So worried about palpitations I want to shrivel up!

[Thepeach]

I am a 29 year old female and have suffered from palpitations since I was a teenager.  I have two children and had them bad with my second pregnancy.  I get them off and on now.  I am used to them to a point and can some times brush them off and not worry about it but other times for some reason it causes me great anxiety and I fixate on them and it seems like they just get worse.  But its like the chicken and the egg.  I don't know if I get them and so I worry or if worrying causes me to get them even more.  I had an echo cardiogram  when I was pregnant and they said everything looked fine and they couldn't find a cause for them.  They thought I had MVP but it turns out I don't.  My son is 14 months now and I have managed o.k. but lately it seems when I am on my period they get worse.  I am not on my period now though and they are still bad.  I get them when I bend over or turn to the side or standing up very straight with good posture causes them and it just makes me want to hunch over all the time.  I feel like a decrepid (sp??) thing with these and I am just afraid it is going to start doing it and never stop!  Why do hormones and diffrent positions aggrivate them?? I'd love to talk to people who suffer from these too.    Thanks!

[spratty]

HI im 19 years old and am suffering with the same thing. I had a miscarriage at the age of 16 and this is when my palpitations started. They have been on and off ever since. I have been free of them for about 7 months until i found out i was pregnant. Im now 18 weeks pregnant and i cant cope. I was so happy about the baby but now i wish i wasnt pregnant because im so scared of these sensations that i think im going to die all the time. I think that hormones play a big part but the doctors just dismiss this. I'm scared to be on my own and i cant look 2 days into the future becasue i think im not going to be here. I had a 24hour ecg 2 years ago but i did not have any palpitations at the time as i had to wait 3 months for the test, i have had numerous ecg's, an echocardiogram and been to a&e several times. Everything came back perfect! However i have never had a palpitation or missed beat (watever you want to call them) recorded and seen by a doctor and so i think how do they know if theres nothing wrong. I thought i was used to these feelings but i never get used to them and dont think i ever will. I also worry because i am so young and i dont know many people my age with these feelings. Can anyone help me please, do you think my palpitations are benign!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also i gather you are all from the US i am from England! Do you have to wait for the heart tests, we have to wait about 2-3 months just for a 24 hour ecg!

[lojalo]

Hi, I am 40 years old and have been suffering palps for about 3 years.  Have had blood work, numberous EKG's, 2 echos and no one has an answer.  However, I have determined, like you, that they are definately related to my monthly cycle (but can't get anyone to believe me.)  Mine tend to occur mid cycle and a few days before the start then for the first few days.  They are so disturbing and the anxiety sets in which makes them worse.  I think I have 100's an hour and they last many, many hours.  My heart totally flips out and it is scarey.  I have taken matters into my own hands and had my hormone levels checked thru a local pharmacy.  My progresterone level was extremely low.  I have been using bio-identical progesterone cream and some months, it really seems to help while others not so much.  I definately say there is a hormonal connection but unfortunately I've had no luck getting a cardiologist (I've seen 2) or a family doc to agree or attempt to do anything about it.  My next step is a holistic clinic in Bloomfield Hills, MI with an excellent reputation.  It's comforting to know that other people experience the same problems.  Good Luck!  We are not crazy!!!    

[trixysmom]

I noticed when I am a few days away from my period starting my anxiety is through the roof and so are my palpitations. I am a healthy 29 year old that has been dealing with these things for years. I had 2 echos, and recently an ekg (not my first) and all normal. They still scare me but recently they've increased and like you said about the chicken and the egg, it's a catch 22, anxiety causes them and they cause anxiety. I was on Zoloft for 3 years and helped a great deal but took myself off of them in the last few months because I want to try and deal with them myself and control my anxiety myself. I feel so much better reading these posts because I felt like I was so alone.

[jessicups79]

Wow...can I ever relate to you.  I'm 27 (female) and have been experiencing heart palps for a few years now. I don't deny I've had some anxiety in my life around the same time this started (money issues especially get to me!)...but the comment you made about your cycle being related> I was very excited to see someone else make this connection!!! I don't get the palps bad DURING my period, however, the week after...just about kills me. I feel SO anxious that entire week, and I'm very prone to the palps at that time. My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for 1.5 years...and we're having problems, so we have been put on fertility drugs (Clomid). I've found when I'm on this, it accentuates the palps 10-fold. I have been off it for 4 months now...adn the palps have almost diminished completely...so that is fair evidence that they definitely have SOMETHING to do with horomones!!! My doc actually yelled at me when I suggested this, but isn't it obviuos??? So... now I'm going back on these drugs, startign this week, actually...and I'm terrified. I'll probably give myself them just from being so scared!! I can't help it though..sometimes they are so bad, I convince myself I"m goign to die in my sleep.... You also mentioned they are worse when you lay on your left side> ME TOO! For something that seems to ale so many people...I wonder why they can't figure out what causes it, or how to fix? If you find out any info...or want to share more with me... email me: ***@****

Hang in there!!

[freemanredneck]

Hi peach:  I too get them when I bend over or turn to the left or right.  I get them worst after I eat.  Since I am male I cannot relate to the menstrual cycle.  Also if you slouch downward while setting mine get nasty.  As I told others here I have a hiatus hernia.  You should know that women who bare children get hiatus hernias.  What happens is I get a lot of gas which rises up hits my vagus nerve and causes a pvc which is the explanation I got from my doctor.  He put me on protonix which eased them considerably.  When I get stressed then they will appear.  Some pvc's seem to want to take away my breath, while others are quick and anoying.  When I bent over and stood up it was like a thump in my chest.  If I eat spicy foods then look out.  I believe that anxiety will bring on pvc's and then the opposite happens and both keep feeding each other.  Ever suffer from burning in your stomach and having it rise into your throat?  When I get bad pvc's I run and get some gaviscon out of the cabinet and chew two to three tablets and the pvcs begin to subside.  Caffiene or soda will also aggravate the pvc's.