Aa
Elevated heart rate and a bit desperate
This was yesterday.. I am a 22 year old male not overweight dont smoke drink etc.. bad anxiety.. and this has been on going for a year but yesterday was really bad Below is a description of yesterday.. any advice or opinions would be welcomed
------------
I woke up at 11:30 pm est - took my beta blocker at 3 - something AM - along with 2 mg of xanax .. all is
normal.... I was feeling the heart rate elevated a bit around 9 am-1am but it stayed 84-90 ish only checked twice..
but at 12 35 pm I was going back up the stairs already a bit anxious then my heart start racing going up the stairs ..
then well it didnt stop racing it was I was only able to check it once durning the attack
I rarely do it makes them worse.. but it was 150 bpm when I check.. I called my doctors office.. the
nurse answered I asked to speak to the dr and ask her if I could take another 12.5 (a full pill basiclly) she said it
was ok but I was still quite scared .. but 10-12 minutes later I took it so 112 pm est its now 231 pm est and my
heart rate has just hit 100 bpm.. what do you think.. and should I be safe taking the beta blocker at my normal 1-4 hours after I get up time tomorrow ><
I have never had to take 2 halves in one day.. what do you guys think I really am desperate.. what does this sound like to you.. i mean today 25 mg metoprolol and 3 mg of xanax..
------------
I woke up at 11:30 pm est - took my beta blocker at 3 - something AM - along with 2 mg of xanax .. all is
normal.... I was feeling the heart rate elevated a bit around 9 am-1am but it stayed 84-90 ish only checked twice..
but at 12 35 pm I was going back up the stairs already a bit anxious then my heart start racing going up the stairs ..
then well it didnt stop racing it was I was only able to check it once durning the attack
I rarely do it makes them worse.. but it was 150 bpm when I check.. I called my doctors office.. the
nurse answered I asked to speak to the dr and ask her if I could take another 12.5 (a full pill basiclly) she said it
was ok but I was still quite scared .. but 10-12 minutes later I took it so 112 pm est its now 231 pm est and my
heart rate has just hit 100 bpm.. what do you think.. and should I be safe taking the beta blocker at my normal 1-4 hours after I get up time tomorrow ><
I have never had to take 2 halves in one day.. what do you guys think I really am desperate.. what does this sound like to you.. i mean today 25 mg metoprolol and 3 mg of xanax..
It does sound like you had a panic attack. When I have attacks, my heart rate can skyrocket to over 160 in just seconds...and thinking about it beating fast makes it fast too.
80s to 90s is a normal heart rate, not elevated, so I wouldn't worry about that. Especially if you are young and in good health. You say you are on metoprolol, and I'm wondering if that is for elevated bp? If there are other health issues involved, you may want to double-check with your M.D. just for peace of mind, but it does sound more like an anxiety thing to me.
80s to 90s is a normal heart rate, not elevated, so I wouldn't worry about that. Especially if you are young and in good health. You say you are on metoprolol, and I'm wondering if that is for elevated bp? If there are other health issues involved, you may want to double-check with your M.D. just for peace of mind, but it does sound more like an anxiety thing to me.
Hey man, sounds like you had a bonafied panic attack. The following may be long-winded, but I hope it helps. If nothing else, remember, you aren't going to die from your anxiety.
_____
My first panic attack was at age 22. A friend rushed me to the hospital with an incrediblely rapid heart rate and I hyperventilated to the point that my arm muscles atrophied. I thought I was dying. The doc's told me it was anxiety, prescribed xanax and sent me home. I, however, was convinced there was something wrong with my heart, and went on a mission to find out. After having EKG's, heart monitors & ultrasounds, I was diagnosed HEALTHY. Further panic attacks, in which objects and walls melted before my eyes, led me to believe there was something else wrong. I sought second opinions from heart specialists, made visits to ear-nose-and-throat specialist and neurologists and even had a brain-scan (CT). I was so nervous, I actually had a panic-attack INSIDE the CT scanner! Alas, all was normal and healthy, despite being racked with anxiety.
After all my clinical tests, I was forced to realize that my problems did not stem from my body, but rather my MIND. Normally, I would rise to a mental challenge, as I had all my life, but this was too large for me to undertake myself, so I sought help in the form of Psychiatry. Hoping for some couch time and a trip down mental lane, I visited a local, recommended Psychiatrist. However, instead of probing my mind with questions about my personal life and emotional history, he asked me what my physical symptoms were, prescribed me Lorazopam and sent me on my way. The Lorazopam made my apartment floor melt below my feet, so naturally I went back and complained. He then prescribed me Xanax, which worked wonderfully, though temporarily. For a more permanent solution, he offered Celexa.
I quickly realized, sitting on that couch with this pasty man hastily offering me a permanent lifestyle of pill-popping, that I had two choices: A life doomed under chemical influence, or a life free from the confines of my own mind. So, sitting on that cold leather couch, I remembered my short time spent in a Buddhist meditation center, and how incredibly happy and peaceful the monks were. I remembered how much I respected them just by seeing their pure smiles, and pictured them frowning at me for considering this chemical remedy. Similarly, I thought of my Father and Grandfather, who served in wars and fought through times more difficult than I would EVER experience, and how their NATURAL strength of mind persevered.
So, as impossible as it seemed, I chose to fix myself by myself. I declined the Psychiatrist's prescription and sought my own path. It was the absolute most frightening, difficult thing I've ever done. The only thing that kept me from going completely insane was focusing my mind on finding a way to destroy this 'demon', without creating another one. It was in this mission that I found strength.
Because of the impression it made on me in earlier years, I fell back on meditation, and found solace in Buddhist teachings. Not so much the religious aspects, but the Buddhist lifestyle of a healthy mind through breathing and thoughtfulness. I realized that my mental stress had caused a physical reaction in the form of anxiety, which left me with irregular breathing. This irregularity was completely invisible, hiding itself in a pattern so that I never knew it was happening, and sometimes escalating into hyperventilation. I learned that as subtle as it may seem, healthy breathing is one of the most important aspects of a healthy cardiovascular system. It regulates the amount of oxygen to the bloodstream and brain. If your breathing becomes irregular, your brain functions irregularly, which can lead to dizziness, increased panic, nervousness, and eventually heart palpitations. Buddhists and Yogis believe an even more spiritual importance lies in the breath; a 'life-force' or 'Prana'.
So, I began to try meditation, which is completely impossible when your heart is racing and your mind is going crazy. It took me quite a bit of time, and actually a few, mini-Yogic induced panic attacks to figure it out, but by focusing on each breath, counting them, taking them deliberately in and out, my mind was distracted from its stress and my heart rate calmed. The more I practiced, the easier it was to breath, and the more relaxed I became. Over time I figured out how to do this in my everyday life; while driving in traffic, sitting at my desk, at social gatherings, etc.
However, it was at social gatherings that I found another demon; alcohol. Drinking alcohol FAR worsened my problem, more so than anything. I had been told this by doctors, but the experience solidified it. Alcohol is the absolute one of the worst thing a person suffering from anxiety can ingest, and will only lead to increased anxiety. This was very difficult for me to swallow (pun intended) because I really enjoy drinking socially (there's nothing like a cold beer on a hot summer day). Also, drugs of ANY kind can increase one's anxiety. Some of my worst days were after I had taken Xanax for a short, regular period, and had stopped. If a prescribed drug exacerbates the problem, you can imagine how recreational drugs are far worse.
My final discovery was something I had always thought the opposite of. Exercise is an incredible way to destroy anxiety. Immersed in anxiousness, my heart would flutter, beat rapidly and palpitate. Naturally, I thought I would drop dead if I ran a block, so I stopped exercising. I couldn't have been more wrong. Although it's difficult to get into at first, a regular, aerobic exercise routine kills my anxiety every time.
I am now 31, and over the years have experienced anxiety in MANY forms. My most recent is an overwhelming feeling of nervousness, which causes me great trouble in social situations such as meetings and interviews, and which is totally out of character as I am extremely personable and outgoing . I continue to have heart palpitations and anxiety, which I am able to remedy with exercise, meditation and yoga (breathing and stretching). But, as we all know, it's difficult to keep up a healthy routine, so I find myself falling back into anxiety and back to my heart palpitations.
Part of writing this is to help those who are experiencing the same, and to give them hope with CERTAINTY that there is a life without anxiety and stress, free from the confines of your mind and without a diet of chemicals. My other motive is for myself; after 9 years of going in-and-out of anxiety, knowing full well what I must do to live peacefully, I'm vowing the path to a healthy mind and body, rejecting my excuses for laziness and pledging myself a consistent, healthy diet of food, exercise, meditation, breathing, stretching and positive thinking. The alternative is far too dire and I can no longer deny myself the happiness that's waiting for me......and neither can you!
Bottom line, we live in a time when life is more fast paced, more stressful and packed with pressure to perform. This is compounded by our dependence on fast, processed food and quick-fix pills. Furthermore, we surround ourselves with chemicals, in our food, our homes & our medicine cabinets. It's no wonder there's an increased rate of anxiety and 'mental illness', and that our children are being fed Ridalin like Flinstones vitamins. We simply need to slow down, breathe and focus on the cause of our problems instead of treating the symptoms.
Best of luck, and above all, take care!
_____
My first panic attack was at age 22. A friend rushed me to the hospital with an incrediblely rapid heart rate and I hyperventilated to the point that my arm muscles atrophied. I thought I was dying. The doc's told me it was anxiety, prescribed xanax and sent me home. I, however, was convinced there was something wrong with my heart, and went on a mission to find out. After having EKG's, heart monitors & ultrasounds, I was diagnosed HEALTHY. Further panic attacks, in which objects and walls melted before my eyes, led me to believe there was something else wrong. I sought second opinions from heart specialists, made visits to ear-nose-and-throat specialist and neurologists and even had a brain-scan (CT). I was so nervous, I actually had a panic-attack INSIDE the CT scanner! Alas, all was normal and healthy, despite being racked with anxiety.
After all my clinical tests, I was forced to realize that my problems did not stem from my body, but rather my MIND. Normally, I would rise to a mental challenge, as I had all my life, but this was too large for me to undertake myself, so I sought help in the form of Psychiatry. Hoping for some couch time and a trip down mental lane, I visited a local, recommended Psychiatrist. However, instead of probing my mind with questions about my personal life and emotional history, he asked me what my physical symptoms were, prescribed me Lorazopam and sent me on my way. The Lorazopam made my apartment floor melt below my feet, so naturally I went back and complained. He then prescribed me Xanax, which worked wonderfully, though temporarily. For a more permanent solution, he offered Celexa.
I quickly realized, sitting on that couch with this pasty man hastily offering me a permanent lifestyle of pill-popping, that I had two choices: A life doomed under chemical influence, or a life free from the confines of my own mind. So, sitting on that cold leather couch, I remembered my short time spent in a Buddhist meditation center, and how incredibly happy and peaceful the monks were. I remembered how much I respected them just by seeing their pure smiles, and pictured them frowning at me for considering this chemical remedy. Similarly, I thought of my Father and Grandfather, who served in wars and fought through times more difficult than I would EVER experience, and how their NATURAL strength of mind persevered.
So, as impossible as it seemed, I chose to fix myself by myself. I declined the Psychiatrist's prescription and sought my own path. It was the absolute most frightening, difficult thing I've ever done. The only thing that kept me from going completely insane was focusing my mind on finding a way to destroy this 'demon', without creating another one. It was in this mission that I found strength.
Because of the impression it made on me in earlier years, I fell back on meditation, and found solace in Buddhist teachings. Not so much the religious aspects, but the Buddhist lifestyle of a healthy mind through breathing and thoughtfulness. I realized that my mental stress had caused a physical reaction in the form of anxiety, which left me with irregular breathing. This irregularity was completely invisible, hiding itself in a pattern so that I never knew it was happening, and sometimes escalating into hyperventilation. I learned that as subtle as it may seem, healthy breathing is one of the most important aspects of a healthy cardiovascular system. It regulates the amount of oxygen to the bloodstream and brain. If your breathing becomes irregular, your brain functions irregularly, which can lead to dizziness, increased panic, nervousness, and eventually heart palpitations. Buddhists and Yogis believe an even more spiritual importance lies in the breath; a 'life-force' or 'Prana'.
So, I began to try meditation, which is completely impossible when your heart is racing and your mind is going crazy. It took me quite a bit of time, and actually a few, mini-Yogic induced panic attacks to figure it out, but by focusing on each breath, counting them, taking them deliberately in and out, my mind was distracted from its stress and my heart rate calmed. The more I practiced, the easier it was to breath, and the more relaxed I became. Over time I figured out how to do this in my everyday life; while driving in traffic, sitting at my desk, at social gatherings, etc.
However, it was at social gatherings that I found another demon; alcohol. Drinking alcohol FAR worsened my problem, more so than anything. I had been told this by doctors, but the experience solidified it. Alcohol is the absolute one of the worst thing a person suffering from anxiety can ingest, and will only lead to increased anxiety. This was very difficult for me to swallow (pun intended) because I really enjoy drinking socially (there's nothing like a cold beer on a hot summer day). Also, drugs of ANY kind can increase one's anxiety. Some of my worst days were after I had taken Xanax for a short, regular period, and had stopped. If a prescribed drug exacerbates the problem, you can imagine how recreational drugs are far worse.
My final discovery was something I had always thought the opposite of. Exercise is an incredible way to destroy anxiety. Immersed in anxiousness, my heart would flutter, beat rapidly and palpitate. Naturally, I thought I would drop dead if I ran a block, so I stopped exercising. I couldn't have been more wrong. Although it's difficult to get into at first, a regular, aerobic exercise routine kills my anxiety every time.
I am now 31, and over the years have experienced anxiety in MANY forms. My most recent is an overwhelming feeling of nervousness, which causes me great trouble in social situations such as meetings and interviews, and which is totally out of character as I am extremely personable and outgoing . I continue to have heart palpitations and anxiety, which I am able to remedy with exercise, meditation and yoga (breathing and stretching). But, as we all know, it's difficult to keep up a healthy routine, so I find myself falling back into anxiety and back to my heart palpitations.
Part of writing this is to help those who are experiencing the same, and to give them hope with CERTAINTY that there is a life without anxiety and stress, free from the confines of your mind and without a diet of chemicals. My other motive is for myself; after 9 years of going in-and-out of anxiety, knowing full well what I must do to live peacefully, I'm vowing the path to a healthy mind and body, rejecting my excuses for laziness and pledging myself a consistent, healthy diet of food, exercise, meditation, breathing, stretching and positive thinking. The alternative is far too dire and I can no longer deny myself the happiness that's waiting for me......and neither can you!
Bottom line, we live in a time when life is more fast paced, more stressful and packed with pressure to perform. This is compounded by our dependence on fast, processed food and quick-fix pills. Furthermore, we surround ourselves with chemicals, in our food, our homes & our medicine cabinets. It's no wonder there's an increased rate of anxiety and 'mental illness', and that our children are being fed Ridalin like Flinstones vitamins. We simply need to slow down, breathe and focus on the cause of our problems instead of treating the symptoms.
Best of luck, and above all, take care!
I think to follow your instict and wait until you speak to your doctor if you feel not so sure. I am not sure what metroprolol is so I can't give you the answer or opinion ur prob looking for. Sorry. I know nurses can not always be right so again demand a call or visit from your dr.
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