Help and Support for the newbie!! please
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| Sun, 08-20-2006 - 12:27pm |
I was hoping someone could give me some advice or some support. First let me give you some background right quick. I'm 21, all my issues started when i was 14, very soon after my grandma (whom i was very close to) died suddenly of a heart attack. About a month after she died i began having the feelings of my heart stopping, skipping, etc. and the panic that ensued after such episodes. strangely, later that summer i went to church camp, and my episodes allieveated quite abit and later disappeared; except for the occaisonal feeling. My problem did not come back full force until after i became pregnant at 16. curiously, during my 6th month my heart suddenly began beating very rapidly and naturally i was nervous. this passed and i had no problems until have my oldest daughter was born. a few weeks after she was born my problem came back, and this time it consumed all my waking thoughts. the feelings of my heart stopping and skipping, the constant worry and anxiety, panic attacks, frequent stomach pains, etc. about 5 months after my daughter was born i had a very curious episode, where i was in quite a lot of pain from my stomach, i had gone to the bathroom (sorry TMI), while i was sitting there i dont remember if i was panicking right then or what, but suddenly i started feeling faint, i noticed my heart slow down considerably, and then i saw and felt the blackness of unconsciousness come on. needless to say, i hit the ground, came to and was A-OK. although, obviously shaken up. my anxiety continued for 3 more years, even through my 2nd pregnancy, and strangely, i had the same episode of my heart racing around the sametime as previously. After my 2nd daughter was born the episodes continued. over the course of all this time i have had 3 particularly disturbing episodes, my heart would suddenly feel as if it was not beating (although it obviously was, i was still standing and walking around freaking out about it), i would get to my knees and stretch my arms forward, breathe deeply and i would calm down, then i could feel my heart beating; only it was abnormal. then it was gone, like nothing had happened. Just recently, I have gotten married (about 4 months ago) since then, I really haven't had any major episodes. Some worry here and there, palpitations frequently though nowhere near as often as before. i often have these feelings of detachment, like my mind suddenly tries to comprehend that i'm not going to exist at all after i die...i often think about dying and death. i'm terrified of the condition of my heart and of illness. i used to exercise a lot and now im too afraid to do that, i'm afraid i'll die. i'm terrified that i have something wrong with my heart, i have told my doctors about these episodes and they all seem to say, "i doubt you have anything at all wrong with your heart, you're only 21, were born with no defects, no familial history, and have been active for most of your life, its your anxiety" I'm sorry this was so long, but does anyone have any advice? any thoughts? they would be very appreciated. thanks guys :)
Ashley
**i forgot to add, i'm constantly tuning in to my heart or feeling my pulse to make sure its beating, does anyone have any advice on how to kick that in the butt...after a few years its annoying me, lol **
Edited 8/20/2006 12:39 pm ET by porcelianblondie

Welcome, Ashley! Nice to see you;) I could've written your post *word for word.* Alot of
oh my gosh, thank you SO much jan! you don't know how much better i feel after seeing that someone else experiences what i do almost exactly! phew *sighs loudly*, thats a big weight off my chest. i have recently bought the book "when panic attacks" by aine tubridy, and its helped me out tremendously. i am learning to change my catastrophic thinking and learning to change my actions. although that pulse taking thing is the hardest to deal with, i guess old habits do die hard. i really do get aggrivated with myself though, when we're taking our kids down to the beach and we have to walk a couple miles up and a down a cliff, and i start feeling my heart start beating harder and i get breathless i start to worry. its insane. but, i just found out that its very possible i have iron deficient anemia, and that could be contributing to my breathlessness and rapid heartbeat in even light exercise. i'm happy to report though that since i have been increasing my intake of iron i am nowhere near as tired as i have been in the past! yay! i am going to try to pick up soccer again. again thanks so much for your words you have no idea how much they have helped me.
Ashley
ps. sorry so long again, i'm really talkative today :P
Ashley --
((((Hugs))))
Jennifer
"Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evi
Wow!
Sheri Ann
(((Ashley))) I can so relate to your experience. My issues with panic and anxiety came on rather slowly, but the big thing that set it all off was heart palpitations. I thought for sure that I was dying. I also did the constant checking of my pulse. It's almost compulsive. That's how dh always knows if I'm feeling anxious. If my hand is at my throat, it's a good indicator. I have been trying to not do it as much. Infact, I started wearing a necklace, and I play with the pendant on it instead. When my hand goes to my neck to feel my pulse, I feel the chain and it reminds me that I'm not doing the obsessive pulse checking thing anymore. It's a baby step for me. I'm hoping to break that habit as well, but it's enough for me at the noment to not be constantly checking my pulse.
I also avoided exercise because I thought it might kill me. I actually didn't start exercising again until this last time my anxiety got bad and I just couldn't sit still. I went for a walk and when I got home I realized that I felt better, not worse. So, I decided it was worth the risk. So far, so good, and my fear that exercise is going to kill me is slowly disipating. Infact, I'm thinking of taking a dance class.
You are not alone in this!! And you can learn to cope with it.
Jess