How to deal with pvcs/pacs I can't cope

[Sarahlou31xxxx]

I'm 31 female ..they randomly started when I was 26.
They lasted 4 months then vanished for a year then back.
Now back again for 5 weeks.
I'm so sick of my life.
I've had about 70-80 already today.
Yesterday I only had 10 and day before I had 1.
They are so random.
When I first got them I had echo /holter/ecg and everything fine except showing pvcs/pacs.
Cardiologist seen my once and said no point coming back you have a text book heart it's anxiety /stress.
I will say I suffer from a anxiety disorder.
I worry all day every day,I'm terrified every day,I have that nervous feeling daily.
I think about pvcs every day ,I get angry and scream and cry.
If my dad goes for a walk I think he has been hit by a car if I hear ambulance.
Today is bad I'm terrified and the pvcs are all the time..then they stop for 20 mins but I still feel terrified and shaky.
I feel icy cold and jittery.
I had a panic attack this morning (I think it was) my heart was beating so fast and skipping beat after beat I thought something bad was going to happen,I wanted to run out of the house.
5 min that passed but pvcs have been on all day.
Even now I'm sat and I can hardly sit still,foot has to be tapping.
What's wrong with me?
Why can't my heart just beat properly every day

[Sarahlou31xxxx]

My doctor has prescribed diazepam to take as and when I need it but normally it's just 1 tablet every 2/3 weeks as I've read it can be addictive.
She did suggest sertraline but I'm scared to take that.
Thankyou for reccomendation I will have a look for that online.

[achillea]

It does belong to a class of drugs that *can* become addictive, but in the short haul, there's little chance for that--unless you know yourself to have addictive tendencies.

Sertraline is a wonderful drug!  Of the five or so my doctor tried me on, that was (and is) the one that keeps my panic attacks at bay.  

It's a funny thing about psych medications:  The people who fear these drugs are often the very ones who *need* them to get over their fear of medications.

In any case, my considerable experience with psychiatrists is that a good one will, of course, have an MD as well a thorough background in biochemistry which will enable him/her to choose the best medication for a patient.

Second, there is considerable evidence that people with anxiety and panic do in fact have a medical disorder of the nervous system that is as real as, say, the condition of diabetes.  A Type I diabetic, for example, cannot make the hormone that allows sugar to enter cells.  No amount of positive thinking will enable him to do that; he simply needs the substance his body cannot make.

You might benefit from considering yourself in this group.  There is no stigma and no weakness of will involved in panic disorder.  It is a condition that happens and it is treatable with medication.  I would suggest doing yourself a favor and giving any suggested medication--and sertraline is a very good one--a real try.  BTW, a 'real try' of any psych medication requires four to six weeks, during which time your shrink should keep in close contact with you to advise you and monitor any side effects.

[Sarahlou31xxxx]

I have self referred to see a mental health nurse for CBT but in the uk the waiting is 4 months long at the minute.
It's strange that horrible anxiety panic feeling has gone and my heart has settled right down.
I think your correct that it isn't a cardiologist I need.
I never feel faint or pain with them just a irritating shock feeling.
I used to be acrophobic and never left the house for practically 2 years so my mental health hasn't been great for a while.
Luckily I can go out now.

[achillea]

Four months IS a long time!  Is there any possibility that your primary care physician could prescribe a minor, short-acting anti-anxiety drug such as Lorazepam for a severe panic attack while you wait?

In addition, while you wait, I'd recommend a lovely, little old book by Dr. Claire Weekes. It is 'Hope and Help for Your Nerves,' available online.  This is such a helpful book for understanding and dealing with panic!  Dr. Weekes notes--as you have--that panic attacks really tend to be short in duration, and that they just suddenly 'quit.'  She teaches you how to work with that fact.

[achillea]

I've been there and can assure you that very effective help is available for anxiety, including anxiety about the heart.  As you have read (and probably been told), most PVCs are benign, and when we've been told that a few times, it is necessary to accept that our hearts are actually OK--and then see the *right* kind of doctor, which is not a cardiologist.

It is a psychiatrist (not a general practitioner), a doc who specializes in emotional problems like anxiety and panic.

Believe me, life can get a whole lot better.