Hi everyone ~
I am new to this board....I have some questions.
I think I have some kind of anxiety/panic disorder. It has gotten to the point where I don't have any control over it when it happens.

I have had an irregular heartbeat for years and recently I've started having a rapid heartbeat. I also have GERD. After many cardio tests, my cardiologist assured me nothing was wrong with my heart. But that still didn't solve my problem because of my heartrate problems. So he put me on Toprol XL to slow my heartrate down. I took it for a week and decided it wasn't a good thing to be on. Why do I need to be on it anyway if there is nothing wrong with my heart and anxiety might be the cause of the rapid heartbeat/irregularity. It's very bad at night when I lie down to sleep.

I have an appt. with my MD this coming Wednesday and I am beginning to research the best med to go on. I've heard good and bad things about Xanax. A couple of meds my friends have recommended are Klonopin and Celexa. I thought something like Xanax would be good because I could just take it when needed instead of being on something every day.

Does anyone have recommendations on what works for them? I really want to stay off the beta-blocker and would like to know if there is something that works well for the anxiety/rapid heartrate. Thank you! :wave:

I am on a combo of beta blockers and anxiety meds for anxiety/tachycardia. so far the doc. has also found nothing "wrong" with my heart, but beta blockers can still help. all they do is block the effect of adrenaline on your heart so it doesn't have to work so hard all the time. I don't really get any side effects from the beta blocker so I am happy with it.

I have only been on xanax a few days but can already tell I am getting better. If you think it is best for you then let your doc. know and try it out! :)

welcome :)
try to find a beta blocker that suits you as it will help with the heart and other anxiety problems including gerd
xanax and klonapin are valium type meds and help a lot
celexa is an antidepressant which may help also with the anxiety problems but is a strong med that needs to be taken daily and may take up to 6 weeks to work properly and occasionally never works at any dose

it will help a lot if you also learn new ways of calming and relaxing yourself, especially breathe deep and slow when stressed
also try to ignore your heart, dont monitior it, it knows how to work without any assistance from you :nono:

stay with us

Thank you for the advice! The Lexapro and Paxil that my MD tried me on made me very depressed. The Xanax when I need it is helping so I decided to stay on that. I have to talk to my MD to make sure he will do that. I don't take it during the day, just at night when I have problems. Do most MDs allow you to just take the Xanax even though they say it can be addictive? It's really the only thing that helps me...I only take .25mg and sometimes I will take two at night.