Panic attacks and intense palpitations ruining my life!!!

[LeBlan23]

Hello guys i'm new to this forum. So like many people here i've been suffering from this torturous disorder for a couple of years. In my case it's on and off. But for the past 6 months my life has turned into a living hell. I wake up in the dead of night and my heart is beating at 170 bpm!!!! For no apparent reason. And then all these catastrophic thoughts start to bombard my head. For the past month i've become housebound since i've developed severe agoraphobia. Ive been to 4 cardiologists so far but they can't find a reason for these terrible palpitations.
A week ago i rushed to the hospital since my heart was beating at a whopping 198!! I was 1000% convinced i was going to drop dead. They prescribed beta blockers and xanax. I don't know what to do! I feel ensnared and desperate. I don't wanna live like this anymore. I just envy people who can live normal lives ,i can't attend classes or even go outside for a walk. I've also started online therapy but hasn't done much till now. Any thoughts?

 

[Catty5]

Hello

I’m so sorry to hear you’re sUffering.
Are beta blocker and Xanax heloful?
Are you sure if it’s a panic attack?
Don’t you have any problem in your thyroid? If you’re a bit older, it may be a sign of menopause.
Hope your condition will improve.

 

[disposition]

Hi LeBlanc. I'm 23 now, but when I was 16, I had heart palpitations and panic attacks with a BPM like that for 2 years straight. I had test after test. I went to the hospital and walk-in clinic at least 15 times practically breaking down because I was convinced of my impending death and yet again underwent more tests. If I didn't go to a hospital, I laid in bed for a week straight because the slightest of movement sent my heart rate through the roof; I couldn't breathe.. I had chest pains. I would frantically Google what it could be and became obsessed with every little sign and symptom, and even developed more symptoms based on what I read (e.g. arm pain).

Now, I'm still an anxious person, but not as much. I had extreme agoraphobia which began just before my panic attacks - I couldn't sit in a waiting room for more than 10 minutes without feeling the need to physically puke. The truth is, I was so anxious, it was obvious to others. I know this sounds stupid, but what helped me was accepting that I'm ok, and that I do not have an underlying health condition because it's been checked for over and over again. I will not die. I am in control of my emotional state. I took deep breaths, sipped a glass of water and tried to occupy my mind, most notably with something on Netflix or the like when at home. Therapy can and will be very beneficial for you, and I would even recommend doing it face-to-face as you can be reassured in a more.. authentic way. Beginning with it online is a really good start. Things like meditation are also good for you. Keep taking your xanax and beta blockers, and remember that you are absolutely not alone in this. It might feel like there is no end to it, especially at this intensity, but I promise there is. To us this is very real. Treatment is paramount to your progress. Good luck.

 

[LeBlan23]

Thank you guys, I appreciate your advice. I too try to distract my attention by binge watching shows on netflix. But sometimes that makes me even more depressed. I watch all these characters leading normal lives like flirting, going to school, driving and deep down i know that all these activities that for the vast majority are simply routine, for me it's just a dream i cannot catch. Believe me i try so hard to push myself to get out of the house every single day but the more I seem to push myself the more anxious and panicked I get.
I took a break from college because at this point attending classes is not an option i would literally pass out from palpitations. I moved back into my parents' house and even though they both seemed supportive they cannot fully understand what i'm going through. My life seems to be on hold right now. All i'm doing is reading books and watching movies and documentaries. I just try to while the hours away. Everything is like a battle to me. A battle i cannot fight. I;m sorry if i sound dramatic and grumpy but that's just the way I feel. I'm only 21 and yet i feel as if i'm on my deathbed waiting for my palpitations and panic attacks to kill me at any moment. I've fallen out of touch with friends and classmates. Because people don't want to understand what I'm going through. They think that anxiety is just a normal everyday thing and i'm just overreacting. However in my case anxiety is toxic and totally crippling. I wish i could just end this quickly and live a normal life.
Do you also experience such extreme heart rate while anxious? And how do you deal with it?

 

[Gkhair19]

Hi leblanc I have all your symptoms and it's really tough I keep thinking I'm going to pass out when in public feel sick and my thoughts ruminate my stomach makes weird sounds I get paranoid it is really difficult my body feels like it is constantly on fire the fight or I have always had anxiety but this last three weeks it's been constant I was giving buspirone 5mg to take I was prescribed this on tuesday and the symptoms havnt decreased since

 

[LeBlan23]

Buspirone needs at least a month to start working. It's not an emergency med. However overtime it might decrease the anxiety symptoms. For me it wasn't very effective plus it gave me terrible diarrhoea. For now I'm on 0.25mg xanax and 2.5 mg bisoprolol for the palpitations. But when i have a panic attack doctor suggested i take another 0.50 mg xanax as a sublingual so it can kick in fast before the panic attack reaches its peak. However every time this happens i feel like dying. I burst out in tears and i cry because i'm so friggin scared. It's exhausting and humiliating.

 

[Gkhair19]

Hi leblanc they dont prescribe xanax valium here in northern Ireland as people can become addicted unfortunately so I have nothing that I can take to calm me which makes me more anxious unfortunately as I feel there is never no end to the panic attacks and my mum and dad expect me to live normally as well do I have to hide symptoms as I explained it and they dont understand ignorant to all the symptoms

 

[LeBlan23]

Hi leblanc they dont prescribe xanax valium here in northern Ireland as people can become addicted unfortunately so I have nothing that I can take to calm me which makes me more anxious unfortunately as I feel there is never no end to the panic attacks and my mum and dad expect me to live normally as well do I have to hide symptoms as I explained it and they dont understand ignorant to all the symptoms

I feel you pal. My parents can't understand either. They think i'm just being dramatic and overreacting. But deep down i cannot blame them. Years ago if someone told me that they're scared of doing anything i wouldn't understand them. It's human nature to not understand something you can't feel.

 

[Tony Tokyo]

Same here. Been to ER many many times. Lots of EKGs, echo tests, stress tests. Everything comes out fine and normal. I did cardiac ct scan angiography, it can out perfectly fine. My panic disorder is at its peak right now. Daily 2 to 3 panic attacks that stay for at least 2 hours. Rest of the time its anxiety and recovery from the trauma.

 

[LuluM]

Hi Everyone,

i have gone through 2 episodes of panic attacks. First when I was in my early 20s that lasted for about 3 years, then about 10years later (currently just started again about 3 months ago). In my early 20s it was much worse I would have the racing heart rate and would be rocking myself on the floor for hours. I found a few tricks to help ease the panic: drinking plenty of water during the day and during an attack, eating plain yogurt or something soothing to my stomach like kefir, then counting my breaths. The breathing was essential, inhaling for 4 beats and exhaling for 4 beats. At the peak of an attack my breath is near impossible to gain control of and staying on the beats-but just continuing to count with the inhales and then the exhales seemed to work. Also avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and chocolate. In my early 20s attacks lasted for several hours and then the rest of my time was recovering from the attack. Also working out a lot during the day. Now as they have returned they only last about 5 minutes. However the fear of it returning is what keeps me up still.

Before I came out of this first episode of panic attacks I thought I would never be able to be normal, that these attacks would control me forever. I am currently feeling like this now but to a lessor degree because Ihad 10 years of absolutely no panic not even anxiety. I use to work as a fitness instructor after realizing how essential working out was then I went to school to become a physiotherapist which is like 7 years and I too was not able to finish college in my early twenties. I know it can be managed, even if right now I feel hopeless and constantly like death and doom.

I could never take drugs because taking the drugs would also me anxiety. I mean I could literally have an attack after taking a Xanax, somehow my body would like over compensate the effects. My resting HR is too low to be prescribed beta blockers even though my heart rate would shoot up to the high 100s too, so I was never able to be successful with drugs. I had an awesome behavioral therapist at the time and then just restarted with her recently. I’m also going to try hypnotherapy. I’ll have to see how that works.

Anyways reading these threads are really helpful for me, just knowing I’m not the only one gives me reassurance. I read and respond to these threads usually in the middle of the night when my panic is just starting to creep in and it has been helping too. So thank you for sharing, your story has helped me this evening avoid getting into a full attack.

 

[Hello513]

I get the instense palpations at times too

 

[00Bluejay7500 (was Scapes1986)]

My heart rests normally at 80-90 bpm but lately it’s been resting at 110-120 which isn’t alarmingly high but I can definitely feel the difference. I can’t imagine it being close to 200 bpm. I feel hot and sweaty and almost like a clamming all over my body. I don’t have such panic attacks but I do take a large dose of an anti psychotic which has increased my weight and such which has given me concern. Maybe it’s time to get off meds but I feel comfortable mentally.

 

[Distant_Alien]

A psychologist is what I recommend. Dr Google has a habit of making me freak out even more. And my own thoughts are too panicked to say anything constructive at the time of an attack. A psychologist is so helpful. And let it be known that you might not like the first one or the second one and so on. Try different ones and you will find a person who is kind of on the same frequency as you? (I hope that makes sense). See a psychologist, let a professional try to make sense of it all and then give it back to you in a manageable form. All the best.