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.

It’s exactly how I felt literally for 12/13 years :( I KNEW there was something wrong. That because the adrenaline we feel gives us physical symptoms to tell us something is wrong - keeping your body in fight mode. The worst is when nothing was happening, waking up in the night gasping for air or just relaxing watching TV. But it is all normal x

I’ve been exactly where you are now.

I ended up on sertraline which really helped (but it took me weeks to take it!).

Other things that helped;
Accidentally finding a forum for anxiety related palpitations, and reading thousands of accounts exactly like my own (and yours), and realising that not one of them was diagnosed with anything worrying. (I can’t remember the name of the forum though, sorry!).

Learning to meditate. For some reason, after a few weeks, I found I wasn’t overthinking everything. 20 minutes a day, life changing!

The medication you have been given is to help your anxiety as well as your racing heart rhythm. If you wont take it then nothing will improve. If you really do want to get better then the solution has been given to you in the form of medication.

And also I’m on iron tablets during my pregnancy and I can tell you the potential risks of iron tablets are way higher than diazepam x

You need a hobby
Knit a bloody jumper
Learn to play the piano

I say this kindly, OP, but you take iron tablets which the GP says NOT to take, you won't take the diazepam nor the beta blockers which ARE prescribed for you and you dont seem to have researched resetting your vagus - which is super helpful for anxiety (ice etc)

I'm a bit hmmmmm about your health anxiety 🙃 🤔

Have you had a 7-day ECG? And been checked for POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia). POTS patients often get diagnosed with anxiety or panic attacks.

Aw darling I’ve had OCD and Health Anxiety for years. I promise you, take the tablets. I’ve convinced myself I’ve had a plethora of all sorts, even bloody tropical diseases. The medication is there to help you
Only a message away if you need to talk to anyone xx

I have anxiety about taking medications, won’t even take paracetamol unless I get desperate. Around 12 years ago I went through a horrible phase, I just knew something was wrong, my heart was racing the only way I could describe it was like a faint feeling washing over me in waves. I was then going into a panic which caused a whole other heap of issues. I would lie in bed scared to sleep in case I wouldn’t wake up. The one thing I did do though @AlwaysAnxiousAnnie was take the meds my dr prescribed because if they did that then they must be safe, that’s what I told myself anyway. I would worry for the first few days after every dose almost analysing ever little thing in case something was wrong. Nothing bad happened, my full list of symptoms didn’t vanish but the meds helped with some.

This continued for several years when I finally was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. When I am in a flare I get that horrible heart racing feeling with the waves washing over me. Now I know what it is I don’t panic quite so much but the one thing I most definitely do is take my daily medication and attend the hospital for my infusions. I try not to think about any side effects or worry because the doctors and nurses check my bloods, BP, stools and I’ve even had an mri. They know what they are doing you need to learn to trust them. The minute you do things will start to improve slowly but surely.

So you’ve been given treatment for your issues but not actually bothered to take any of it, beta blockers or diazepam? What exactly do you think they’re going to do in A&E on New Years Eve if you can’t actually be bothered to take the treatment you’ve previously been given! 🙄. Don’t waste their time and take the medications you’ve already been prescribed!

@AlwaysAnxiousAnnie I remember you from last time. I saw a cardiologist who did all the tests. I was fine. He put me on beta blockers, the side effects were minimal and temporary.

You really have to try them, your GP won't refer you if you're this awkward

As it started before the anxiety about it made it worse and you can’t be sure why, I would go. Don’t let anyone fob you off. They don’t always get things right with hearts at first, especially for women. I’ve read more than one case of people having all sorts of tests and being told everything’s fine to find out it isn’t a bit down the line. This isn’t to make you more anxious, just saying if you don’t feel right, don’t be made to feel like a time waster when it’s something like your heart.

If you want to A&E tonight and prescribed you beta blockers what would you do? Come home, not taken them and be looking to go to A&E/GP again in a few days and have the whole cycle repeated?

I suffer with palpitations, and have a heart murmur. Yes they are dreadful, but guess what? I hardly have them now. Why? Because I take my medication.

Have you got an Oxy meter?
Wont help you this time, but next time it will show you what your heart rate is doing
Ofcourse, it cant show if you are having a heart attack but can be reassuring that your heart beat is ‘normal’

Take the beta blockers. Don't read the leaflet, give it to your husband and get him to keep it safe
Keep taking the iron and take it with orange juice or vitamin c

@AlwaysAnxiousAnnie does posting on here make you feel better about it all? OR does it make you even more anxious?

2mg of diazepam is a small dose. Take one tablet which should relax you and help you sleep. Ask your GP to prescribe Citalopram for your panic disorder, it’s been a life changer for me.

Doing it yourself while your heart is racing is not easy. Someone else might be able to, but given that her DH has actively prevented her from using the machine I wouldn't trust him. If a person's heart is genuinely going that fast for an extended period you need to do something about it. It would be very helpful to have an accurate reading if that right now.

There is no point going if they have given you the all clear after thoroughly investigation previously.

Fwiw I have ectopic beats and an irregular rhythm. I can feel it when it happens and it kinda hurts/uncomfortable. Used to scare me but it's never killed me and the des say it's no biggie I just have to be in a big hospital if I have anaesthetic etc as that messes my heart up. Getting worried about it will be giving you a panic attack heart rhythm. Most of your symptoms sound like anxiety/panic attacks caused by an irregular heart beat you can feel.

You have an ectopic beat. That's not caused by anxiety. But it's not dangerous. So you have the ectopic beat happen you feel it then the anxiety in. Ectopic beat itself is not caused by anxiety if that makes sense xx

The point is, that if really do believe something is wrong, you are willingly letting the potential problem get worse by refusing treatment in the form of medication you have already been prescribed. What sort of other treatment might you expect after further tests?

Also - have you downloaded the app 'instant heart rate' onto your phone? You can test your heart and it will save each test, showing the rhythm and the speed. You can then take these on your phone to the GP and find out if they look normal

They said it was ventricular ectopics and atrial thud but that it was benign and that most people have ectopic beats but just don't notice them. They said th y are actually very normal and it's actually considered abnormal if people didn't get an ectopic beats. But alas, my brain wanders and finds it hard to trust.

A bit of both.

If you find it hard to trust, why are you thinking of going to A and E??
Why would you trust what they say?