I need help... I am really getting scared!

[sinead]

I am at my wits end with these flops & skips... at first I was just getting a few flops a day followed by some slow pounding heartbeats, but now I am getting flops & skips several times a day!  I especially notice them when I am moving around & my heart is working... so now I'm afraid of physical activity! this only started for me about 2 months ago so bear with me if I sound like a panicked lunatic... I am wondering if I am actually really getting more of them, or if now I am just so SENSITIZED to them that I notice them ALL the time now.  this is hell.
I went to my doctor a few weeks ago & was sent to the hospital for a EKG which was "perfect" but of course I didn't have any skips during the test. how much can they REALLY know from an EKG anyway?  would they have seen something?  my doctor is very dismissive, I have fibromyalgia as well & it took 3 years of tests to figure that all out so I feel like a nuissance pain in the ass when I have to go in to see him because of all that before.  I really just cannot even stand the thought that something ELSE is wrong with me now too... this is kicking the **** out of me emotionally. do I need more tests?  what tests so I need? I'm so scared.  I don't want to go through more medical tests!  I am only 30 & so sick of all this physical BS all the time.  what do you guys think?  I am so greatful to all you wonderful caring people out here in this forum... you guys are the only thing helping me through all this... friends & family don't understand at all. thanks.

[kdecamp]

Hi there.  I hope this finds you doing better, but I'm here to offer some help.

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Of course, I shared the information with my brother and he is now pretty much pain free (he was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 10 years ago).

This stuff is truly incredible.  Who would have thought that these health issues are all related to nutrition!

If you want more information, just email me:  ***@****

[vange]

Ok..So I just found this forum, and already feel a little better.  Im 26 and about 4 years ago I just didnt "feel right."  I was told it was in my head, panic, anxiety etc. Anyways it ended up being SVT, had an ablation, and felt better. Now within the past few months, I have been getting PVC's so badly I literally have convinced myself Im goin to drop dead.  Never been this afraid in my life, and it certainly doesnt help that my dad dropped dead, sudden cardiac death (vfib) last year in front of me, and that i will be taking my RN boards soon.  I think i know too much and worry myself sick.  I know my body and I know when something doesnt feel rite. My Cardiologist just put me on atenolol, and a 30 day loop monitor, also have GERD bad and feel they coincide.  I have had  a few couplets, and I think I recently had a slight run of VTACH...now im more afraid than ever, but what do u do?

[PghPanther]

You issues with skipped beats and their symptoms and pyschological effects they have on your are well known and experienced by many.......including myself.

As a (hopefully) "past veteran" of these experiences let me suggest some lifestyle changes that could very well begin to minimize those issues...........if the frequency then is reduced so then the anixety.............that in turn will further reduction in the frequency.....


Okay......the heart rate is controlled electrically right? which is controlled by the balance of chemistry in the body........so here is what you can do to help minimize problems in chemistry hence electrical issues assuming that structurally your heart has checked out fine.....

Get rid of the stimulants such as smoking, drinking, coffee, softdrinks from you life..........try to drink only water as much as possible...especially distilled water which is the only really clean water........regular bottled water is no regulated and as bad as many tap water sources.

Learn to eat in a manner that controls blood sugar....by getting rid of sweets and high glycemic foods....

Get rid of chemicals in you food......try to eat real whole natural foods......you don't have to go organic but get rid of the junk.....especially any artifical sweeeteners..........

Now, add esentially healthy fatty acids from 3 tablespoons a day of extra virgin olive oil and a handful of shelled walnuts each day to your diet.....in addition of their being a huge asset to heart and circulatory health they are also very helpful in regulating the heart beat.........

So after adding that to your diet try to eliminate some of these other items above in a controlled fashion over a few months and see if it makes a noticable change in your symptoms.

It should help significantly and then will improve your outlook which will lessen the anixety over time as well.

Plus you will be doing your body good in overall health too..........

[anacyde]

I get mine with activity too, but I absolutely refuse to let that stop me.  I spent enough time doing that garbage, believe me.  Sitting still won't prevent them, but it will prevent you from having any kind of life or sanity - believe me on that.

I have an idea that these are adrenaline-driven, and physical activity gets your adrenaline up...so it's like a double dose when you exercise and are anxious. I don't believe it makes it more dangerous.  Actually the benefit of anxiety reduction that regular exercise has could ultimately reduce the total number of palpitations you get...I've noticed this is the case for me.

I'm sorry that you're going through this.  Hang in there.  Keep reading - go through the archives of the original forum too.  That forum saved me, I swear to you.

[bama jane]

If it helps any,I have had extra beats for 7 years every day and while they make me nuts at times I am still here. I also found that daily exercise has helped with them. It is a vicous cycle when they get to be very close together and then you get concerned or frustrated and it makes them worse. I have lots of different arrhythmia problems but  have been assured by numerous good cardiologists that while difficult to live with they should not kill me. I get all the symptoms I see here and a lot of the same things cause them. Eating, bending over, sleeping on my left side, taking a deep breath, reaching above my head, I even get monmentary chest pressure with some of them and sometimes they make me burp. I feel like I am on an elevator dropping with some of them as well.  If you look through some previous posts you will see what is going on in the heart at the time that can cause those feelings.  Knowing that helped me. Try not to get scared (easier said than done) and if you feel you would like a longer holter or event monitor to help to reassure you ask your doctor.Good luck!

[*Robin*]

I am going through the same thing! I've had EKG's, Echos, and a Stress Test, all normal. I never had palpitations before I had a reaction to one pill of Prednisone that I took. Now, I get them all the time. I wonder, if they are not picked up on an EKG or Echo, how do the doctors know if they are harmful or benign?

[jwinst]

I am going through the same hell myself! I just posted before you! I have had EKGs, an echo, and an event monitor. My skipped beats were picked up on all of the tests, but they say that it is nothing to worry about. I know that I had them very rarely when I was growing up (am now 24), but over the past 3/4 years they have only gotten worse. I am so down about all of this because I do not want it to continue to worsen. I had a bad run earlier and my heart is still skipping every now and then. I just cant seem to relax. I suggest that you look at the anxiety factor in all of this. I am seeing a therapist right now and I have drugs to take if I need to calm down. I know I have anxiety issues and I am trying so hard to deal with all of this bc I know that anxiety makes them worse. But I really feel like my quality of life has decreased immensely. I am getting married in a few months and I cannot imagine having all of these skips on that day. I keep telling myself that I cannot let them ruin my life!! But after today I feel like I have been knocked down on my a**. I trust my doc, but I am going to go in for a stress test just for some more peace of mind. I am at my wits end.
I hope that we can find some peace soon!!