PVC's Anxiety and Hormones??

[snooks69]

I am a 41 year old woman....seeming perfectly healthy until Dec 1st.  I drove myself to the ER and was diagnosed with PVC's....from there I have had panic attacks and anxiety....I am scared I am dying....I have good days and bad days....I had a holter 24 hours that came back with 7,000 pvc's but nothing else...I had an ekg that showed pvc's...I had an echo cardiogram that came back completely normal and I had bloodwork that was amazingly normal....and still I am terrified they have missed something cause I still feel so abnormal most of the time.  My doc prescribed ativan and I take 1/2 tab every morning (5mg tabs) and sometimes the other half in the evening....I am on beta blockers 50 mg.....and he just prescribed Sertraline 50 mg yesterday ....he also has ordered a stress test with isotopes to try to rule out any heart disease but he tells me he will be very surprised if anything comes back from it because everything else checks out fine and I have had no problems until Dec 1st.  I have given up caffeine after drinking pots of coffee everyday...(one month caffeine free) and I am working on breathing exercises and trying to eleviate stress in my life....my question is....in the last two days I have had some real doosies of panic attacks with shortness of breath...chest tightening....sweating .....heat flowing over my torso like I have never experienced before....and it is just terrifying....I haven't really had any chest pain just the tightening....I am due to start my period again next week....any chance some of my problem is hormone related....the same thing seemed to happen right before I started this last time....could this be part of the change happening?  I still get my periods every month....I am so miserable with this and just want to do whatever I can to get better.....

[Mom2four85]

good =)  not all dr's are the same and not all give the same quality of care - I finally found a GREAT! pcp and after a year he left the area and moved back to another state so I was stuck without a pcp, so I've been lax in healthcare.

My insurance pays for 1 visit per week, I still pay my yearly deductible up to $2,000 but I decided to find one to help me deal with all of my health issues - I'm stressed and depressed to my limit and it shows.  I'm just tired of being in pain and dealing with all this mess on top of the previous 42 years.  I've heard it can be really difficult to find the right therapist ugh which makes it even worse, but great for you to have someone =)

hope you feel better soon

[EricaRa]

Is this thread still going?  I would love to talk to you!  I have been having many pvcs and heart racing!  It happens more when I start as well.  Just got back from the er myself!  

[snooks69]

Thanks Lisa for your input....and yes, you are right...I am looking now for a new gynecologist....someone who maybe specializes in peri and meno ...it will be interesting to see what the cardiologist has to say about all of this too....I started my period at age 11 so I was young too....and my grandma started meno at 45...my mom had a hysterectomy at age 40 so I can't go by her .....

I am seeing a therapist....actually she is a social worker friend of mine who has been working with families of devastated children for over 30 years....I feel safe with her and we start our sessions with discussion ....she looks over my journal and we discuss things in that and then she shows me relaxation techniques and breathing exercises ....she has been trained in these areas to help terminal cancer patients....she has a true gift....but yet she doesn't tell me what I want to hear....we discuss some pretty tough things and she makes me "come clean" with things that truly are bothering me....it's helping quite a bit...my insurance doesn't cover mental health visits.....and I can't afford to pay out of pocket.....

[Mom2four85]

I think you'll find alot of us female patients suffer worse at different times of our cycles or our hormones fluctuate or diminish; it's the same as if we had diabetes, thyroid or other conditions that affect the levels in our bodies.

ooo a dr that stereotypes patients? run!  just like none of us start puberty exactly at the same age, "typically" perimenopause or menopause may not start until our 40's-50's - how can a dr say NO this will never happen? heck I started before 40; but I also went through puberty at age 9...go figure just about the time my heart and ANS started acting weird.

it's always good to get a cardiologist to do a workup and see what they say =)

I'll be going to a therapist after I see my pcp Jan 21st, what type of dr are you going to?

[snooks69]

I saw my ob/gyn on Saturday....I talked to him about everything that is going on....and I told him I had atleast one panic attack everyday last week and that I was to get my period this week and if the two could be related....and I asked if I could be in perimenopause??  He absolutely sloughed it off and said that the two were not related..it was anxiety over my heart and he was sorry I was going through everything but typically he didn't see perimenopause symptoms till mid 40's early 50's.....so I left his office feeling CRAZY ......I had a good day Sunday and an absolutely awful day Monday...I was so incredibly depressed and anxious...my pvc's were kicking up...my chest was tight...I was needing to yawn to get a decent cleansing breath....(anyone have that symptom??) ...I took my meds.....and still felt crappy....then Tuesday I started my period and felt great all day.....so tell me...is it all in my mind??!!  Maybe I need a female gynecologist?  Now today I had some panic early this morning and the tightness in my chest and the needing to take deep breaths....but I also got news yesterday that my insurance company won't pay for my stress test so my doc is referring me to a cardiologist who can order my stress test and then the insurance company will pay....though I am happy to be getting another expert opinion I just want this roller coaster to be over....on a good note...I have started some therapy with someone weekly...and that seems to be helping a little with my anxiety!

[snooks69]

You are absolutely right and I think that will need to be my next step.  I just want to get better.  These forums really help. I can't believe the number of people out there with the SAME problems as me!!!!  Again, thank you everyone for all of your comments and sharing your stories....and thank you for the honesty....it's so important!!

[yarrow]

" Between the pvc's and the anxiety I feel like I am going crazy! "

When you get into this mode, the 'fear of the fear' starts to be a real problem.  You have had enough heart tests to virtually assure that your ticker is OK.  The difficulty is now in your head, as you clearly understand.

First, take the Ativan AS SOON AS you feel the panic starting.  You don't want to let it get up to full speed.  Interrupt it.

Second, start to take control of this situation by making an appointment with a shrink or counselor who specializes in anxiety.  Most of us really cannot tough it through by ourselves; we simply need professional help--and for some reason, people have real difficulty taking this step.

There is no stigma attached to anxiety or panic.  It's a medical problem like any other.  If you had psoriasis, would you try to tough it out?  Diabetes?  Hypertension?   Go see a specialist for your anxiety.  The sooner you do it, the sooner you will get your life back.

[snooks69]

Thank you so very much...it's been such a rough couple of days...this morning I woke up just shaking...and feeling so overwhelmed waiting for the next wave of panic to come in....I think I could almost deal with the heat and the panic attacks if my chest wouldn't constrict and I would not imagine pressure....I've never had any heart issues...I've never been sick really....this site is so awesome...I just don't know where I would be without all of these stories I keep hearing....just knowing I am not alone and so many are experiencing the same thing as I am is calming.  I don't know why I can't just take the "normal" results of all of these tests and just move on....I know that so far everything has come back perfectly normal....I don't have a cardiologist but my primary doc seems to be on it.....and my halter, and echo were read by cardiologists....and the ER doc was also in agreement....so essentially I have had results and/or diagnosis by FOUR different docs.....surely they could not have missed anything!  I've never been like this before...it just has to be my hormones!!  Thank you again everyone for posting...it has helped me so very much...

[CFS56]

Just to add my two cents worth.  Hormones will get your butt.  And when perimenopause starts to kick in watch out.  I was fine until I hit my mid forties.  Then I started with the panic attacks and trips to the ER because my heart was going crazy.  And I could tell you when I was going to start my period even when it got so irregular because a week or so before my heart would start up it's silliness.  And the hot flashes were miserable and they would cause my heart to speed up.  It was horrible.  Only good thing is it does get better.  I am in my mid fifties now and things have definitely toned down some.  Hang in there, you are definitely not alone, you are not crazy and you aren't dying.  

[cindy707]

OMG don't even get me started on hormones and menopause issues and the heart....i would probably end up blowing up my computer w. all i could tell you about that part of it.  I am now in my mid 50's went into peri menopause in my early 40's and finally in the past
couple of years am starting to settle down a little with everything that my body is doing to rebel against me.  And yep at least by my heart surgeons opinion (i had an ablation done) when we begin menopause our entire system goes whacky on us.  When it began i experienced jumpy beats but nothing too serious...ran to the doc...got referred to a heart doc and he said it was benign PVC's and palps and a part of the "change" as he put it that i was going thru...as i raced thru the years other things started popping up out of the blue...i suppose just to keep things interesting.....thank gawd i am at the point where now i only have to sleep w. a fan on my face and every morning wake up with the hair that looks like Cameron Diaz in "Something About Mary" LOL...and i mean its a bad hair day every day....that seems to be the last of it for me...but yep...had the palps, had the trips to the E,R,...thought i was gonna die a hundred times, worried about it happening in my sleep, wrote letters to the kids and sisters telling them "if you find this letter i just want you to know......" matters of the heart are scary for sure...but trust me when you move into full blown menopause the heart issues you will realize can be treated or fixed...as for menopause.....there;s no hope....i am surprised i didn't sit on the roof of my house with a sniper rifle and a bottle of jack daniels and i don't even drink alcohol ever and my kids renamed me drama mama.......all i can say is that you are going thru what all of us have at one time or another with the fears and worries but i can guarantee you it takes ALOT for our hearts to stop and PVC's are not one of those things that does it....as far as your periods go...i too had them every month while going thru it but it was just the flow that changed.....its normal what you feel, sounds like you have a great proactive doc, and i always do the "smell the roses...blow out the candle" trick to relax as alot of people in the medical profession do to relax meaning breath in slowly thru your nose and blow out the air slowly thru your mouth and do it from 5-10 times and trust me you'll feel the difference...don't be afraid...we are here for you and alot of us have been thru the same thing as you.......

[snooks69]

Oh my gosh...thank you so much for your comments....it helps so much to know I am not alone in this...I go to my gyn on Saturday and I am certainly going to tell him....maybe he can take a blood test and check my hormone levels?  Anyway, my regular doc did tell me that the Sertraline would take 2-6 weeks to kick in and suggested I continue with the ativan  for atleast 2 weeks till the sertraline kicks in....it's been a hard couple of days....and I am praying that tomorrow goes a little smoother.  Between the pvc's and the anxiety I feel like I am going crazy!  I have seen my family doctor more in the last month than I have seen him in the last two years....

[yarrow]

Many docs concede that hormonal shifts are involved with panic attacks and PVCs.  My own experience with panic attacks is that, in a way, they feed on each other:  The more you have, the worse they get--at least while you're still a newbie to them.  After a few years' experience (uh-huh, years), you learn to recognize what's going on earlier in the game and can start to run interference before things get too bad.

Again in my experience, sertraline (Zoloft) is a fine drug for interrupting the panic cycle.  It quiets down what my shrink calls "an overheated alarm system," and as it does so, I become less panicky and less aware of those funny heartbeats.  In time (like a couple of months) I notice that the actual frequency of PVCs diminishes, though they don't cease completely.

Ativan is a good drug.  It works quickly (often inside 15 minutes), and doesn't tend to linger in the system long enough to produce a hangover.  However, it  is more of a short-term drug and really isn't designed for long-term control of  conditions like chronic anxiety or panic disorder.  For example, my panic attacks come in a cluster every few  years, and when they start, I may be vulnerable to them for over a year.  That's where Sertraline comes in.  Be aware that in most cases, it takes two weeks to a month before you see the full effect, so patience is indicated.

In the meantime, my advice to you would be to consider either taking the whole Ativan twice a day until the Sertraline kicks in, OR to take it as needed until then.   If you take it WHEN you have an attack, it will--pretty much guaranteed--take the worst symptoms away within a quarter of an hour.

[rilesnic]

Funny you posted this today. Have suffered from PAC's since I was 21 (I'm now 38),but just found out in November it's PVC's as well. I have terrible anxiety and severe panic attacks and have started these insane hot flashes! Last week, right before "that time", I had the worst skips and hot flashes...nausea, sweating where I was wet and actually getting ice cubes from the freezer and directly putting them on the back of my neck...I ended up writing down all of my symptoms for about 5 days so when I go in for my yearly this month, my doctor can look at the relation. I definitely think mine is due to hormones and am beginning to think I don't really have a heart problem, but a hormonal problem. Good luck...and if my doc tells me anything good that we may all want to hear, I'll definitely post!