Hi,Im a 27 year old male,5 year smoker and trying to quit,barely touch alcohol.Back in November,I was snacking on chips and diet pepsi before i went to sleep,when I went to sleep I noticed my heart beating fast,so I went on the internet and checked out my problem,dont know why,but knowing my dad has a history of heart trouble,,I panicked and thought I was having a heart attack..so I went to the emergency room,they checked me out and said I just had palpitations,nothing serious so they sent me off and told me to lay off caffeine,which is in diet pepsi..so two days later I still wasn't convinced and I went to the ER again,,,lab tests,EKG,and nothing,then they asked if I was depressed.I mentioned that I was a bit stressed out.So the ER physician gave me Zoloft.Knowing that I took valium for a short time and helped me when my mom died to calm me down,I went ahead and took them..They made me feel horrible,,anxiety,nervousness,and it was terrible so I quit taking them.I know most doctors wont belive how bad it made me feel,It did,so anyways I got myself a doctor,who couldnt belive I was on it so he told to throw them out and gave me something for a sinus infection..Ok now here's the dilema..When he was taking my family history,because my dad had heart problems later in life,he put me on a 24 hour holter monitor,,I was on it with no problems.no unusual feelings,There were a couple of things I didnt write down for personal reasons.but they only wanted me to write down thing in this journal every two hours.So I get the test results back and he said the results were relatitvley good and I had a few "funky" as he described it beats,but I had more good ones then I did bad,and it's nothing serious and not to worry about.And he didnt give me any restrictions of any kind.So he gave me a perscription for 50mg of Atenolol for chest pain and to straighten my beats out and set me up for an echocradiogram I looked at the diagnosis on the sheet and it said PVC..But I tried to explain I wasnt having any chest pains or felt unusual.So I started to panic.,3 of them that week..none anymore after that after I calmed myself and reassured myself that things will be ok.I took the echo a month ago and I have a appointment on Feb 3rd..it's been a month ago and I hope its nothing serious,,I would think he would have contacted me right away if there was something serious.Anyways I never started taking the atenolol cause I got worried of all the side effects and stuff.I really don't wanna start a med if I really dont need it..I want to see how my echo went first.I'm just really scared and I hope it's nothing serious.Any and all advice would be appreciated..thanks

Just to add he also told me that my heart was pumping good too..I tend to get off and on discomfort in the neck to my shoulders..I have been worring about this a lot lately...I hope it's its just stress related

Hi, what is your heart rate? have u had a stress test?

[This message has been edited by Jethro_Tull (edited 01-19-2003).]

Well Ive been checking it at home usually between the 80-90 range...No I havent had the stress test yet,,Im still waiting on the echo results

You should first check your heart/circulation, if nothing is wrong with either then it looks like it was just stress which may have led you to develop a panic attack.

If u have any qustions about panic attacks, ask me.

Thanks for the help....anyways..I put thought into this and well Im totally being serious..but when I was on the holter monitor...Well how do I say this but I "pleasured myself" a couple times on it but didn't write it down,how do you tell a doctor that? anyways I can bet any amount of money that my "funky" beats were the cause of it.Plus I know they would've called me right away about the echo if there was something seriously worng because a lady I worked with told me that when they found a hole in her heart,she took the echo and was called immediately after they detected it.Thats why I didnt take the medication after thinking about it.He did tell me my ticker was pumping good..So that eased my mind a bit..as for the panic attacks I havent had any in a month and over came them myself,,,I have been through a lot in my life and I think I can handle this...thanks! : )

paguay,

sounds like panic attacks. sounds like panic attacks i've had......they're awful and scarey!!

zoloft is for depression - bad choice the dr. gave you!! he/she should have prescribed something for anxiety, a mild sedative.....i've been put on xanax in the past for panic attacks and it's helped me get through them. my attacks would get so bad i felt as though my heart was going too fast and would stop from overbeating. that would frighten me, and would make my heart race, hence i was going around in circles.

i was also put on a halter monitor by my family doctor. i knew i had problems, since i could feel my heart rolling around in my chest. my face would get flush, my hands would get numb, my heart would race and at times i swear it stopped. awful feeling. when i wore the monitor, nothing happened. i finally went to a cardiologist who ran tests, and found that i had mitro valve prolapse. since i was symptematic, they put me on a very low dosage of atelenol. i've been on atenolol now for almost 5 years (i'm 44) and it's made such a huge difference. the symptoms i've gotten from being on atenolol are tiredness and slight weight gain, which i have conquered with diet.

i would also be honest with your doctor when you wore your holtor monitor and let him know what had taken place. i know it can be embarrasing to talk about, but you'd rather he/she know all the facts. you don't want to be put on a medication for false reasons, then again, you want to make sure you are getting the kind of medicine you need. if you're not honest with your doctor, they can't help you. maybe you can suggest another 24 hours on it, and this time..........well, you know!! :-) try to have fun before or after!! wish i had your stammina!

it really sounds like panic attacks and stress to me. i've had them for over 20 years off and on. it's amazing how we can tense our bodies up under stress, and not even be aware of it. i can sit and watch tv and parts of my body will tense up without me realizing what i'm doing. i've woken up many times with stiffness in my arms and neck. i also grind my teeth at night. i think a nice vacation at the beach is in order!!

best of luck to you~

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