Hi, for those who don't know I have HOCM, I have recently had an EKG, Echo, 3 holters. All is fine as fine can be-everything with my condition is stable.
Tonight I started feeling light headed and I got a bit scared(thought I might faint) I went and laid down and my heart began going crazy. It was going quite fast, I didn't count but possibly 130-140BPM, and it was all over the place, it would slow a bit then speed back up, it felt like it would skip 2-3 beats then kick in-all the while I am going crazy because I still feel like I am going to pass out. I hollered for my husband to call an ambulance and instead he brought me my Ativan-I have a been having panic attacks for 4 months. I am shaking so bad I can barely open the bottle. I try to do some deep breathing but my heart is going too fast, I can't. Finally in a few moments, my heart slows down and I begin to feel a bit better(probably 2-3 minutes after taking Ativan). I was so weak for a few hours afterwards, that I could barely undress myself for bed. (We never went to the ER-as I have been there numerous times).

Now like I said I have had panic attacks but my heart didn't usually take off like that- I had all the symtpoms of a panic attack-but I have never felt my heart out of control like that. What do you all think this was. I don't have a history of tach. but I know it can start out of the blue. What do you all think? Do spells of tach. make you feel like this-I really thought I was going to faint or die, but did neither. :)
My husband said I didn't look pale(if that matters) and I was freezing cold just after I began to feel better. I hope I never go through that again-it was horrible, probably the worst I have ever felt. I appreciate any advice plese.
Thanks
Abby

Hi, for those who don't know I have HOCM, I have recently had an EKG, Echo, 3 holters. All is fine as fine can be-everything with my condition is stable.
Tonight I started feeling light headed and I got a bit scared(thought I might faint) I went and laid down and my heart began going crazy. It was going quite fast, I didn't count but possibly 130-140BPM, and it was all over the place, it would slow a bit then speed back up, it felt like it would skip 2-3 beats then kick in-all the while I am going crazy because I still feel like I am going to pass out. I hollered for my husband to call an ambulance and instead he brought me my Ativan-I have a been having panic attacks for 4 months. I am shaking so bad I can barely open the bottle. I try to do some deep breathing but my heart is going too fast, I can't. Finally in a few moments, my heart slows down and I begin to feel a bit better(probably 2-3 minutes after taking Ativan). I was so weak for a few hours afterwards, that I could barely undress myself for bed. (We never went to the ER-as I have been there numerous times).

Now like I said I have had panic attacks but my heart didn't usually take off like that- I had all the symtpoms of a panic attack-but I have never felt my heart out of control like that. What do you all think this was. I don't have a history of tach. but I know it can start out of the blue. What do you all think? Do spells of tach. make you feel like this-I really thought I was going to faint or die, but did neither. :)
My husband said I didn't look pale(if that matters) and I was freezing cold just after I began to feel better. I hope I never go through that again-it was horrible, probably the worst I have ever felt. I appreciate any advice plese.
Thanks
Abby

The same thing happend to me....it was 3 am and i was on the computer in san diego (i was visiting my mom) i was to leave that day at 10pm back to new york. i got off the computer and went to lay down to go to bed and my heart started to beat fast, i also started to shake uncontrollably, my heart was pounding so hard and so fast, i was sure i was dying, i felt like i couldnt relax. i called the nurses hotline and she told me to call 911. i hate going to the ER just to be told im fine, ive done it too many times. i was scared to take a xanax if it really was something heart related (stupid i know.. i should have just taken it) i then started crying thinking i was gunna die...i decided i wasnt just gunna let myself die and went to wake up my mom. as i walked to her door i felt like i was gunna fall over. she opened the door, saw me crying and asked if i was cold cus i was shaking so bad. She got me a blanket and asked what i wanted to do, i asked her to just sit there with me cus i wasnt sure if i was dieing or if it was a panic attack. she was scared but agreed to wait it out with me. i tried to relax and finally fell asleep with my mom right next to me. I HOPE it was just a panic attack but i have never had one so severe. im going to tell the doc about it on my next apt (march 30th). thinking about it still scares me cus at the time i was so sure i was dieing, i felt like i was gunna pass out and my heart was out of control, my symptoms were so real. how is one supposed to tell panic from the real thing??? but i didnt die and im here talking about it so i guess it must have been a panic attack. sorry my post was so long....kim

...my heart began going crazy. It was going quite fast, I didn't count but possibly 130-140BPM...I really thought I was going to faint or die
Abby

Well, Abby....130-140 may SEEM fast, it really isn't. There are many different kinds of tachycardia, not all of which are harmful in the short-run.

Best of Luck to you.

thanks so much for your response. I have been sitting here waiting for someone to respond. I have been a basket of nerves lately so it wouldn't surprise me if it were a panic attack, but like KIM said, how do you know a panic from something else??? I am waiting for tests results and have just recently(2 weeks ago) had an echo done. I didn't really think it was a heart attack, I thought my heart was out of control and I was gonna die. Just thinking about it now makes me feel sick. How do we cope on a day-to-day basis-I am so down in the dumps right now. KIM thanks for telling me your story-its comforting to read others who have experienced similar things. Do you have an anxiety disorder?

yes i have and anxiety disorder/panic disorder. i take one xanax at nite before bed because thats when my anxiety is the worse, trying to fall asleep with pvc's. sometimes ill just have a really bad pvc that brings on a warm andrenaline feeling and i panic, my heart starts racing, i shake, my teeth chatter, then i take a xanax and it all goes away. the one i told you about two weeks ago was bad because it lasted so long and i was so upset, i couldnt get a handle on it....it lasted until i fell asleep(about an hour). alot of times i can tell myself "your just having a panic attack its going to be ok and take my meds" relax and its over, there still scary though. i had my first panic attack about a year ago and they have been getting more frequent lately. i think people that focuse alot on there heart are more prone to panic attacks, sometimes a funny beat can put me into one but on some days it seems to come from nowhere. i read on a few posts in the panic disorder section that you have taken zoloft...did this help at all with your panic attacks?? i think it might be more preventative, as the xanax only makes the symptoms calm down. Kim

I was on zoloft when i first started getting the panic attacks again although I was on an extremely low dose. They then switched me to Effexor and then finaly to Paxil. I don't feel any better since this all started-actually I feel more nervous.

ke panic to me. I was the same way about 5 years ago.
Panic attacks are HORRIBLE, they can ruin your life, believe me.
They started after I developed pvc's. I got to the point where I didn't want to leave the house, and I had a 5 year old and a newborn to take care of. I could feel the panic rising in me as I walked through the grocery store. I hated life. The xanax the dr gave me helped, but I took it rarely, because I wanted to do it on my own.
All I can say is to deal with it day to day. Refuse to give in to the panic.
Your heart races because of the panic. Don't count your heartbeats either, it will drive you crazy even more. God, I was always counting my fast beats!
Yeah, I have days where I feel a little panicky, especially if I am exhausted, but I recognize that feeling and I fight it.
You will get better!! Believe it!! If I can do it, I know you can!

:angel:

Getting off anti-anxiety or anti-depressants will always have side effects no matter what the doctors say. These drugs block certain receptors in the brain, and when you stop the drug, the receptors may have a rebound effect making the withdrawal worse! This is precisely the reason why a lot of people have tried to get off them as addiction can make the situation worse!

I find that when and if I do panic, I try to do the following things:

(1) keep reassuring yourself that nothing catastrophic is going to happen. You acknowledge the attack and take active steps to manage it

(2) breathe deeply and slowly making sure you inflate/deflate your abdomen properly while at the same time reassuring yourself that everything's going to be OK

(3) lie down somewhere comfortable while doing these "exercises"

In any case, once you've gotten used to the new drugs, I'm fairly certain that these "strange and unwanted" feelings will go away!