Hello, let me give you some background on all this. I am a 19 year old male. In March I had to call 911 with immense head pressure and rapid heart rate, and was diagnosed and hospitalized with serotonin syndrome. I was taking an SSRI at the time and one doctor thought it may have reacted with tryptophan in a protein shake I was taking. They had to yank me off of Cymbalta and Trazodone cold turkey. A little while after I was released, my doctor suggested I could try taking the two meds again. Well, I had a reaction to both Cymbalta and then later Zoloft when we tried it. Rapid heart rate and eye flashes when I close my eyes. (I have been on anxiety meds since I was 5 by the way.) My doctor even prescribed my a beta blocker, atonolol, to try and bring my heart rate down.
So, that is just some backstory on this. I was in the ER a few times in the recent months for really bad chest pain on the left side and high heart rate. I've gotten like 10 EKG's and they've all been fine. Around the time, about a month and a half ago, when I started the atenolol, I started getting really short of breath after minor activity. I mean, I went from being able to mow more than an acre of grass with a walk-along, to getting gassed just going up the stairs in my house. So, after a couple weeks, we weened myself off the atenolol, thinking it could be the culprit of the shortness of breath. I continued to have horrible shortness of breath after minor activity, however. I get pinching sharp pains around my chest. My heart pounds in certain positions, especially when I lay flat. I get this burning sensation in the center of my upper body after standing up and moving for a while.
Since my symptoms have continued, and even gotten worse, my doctor has worked with me and we've ordered a myriad of tests. I had a chest x-ray while in the ER. Nothing. I had every bit of blood work possible drawn, including a blood gas. Nothing. I had an MRI of my brain just to make sure. Nothing. I had an echo-cardiogram. Nothing. I even had a stress test. Now, with this one, there wasn't any blockage noticed. Which makes sense considering I am 19 and generally in decent shape. However, my heart rate went up to 160 very quick at a slow walk. I also got short of breath around this time as well, way too quick. The heart doctor said that shouldn't be happening with a 19 year old, so we saw him in his office a week later.
The heart doctor said it's very hard to diagnose, but just wanted to get my heart rate down. He prescribed me propranolol. He also referred me to an electrophysiologist. I went to see him, and he said everything looked fine, nothing dangerous. He said he sees some people who get really high heart rates for whatever reason. In my case, though, this all came on so sudden, and this hasn't been a past issue for me, so I am just concerned.
As of right now, the propranolol has honestly helped to an extent with my shortness of breath. I can move around more. But, I still have it somewhat and all the pains are still there.
Could all this be related to coming off those meds back in March? You are supposed to slowly ween off of those types of meds, but obviously for safety reasons I had to abruptly stop them.
Thanks to anyone who can give me some suggestions or info.