Bad Evening - PLEASE help...freaking out

[Cheers]

My daughter was misbehaving and had to yell at her. Soon after..ugh.

The day has been pretty good. Nothing I felt the past 2 days actually. And this is my bad time of month. After yelling at her, the skips began. I kept my finger on my pulse and the PACs (assuming that is what is happening - pause, like a skipped beat...showed up as PACs last month on monitor) were more constant. I would normally not freak out this bad...but it was worse this time. It was skipping every 30 seconds or so for about 4-5 minutes. It was about time for my nightly BB dose (12.5 mg of metoprolol) so I took that about 8 mins ago. The skips are slowing, but still here way more than usual. Rate has been at about 80 and my body got really cold and shaky. Probably anxiety??

Any tricks on stopping these?? I tried bearing down and coughing as well as drinking cold water. I am laying on my back with legs slightly elevated. This *****. Why is is getting worse??!! These have been pretty tolerable before now. I feel as tho I am regressing physically and mentally.

I also just took a klonopin which I take daily for anxiety. (.5 mg)

Am I doing this to myself?? Is my anxiety causing this many?? And if so how is that even possible?? Are PACs as difficult to ablate as PVCs,,,not that I want to do that...just asking.

If you havent seen my previous posts - I have a hx of pretty minor SVT and PACs. 38 and otherwise healthy. No caffiene in diet and I exercise at least 45 mins a day 4-5 days a week.

Thank you so much!!!!

[Cheers]

Thanks again guys.

I go to the EP in 3 hours. I will let you know what she says. I will be requesting a Holter because I would like to know more about how many and what exactly is going on. After that I think I will really be able to start to accept and deal...

I am sure she will be very annoyed with me (and my list of questions) today.

[is_something_wrong]

First, the "tricks" for stopping SVT does not work for stopping PACs. What bearing down, Valsalva, holding your breath, water in the face, etc, does is to block or slow the AV node and to a certain degree the sinus node down temporarily so any re-entry circuit involving the AV node, causing SVT (not your SVT) is broken. While having PACs, slowing the sinus node down may actually worsen the "problem" because a rapid sinus rhythm may erase some of the PACs. That's why my cardiologist told me to do some situps or stand up and move around if I had lots of PACs.

The only helpful "trick" is to (try to) relax. This is not caused by your heart, remember that, but your anxiety gives symptoms through that organ (and a lot of other organs too).

The last days I've felt quite a few PACs too. I know the cause is (lol) that I have to take a flight today and I really hate that. Really not looking forward to it. But I assume that when the flight is done, my PACs will return to normal (a couple a day) after a few hours.

[Cheers]

Ok. I am trustin' ya here. Honestly. I have to just start trusting. And it's starting with complete strangers dangit.

Tomorrow i have my EP appt and after that I will continue to focus on my mind. And yes, I am feeling super sorry for my therapist lately :)

Know how grateful I am. I hope to do the same for someone one day soon.

Good night.

[achillea]

"Do you think having them every 30 sec for about 10 mins is something to worry about? Or is this another case of 'calm the heck down you neurotic freak'?? lol "

Heh-heh.  There have been times when if I had been having them ONLY  once every 30 seconds, I would have been delighted, thinking there had been a huge reduction!  

Your klonopin undoubtedly helped by reducing your anxiety level.  Once again, read up on the link between anxiety and ectopic beats (yeah, I know it is hard to do when you're torqued).

Basically, it boils downto this:  If you can walk around, chase your kids, go up stairs--and do it without breaking into a COLD sweat (the 'sweat of death,' as the French put it) or vomiting or collapsing in the floor--your heart is OK,  no matter now cuckoo your pulse is.

And by the way, keep your hands off your pulse points.

If a cardio doc and some tests have cleared you of heart disease, your best friend is your shrink.  Really.

[Cheers]

Do you think the klonopin or the BB helped or is it coincidence?

[Cheers]

I do have one of her books. On anxiety/panic. I read it years ago when they told me this was all in my head. Not that one tho...I will look for it. Thanks!!

[Cheers]

THANK YOU. I actually DID find that post and saw his article. But I didnt check the second link. Sometimes I am afraid to read too much.

Do you think having them every 30 sec for about 10 mins is something to worry about? Or is this another case of 'calm the heck down you neurotic freak'?? lol

Thank you again soooo much

OHH have you heard about VNS?? Do they do this for PACs you think??

[achillea]

Oh, and you cannot 'stop' these beats.  What you can do is accept them and understand--really understand--that you are not in any physical dangler.

For a DIY approach, try the inexpensive little book by Dr. Claire Weekes called 'Hope and Help For Your Nerves."  She addresses benign ectopic heartbeats in this book, and has some self-help exercises for you.  It's not as good as seeing a shrink, but it's cheap and a good start.

[achillea]

It's a 'Which comes first: The chicken or the egg?"kind of question.

As a longtime sufferer of PVCs (sometimes thousands a day per Holter monitor), I can tell you that stressful situations and ectopic beats are indeed connected. IMHO you were probably born with the tendency towards a greater sensitivity to this sort of thing, but it has to do with the Vagus nerve and with your brain's interpretation of the sensations you perceive from your heart.

I urge you to read up on this.  Here is a start from a suggestion I posted to another victim of odd heartbeats:

"There is an excellent, readable source of explanations for what you are experiencing, but the filter here at medhelp often blocks it.  The writer is a very knowledgeable cardiac nurse/technician named J*hn Kenyon, CNA (I put in the asterisk hoping that would slip by the filter).  If you google his name and 'pvcs', you should get some good information.

Now, if that works and you want more detail, you can type in his name along with this: cardiology/forums/backup/topic-24286.html

Sometimes just that part (copying and pasting cardiology/forums/backup/topic-24286.html) will get you there."

Read, read, read, my friend.

[Cheers]

About 45 mins later after laying down, taking the BB and klonopin, they are getting better. I have finally stopped shaking after a bath. I havent felt that way in years. I know I am extra stressed, I was really mad at my kid and my period is due in a week (like I said, my worst time). Could these things really do THAT much to me?? If this is structural/electrical...something I was born with...then how can it be so stress induced? What have more stressful times not given me just as bad of results? Yes, I will be annoying the crud out of my EP tomorrow with a list of all these questions. But sometimes I need o hear it from people who live through it.

I feel like a jerk coming here and already demanding so much reassurance and answers. I just really need it right now.

Thanks again.