So frustrated...EKGS...How long?

[MJBoyle88]

Quick question...

Well, thats usually how these things start out. Then I open up like a can of sardines. Basically, I have no access at the moment to a doctor. Not until October. My issue is anxiety / obsession over health. This has occurred due to the last 5 months of stressing out over various things, which inevitably became health oriented. My main concern is heart attack / stroke.

Whenever I get panicky or the usual symptoms (tingling finger, achy muscles, quick pain in the chest, discomfort in the chest over left breast, under armpit, headaches, ear ringing, and of course occasional panic attacks) I try to tell myself the following.


- I'm 26
- Good shape
- Very good BP
- No family history of heart attack / stroke
- Family history of Anxiety
- and the big one, I had a EKG, and Holter Monitor done about 2 years ago, no issues whatsoever.

My only real argument that my anxiety will come back at me with the idea that,

the EKG / Holter was two years ago, things have changed. Your arteries clogged up. Thats why you have pains, tingling, and discomfort.

I'm going through the passage of having a few good days, then randomly having aches / spasms / or a sharp pain, and boom, back to the obsession, back to the aggravation.

How often are you supposed to get EKGS? I know it sounds ridiculous. I've had anxiety my whole life, but never this bad. A bit annoying I let myself get this bad.


Thank you,
Matt

[Xerosnake90]

You can go years without check ups. You're fine, your obsession lies in your anxiety and trying to justify your problems despite already a knowing the answer. You have anxiety, your symptoms come from that.

If It were anything else you wouldn't go days or weeks without pain. You wouldn't be in pain and then magically get better. If you were afflicted in any serious sense you'd stay that way. Do you get the flu and one day just feel better only to resume being sick with flu? No. Now I see how that's a double edged sword. You feel ok and your body should reflect that. However you're not dealing with a cold. You're dealing with a mental process that fixes itself by avoiding the things that brought it there. Stop with the searching of answers. You already have it. Don't let your symptoms drag you back down. Progression comes with regression. Just move past it stronger than before.

[Im-Suffering]

Quick question...

Well, thats usually how these things start out. Then I open up like a can of sardines. Basically, I have no access at the moment to a doctor. Not until October. My issue is anxiety / obsession over health. This has occurred due to the last 5 months of stressing out over various things, which inevitably became health oriented. My main concern is heart attack / stroke.

Whenever I get panicky or the usual symptoms (tingling finger, achy muscles, quick pain in the chest, discomfort in the chest over left breast, under armpit, headaches, ear ringing, and of course occasional panic attacks) I try to tell myself the following.

There is no way to meditate or practice during an attack. For centuries, people, especially martial arts, have been trying to harness adrenaline, control it, and themselves during a spike, to get an upper hand on their enemy. Reason, intellect, and composure go right out the window.


- I'm 26
- Good shape
- Very good BP
- No family history of heart attack / stroke
- Family history of Anxiety
- and the big one, I had a EKG, and Holter Monitor done about 2 years ago, no issues whatsoever.

My only real argument that my anxiety will come back at me with the idea that,

the EKG / Holter was two years ago, things have changed. Your arteries clogged up. Thats why you have pains, tingling, and discomfort.

I'm going through the passage of having a few good days, then randomly having aches / spasms / or a sharp pain, and boom, back to the obsession, back to the aggravation.

How often are you supposed to get EKGS? I know it sounds ridiculous. I've had anxiety my whole life, but never this bad. A bit annoying I let myself get this bad.


Thank you,
Matt

EKG can be done at pdoc, and takes 5 minutes. If it will rest your nerves, then go in for one. Nice and easy test. Depending on age, and specific circumstance, they like to give them once a year during routine physical etc, especially if over 40 say and diagnosed with anxiety.

I tell you to do this because you have a problem to face, and rather than sit in the fear letting it turn to dread or fright, you can easily solve it.

As a side note practice relaxation (any method you enjoy) daily, but not in a panic state, practice when you are calm and resting, this will help to lessen the frequency and duration of the attacks, as well as level out the hormones, reducing them to a below the 'instant trigger' state.

Let's label the adrenaline level in your systems from 1-10 and use that guide in the following example:

A so called normal person will have a constant state of say 3. Growing a little tense they may jump to 5 and in fright, or fight or flight lets say 8. But immediately after the threat has been removed, the level begins to decline and soon enough they are back in their life at a 3 again with no residual left in the blood from the spike.

A person with anxiety, whether calm or not for example now, we will say he has a level of 6, constant. Now an 8 is needed for full blown attack, but at a 5 or constant 6 he is jittery and the nerves are frazzled continuously. That has become his natural state over time. Not needing much of an impetus to throw him over the 8.

Now these are general numbers, the avg person may be a 1 or 2 spiking to a 6, where you are always a 6 you see.

I think it's important to know this because it will show you clearly why you are most always anxious, (sitting on the fence) and can be set off very easily. A car horn in traffic which would normally spike 2 and be forgotten, sets you off because it thrusts you to 8 instantly.

Now meditation or visualization, when rested, and practiced, would help to lower your number down to normal range over time, thus pulling you out of the anxious always range.

So yes, you practice relaxation when you are relaxed, training yourself in feeling comfortable and secure, thus lowering the hormones in the blood making it harder and further to reach the full blown attack.

The aches and the spasms, the twitches, the appetite and stomach are all residual issues of trace hormones left in the system to maintain your higher level, after a few days you may feel better because you dropped to a 6, from the 8-9, then to a 5 where the muscles do not ache, the chemicals have dropped sufficiently enough. But, each attack over time raises the normal level, so you must do the reverse and lower it, in the quiet times. Now I will not say how this would work, for that would take to many pages here, but trust it will work, and soon over time you would have reversed to process, you will be a 3 as well.


I do hope you have understood this, any reader not just the OP.

[Xerosnake90]

Excellent way to look at the nerve level. Never thought of it that way. I used meditation mainly to calm down from that level 7. Now if I'm constantly at 4 or 5 and not always feeling crazy I don't do as much meditation. I'll be resuming today to further lower that level.

[Im-Suffering]

Excellent way to look at the nerve level. Never thought of it that way. I used meditation mainly to calm down from that level 7. Now if I'm constantly at 4 or 5 and not always feeling crazy I don't do as much meditation. I'll be resuming today to further lower that level.

Great, yes keep it up !

Btw, feel free to copy it paste it, post it, etc. reword it, fine tune it. I think it will be helpful to people.

[MJBoyle88]

EKG can be done at pdoc, and takes 5 minutes. If it will rest your nerves, then go in for one. Nice and easy test. Depending on age, and specific circumstance, they like to give them once a year during routine physical etc, especially if over 40 say and diagnosed with anxiety.

I tell you to do this because you have a problem to face, and rather than sit in the fear letting it turn to dread or fright, you can easily solve it.

As a side note practice relaxation (any method you enjoy) daily, but not in a panic state, practice when you are calm and resting, this will help to lessen the frequency and duration of the attacks, as well as level out the hormones, reducing them to a below the 'instant trigger' state.

Let's label the adrenaline level in your systems from 1-10 and use that guide in the following example:

A so called normal person will have a constant state of say 3. Growing a little tense they may jump to 5 and in fright, or fight or flight lets say 8. But immediately after the threat has been removed, the level begins to decline and soon enough they are back in their life at a 3 again with no residual left in the blood from the spike.

A person with anxiety, whether calm or not for example now, we will say he has a level of 6, constant. Now an 8 is needed for full blown attack, but at a 5 or constant 6 he is jittery and the nerves are frazzled continuously. That has become his natural state over time. Not needing much of an impetus to throw him over the 8.

Now these are general numbers, the avg person may be a 1 or 2 spiking to a 6, where you are always a 6 you see.

I think it's important to know this because it will show you clearly why you are most always anxious, (sitting on the fence) and can be set off very easily. A car horn in traffic which would normally spike 2 and be forgotten, sets you off because it thrusts you to 8 instantly.

Now meditation or visualization, when rested, and practiced, would help to lower your number down to normal range over time, thus pulling you out of the anxious always range.

So yes, you practice relaxation when you are relaxed, training yourself in feeling comfortable and secure, thus lowering the hormones in the blood making it harder and further to reach the full blown attack.

The aches and the spasms, the twitches, the appetite and stomach are all residual issues of trace hormones left in the system to maintain your higher level, after a few days you may feel better because you dropped to a 6, from the 8-9, then to a 5 where the muscles do not ache, the chemicals have dropped sufficiently enough. But, each attack over time raises the normal level, so you must do the reverse and lower it, in the quiet times. Now I will not say how this would work, for that would take to many pages here, but trust it will work, and soon over time you would have reversed to process, you will be a 3 as well.


I do hope you have understood this, any reader not just the OP.

Very interesting indeed! It does make sense. Thanks for the advice.

[MJBoyle88]

You can go years without check ups. You're fine, your obsession lies in your anxiety and trying to justify your problems despite already a knowing the answer. You have anxiety, your symptoms come from that.

If It were anything else you wouldn't go days or weeks without pain. You wouldn't be in pain and then magically get better. If you were afflicted in any serious sense you'd stay that way. Do you get the flu and one day just feel better only to resume being sick with flu? No. Now I see how that's a double edged sword. You feel ok and your body should reflect that. However you're not dealing with a cold. You're dealing with a mental process that fixes itself by avoiding the things that brought it there. Stop with the searching of answers. You already have it. Don't let your symptoms drag you back down. Progression comes with regression. Just move past it stronger than before.


Sometimes it is nice just to hear people say exactly as you have said. But I agree completely. I have a bad habit of treating the symptoms instead of the anxiety. I know what the problem is as well. Being positive though, and that reply was a big boost! Again, thank you very much.

[melismith]

Quick question...

Well, thats usually how these things start out. Then I open up like a can of sardines. Basically, I have no access at the moment to a doctor. Not until October. My issue is anxiety / obsession over health. This has occurred due to the last 5 months of stressing out over various things, which inevitably became health oriented. My main concern is heart attack / stroke.

Whenever I get panicky or the usual symptoms (tingling finger, achy muscles, quick pain in the chest, discomfort in the chest over left breast, under armpit, headaches, ear ringing, and of course occasional panic attacks) I try to tell myself the following.


- I'm 26
- Good shape
- Very good BP
- No family history of heart attack / stroke
- Family history of Anxiety
- and the big one, I had a EKG, and Holter Monitor done about 2 years ago, no issues whatsoever.

My only real argument that my anxiety will come back at me with the idea that,

the EKG / Holter was two years ago, things have changed. Your arteries clogged up. Thats why you have pains, tingling, and discomfort.

I'm going through the passage of having a few good days, then randomly having aches / spasms / or a sharp pain, and boom, back to the obsession, back to the aggravation.

How often are you supposed to get EKGS? I know it sounds ridiculous. I've had anxiety my whole life, but never this bad. A bit annoying I let myself get this bad.


Thank you,
Matt
These are my almost exact symptoms!!! It's nice to know and talk to people that feel the same. Not that it's nice to have anxiety but well you know;) my health anxiety is out of control! I had an EKG not even 6 months ago and I'm already wondering if anything has changed. My new thing is waking up gasping and heart racing in the middle of the night so like a natural anxious person I have google diagnosed myself with sleep apnea and it scares the hell out of me!! I hope you get some relief:)