Terrible, terrible Anxiety
 

I've not posted in awhile, but I do read daily. I suffer from anxiety, which I think many of us do here. Usually, I can manage it but the last 3 weeks have been off the charts. I have many per-ventrical contractions (PVC) which I don't whether my anxiety sparks these or they spark my anxiety. They have been happening since June 10th, starting at noon and going in waves of 10-20 minutes and lasting until I can get to sleep. It causes me great anxiety and I get a tight, sore chest, tingling in my arms, shallow breathing, or hyperventilating and that terrible feeling of impending doom. In the past, I've been able to get over these events by distracting myself, but my usual methods have not worked.

Due to the unrelenting episodes over the past 3 week I've gotten into a bad cycle of anticipating the next attack

I finally called my health clinic and due to COVID I was told to go to ER. I went to ER last night and had an EKG and spoke with the doctor. The EKG showed the PVCs and the doctor asked me about my habits re: caffeine, stress. I drink 1 or 2 cups of coffee in the morning and don't touch caffeine after that. I don't smoke. I have not drank in over 5 years. Stress - well, I guess I have stress like everyone else these days. I don't take cold medicine because it cannot handle the side effects (racing heart).

The dr. prescribed a low dose beta blocker to try for 3 weeks. I had blood drawn today to see if my thyroid is low.

Today, I'm actually feeling better and so far have not had an episode. I've not taken the beta blocker as yet.

Part of me wonders whether just getting myself checked out has helped my stress level. That I am not imagining these symptoms.

In the past, I would use alcohol to dampen down the anxiety and it works - however, once it wears off, the anxiety comes screaming back worse than ever. I tell you, a little voice whispered to me...hey, you know a shot of rye or a glass of wine will melt that anxiety.

When you're staring down that anxiety tunnel that little whisper is quite the lure. The remedy, at least in my case, was to seek help and not self medicate. It can be difficult, that's for sure - I know because it took me 3 weeks of suffering to finally reach for help.

Yeah, it's really hard to reach out and call the doctor or go to an ER. I'm glad you did that, and hopefully your anxiety will ease up a bit.

I'm on a beta blocker for A fib and it also helps quell my anxiety. And they don't make you drowsy like benzos and other tranquilizers do.

Good to know, Least. I looked up all the side effects and am worried about the tiredness. I am hoping they will break this cycle. Anxiety makes me feel like I'm going crazy and it's hard to describe to people who don't suffer from it. I get replies such as..."oh, I get PVCs too - everyone does" or "yeah sometimes I'm anxious". I try to explain how an anxiety disorder is different than occasional anxiety.

I can just be sitting there, watching TV and not thinking about anything in particular and BOOM it starts. I hate the feeling.

Yes, sometimes just actually going and talking to someone who can help us does make us feel better. Please take the beta blockers as prescribed. After three weeks, you and your doctor should know whether it helps and if you should continue taking them.

My GP prescribed a beta-blocker for me many years ago and they do help though I had to stop taking them as they were slowing my heart down too much! My pulse went down to the mid 40s which alarmed the Doctor. I'm on them now anyway along with a blood pressure tablet as I had a heart attack 10 years ago. My anxiety levels have been manageable ever since, aided by a course of CBT which I found very useful. You can buy books and do CBT yourself although I found it useful to have a counsellor to do the CBT with.

I'm glad you sought some help calicofish :)

I'm on beta blockers for tachycardia and high blood pressure - I think they've also helped my anxiety, although my anxietys been on the decline for several years anyway.

I take 25mg/day.
There been no tranquilising sedative effects, or anything people might consider mind altering for me ever.

D

I think the main side effects of taking a beta-blocker that some people find a bit off putting is that it can cause cold hands or feet which is largely down to the tablets slowing down the circulation. The other is that some people can find they feel a bit tired or dizzy or lightheaded which is due to the heart rate slowing down a bit too much. But most people with anxiety tend to have a racing heart so a beta-blocker, especially a lower dose one, will just help the heart rate return to a healthier amount as well as reducing anxiety levels. That time when my heart rate went down to the mid 40s was a strange one as my heart was a rather fast 70+ before I took them so it was quite a drop. At least they work now like they are supposed to, my heart rate is usually 60 per minute which is what it used to be when I was in my late teens and early 20s (and was a lot fitter than I am now).

Never heard of PVC but had heaps of anxiety
No answer in alcohol.
Very occasional use of benzodiazepines maybe valium can help, but ask your doctor, they are very addictive,

Extreme anxiety can be truly debilitating Calico. Good you went to the doctor, and even better that you felt better after talking about it. Always helps.

Dee is it propranadol? One of those blood pressure drugs is used sometimes by public speakers to calm them down

The one I take is called Bisoprolol. I did used to be on Atenolol until a few years ago but had to come off that as I was getting that slow heart rate again (once again it dropped below 50 on a regular basis) so had to switch medication as I was already on the lowest dose of Atenolol.

I think propanolol is the one that is prescribed by Doctors for public speakers, musicians etc to help with what may best be described as stage fright.

no its Atenolol Bub :)

D

OH calico, I understand. My anxiety that was previously suppressed is out of control. Reached peak tonight and I ended up having an ambulance because of chest pains and dizziness, I was sure I was having a heart attack. I wasnt of course, I was absolutely fine.
hugs and solidarity xx

I use to get into a state where I would suddenly start sweating buckets uncontrollably, lose feeling all through my body. I think my blood pressure is actually cranked on high in reality but to me it would feel like the opposite. Like my blood is hardly flowing. If I do not sit down immediately I will be unconscious and take out anything in the way of my fall. Get scratched up falling into/along cabinets or something. This never happened drunk, it would happen while actively using but not drunk at the moment. Iwould worry about everything, if I wasn't worried about something, something was wrong I just didn't know what it was yet. I had alcoholism even before the first drink. I felt like I was home that first night I threw up from drinking when I was 14.

Especially when I wake up in the middle of the night, I have another version to actually start my day. What I do is focus on my breathing. Maybe I'm weird or something but i incorporate prayer and gratitude into my thoughts. I pretty much just take control of my breathing. I am a runner so I have pretty good lungs. I breathe as slow as I can WITHOUT struggling. I breathe in very slowly, deliberately, probably close to 10 seconds or something. The exhale for me is really where it's at. I do this much slower and try and let all the fear out. At the end of that long exhale it can feel almost like an opiate for several seconds. Hard to describe. To fall asleep I repeat this process for several minutes or until my heart is content. I'm trying to slow my breathing and heart rate so I guess literally until my heart is content.

Something I noticed from day to day... For example the other day I had one of my toughest days in my over 20 year professional career. I am under pressure to hit a deadline. Things that I have no control over are going real bad. I look bad, I'm stopping to pray which is usually money in these close call situations but not today. I'm just getting in a bigger hole, further from my number and the clock keeps ticking. I cant even stop to eat and I'm getting more tired, more hungry, more stupid. Many of my shortcomings are coming at me. I've gone well past the point that use to be I'm definitely drinking after this! I got through that day. I have a long drive home and its summer so even as late as it was I could still catch the end of the sunset on the way home. I survived. The anxiety blew right over, the cravings, the obsession to drink eventually becomes more of more a speed bump.

I feel for you Kitty. I have done the same thing before, ending up in ER thinking I was dying. It's awful. I now know I'm not dying, but it's still really hard to keep that in mind. Hugs to you. I hope you feel better soon.

Thank for the replies.
 

Thank you to everyone who has replied. I appreciate the support.

I've taken the first 1/2 pill tonight and I don't really think it's done much. I am still having some PVCs on and off, but they are not as bad as before. Maybe it takes some time for the drug to work and/or I just have to work on unloading this anxiety.

I've been prescribed Metoprolol 25 mg 1/2 pill morning/evening. The doctor will call me in 2 weeks to see how it's working.

Anxiety is such a bugger.

I would give it a little while to bed in Calicofish - 2 weeks sounds about right :)

D

I agree Dee - thanks.

Years ago I came down with agoraphobia and gad .
Took 3 years of meds and consoling And group therapy to overcome it .
It can be done .

Metoprolol is what I'm on. I have no problems with it at all. I'm actually on two doses of it - 50 mg and 25 mg. I check my BP and heart rate twice a day and if it's high, I take the 50 mg. It's almost always low in the afternoon and evening. I also have the higher dose in case I get an episode of A fib. At any rate, it works as it should and helps me a lot. :) I used to be on Atenolol but for whatever reason, it became unavailable and my doctor switched me to the metoprolol, which is very similar.

Give the new meds a bit of time to kick in. :hug: I hope it helps you like it helps me. :)

i do not have anxiety but do have PVCs and tachycardia/arrhythmia and high blood pressure.
the beta-blocker takes care of both, with absolutely no sedative or mood-altering effect whatsoever. bisoprolol.

i hope you will have good results, Calicofish, after a few days. i know how scary those cardiac irregularities are.

I'm all in on this.

I've experienced it in my own life, and I've seen it with other people.

The act of reaching out for help can be transformational, powerful, and can provide additional motivation to take care of ourselves. It can jump-start the process of healing.

For me, it's always been a better choice than doing nothing or waiting for things to work out on their own.

Thanks Least. My BP is normal and my BPM usually 73. When I went to ER, my BP was high and BPM high - but I also have "white coat syndrome" and I was very stressed. I am certainly giving this a try. :-)

Definitely. I tend to try and work things out myself and am loathe to ask for assistance. It's a stupid, stubborn streak. I must learn that asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

I've had an anxiety disorder pretty much as far as I can remember, but wasn't aware it was anxiety until my early 30s. Doctors that examined me in my 20s weren't either, apparently... because they never told me. I ran to my GP and even to the ER once with what felt like a heart attack or at least some serious, mysterious "wrong" several times in my youth. The first was when I was 19 - am 46 now. Anxiety was not on the radar of doctors so much back then, especially in the country where I lived at the time. So the doc just listened to my heart and prescribed a beta blocker. It didn't help and I had another episodes a couple weeks later, ran back to the same doc... he prescribed another beta blocker. Again, no effect really, so I just stopped taking it and never went back to that doc. I didn't have such severe episodes then for years when my life was going great, but they came back in my mid-20s. I was living in another country and had a lot of work stress. More runs to different doctors with similar symptoms and once an ER visit. At that time, they did a thorough cardiac evaluation and found nothing wrong with my heart, so let me go without any treatment and suggestion, still didn't even mention anxiety. I figured it all out on my own, via my education in mental health. That all those episodes were panic attacks and that I am just someone very prone to generalized anxiety. The latter was also finally formally diagnosed years later, but by then I knew it myself without doubt.

Of course my drinking had made the anxiety and panic attacks 500% worse and it took a good while for all that to settle after quitting. My blood pressure and heart rate was also always quite high during the last ~2 years of my drinking but I just ignored it, even when doctors took my vitals when I had to go for other checkups. All that went back down and have stayed that way for years now in sobriety. My BP actually tends to be on the low side, but I definitely see my HR spiking with stress (last time just today as I'm having a quite stressful weekend). I also avoided doctors completely for many years during my drinking and really enjoy not doing that now. I straight enjoy going for checkups and learning the result and completely agree with those who experience the mere act of good self-care healing.

I tried some prescription psych meds for the anxiety but found the side effects more annoying than the benefit from the relief. I also felt that sort of medication was too much for the extend of my problem at this stage of life. Now I take CDB and it's honestly the best external help I've ever found for my anxiety and just general mood fluctuations, don't even need a high dose and can skip some days without any issue. I do need to stick with one brand though because others I'd tried didn't have the same benefit. I just experimented with a different brand recently and learned not to do that again. I take my CBD in the morning and can see its lowering my HR a bit ~an hour later. It is not something for people with actual heart conditions and whoever is aware of having heart or BP issues should not do what I am doing. But a wonderful relief from the type of anxiety I tend to have, which is generally mild to moderate now. I haven't experienced panic attacks for years, probably in part because I am so aware of my anxiety and am doing a lot of self-care things to manage it. Heart disease does run in my family though - both of my parents died from forms of it, so I need to be aware of the risk regardless and not neglect routine physicals.

Long story short, I think the best is to investigate all of these things - physical and mental health. It is very possible that one needs help in both departments with a combination of treatments.

Allyce - I did try CDB oil (it's legal here and there are many dispensaries). It didn't help me. Perhaps I had to try longer or different brands. In any case, I'm going to try these beta blockers and see how they work. I am hoping to break the cycle of this episode, as in the past I've been able to manage periodic episodes with distraction methods. This one is just not responding to my usual methods.
Thanks for your post.

Yes, it definitely sounds like the best idea for you is to try the beta blockers that were prescribed, especially given that exams did detect things about your heart. Just the most logical step.

CBD is tricky because it is largely unregulated and we still do not know much about how it works and who can benefit. I do research on it as part of my job, so I was quite confident trying, and got very lucky because the first brand I tried was the best, and their dosing regimen also happened to work for me very well. There is a lot of BS though about it out there, advertising as some miracle substance that helps everything... that is definitely not true and it is certainly not for fixing heart problems. The research I do with it is related to mental health, and our participants vary greatly in terms of who experiences anything whatsoever. So one task to figure out is who are good candidates for it, why, and exactly what benefits exist. I am one of the lucky ones so far, but definitely still don't know why... so it is very empirical.

Good luck with finding something that helps you - I know how frustrating it is having mysterious episodes of health and not knowing why exactly. This is why it's good to explore different possibilities, but doing it step-by-step and as simply as possible is the best approach. All the best! :)

Calico, I'm glad you sought advice. I suffered with frequent anxiety for many years, and the occasional panic attack. Been admitted to hospital and told it's 'only a panic attack' when I thought I was having a heart-attack; they'd obviously never suffered one. Sadly, I used alcohol to ameliorate the symptoms of anxiety, which was a complete failure, of course.

Now that I don't drink, I've found a dissociation technique for anxiety. helps When it appears, instead of resisting it, I visualise the anxiety as a visitor, I see it embodied in a small comical character with a squeaky voice, that I could pick up and place on my knee. I invite it towards me and talk to it, 'Hello anxiety, I allow and accept you, you can stay on the floor next to me as long as you want, but I'll go about my normal routines whilst you stand there watching". It's a mixture of various therapies, CBT, DBT etc., and it was difficult to visualise the anxious feelings and thoughts as an embodiment outside myself, initially. But with practice, it's really helped me.

Thank you Tatsy for the suggestion. I will give that a try.