes me feel really ill. If I do a few pullups, i get a lot of chest pressure and chest discomfort. The discomfort feels cardiac related, but I am pretty sure it's not since I have had a huge workup throughout the past 6 months or so. Recently, I tried to convince myself that everything was just anxiety, and had a doctor prescribe me Prozac and Klonopin. Prozac made me 10x worse, so I stopped that, but I still take the Klonopin as needed. Klonopin helps with my anxiety and panic, and HELPS with the chest discomfort, but it doesn't make it go completely away. I tried Pepcid AC, Zantac, Rolaids, etc, and nothing was helping much. I thought nothing would help until someone had me try chewable Acidophilus. As long as I take them religiously after I eat anything, it gets rid of my chest discomfort. I went a couple days without any, and as soon as I got my own bottle, I had relief. My resting heart rate is also much lower and recovers much faster when I take the Acidophilus.
I saw a GI doc today that told me if the Acidophilus is working, continue doing what I am doing. He told me the gastro symptoms is not related to my heart, but I say ********! I didn't know my true resting heart rate is close to 60 bpm, and the Acidophilus has everything to do with it.
What's also strange is that I get a very slow heart rate sometimes (bradycardia). I get tachycardia 99% of the time, but I've had a couple nights of bradycardia. One night I had chest discomfort, so I took my pulse and it was in the 40's. This scared the living **** out of me as my pulse has never been close to that, and visited the E.R. with with a panic attack. Of course when I got to the E.R. my pulse and blood pressure were elevated, so no bradycardia has been seen by a doctor. Last night I had chest discomfort and a slow stuck heart rate again that stayed about 60 even after climbing a set of stairs (very abnormal for me). I felt pretty anxious about it last night, and surprisingly, the anxiety didn't have much effect on my heart rate. Normally that type of anxiety would increase my resting pulse to around 100 bpm, but it was like my heart rate was stuck.
After my doctor visit today, I tried to see if my heart issues could possibly be caused by by my GI system. I know self-diagnosing isn't good, but I am frustrated as I don't think anxiety is the heart of my problem (no pun intended). I guess I would fall under the definition of a hypochondriac as I don't think I have been given a correct diagnosis by my doctors, and want a better answer. I am always analyzing what my body is doing, and think about my health constantly. I will go some weeks trying to ignore everything and not pay attention to my body and health, but it's hard to ignore everything when I am in constant physical pain. My body screams "help me". I know the obsessive thinking can make me feel physically worse. I don't obsess about my health at all when I feel good physically.
Anyway, after my appointment today, I googled something along the lines of "bradycardia and tachycardia with GERD". I don't recall the exact search phrase I used, but I ended up finding something very interesting called "Roemheld syndrome" on Wikipedia. The syndrome is not very well known in the U.S., but basically gastric pressure stimulates the vagus nerve causing either bradycardia or tachycardia. Now of course I can't self diagnose myself, but I do fit the description of that syndrome pretty well. Sigh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roemheld_Syndrome
So, I had to see my doc again today to get a refill of clonazepam. I really didn't like how the last visit went, but I knew I needed a refill of clonazepam. I am weening off of it as I don't like being addicted to substances. She said that Budeprion may work for me, and I asked if she meant to say Buspirone (I've been doing my research). She said, yes, oops, that's what I meant to say. I kindly refused the prescription as I told her that I had kava kava, which according to the NIH can be as effective as benzodiazepines, and have similar effects as buspirone. I told her I was going to see an ND to discuss dosage and get recommendations on other supplements to take with it. She was very supportive and compassionate this time, and she treated me with respect. I think she was just having a bad day last time. She is just human after all, and we all have our good and bad days. I'm glad I don't have those negative feelings anymore towards her.
Here's what the NIH says about kava kava:
"Human studies have found at least moderate benefit of kava in the treatment of anxiety, and early evidence suggests that kava may be as effective as benzodiazepine drugs such as diazepam (Valium®). Kava's effects were reported to be similar to the prescription drug buspirone (Buspar®) used for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in one study."
Of course, they also mention the possibility of liver toxicity, but after researching it seems to me that liver toxicity was because a german company was using the whole plant rather than just the root. I'm not too worried about that.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-kava.html
Here's what the NIH says about kava kava:
"Human studies have found at least moderate benefit of kava in the treatment of anxiety, and early evidence suggests that kava may be as effective as benzodiazepine drugs such as diazepam (Valium®). Kava's effects were reported to be similar to the prescription drug buspirone (Buspar®) used for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in one study."
Of course, they also mention the possibility of liver toxicity, but after researching it seems to me that liver toxicity was because a german company was using the whole plant rather than just the root. I'm not too worried about that.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-kava.html
Apparently, combining the two is generally not safe. Good to know. I'll stay on the benzos for now.
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/klonopin_d00197_kava_d04422.html
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/klonopin_d00197_kava_d04422.html
So after experiencing benzo withdrawl symptoms, I don't think klonopin is a drug I want to stay on. It worked very well when I first started taking it, but I think I've already built a tolerance to it. I don't like feeling that I absolutely need something.
Would it be safe to lower my dose to .25 mg and make a transition to kava kava? Maybe start with 75 kavalectones per dose? Has anyone here tried this? Both medications act on the same receptors, and I know it can be dangerous combining the 2. I tried asking an M.D., but they have no clue. I think I will schedule an appointment with a naturopath as they probably have more knowledge about this. I find it sad the most M.D.'s don't have much knowledge about natural herbs. It would also help if my pharmacology book talked about this too. It's a very good book, and it mentions all the patented drugs that works on GABA receptors, but nothing about anything natural. Not much info online about transitioning from benzos to kava either.
I guess I will wait till I see a naturopath about this.
Would it be safe to lower my dose to .25 mg and make a transition to kava kava? Maybe start with 75 kavalectones per dose? Has anyone here tried this? Both medications act on the same receptors, and I know it can be dangerous combining the 2. I tried asking an M.D., but they have no clue. I think I will schedule an appointment with a naturopath as they probably have more knowledge about this. I find it sad the most M.D.'s don't have much knowledge about natural herbs. It would also help if my pharmacology book talked about this too. It's a very good book, and it mentions all the patented drugs that works on GABA receptors, but nothing about anything natural. Not much info online about transitioning from benzos to kava either.
I guess I will wait till I see a naturopath about this.
So, even though the kava kava helped the anxiety, I was still sweating a lot and I smell like chemicals even though I showered 3 times today. I thought I was just having benzo withdrawls, so I called the doc and got a few pills tonight. I took one a few hours ago, but I feel virtually the same and I am still sweating and smell. I feel really hot and feel almost like I have a fever, but I don't have one. It's not norma for me to sweat like this.
I would think that taking a pill would stop the withdrawl symptoms. No?
In other news, even though I felt like **** and felt like I shouldn't be on the road (I think I'd be safer driving drunk), I went to the grocery store and then cooked an amazing dinner. I think getting out and doing something as simple as buying ingredients is therapeutic. I also saw some friends at the grocery store which was nice.
I'm feeling a little better now, but wish I would stop sweating and stinking.
I would think that taking a pill would stop the withdrawl symptoms. No?
In other news, even though I felt like **** and felt like I shouldn't be on the road (I think I'd be safer driving drunk), I went to the grocery store and then cooked an amazing dinner. I think getting out and doing something as simple as buying ingredients is therapeutic. I also saw some friends at the grocery store which was nice.
I'm feeling a little better now, but wish I would stop sweating and stinking.
Again, we ALL have some things that are wrong with us physically, but until you decide to confront your anxiety, you are going to go round and round like this for a long time. For example, I have an extremely low pulse and when I get up I do get dizzy once and while...but that is just me. I went to the doctor and found out I was okay. You need to accept what the docs are telling you. Unless you are medical doctor, then you are not qualified to diagnose yourself...it sounds like you have been to the docs a lot. Regardless of where your anxiety comes from, you really need to confront it anyways and if you are not willing to learn and talk about it through therapy then there is not much to really suggest.
Work on accepting it and then I believe you will eventually be ready to confront it. I was like you for many months. I refused to listen to the professionals, I did not what to seek help, and I knew everyone was wrong besides me....keep working at it!
Work on accepting it and then I believe you will eventually be ready to confront it. I was like you for many months. I refused to listen to the professionals, I did not what to seek help, and I knew everyone was wrong besides me....keep working at it!
I bought some kava kava and took my first dose, and wow, it really does work. It makes me feel more tired than when I take klonopin (maybe the dose?), but I feel so much better. I was surprised at how fast it acts. I combined a kava kava stress relief tea tea with 30 drops of kava kava root, and it took effect very fast (10 minutes or so). I was told that kava extracts can vary in quality and effectiveness, and it's best to go with a reputable brand in liquid form. My health food store also had roots that you can combine with warm water or tea. This supposedly will give you the best effects.
I think a lot of supplements are bogus, and I was pleasantly surprised that this has taken off the edge.
I think a lot of supplements are bogus, and I was pleasantly surprised that this has taken off the edge.
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