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Just another post related to anxiety.

Posted , 5 users are following.

Setsuna
Setsuna

Since no one answered me on the last forum, I guess I'll post here.

Before I begin, let me give you a bit of background. 

I'm currently 13 years old. I was rushed to the hospital a month ago due to an anxiety attack. I had 200 beats per minute, which was alarming at the time. The next morning, I was diagnosed with hypokalemia. They hooked me up to an IV (with oral potassium chloride), which eventually brought my potassium levels back to normal, and I was released. 

Afterwards, I had a series of anxiety attacks. About an average of three a day for about two weeks. From then on, I began to worry about things like heart attack, stroke, and even heart arrhythmia. I know that it is extremely uncommon for a 13 year-old to have ANY cardiac issues, it's possible, although very rare. 

Because of this reason, my doctor would not make a referral for a cardiologist, but a pediatrician instead. 

What makes me worry about this so much is the fact that it FEELS like my heart skips beats. I've developed a habit of placing my hand on my heart, to check the way it's beating. I also have mild chest pain from time to time, along with pain in other areas of my body. Is it just anxiety that's to blame? I sure hope so. 

"Muscle spasms" are also common. Sometimes it feels like my heart is "quivering". I once felt my heart beat during another beat, and after that I felt a dripping sensation.

Not being able to control my body makes me feel so helpless. I have broken down a few times because of it. I hope it's just me being paranoid.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • stephaney28634
    stephaney28634 Setsuna

    Posted

    Hi Setsuna, have you seen your gp, since your anxiety attacks he ir she might give you something. Good luck
    • Setsuna
      Setsuna stephaney28634

      Posted

      I used to take six different kinds of medication for this.

      I'm only taking four now. Here are all of them as follows:

      Naproxen, Alprazolam, Sertraline, Buspirone, Ibuprofen, and Aspirin.

      My anxiety attacks HAVE faded, but there's still the worry. I feel as if I can't go on in life until I go to the pediatrician. It's extremely stressful.

    • Paper_fairy
      Paper_fairy Setsuna

      Posted

      Hi. Don't worry. I've suffered with anxiety attacks all my life and the heart skipping a beat happens to me a lot. It's ok and not life threatening. I'm still here 3 decades on and don't worry about it now at all. Talk to your Dr tho if you're worried :-)
  • caitlin39841
    caitlin39841 Setsuna

    Posted

    hi setsuna. i'm so sorry to hear ur having such anxiety atacks. it must be extreemly frightening for u. there must be a bio-chemical reason why your potassium levels dropped so low. so it's very important that u see a (paediatric) cardiologist & that u know the reason WHY ur levels dropped in the first place. meantime, is it possible to be referred to a CBT therapist to help u find some stress/anxiety reduction skills.

    Caitlin

    • Setsuna
      Setsuna caitlin39841

      Posted

      Ah, I know why my potassium level dropped. I hadn't eaten for three days due to a lack of appetite, and I also wasn't into the whole banana thing.
  • norabab
    norabab Setsuna

    Posted

    Dear Setsuna,

    Pediatricians are supposed to know a lot about young people's heart problems as well (if you have one), and he/she will send you to a cardiologist if necessary.

    I do think the physical stuff needs to be checked out properly, but it does sound more like anxiety to me.

    You come across as very intelligent and articulate.  (You remember all the medication names and you can spell them).  I think this will help you to stand up for yourself in getting the right treatment, because you know something about how it all works. 

    But I also think you should have some psychotherapy, if you aren't already getting it, because 13 is very young to be taking all those medications!  I hope  there will be an alternative for you soon.

    Good luck!

    • Setsuna
      Setsuna norabab

      Posted

      Thank you for the reply. Yes, I understand that 13 is a very young age to be taking all of this medication. I was offered a chance to visit a psychiatrist, but I declined. (Although, I probably shouldn't have).

      The main reason I worry about my heart so much is because my chest normally hurts. I can't take a shower without worrying about my heart, since it speeds up. And the way it beats just seems... Odd. When it beats hard, I get scared. I feel like my heart is going to stop.

    • caitlin39841
      caitlin39841 Setsuna

      Posted

      hi setsuna. cos ur so aware & intelligent, i think you would respond very well to 'talking therapies' as it would help u make sense of what's happening in your body & how it's causing your symptoms. part of the short comings of 'medications' is, they don't address the cause of the anxiety. they just treat the symptoms rather than address the cause. the body, in time can become used to these meds & you'll need more & more to keep the adrenaline & cortisol manageable. if u can source a good therapist, a psychtherapist or CBT practitioner, you'll be able to control the anxiety with stress control techniques and human support. you deserev this.

      Caitlin

  • Nicholas1997
    Nicholas1997 Setsuna

    Posted

    Hey, listen I'm sure you'll be fine. smile I much like you had a panic attack (except for the fact that I was anxiety free since 13, I'm now 17.) Got rushed to the hospital because every time I'd stand my heart would beat normal, but because I worried about my heart so much, it started to beat really fast, ended up sitting in the waiting room freaking out, had a heart rate of 183 BPM they took ms back instantly and hooked me up to an iv. I then just like you was told my potassium was low, so they gave me some stuff for that and it dropped to 160 but because I kept worrying thinking the worst it kept going back up, well I got something through my iv that burned my arm, and I either blacked out or they gave me something to knock me out and I was transfered to a different hospital where I stayed for 2 days, didn't eat, barely drank, sleepless nights of hitting an alarm button for my heart skipping a beat and a nurse telling me I'm alright. I went home after 2 days, I've never been the same, I'd have a heart rate of 160 from standing up and walking to the bathroom, couldn't exercise because l feared my heart pretty much exploding (stupid right?) Well I found out that I sub consciously worried and thought to myself, "okay Nick your heart is gonna be like crazy from this simple task." And I made myself stop those thoughts. I now exercise, I still worry with my health anxiety but I can actually do things. I guess what I'm trying to say through all this non sense of mine that nobody is probably gonna read is, stop focusing on it, it worked for me! Best of luck. smile
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