To go to A & E?

[AlwaysAnxiousAnnie]

For some.time.now I've had major anxiety about my heart due to an episode last year of very bad heart palpitations, lasted hours and was so scary. It was like my heart was so out of rhythm. I went to A and E and they said it's anxiety, I've had numerous ECG, I've had a 24 hr heart monitor. They said they found nothing of concern just ectopic beats and and atrial thud. Apparently this is no cause for concern. So I was discharged from cardiology. I regularly have heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, breathlessness. Again it's anxiety apparently. Alas, I have developed this cardiac anxiety.
Anyway, tonight after studying up after dinner, my heart out of no where just started beating so hard and so fast in my chest. It felt like it was going to explode. Straight away I panicked, and then tried to calm myself down. I've so ce managed to calm myself but I heart beat feels all over the place. No pain or anything else. Its new Year's Eve and A&E will be busy. My DH is not very happy with me telling me not to go because it's all in my head. I've convinced myself.i won't see morning or at the very least my heart is about to give up very soon. Now I'm in this spiral of death anxiety of I could drop dead and be dead by this next time year and no one is believing me about my heart problem...am I being unreasonable to want to go to A & E and get checked out or ring 111 at th very least.. or am I just being dramatic, an anxious mess. The more I'm panicking the worst it's getting but I wasn't panicking when it first started this evening.

Bye

Maybe you could also get a hobby away from berating people on the internet. Thank you for finally “bowing out”

Honestly OP you need to step away from here.

Could you speak to your husband about all of this? Or do you have a close friend you could confide in who can then sit with you and support you in taking the medication you need?

@AlwaysAnxiousAnnie I just practice timed taking a pill out of a packet, bringing it to my mouth, and swallowing it. It takes 6 seconds max.

Get yourself a hot drink to take it with maybe.

Think of it as just a physical action you are completing.

Speak to your GP & ask about beta blockers, they really help.

Take the medication if you are still ill in a few hours call 111 - they have given you this medication for a reason, take it.

Hey @Nttttt . Some great posts from you. How did you overcome your anxiety about taking medication as this seems to be key

I have no friends. My DH just gets frustrated with me and rightly so. Ive stopped even talking to.him.abkutnit because it causes arguments because he can't see why "I worry about all these things that I can't control". And I guess he had a point.

I think if you had someone in real life who just said it s ok and they were there for you, you'd start to feel better.

The fact you say you feel alone in all this, and it is a mental health issue, tells me how much you need support. I really suggest that the mental health support boards on here would be better for you. AIBU can be quite brutal and some posters quite dismissive.

The awful thing with anxiety is the never ending "what if?"
Anxiety is not rational. You can't just snap out of it and nobody chooses to be anxious or have panic attacks.

@AlwaysAnxiousAnnie Do you have anyone in real life to talk to? Any family or friends at all? I expect you just want to be listened to, to be 'heard'.

🤣 rtft

You need to sit down and discuss this properly with your husband, or what about a sibling, a parent? A work colleague even? A therapist/counsellor? There are lots of free mental health support numbers to call online, if you have nobody, call them.

You need somebody in person who can sit with you until you take your medication. You need to step away from the internet, nothing here will help you. You need to step away from hospitals & GP’s and any desire for testing. Your one and only goal right now is to take that tablet, so if you have to think of that as just a physical task to do it then do that, if you need somebody to sit with you while you take it to ensure you are safe then ask your husband to do that. The only thing that can help you is you, and the cure is right in the palm of your hand for the taking. It may not seem like it but that is a very fortunate position to be in.

I second the mh boards on here also samaritans are great listening service. As for taking medications my best 2 bits of advice is either breaking your tablet in half/quarters for first dose (this is completely safe to do with bisoprolol). The second is speak to your gp about help with it iv had a district nurse come round why I take the 1st dose. Iv also taken the first dose of medications in a gp waiting room before seeing the dr. There are options and after successfully taking the first dose hopefully you will feel more comfortable xx

Have you had your thyroid checked op?

Dehydration/ caffeine/ alcohol (in particular red wine) can all cause palpitations.

Thank you, I really really hope I can be of help!

I was not in a good state of mind at all, I had the diazepam for weeks before I could even debate it. I had another episode thinking I could smell burning and I was having a stroke and I was on the floor literally screaming for an ambulance, crying and shaking. My DP was trying to convince me (he had taken it in uni days as a party drug and at a wayyyyy higher dosage.) he was soothing me and I nearly did take it that night but I was terrified and shaking. It was a few days later until I could actually take it, but I think he kinda got through to me. I believe this was Xmas eve and we spent Xmas just recovering mentally.

On Boxing Day went to my mums and it happened again. I told myself “if I die or have a reaction from this medication I’m with my mum who I know will do her most to get me to the hospital.” I took half and my adrenaline was through the roof I was so scared. After 30 mins I took the other half and it kicked in soon after and I had a relaxed evening! X

OP - you’ve got lots of people here keeping an eye on you. Why not take a small dose of your diazepam and keep talking to us if you need reassurance or a distraction? Alternatively, find a 20min relaxation track on YouTube and give that a go.

I've started to feel better in the sense heart is no longer racing and pounding, just the occasional thud now.

If you were to go to hospital, they decided it was something else other than anxiety, and prescribed other medication would you take that?
Beta blockers are so common if you wont take them, what would you do if it was something else you were given?

Earlier in the thread someone mentioned SVT and you said you thought you had it but the gp said no - that poster said the treatment for that was also beta blockers - so if you were told yes its SVT would you then take the beta blockers, but just wont for anxiety?

Beta blockers changed my life because of my anxiety, they will make such a difference and it really sounds like you need to get over the medication anxiety to take what is prescribed to you, because if you dont there is no point in going to the go or hospital ever as you wont follow their recommendations

Also - do you apple watches can do an ecg? Would you feel better if you could check it at home when you needed to?

Good hopefully this thread is a good distraction 👌

Would you feel better if you could check it at home when you needed to?

Golly, don't suggest anything like this. Her husband's already confiscated the pulse oximeter.

Absolute rockstar, OP I don’t know you but I’m proud of you for sitting uncomfortably with your urges to go to a&e and also for sitting through the comments of (a small amount) of nasty narrow minded people. That’s awesome progress for someone who I can imagine is terrified, please think back to this any time you get these feelings again and I just know you can sit with it again x

Omg I can’t even read all these messages as they’re so effing inaccurate

OP look up SVT

despite wht all the “experts” on this feed tbh j, it HAS to be occurring at the time and on an ecg to diagnose and that’s not easy

plenty of us on SVT Facebook pages that have gone through years of what you have because it’s stopped just before a&e stick a monitor on.

doesn’t mean your crazy. Doesn’t mean your wasting time

suggest you talk to people who’ve been through similar

Thank you Soo much ☺️ and thank you for your posts you've been incredibly helpful and supportive.

I understand the fear. I’ve been there. In the end I realised that either way I thought I was going to die. So I took the tablets on that basis.

I didn’t die. I did have an amazing nights sleep though and woke up the next morning fresh and smiling.

your bisoprolol dose is tiny. It simply isn’t big enough to stop a heart. In fact in years of doling out meds I’ve not met one person who’s ever had a reaction to it. It’s a really common drug that a large proportion of over 60s take twice a day, including my DH.

You diazepam dose is also really small. The general dose is 5mg, that’s what mine are. Again any reaction wouldn’t be enough to cause any major issues.

That first nights sleep after diazepam for the first time after a panic attack is 💋chefs kiss!

The little glow I felt the next day too was amazing - it was such a weight off my shoulders x