Is anyone about, waiting on an ambulance

[justwantmymum]

have just had a funny episode where hearing went, went all hot and cold, heart racing/fluttery, felt like I was going to die .

I’ve had a few times before and told they think it’s panic attacks but not sure .

am alone and scared I’m going to die alone

@justwantmymum you have absolutely done the right thing. Well done on getting help. Please do tell the MH team everything. The bloods can also rule out anything so at least if it's nothing sinister you can focus on your MH. It sounds like you are having an incredibly hard time at the moment and have been for sometime. It's OK to ask for help. Sending you a hug OP. You'll get better, look back and be very glad you reached out today. Keep going.

There has been the odd comment which has been unwarranted, but those trying to direct the OP to an appropriate place of care via appropriate methods are right (which in this case was not via an emergency ambulance).

Advising someone who can make their own way to A&E to do so is actually more decent advice on behalf of the patient in question, and other patients in genuine need of an ambulance.

I say this as a paramedic.

Am at A&E now nurse said they’ll try and contact duty MH team once they’ve done an ECG/bloods and seen a doctor . A&E saying have done right thing

Well done.

Do consider contacting a family member even if it’s just to say hello and you don’t want to share today’s experience. If you were my family I would want you to regardless of your mum’s poorly state.

My diagnosis was panic attack for years and when you said "I can’t even walk to the end of my street without panic attacks and palpitations and feeling I’m going to die " you could be me, I also have genetic and cardiology involved. Push for a Heart MRI and look into hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Sound scary but lifestyle changes and medication works wonders.

I have also been told that if XY or Z happens call an ambulance. I'm lucky enough that it's £20 trip but I have a local taxi firm that if I need to get to A&E I always call them, they send a car straight away and If I don''t have the cash I pay when I do. When you feel better maybe have a word with Uni or a local firm just to put a plan into place if it happens again.

Please look after yourself, you sound so young with so much on your shoulders.

Oh luv it will get better trust me, when I was your age I went through something similar, I couldn't even get out the garden gate. But what I started doing was working on the problem slowly. I would venture out a little further each day no matter how bad I felt it took time but I got there in the end and you will too. I don't know what it is but a lot of youngster's at that age seem to go through something similar.

You gave so much on give yourself a break for how amazing you gave coped with everything you are strong and you can beat this. Try and see if you can get a therapist they really can help you through this and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Here if you need to talk

The OP is active to cardiology, both they and her GP had advised her to ring 999 in the event of a significant episode (I'm presuming you didn't read the full thread, thus posted your thoughts in the absence of that knowledge. Anxious people can have heart conditions; the two are not mutually exclusive).

Am in a cubicle now, had a few ECGs taken . They’re saying it might be more low blood pressure and low blood sugar .

Thank you ❤️

Had you eaten beforehand?

Yeah, I’d had a McDonald’s … haven’t been eating three meals a day but I’d gotten up, walked round to front of my building to drop rubbish and felt a few flutters in way back - then walked round again to pick up McDonald’s, came back, same with heart a bit fluttery, finished it and then had that weird episode .

have managed to catch an episode on my phone before and it says when it’s happening I’m having an ectopic every second beat or so . They last did full series of tests back in 2018 .

its arrythmogenic cardiomyopathy that runs in my family .

It will get better. It will. Even though it doesn't feel like that now. I hope you can get MH treatment lined up very soon.

It’s interesting and relevant that you have cardiac disorder in the family, but ectopic beats are normal when you’re feeling stressed. So that could have a benign cause.

I hope you are doing ok. Sending you warmest wishes for a brighter tomorrow.

How are you @justwantmymum ?

Got home about an hour ago, doctor said because I’m already under a mental health team just to contact them . Won’t be able to ring them until Tuesday, am in uni on Monday 10-4pm but I’ll phone them when I can . Absolutely drained and terrified it will happen again . Hospital doctor said they don’t think it’s anything acute, she said I do still need an echo to rule things out but they think it’s probably panic .

They did 3 ECGs and all normal; said my blood pressure is slightly low and a bit dehydrated .

I can’t understand if it’s panic though why it would come on out of the blue like that, and why it’s always worse when I start moving - even putting washing away I’m getting constant ectopics . Last time cardiology saw me she said losing weight will help but in the same vein said no competitive; endurance or HIIT exercise . Even just a short walk leaves me feeling giddy just now .

ah well . Going to try and get some sleep in the hope that will help a bit .

She was probably referring to diet. Can you join weight watchers? It’s great that you’re okay, please now focus on taking control of your health. Good luck!

I can’t really afford to; although I’m not always eating great so would have thought id lost weight anyway. I’m on highest dose of mirtazapine so that might not be helping . I’ve not eaten anything in 24 hours but that’s probably stress. I’ve just done an order from Tesco so have a few things I can eat without stress of needing to go through to kitchen to cook.

have spent all morning absolutely terrified what happened yesterday will happen again.

I need to sort myself out to be honest, I can’t be like this forever, I just don’t know how to navigate through grief trauma and anxiety. Start of this week my dad told me he’s too busy to see me - only sees me once a year, the one time we’d arranged to meet he said he needs to do other stuff instead … and then I got a phone call saying mum has been really unwell and we agreed if she got worse she wouldn’t be taken to hospital, she already has a DNR but this is now saying too if she gets very unwell again she won’t be given ‘treatment’ beyond what can be done in nursing home and that’s terrified me. I don’t want my mum to go.

But I can’t tell the people around me how much I’m hurting. Don’t want to burden anyone.

Some gps can refer to likes of ww or Slimming World and/or local gym for a fixed free period. Ask about social prescription.

My heart goes out to you OP. I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. I hope your episode is better now. You're not burdening anyone. keep posting here, keep reaching out to friends and please sort out your eating. It sounds like you're weak and dehydrated?

Have had a better day today, made it to the uni classes I needed to go to. Didn't concentrate during them really but physically I was there which is a start. Got some good news re money at last. And spoke to family a bit, on phone and on FaceTime. My mum is doing a bit better too. I've managed to eat a proper meal today. My flatmate wants me to go through and see her but I'm shattered and just need my own company for a bit. Not due back into uni now until next Monday which is a bit of a scary thought (trying to fill all that time up and not getting too lonely).

How do you believe what they’re saying (doctors I mean)? The same feeling keeps sort of semi coming back and it absolutely terrifies me. Spoke to GP today who said, ‘meh, if your 12 lead was fine and so was your holter monitor don’t worry’ but I can’t stop stressing. I’m utterly convinced it’s heart disease. I’ve had these worries for 11 years now and I’m exhausted of it.

Hi lovely. I have ectopic beats too and get stressed about them at times. I think worry about whether to trust the doctors or not is anxiety latching onto the latest what if? of a situation. The advice I've had from secondary mental health services is to do stuff that calms me like deep breathing and repeating a reassuring phrase in my head, then to distract myself.
Can your GP prescribe propanalol to help with anxiety and palpitations?
I would also urge you to go to student support, they should have someone for you to talk to and hopefully a counsellor.

GP is right though - if your ECG was fine it’s vanishingly unlikely you any heart disease, the echocardiogram will confirm this.

Ectopic beats are actually normal as I said and it’s normal to get a lot of them when you’re anxious and they can also be caused by being overweight. Also - try avoiding caffeine (including tea) and alcohol.

@justwantmymum, I know you are on a waiting list for some mental health support, but in the meantime there are some good resources online for health anxiety which I have found helpful at times. I’ll see if I can find a link for you.

I think this is the one I used OP:

web.ntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp/leaflets/Health%20Anxiety.pdf

Among other things, it explains why seeking reassurance is actually not helpful in the long run. What this means is that although we should of course get symptoms checked by a health professional, continuing to seek reassurance on a constant basis actually makes the anxiety worse.

When my health anxiety was at its most profound, I had the realisation that the only way I could be completely reassured would be if I had a team of medical specialists in my house constantly, plus a range of scanning equipment so that I could be checked daily for cancer (my health anxiety usually revolves around cancer). Of course this would be impossible and so I have to find other ways to live with the anxiety.

You are finding it hard to believe the Drs because your anxiety is trying to convince you there is something wrong with you. I have been where you are:

‘But what if they missed it?’
‘What if the Dr has made a mistake?’
‘What if the test result was wrong?’
‘What if I was fine when I had the test but a problem has developed since then?’

Round and round it goes. And of course anxiety causes myriad physical symptoms in the body so the spiral continues.

I found that resource quite helpful, so I recommend having a look.