What is going on with me and has anyone had this?

[JerJer]

I would greatly appreciate all your opinions. I am really having a bad one.

I was taking the Magnesium stuff lately, and I was feeling much better. Then I woke up with major heart palpitations and completely panicked. I am waiting for the proper Magnesium, Amino Acids and such to come here. I am an American living in Shanghai. Anyway I woke up at 5 AM completely freaked out and it got harder and harder and faster and faster. All alone, in a compound at 5 AM with noone around made me so scared. For the first time in my life I called an ambulance. I was convinced I was going to die. Within 10 minutes from the beginning of the episode, in the ambulance my heart was 108 beats per minute, but I was pretty sure it was much higher earlier. It seemed liek my heart was automatically going into a massive tachycardia.

Every test at the hospital came out ok, but I was much calmer by the time I got there..

I then went to another place and took every test imaginable. The heart Echogram was all norma. EKG normal. Every blood test was normal except the TSH was slightly high. The T3 and T4 was normal but TSH was slightly high. Not sure if it means anything.

Then I wore a 24 hour monitor. On the monitor I had 2 episodes. Pretty lucky.

Here is what is showed:

my heart got up maximum to 162 beats per minute. Is that extremely dangerous or what? 2 doctors looked at it and said besides being fast, it showed noting wrong. Then I went to a Cardiologist who said he thinks I have a PVST or even a PAST, and maybe I should have the surgery where they burn a branch of the AV node of the hart. He said maybe I am born with 2 fibers instead of one. He said after the surgery I will be normal.
Then the cardiologist went outside and had a cigarette. He gave me Xanax because I am nervous and a beta blocker. But said the beta blocker may or may not work. WEIRD!

I then went to 2 more doctors. Both said just Tachycardia, not PVST and one said take the beta blockers and another said take propafenone hydrochloride. The first doctor said probably not dangerous and this probably won't kill you but I can't guarantee anything. WTF! The second doctor said besides being fast there is nothing wrong but don't take beta blockers. Take propafenone hydrochloride. He said this is a small problem and not life threatening. I look up the side effects of this drug and it is massive. It also said its only for life threatening arrhythmias. Does that mean that doc thinks I have a life threatening heart thing? Even though he did say it isn't.

So I call up the doctor from yesterday, who recommended surgery, andhe said propafenone hydrochloride can give you other arrhythmia and in America they would not give it to you.

I went to the Chinese herbal medicine department and she gave me a very good herbal formula that I'm taking.

You all see where this is going. I am utterly confused. I assume some of you have totally gone through all this.

I have definitely the past month had major anxiety, especially in crowded places, (which is all of China) , subways and places with no clear exit. Even an elevator. I wake up scared then heart palpitations start and they get really fast!

Last night I woke up scared and anxious but did major breathing and relaxation techniques so the heart beated normal. Yet I felt very anxious, but no tachycardia.

Is this all from my anxiety? Do I have a real heart problem? Am I a walkign time bomb ready to drop any second?

P.S.
It can get lonely here, despite the good friends, from all over the world I do have. If anyone wants to be there for me and take to me, I would very much appreciate it. I can skype you.

I look forward to your responses.

Thanks!

Jeremy

[Itzomi]

Hi Jeremy!

It sounds just like a regular panic attack to me. Since you got many different answers, that may be a good sign, in that it's not "something definite." I mean, a panic attack would be hard to pinpoint, whereas an actual problem would be fairly clear - I would think, anyway.



The first doctor said probably not dangerous and this probably won't kill you but I can't guarantee anything. WTF!

I'm sure that was quite comforting!! :evil: Also, I had to laugh about the cardiologist going outside to have a cigarette!!?

I'm not sure if your experience is any different than many with health anxiety. Panic attacks come out of nowhere and the person is sure they are dying. Even if you have been taking your magnesium and all that, these things still happen. Your tests came out OK, and the doctors are just trying to somehow fit an explanation together out of "OK tests." I mean, if it were me I'd still get another opinion or two, but with the tests all being good for the most part, I'd say don't get too worked up over it. (I know...easier said than done!!)

I wonder if you had a night terror/nightmare? You may not remember the dream, but it could have been a doozy and caused your panic attack?

[Itzomi]

Oh, let me add that I once called Urgent Care over some thumping palpitations that were happening over & over and wasn't going away!! It was scary - I'd never had that happen to me before!! It was just random, out of the blue. Or so I thought. I had an EKG which came out fine (but by that time I was fine anyway).

It turned out that I had a reaction to....corn tortillas!! (I know you hadn't eaten anything but bear with me here.) I found it out because the next time I ate the tortillas, it happened again. It must have been a particular additive/preservative that was used. I now eat them without chemicals.

What I'm getting at is that sometimes things happen that have very sneaky but benign causes!! I would have never known what caused such a reaction had I not eaten them again and made the connection. I'm sure that much of what happens to us has a trigger that we have no clue about, and does not signify disease.

[JerJer]

Thank you for that very insightful post. So 162 beats a minute for a short time is normal during a panic attack?

What do you think of this:
It happened again last night in my sleep. I was dreaming I was running from someone or something then I woke up with my heart beating slightly fast, but not crazy fast. I did deep breathing and focused on relaxation and I was able to keep my heart beating fairly moderate. I would guess no more than 90 a minute. But I felt extreme nervousness while I did this. It took me over an hour of deep breathing and chanting OM, and whatever relaxation technique I could come up with before I went back to sleep. My heart was normal, but I felt nervous a shell.

Then I woke up out of another dream I can't remember and the same thing happened. This time I couldn't control it and for about 8 minutes I had a very fast heart beat.

I am confused if this is all anxiety related, or what.

[ngbrock]

I can relate to your fast heart rate. I, too, have the same problem. Every time I go to the doctor, they always comment on how high it is (usually around 110 or so when I first get there). Well, I have anxiety is what I tell them, and they always just say, "Oh, so that's it..." In fact, I recently had a stress test performed due to some chest pain I was having (I was also just diagnosed with mild/moderate MVP), and, as I already knew, they wanted me to get up to 85% of my max. heart rate. I was at 85% before I even got on the treadmill! And all of it was simply because I was anxious and feeling jittery/panicky. Before I began the exercises, my heart rate was in the low 160's. So, yes, it is very normal and extremely common to have palpitations with anxiety. I have lived with them for over 15 years (when I was diagnosed with an anxiety and panic disorder). If everything looks good on your tests, I wouldn't be too concerned. Your heart is a very strong, powerful muscle, and your body knows what it is doing. Just relax and let it take care of itself.

[jj1983]

Believe me when I say I understand... I frequently have crazy dreams and fast heart beat.. I had two abnorm ekgs then did echo and heart monitor for 24 hrs. Both were normal...so my cardiologist said was just anxiety.... It is normal for a very fast heartbeat... I get that a lot. Esp when waking or going to bed. Actually having it now...but I know I am fine. I know your frusterated and just want a yes or no... A heart is serious business...I hope u get an answer soonr..feel free to add me on yahoo messenger. Dansonfamily08

[Zuena]

Jer, I hope you are feeling better by now.

How long have you been living there? Did you experience anxiety before you relocated?

Z

[JerJer]

After taking every blood test known to man, nothing has come out abnormal. My cholesterol is low and my blood pressure is normal. After countless ECGs an, echogram, and 2- 24 hour monitors, the senior cardiologist diagnosed me with, this may come as a complete shock to all of you, but it's a medical term called, "ANXIETY." Have you guys heard of this disorder before? Did I spell it right? I was dicked around a fair bit before the final answer though. Maybe you hav ePVST and need surgery, mayeb you don't. One ECK showed a slight strange T wave, but then it's nothing. After all is said in the done, its apparently all caused by my neurosis.

He prescribed me Zoloft to take in the morning and 2mg of a benzodiazapan at night. I really really really don't want to begin these meds. I am finally beginning to believe my physical symptoms are due to my mind, although it seems impossible since they feel so real. So far I am sipping chamomile tea and my magnesium, amino acid supplements just arrived. I have been reading the Charles Linden Method which is a very well written manual on anxiety disorder. Do I take the meds or do I not? I suppose the meds are not going to help my heart or my liver or my kidneys or make me healthier? I suppose if the doctors missed some weird tropical disease I have then Zoloft most likely wont help. But I did try this 2 mg I think it was Klonopin. I couldn't read the Chinese. It felt really good. I can see why people get addicted to it.

Right now I am trying my best to fully accept I have good physical health and that my physical symptoms are from my mind producing the fight or flight response. It is very hard when you got it in your head that any second may be my last and I may drop at any time.

Any advice?

Thanks.

[jameswilliam]

I read the Charles Linden method, which is a very well written manual on anxiety disorder. Often I have wild dreams and rapid heartbeat. Had two abnormal electrocardiograms and echo-free heart rate monitor for 24 hours. Both were normal. Therefore, my cardiologist said it was just anxiety.It is normal for a very fast heart rate.