Anxiety and palpatations

[SheilaSmith]

Hi I am 41 years old and have suffered from anxiety for three years now.  The last three months have been the worst. Huge headaches palpitations my heart racing it's been really bad. I refuse to take any medication for it and started doing acupuncture today.  I went to the doctor four months ago where they did  an echo stress test blood work and everything came out fine.  But I just don't understand how my heart doesn't feel healthy but my test say everything's OK?  I'm making more appointments to go see the doctors again but I feel so lost.  I feel like nobody is able to help me I don't know what to do anymore.  They all tell me it's from anxiety but I don't believe it. Sometimes I get vibrations in my head and chest and I can't sleep for hours in the evening. If I am really tired the vibrations are worse.  Does anyone feel this way?

[SheilaSmith]

Thank you for your response. The reason I am against medication is because they don't treat the problem. They only put a band aid on the situation. You have to get to the bottom of why this is happening. I don't believe medications solves anxiety. Plus all the side effects they have. Your right about doctors. Always. My heart has been fine the last 2 weeks but my inside tremors I get off and on are the most annoying thing of all. Especially when I'm over tired and trying to sleep.

[achillea]

Having suffered from panic attacks for years, I have some idea of how you feel, and it's not much fun.  But both experience with panic plus classes in anatomy and physiology have given me the growing suspicion that chronic anxiety or depression are probably not just temporary mental states, but actual physical diseases that require lifelong treatment--rather like rheumatoid arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome, which, as you probably know, almost never go away on their own.  But medications can help them a lot.  If I had either of those conditions, I would *certainly* take medications for them.  Same for mental/emotional disorders--I don't believe will power is going to do the job.

Second, when it comes to doctors, there are really only two reasonable opinions about them: (a) Either these are unusually smart people who take hard classes, go to medical school (which most of us could not get into), and learn a lot about how the body works, or (b) they are a bunch of lame brains who go to a fake school, and anybody out there knows as much as they do.

I have taken some hard classes myself, and my opinion is that even your average cardiologist knows a ton about whether or not a heart he is looking at is healthy.  If I had had an echo stress test and blood work (and in fact I have had a LOT of them), and they came back normal, reason alone would tell me that my problem was *not* in my heart.

I would suggest going back to the doctor who diagnosed your anxiety and accepting treatment--including medications-- for that.  Please believe me when I say that you can get your proper life back, stop fixating on your heart, feel good and have fun again.

[Al Dente]

Have you visited your family doctor to discuss the situation.  If not, you should discuss how you are feeling.  One thought is thyroid function.

What exactly are the vibrations and where?  Do you notice a patten?  Fluid intake is important.   Anxiety can cause an increase in cascade of "things," not necessarily wrong, which can cause an increase in heart rate.

You can have a clean stress test.  You can have clean lab work.  You can have numerous tests be fine, but still have symptoms of something.  That does not mean you do or do not have a cardiac issue.

How far can you go for a walk?  Can you walk through the grocery story without feeling shortness of breathily or some dull ache?

Palpitations are incredibly unpleasant, so are headaches.  Yes, headaches can be tied to heart problems for some people.  What you need to do is write down a list of problems and discuss them with your doc.  They need to be reviewed against tests.  If problems still persist despite test results, a 2nd review of problems needs to be done.