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Palpitations, shakiness...anxiety??
As some of you know, the last few months, have been horrible anxiety wise for me. The past week has been the WORST EVER. To sum it up, I was on Paxil for many years, most recently, 40 mg. of Paxil with 15 mg. BuSpar daily. In August my GP took me off Paxil and BuSpar because I had discussed maybe wanting to get pregnant so she weaned me off Paxil from August to October and started me on Lexapro. By the middle of November, the problems began. Headaches, flu-like symptoms, confusion....which it took me a while to figure out but finally realized it was probably the Lexapro making me feel that way. January 3 I went to a psychiatrist (wonderful man) and he switched me to Effexor which within a week made me feel the same way the Lexapro had. So for about a week or two I have been on nothing. He is having me start Cymbalta on Monday. He also gave me Clonazepam which is ok I guess. I happen to like Xanax much better but he seems to think taking this will be better for me. Now that I rambled on about the background information, the past few days, I have been having heart palpitations and shakiness and just generally HORRIBLE anxiety because now I think something is wrong with my heart. I want to go to the ER but my family keeps telling me not to go (I go ALL THE TIME ...yes I'm one of those). I don't know what to do, I'm scared and I can barely function lately. All I do is cry and feel sick and palpitations and worry.
hey yes i remember you , good to see you on here, am doing good so far my flutters are behaving but can never tell when they show back up. take it easy dont be a stranger.
hey yes i remember you , good to see you on here, am doing good so far my flutters are behaving but can never tell when they show back up. take it easy dont be a stranger.
Do any of you have tenseness in your shoulders and neck? It feels so bad, then it's like your muscles just start jumping and they won't stop? Mine is the worst in the morning, so bad that I can't even drive to work. My husband has been taking me. On top of all that, I was working as a sub at school, and I got an interview but didn't get the position. Now I am looking for a job. I have been on Zoloft for almost a week, its helping a little, but no that much yet.
In the afternoon and evenings, I feel so much better. I just dont understand it. Why does it always have to be the worst in the mornings? I just want it to stop!!!
In the afternoon and evenings, I feel so much better. I just dont understand it. Why does it always have to be the worst in the mornings? I just want it to stop!!!
Thanks for your words of encouragement also. Incase you didn't see the post from the weekend (I remember that you don't go on at home), this is Jamie55. Something happened over the weekend with my password so I just switched to AmorDeJay and will stay with this name now even though they eventually fixed the other one. Don't want to confuse anyone and I posted a lot this weekend with Amor.
I know I said this last week, but things you say about yourself are me exactly. I was literally in the cardiologist's office yesterday who did an EKG and listened to my heart extensively and told me that it was my anxiety causing this and the switching of all the medications and the fact that I am currently not on one (well starting new one today) and I still am not satisfied because I still have the palpitations. Even when this is resolved, I will find something else to worry about and like you said, my main issue is with my heart usually. I mean something else will take my attention for a bit sometimes (enlarged lymph node, headaches I decide are brain tumors, etc.) but the heart issues take over most of the time.
Just took my first Cymbalta as I am writing this, combined with half of a .5 mg Klonopin with it in the morning and a whole .5 Klonopin at night. That's the new medication regime for me. Let's hope this one works and gets me out of this non-functioning state I have been in for months.
Thank GOD for all of you guys. Love and blessings to all.
I know I said this last week, but things you say about yourself are me exactly. I was literally in the cardiologist's office yesterday who did an EKG and listened to my heart extensively and told me that it was my anxiety causing this and the switching of all the medications and the fact that I am currently not on one (well starting new one today) and I still am not satisfied because I still have the palpitations. Even when this is resolved, I will find something else to worry about and like you said, my main issue is with my heart usually. I mean something else will take my attention for a bit sometimes (enlarged lymph node, headaches I decide are brain tumors, etc.) but the heart issues take over most of the time.
Just took my first Cymbalta as I am writing this, combined with half of a .5 mg Klonopin with it in the morning and a whole .5 Klonopin at night. That's the new medication regime for me. Let's hope this one works and gets me out of this non-functioning state I have been in for months.
Thank GOD for all of you guys. Love and blessings to all.
I know exactly how you feel. I posted on here just yesterday about my horrible palps. They are very debiltating to say the least. I started having issues back in May of 07 and I am still having a very hard time adjusting. Mine will change up on me which make it 10x worse!! I am with heartflutters, I don't know if the palps brought on my anxiety or the other way around. I feel like the doctors don't understand and that there is something really wrong with me. I am like you, as soon as one thing has been ruled out I start worrying about someting else; but when it comes to my heart, I can't stop worrying no matter what the test and doctors say. That is where my faith is SUPPOSED to come in, but I have been so consumed with trying to handle this myself I haven't been relying on God like I should. I too am obsessed with the thought of death, but I know where that stems from. I have had a lot of people that were close to me die recently and one of them was a good friend who died suddenly; and I really believe that is the source of my anxiety!
It's a hard road to walk, but somehow, someway we have to find some peace......we can't go on living in frear 24/7! I tell you this so I can convince myself :-) Today is better for me, but I want to be able to smile and be strong when the days are bad, you know what I mean? I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but since I have to deal with it I just try to take one moment at a time. Let's continue to support one another.
Hello heartflutters, remember me? How have you been doing?
I hope you feel better!
It's a hard road to walk, but somehow, someway we have to find some peace......we can't go on living in frear 24/7! I tell you this so I can convince myself :-) Today is better for me, but I want to be able to smile and be strong when the days are bad, you know what I mean? I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but since I have to deal with it I just try to take one moment at a time. Let's continue to support one another.
Hello heartflutters, remember me? How have you been doing?
I hope you feel better!
Hi Barbara. Thank you for your post. It's like no matter what the doctors tell me, I'm still horrified that there is something they are missing and that something is horribly wrong with me. Like today, I'm sitting here at work and the palpitations are back again. It's a neverending vicious cycle. I was ok this morning and now they're back, along with this shaky feeling and a weird pain in my back when I flex backwards. Guess that's just muscular from all the stress and tension but the palpitations are very real. Anyway, thank you Barbara for the encouraging words. God Bless!
hi, my name is Barbara nice to meet you , i have been reading your post and i know where your coming from. i have had anxiety and Heart paps since i was 23 and 48 now and guess what am still here and living well. i never though i would make it to this age,but i did and its not been a easy trip at times. i started getting the heart flutters/paps for no reason i think was driving to the k-mart to spend a little of my husbands money when i pulled in they started. man was scared could not even get out car went home. had it checked that night but they had stoped so said i was fine, this went on for years , they could never catch them on a ekg so i though i was dying from heart problems at a young age , can i say i had two small boys and now i feel like i let this take some of my life with them away, dont let it do you that way. i lived i know a good 10 years being scared to live. And not sure which brings on which the anxiety or heart paps but mine seem to come hand in hand at the time. as years went by yes i was still scared but learned to live with them a little better. i have had every test ran you can and always same thing pac/pvc and stress. so today i have them lots less but they are still there , last year i have the heart flutters for 10 weeks straight, all day and night went dr i wore a heart monotor it recored everything my heart was doing , as always just darn pac's that feel like they going kill me any min but they wont. see if your cardio can hook you up with a machine wear it foe weeks let them catch it and than they can tell you what it is for sure. dont get me wrong i know what mine is but when it startes it still scares me and than bam heres the anxiety to have a party with them. so try and relax when it happening , hard to do right but if you not it makes the heart paps worse, get a heart montor if you can you will feel much better here they call them king of heart machine not sure what your state calls them but they all a like. i wear mine 30 days and when it happens i push button and after so my recordings i call in they record over the phone look at it and tell me everything ok with my heart , thats a great thing because you know right than some one looked at it and your hearts fine. sorry for being a long message but i wanted to let you know there are things you can do that will make you feel better about the heart paps and not just a dr saying sounds good your fine go home. see what your cardio dr will do call nurse tell her you need a machine to make you feel better , my cardio orders it they send it to my house i hook it on its easy. good luck and know we are here for you .Barbara
How old is your step son?? Mine is 5 and I can't stand him either. I know I am horrible, but I'm honest, he has issues, and it doesn't help that my kids are perfect.
What?? They are lol
What?? They are lol
Well, I couldn't take it anymore and went to the cardiologist today for my neverending (5 days) heart palpitations. They did an EKG and took my BP and pulse and everything and told me I'm fine and that its probably from my anxiety and because I haven't started my new medication yet. Meanwhile, I still have them and I'm still scared. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
P.S. Hope everyone had a nice day today.
P.S. Hope everyone had a nice day today.
Hell's bells, who wouldn't be going berserk with all THAT going on!? Don't get me started on step-sons. And that little tid-bit, no doubt carries into your relationship with your husband, the subject of which I note, with my keen eye for detail, you have NOT mentioned. So here's what we have: one piece of a predisposition to anxiety, smothered in thinly-sliced family dysfunctions with a topping of our special medication sauce, garnished with health concerns and a thick slice of panic attacks over all that. Geesh!
And wait til you see the dessert!
Let me tell you something, Jamie: the fact that you can even put pen to paper (fingers to keys) I regard as something of a miracle. I admire you, I am humbled by you and I promise you that you have the mind and muscle to turn this disaster into some of the most important work you've ever done.
I see from the very GOOD advice you've imparted to others here on 5th floor that you have taken some of that energy zapping around inside of you and put it to good work. And if nothing else, Jamie, if nothing else, here's what you have learned from that: WHAT YOU DO FOR OTHERS SO WISELY AND SELFLESSLY, YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF.
I don't know this, I'm not a mind reader, I'm not a professional, BUT I have a high index of suspicion that way underneath it all, you're doing some chest tapping and saying "I am not worthy." Or something like that. But I'm here to tell you that you deserve better and that you will HAVE better. And you will start -with you. There's no magic, no ritual, no secret code. You need only start thinking of yourself as you truly are- intelligent, articulate, compassionate, perceptive, alert and oh, by the way -EMPLOYED. And last but not least, you are deserving. Things do not have to be this way. No law says you must live as you live. Just start with that simple perception -that it CAN be different.
It worked for me.
And wait til you see the dessert!
Let me tell you something, Jamie: the fact that you can even put pen to paper (fingers to keys) I regard as something of a miracle. I admire you, I am humbled by you and I promise you that you have the mind and muscle to turn this disaster into some of the most important work you've ever done.
I see from the very GOOD advice you've imparted to others here on 5th floor that you have taken some of that energy zapping around inside of you and put it to good work. And if nothing else, Jamie, if nothing else, here's what you have learned from that: WHAT YOU DO FOR OTHERS SO WISELY AND SELFLESSLY, YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF.
I don't know this, I'm not a mind reader, I'm not a professional, BUT I have a high index of suspicion that way underneath it all, you're doing some chest tapping and saying "I am not worthy." Or something like that. But I'm here to tell you that you deserve better and that you will HAVE better. And you will start -with you. There's no magic, no ritual, no secret code. You need only start thinking of yourself as you truly are- intelligent, articulate, compassionate, perceptive, alert and oh, by the way -EMPLOYED. And last but not least, you are deserving. Things do not have to be this way. No law says you must live as you live. Just start with that simple perception -that it CAN be different.
It worked for me.
Well, the pregnancy thing has definitely been put on hold for now. I think for at least a year while I get my self together. My fiance lost his job so finances are beyong tight right now. My stepson is living with us who (God forgive me please), I can't stand anymore. I've always had anxiety since I was young but I am not exaggerating when I say that the past month or so has been unbearable. With me, it's always health related because of my extreme fear of death, once I get one thing cleared up, I'm on to worrying about the next. At 30 years old, I think I have had more tests, EKG's, CT Scans, MRI's, echo's, than most 90 year olds. The "enlarged lymph node" I have now doesn't thrill me either. Had a CT Scan to find out what that was and it's an enlarged lymph node. Watch it, the doctor says incase it gets bigger it has to come out and be biopsied so of course, the lunatic I am feels it 25 times a day. I've had heart palpitations for four days so I'm sure something is wrong with my heart. It's as if my mind is always going and I can't stop it or calm it down. My psychiatrist also mentioned that once we get my antidepressant situation cleared up, he may want to add another medication (like one for bipolar or schizophrenic people) just at a very low dosage to "calm my brain down." I can barely function as a normal adult lately. Just going to the laundromat today (my washer is broken) is freaking me out. Going to work every day is a big thing for me because I just sit there and cry for NO REASON and can barely perform at work. I'm a legal secretary. Anyway, I'm rambling and going from subject to subject and I apologize.
It is not hard to understand how all those changes in medication PLUS whatever changes your body and brain make in connection with growing a little one inside you (even if not yet actually pregnant) would at the least make someone with the temperment of a stump pretty jumpy.
The psychiatrist you describe as a "wonderful man." If that is true, then he would be my first choice for a discussion about getting things calmed down a bit, and pursuing whatever therapy will help you come to terms with background material that is "rattling your cage."
Jamie, it may be helpful, for right now, to do some very near-term planning and thinking that have the effect of putting you back in the driver's seat -even if just on the edge. Perhaps the most available resource is the people right here, right now, who really care for you. Sometimes, the mere disclosure of what has happened to us tends to trap it on paper (or on the screen) so that we can take the position of someone looking at ourselves.
So, what can you tell us about the last few days or weeks in terms of relationships, people, challenges, events, etc., aside from medication changes? Aside from med changes, what ELSE has been going on that has your attention.
Standing by...
The psychiatrist you describe as a "wonderful man." If that is true, then he would be my first choice for a discussion about getting things calmed down a bit, and pursuing whatever therapy will help you come to terms with background material that is "rattling your cage."
Jamie, it may be helpful, for right now, to do some very near-term planning and thinking that have the effect of putting you back in the driver's seat -even if just on the edge. Perhaps the most available resource is the people right here, right now, who really care for you. Sometimes, the mere disclosure of what has happened to us tends to trap it on paper (or on the screen) so that we can take the position of someone looking at ourselves.
So, what can you tell us about the last few days or weeks in terms of relationships, people, challenges, events, etc., aside from medication changes? Aside from med changes, what ELSE has been going on that has your attention.
Standing by...
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