Not sure whats wrong with me

[somedude]

Let me start off by saying I've been to the doctors and the ER plenty of times due to panic attacks and heart palpitations. My cardiologist after doing a stress test said I probably have anxiety. (I was nervous the entire stress test)

I was a pretty relaxed/lazy guy..most of my time is spent watching TV or playing video games. So when I started having these symptoms I was surprised. It just felt as if something was wrong. I wasn't really in any panic, I just wanted to know why I was feeling the way I was. A month or so after I was getting some chest pain and palpitations I started realizing how much focused I was on my heart. Even now as I type this I'm aware of it.
Is it really anxiety? If so...whats next? They want me on anxiety meds but I really don't want to take any medications for this. The anxiety isn't bothering me since I've dealt with quite a few panic attacks already. Its just something I'm used to, if anything its more annoying than it is a problem. My main problem is my heart rate. Its faster than normal. I'm going to start jogging and doing a little more exercise to see if I can get my bpm down a bit, but the feeling of my heart. The constant awareness of my heart, does this ever go away? I do try not to focus on it..but its there always beating lol, kind of hard.
I guess I should mention that I'm really skinny too so I can literally feel my heart beating against my chest during the panic attacks.


I've gotten better over the past months...Where I'm at now is far greater than where I was 3 months ago.

[somedude]

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry for all the questions its just I really thought I was having a heart related problem until a few days ago. Now that I know its anxiety I just want to know how hard it will be and what I'll be dealing with. I'm reading some of the threads here now since I am new to the forum..some have some really good information so I dont think I need that paid site haha.

A question for you...If you ever used medication for anxiety did it work at all? Doing some reading it does seem like a few people have had a little success with meds.

[j2005]

Listen to everything Kev says: he's brilliant!

Deep breathing brought down my heart rate. Take time every day to do deep breathing; download exercises for this and you'll see the rate gradually drop!

James

[alankay]

Yep. The olde heart. Used to bother me tooo like soooo many. Us anxious folks just pay too much attention to that thing(and many other bodily sensations). As long as it keeps at it, I'm fine with it now. If you are against an SSRI(I take it that what they want you on) then running will only cause your heart to beat, in time, slower, but more forcefully(higher ejection fraction and stroke volume). I have been a runner for 30 years and my pulse is low but I still notice my pulse at times since it's slower/more forceful. I'm just saying that it(running) might not help you stop worrying about it much. If it really doesn't bother you, skip the meds. As for me ssri's have helped me. But education has helped every bit as much if not more. Kev's suggestions are great. Alankay

[somedude]

forwells: I will look into the site if you don't mind PMing me the link. As for the drugs I think I can go without them, I will try the meditation first since I have heard a lot of good things about it.

alankay: Its not about the heart beating, but its more about it being in shape. If it beats harder thats fine, as long as it isn't beating as often.