Why does xanax help my skips

[viperron]

I have suffered skips for amost 45 years and the only thing that has got me thru it is a small amount of xanax . Why would this help so much?  PS they still drive me zonkers.

[MrAcores]

I started having the same problem about 2 months ago out of the blue. They wanted to give me blood thinners but I got scared with the side effects and refused. When I take an anti anxiety it seems to help it a lot.

[tom_h]

I asked this exact question as I lay in the ER back in May with a jumbled up heart rhythm; a combination of PVC's, PAC's, with brief salvos of SVT thrown in between.  First time in the 60 years I've dealt with SVT that I went to the ER for my heart rhythm.  They gave me a small dose of Xanax (Alprazolam).  Within an hour, I had nearly a normal rhythm back, and they cut me loose.  Why, I asked my cardiologist who stopped by from his office, was this so effective.  His answer was that Alprazolam desensitizes the adrenaline receptors that cause the arrhythmia.  For me, it was very effective.

[dutchwoman]

Tom....are u still ok?  Xanax still helps?

[tammyjk]

Old thread but maybe it will help someone:  Last year I found out I needed a pacemaker for Bradycardia (slow heart and pauses)  Soon after the pacemaker, I started having pvc's and I could feel my pacemaker pacing now and again.  Both of those things together sent me into a tailspin of depression and fear.  Just when I was coming to grips with the fact that things were going to be ok with my new pacemaker, my heart decided to go crazy.  In mid conversation my heart would go from 60 to 140.  Then back down for a min or two and suddenly go back up to 125.  All of this will sitting or laying in the hospital.  The nurse even noted that I wasnt agitated and in fact we were joking and having a nice conversation.  

I was then put on metropolol/beta blocker.  Life became even more miserable and my pvc's were getting worse.  I went to the ER for what I thought was an injury to my shoulder and they put me on an ekg because I have a pacemaker.  I was having a run of pvc's every 3 min.  This lead to a nuke stress test, eko of my heart and so on.  Well, during my overnight stay I found out my husband wrecked my car.  Ironically, I had been given a very low dose of xanax 2 hours before I found out.......only 2 or 3 pvc's were found after that.  This is day 3 of Xanax and I feel like I have a new lease on life.  I'm not saying all of the pvc's are gone by any means.  

I think the most important thing is to rule everything out FIRST.  I am also going through menopause and that most certainly does have an effect on pvc's ect.  I am now working towards a goal of getting off my beta blockers and hoping to use xanax for the bad days.  Another thing, beta blockers will lower your blood pressure and in some people like me it lowers it to the point that you feel like you cannot function.  In my case, between my pacemaker and the beta blocker I have gained 65lbs.  Now, I know I can regain my life because I can exercise and get moving again without fear.  

Another big thing...very very important!  Get a second opinion even a third.  My general physician kept saying metropolol may not be a good fit for me and she was correct.  My cardiologist refused to take me off it.  The cardiologist I saw today said it was lowering my BP too much and he agreed it may not be a good fit.  Everyone is different!  Get a second opinion. Get a third opinion if you need to.  Don't live in fear that something is wrong with your heart.  

[dutchwoman]

What med are you on now?  Just Xanax?  Have you had any more episodes?  I am on day 7 and completely worn out.

[mamagoose3]

i have 2 real bad tachycardia attacts and they had to give me meds in my iv to stop my heart from racing .my heart beat was over 200 and that scared the crap out of me

[Subdiver501]

Are you on any medication for this or did you make lifestyle changes?

[mamagoose3]

i have 2 real bad tachycardia attacts and they had to give me meds in my iv to stop my heart from racing .my heart beat was over 200 and that scared the crap out of me

[Nurse2b1982]

Thank you very much for the congrats! and BTW...u have been a great comfort to me(your last answer helped me tremendously!), don't ever let someone make you feel bad for trying to help! Thank you!

[mum2four]

I dont know what I was reading at the time but I found it while researching my tachycardia. I read that IST is very commen in nurse's. I dont know why maybe its stress related or some thing but I did find that interesting. I wish I knew where it said that so i point you towards it but I'll have to keep thinking.

Take care

[Nurse2b1982]

I am defintetly going to research more on Panic/anxiety and PVCs, I beleive that mine are totally related! I stopped caffeine years ago because of the tachycardia I was having and I have no other risk factors besides the Anxiety problem. Also, I used to have a really high HR when I got nervous or felt that adrenaline rush, so now I beleive that my PVCs are another manifestation of this constant anxiety/ adrenaline coursing through my veins. i intend to research this further. Also I am looking to get into seeing a specialist at Barnes Jewish Hospital and I am going to demand that they find the cause of these dreadful things....hey it's worth a try! I agree, I will never stop either till I find an answer!

[Bs2hgb]

I have the same issue. Anxiety for no reason that I know of amd now these flutters come over me in a rush and happen throughout the day. I hate it. I have Xanax but try not to use. Will have to though.

[viperron]

If you get a chance look up what I had to say about panic attacks, I think you will find it extremely interesting. I have been convinced for years that mine is an adrenalin problem but since I've quit using coffee my panic attacks have stopped, however when I eat chocolate I will still get a very mild attack. I believe that the skipped beats are related to my old panic attacks and will never stop trying to find an answer to our problem, I really believe there is an answer. Can you imagine how much money one could make if he or she could help solve this problem?  In my " hey day " of panic attacks I would have given everything I own to stop them... some of the thoughts I had about not putting up with them anymore , I won't go into that. Thank GOD I am past those nasty things but still need to figure out the skips. Ron

[mum2four]

I'm not scared of needle lol but I am scared of the attention from the person drawing my blood. I'm not a 100% sure what you trying to explain about the adrenalin and would like you try to explain a little better if you could.

My HR stays more stable after a panic attack I'm sure my HR go's up when I'm anxiety but it does not go as tacky after a panic attack its strange. So example might be that before a panic attack my HR might be spiking around 160 and after a panic attack it spikes to 130. I can also walk faster after a panic attack and dont feel as fatiuged either. My HR would return to normal much faster after a panic attack. It compleatly strange lol.

thank you

[is_something_wrong]

According to normal values of adrenaline (and similar substances) in your blood, levels can double from sitting to standing position. This is probably why such blood tests are hard to do and usually give meaningless results (people are afraid of the needle, etc).

It's a bit strange, really, it seems the more anxious I am, the higher heart rate "jump" I get from standing up. If I'm relaxed and calm, I guess my heart rate goes from 60-70 to about 80 when standing up. If I'm anxious, it can go from 90-100 to about 140-150. I guess the explaination is that my nerve systems are a bit more "jumpy" and activated if I'm anxious, but this is just guessing.

Anyway, thanks for great support and nice comments, to all. And Nurse2b, grats on the A :)

[mum2four]

I think it's an interesting theroy as well????

The other Thing that I wonder about is, what if adrenalin is not being producd properly and a panic attack is forcing my body to make what it needs so when I do panic it's correcting a lack of adrenalin. Like I might have adrenal fatiuge but panic is fixing the low adrenalin in my system or some thing.


But who know's....

[Kiwi1953]

gave me a giggle, imagining your being afraid of standing up... ;D
But I think you're right in suggesting that it is possible to actually be 'addicted' to adrenaline - from what I understand, the people who really love extreme sports are, in some way, addicted to the adrenaline they feel when they're jumping out of aeroplanes or off 200-ft cliffs or whatever.  Don 't know if that's actually the case, but it was an interesting theory.

S

[mum2four]

I go tachy every time I stand up. If anxiety was the cause that would mean I was scared of standing lol

[Nurse2b1982]

Couple things here: chronic Anxiety can cause a chronic release of excessive adrenaline/catecholines(like epinephrine,etc) and also cause an increase in cortisol(aka the stress hormone). I am sure you know that all of these can cause an increase in HR. I can get my Hr to 180 even on a beta blocker if I'm panicing. I even went into tachy after a stressful test in April. Adrenaline can be released anytime your stressed/anxoius. I do beleive that maybe your OCD/anxiety may make your palps/tachy worse at times. I know my anxiety makes my PVCs horrible....they recorded 300 in ONE hour one day when I was crying/anxious. This was because my PVCs were acting up and I was stressing about the numbers and amount as well as the symptoms. Also, I found that my anxiety can make me more "sick" feeling than the PVCs and if I get both in combo...then Im a wreck! I am currently workingon my anxiety issues because I beleive this has everything to do with my problems. The less I worry= the less the PVCs bother me:) So in conclusion, I think you are doing the right thing by getting therapy for your OCD/anxiety, Im sure the OCD provokes anxiety when you can't do your rituals and the anxiety in turn makes the heart race. My heart doctor told me that my heart could go 200 for an hour and would not explode:) As long as the tachy comes down within the amount of time the doctors alot and as long as it's sinus rhythm, I was told not to worry:) Hope this helps:) Have a good day!!!

[Nurse2b1982]

Thanks! I worked hard for it...lol. That is my newest goal is to one day be able to say that I have lived through these things and be able to help others through my experience. I am hoping to be a cardio or Psych nurse:) as I have experience with Anxiety and PVCs.
Have a good day as well!
Candice

[mum2four]

Well done on the study and the A.

I have wondered if a body can be addicted to it's own release of adrenalin. Do I sound strange lol. I wonder this because When I get really anxious and panic my heart rate and my other symptoms get better for while. It like my body needs or enjoys adrenalin lol. It took my Dr a while to accept me saying that I thought my anxiety was making it harder catch the tachycardia. It was a another dr that said he wanted me to go have an ECG right now when I was taking my sick 5y to see if needed meds. I also was not feeling 100% so I thought since my Dr was not working that day I'd see the same Dr's as my son at my old clinic.just incase I was getting what my son had. But when the Dr saw me wearing 2 watch I had to explain one was a pulse watch and that lead to me saying and I'm tachy right now and explaining stuff. He did like what I was saying nor that my heart rate had not come down it was still 145 when I got in the Dr but by the time I had the ECG about 20 min later it was lower at about 120 but still high enough to finally get a ECG to catch the tachy HR. It was really LUCK I feel. My Dr still cant explain it but even after 3 days in hospital it took till the 3rd for the tachy to start to really show its true self. I hate hospital never been admitted for anything but to have my kids. Then I a baby with me to distract me and rock another OCD compulsion.

Anyway just kind curious about addiction to adrenalin. I just seem to have backwards reactions lol.

[Kiwi1953]

congrats on the A! ;D
And thanks for your postings - having some medical community folks in here too gives great perspective, especially when they have goofy hearts too!

have a great day,

Sunny

[Nurse2b1982]

To answer your question, I have suffered from IST since 2007, during which my HR would soar to 200bpm; I was told after an EP study that my heart was just sensitive to my own adrenaline but I had no underlying issues. Now cut to this year, and starting in Jan. I came down with 4K of PVCs daily with no known risk factors, that being said I beleive that the adrenaline is a major player with the PVCs because when I get stressed/ mad/ anxoius...they really rev up! I am currently taking a beta blocker but it no longer helps and I was told this is d/t the body making new receptors for the adrenaline. This would explain why yours calm down with xanax, this is a CNS depressant and can suppress the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for "fight or flight" response and adrenaline release...thus reducing the PVCs if the cause/trigger is increased adrenaline.
I just took pharmacology and passed with an A so hopefully I am correct:)
Have a good day!!

[Kiwi1953]

Linda, a 'flamer' is someone who sends unpleasant messages on a thread continually, usually they are not really interested in the topic but rather just enjoy stirring up emotional reactions.  Some kind of power & control issues, I suppose ;D

I always appreciate reading posts by Mum2four & Is Something Wrong because their knowledge seems extensive and I've only just begun actually trying to find out what's going on with this heart business.  There are several regular posters on this site who have very helpful input and, for those of us who have finally accepted that perhaps we need some understanding of all this (me!), their comments are truly helpful.

S

[Nurse2b1982]

Just wanted to add my personal opinion here. I think most who join MedHelp read the disclaimer that this is not a substitute for a doctor's advice, although I'm not sure everyone realizes that everything that is said may not be 100% correct. I am in school to be a nurse and when we talked about PVCs in class, they basically taught us that PVCs are a precursor to a more ominous ventricular rhythm....I was naturally scared to death after this! However, I talked to my doctor who said that they teach that to nurses because of the possiblity of them working in ICUs, etc. and that is better for a nurse(who can not order medicines) to be on the alert for these in order to alert the doctor(at which point the doctor decides the risk/plan of action).
My point is that even doctors can be wrong and this board should be used only as a possible educational tool, to hear from others who have personal experience or done personal research. Everyone's research/ experiences may differ but hopefully all have the same overall goal: to help.Any time I am unsure of my conditon, I may post a question or do my own research, but in the end I always run things by my doctor and if thats not good enough, I get another opinion.
I think people just need to calm down and realize that we are all here to help each other and share our experiences. If this becomes a hostile environment, then who is really going to come to this site for support? I know I wouldn't.
The majority of people on here have been of great comfort to me at one time or another, even if what they said isn't 100% right all the time.
Lets just remember what this site is for, because it has been a life safer for me and I'm sure for others as well. We just need to remember the goal is supporting each other because we are all dealing with these scary arhythmias and we can be each others BIGGEST comfort!
I thank all of you for your answers and support....ALL have been much appreciated!!
Have a Good Day Everyone!

[LindaTX]

What's a flamer?

[mum2four]

thank you very much for your nice comments

[r9c]

I think both is_something_wrong and mum2four are right as i read their recent comments,they never talk like they were a medical officer or so,is_something_wrong does indeed suggestead anxiety as most causes but thats only after all necessary cardiac test are done and came back normal.As for mum2four,shes often right too,we should never just assume everything can be cause by anxieties not before one had seen a cardiologist and done all those test :) like they say we know our body more than anyone else,so hope to see both of you here more often.