I am sure I have anxiety - gp and hospital now say I don’t.

[Booksonbooks]

I have been treated for anxiety and depression for 15 years. I currently take fluoxetine but as I understand it’s at a fairly low dose.

About 8 weeks ago I had what I thought was a huge panic attack at home but it went on so long my Dh insisted on calling the out of hours gp who sent me to a and e. After a few hours of various drips etc they told me the symptoms I was having were NOT anxiety but was super ventricular tachycardia. I repeatedly told them I had been told I had anxiety and they kept telling me I didn’t look anxious and didn’t have any other symptoms of anxiety apart from racing heart.

The cardiologist came and said again it’s not anxiety. He thought it could be something like POTS and referred me for more tests.

I have now had a tilt table test and a 24 hour monitor but don’t know what the outcome of those were. I assume I am waiting for an appointment.

In the meantime I have felt ok some times but other time like a pile of crap. Today I woke up dizzy, racing heart, feeling weak and just generally wanting to curl up in a ball in bed and not face the world. I feel really down about everything and I am convinced that this is anxiety.

In the last month I tried to call my gp to ask about the mental health side of this but he wouldn’t discuss it at all because the cardiologist had referred me for these tests.

I am feeling totally lost I feel like I really need help with this but I’m not sure what I am supposed to be doing.

If anyone has any advice for me it would be very much appreciated as it’s affecting my day to day life quite a bit. Today for example I have only really felt able to sit down I feel dizzy and weak if I stand up!

It sounds like they suspect something cardiac but that doesn’t truly out you could also be experiencing anxiety as well.

I guess your Gp wants to know the outcome of the cardiac up tests before they will consider prescribing anything as certain drugs may be contraindicated if you have a cardiac condition.

It’s a shame they haven’t communicated that to you💐

Thanks cosmic. The cardiologist said my heart rhythm was fine just fast but I had low potassium and sulphites - I had a drip of potassium at the hospital but I haven’t heard anything about that since so I have no idea if that turned out to be a thing!

I have been prescribed ivabradine (again). I am sick of going through this to be honest! Anytime I see a doctor for any reason it kicks off a round of “your hearts a bit fast!”. But I still go away feeling like a 97 year old who is trying to run a marathon. (For reference I’m 37😄)

I'm same age as you and for years I have been told I have anxiety and prescribed medication. For years I have felt dizzy, feeling like I can't breathe, all put down to panic attacks. Anyway, I had covid couple of months ago and had an ecg in hospital which was actually abnormal and I am now under the cardiologist as they think I have a problem with my heart - which of course has made me even more anxious. No advice but I know exactly how you feel

I am wondering if I can email the gp and ask if it is possible to increase the fluoxetine because I don’t feel like I’m being a very good person at the moment!

Why don't you believe your doctors? A very fast heart rate will make you feel like crap and can drop your blood pressure, which will make you feel sick, dizzy and faint.

If it's any help, I used to feel very anxious a lot of the time. I had a heart rate that would go up to 160 just loading the dishwasher/walking up an incline. Now that I'm on a decent dose of ivabridine and a small dose of fludrocortisone, my symptoms are very manageable.

It’s not that I don’t believe them really it’s just that I’m feeling extremely anxious and depressed and it’s getting worse than it ever has been so I’m just really confused what I am supposed to be doing. I can’t imagine feeling like this for a long time.

Everyone's different, so I won't pretend to know exactly how you feel, but I ended up seeing a psychologist because I was so down and depressed by my inability to function. Anxiety and depression can cause you to cease to function. But, poor function can lead to anxiety and depression, too.

Thanks Lougle. Yes inability to function is a good way to describe it. I have 6 children and at the moment I am a crappy mother.
I have barely stood up today

Honestly, I think the doctors are right. What dose of ivabridine are you ok.?

On*

If you can't stand up without feeling dizzy / exhausted perhaps it is time to call 111 for further advice.

Just because you have had anxiety / panic in the past does not mean you can't also have a heart condition....the two are not mutually exclusive. Panic is a diagnosis of exclusion...they have to consider heart issues and rule things like this out before coming to any judgment that it is panic. They obviously feel something more is going on here and you need to listen to them.

Lougle at the moment 5(mg? - or whatever measurement it is)

I was on 7.5 but then my gp took me off it a couple of years ago because he said there was nothing wrong with me. It’s all been very complicated and back and forth. I really have no idea what to believe anymore!

Ok, that's not a huge dose. I'm on 7.5mg morning and evening. I was on 5, but my resting heart rate was still over 100, so they put me up. You might need to try what they've given you, then get a review.

Yes sorry I mean 5 in the morning 5 in the evening. I was on 7.5 twice a day. Will they contact me to increase the dose?

I have pots and a fast heart rate will make you anxious as it causes your body to release adrenaline. It's an issue with your autonomic nervous system where anxiety is a mental health issue. Hydration is absolute key with pots fluids and electrolytes help the body cope better. While you wait for your cardiologists appointment maybe do some reading about pots , it might help you distinguish between the symptoms of that versus anxiety.

@Booksonbooks

Yes sorry I mean 5 in the morning 5 in the evening. I was on 7.5 twice a day. Will they contact me to increase the dose?

You should get a follow up appointment to review how the medication has worked.

This happened to me when I was about 27, was blue lighted to hospital abd whizzed straight into resus, shocked 3 times to get my heart back in its normal rhythm. I was utterly convinced there was nothing wrong with my heart and in a way I was right, after various chest xrays and a 24hour ECG they came to the conclusion that I'm just kind of built this way, with a naturally high heart rate (that shoots through the roof when I vomit, which is what had triggered my call to 101 in the first place). Something to do with the sympathetic/ parasympathetic nervous system? I was basically told to avoid cardio and that was that. Weird.

I think it's so chronic that you can forget what normal feels like. I had a Fitbit for my birthday and had to return it because it thought I was doing cardio workouts when I had my feet up on the sofa, watching TV. We live with chronic tachycardia which is exhausting.

Even with ivabridine at 7.5mg BD, my heart rate is about 120 when I'm pottering at home. It goes to around 145 if I walk up the stairs. Having said that, I felt awful one day last week, put a sats probe on my finger and my resting heart rate was 150. I'd forgotten to take my morning pills. So it does work. It just shaves 20 or so BPM from my heart rate.

DH had a high heart rate caused by dilated cardiomyopathy. Before we knew that we also thought he was suffering from anxiety because he would get so panicky and feel so horrendous. The physical symptoms trigger the mental ones. Once he was on the right medication he was like a different person - so calm and relaxed.