Going crazy with physical symptoms
Posted , 4 users are following.
So I've posted on here a few times outlining what's been going on for the past month but I'll sum it up quickly
-randomly got breathlessness feeling/choking feeling that lasts all day for about a month now
-then got heart palps that are on and off
-had a high Heart rate for 3 days along with shaking and feeling of doom along with chest pain and chest discomfort (trapped gas feeling and adrenaline)
-went to ER because of HR/shaking had ekgs a chest x Ray and blood work all good
-followed up with doctor nothing abnormal
-followed up with cardiologist did another ekg but nothing else- all normal
-waiting for echocardiogram
So now my new symptoms include burning in my stomach and chest and weakness/tingling in my arms and hands. The tingling and weakness I'm used to from previous times of bad anxiety but the burning sensation is new and annoying. Breathlessness is still here which is also very annoying but at least other than the burning I have no chest discomfort. My new obsession is my heart rate. It's lower than normal. My resting heart rate is in the low 60's and was at 59 today but sometimes when I'm sitting down watching tv I check its in the low 50s. Is this normal? I'm using the Fitbit charge to check my HR btw. Even though I've had tests and the cardiologist thinks nothing is wrong I can't help but worry about my heart constantly. I'm losing my mind. I've been sleeping maybe 4-5 hours a night and I have huge bags under my eyes. I can't believe I'm going through right now. Two weeks ago when my heart rate was at 110 sitting down I thought that was bad but thinking that my heart is going to stop because my heart rate is so slow is more terrifying. No heart disease runs in my family but my grandpa does have a pace maker that he just got (he's 78) because his HR was too slow. I'm only 21 so I realize how ridiculous I sound worrying about my heart but like a lot of you I have severe health anxiety since I was a kid and my heart is my latest obsession. Any time I feel a palpitation I check my monitor to see what my HR is at. I'm going crazy. My bf is ready to take my Fitbit away from me because he's afraid of how panicky I've become. Advice/support please !
0 likes, 11 replies
abigail65605 Mandie29
Posted
I have all the same worries as you. It drives me insane literally. I can't sleep bc I'm afraid I won't wake up and I am petrified I'm gonna have a stroke or a heart attack. I think I have palpitations but idk exactly how they feel. What does a palpitation feel like ???
Mandie29 abigail65605
Posted
Sometimes the palps feel like my heart is beating out of my chest and sometimes when this happens my heart rate is high but other times my heart rate is normal so it doesn't make sense to feel like it's beating that hard. Other times it feels like my heart is skipping not a beat or beating too fast for a few beats and then slowing down. And now it's so bad because I keep expecting them to happen so I get them more often and most often at night because I'm not distracted so I'm thinking about it.
Aclaire41 Mandie29
Posted
I wouldn't use the fitbit to check your heart rate. I don't think it's accurate. I had one and ended up returning it because of it's inaccuracies. I can't believe so many people rely on this thing! Every time I would move my arm, fold clothes, drive.... It would calculate steps. I would check my HR and it was way off. I would check my HR the old fashioned way and it was very different from the fitbit. It's flawed. Look it up.
Mandie29 Aclaire41
Posted
Interesting. I haven't heard many negative things about how it counts heart rate but I can see what you mean. It does tend to count random movement as steps. I've had trouble my whole life checking my pulse the regular way. Even nurses have had a hard time finding my pulse. but the Fitbit def has some issues. I usually have a problem with how it records my sleep. Ill be keeping this in mind, thanks!
Bri77 Mandie29
Posted
I've also heard of the fitbits not being accurate. Also think, if you and nurses have a hard time getting a good reading....some little fitness tracker likely isn't going to be able to pick it up well either. Try not to rely on that or let that freak you out.
Aclaire41 Mandie29
Posted
Please do. I just looked it up. Wareable com talks about the HR inaccuracy. Customers rate it high but I don't think they are paying attention. They just believe what it shows. My friend drives a truck for UPS. One day she sent me a screenshot saying she walked 35,000 steps. She drives a truck all day! How on earth would she walk that much? Yes, she delivers packages but not that many. She used to load trucks and it would say she walked 15,000 steps in 4 hours. Yes, loading trucks is exercise but she isn't walking that much. In both situations there are a lot of arm movements. So, with that said, how accurate can the HR monitor be? I hope you can find another way to check your HR although I am sure you are fine. Wareable. com shows a graph of a fitbit charge compared to the strap across the chest that a doctor would use. You should look it up. Maybe it will help to know that your device may be inaccurate therefore causing more anxiety.
Aclaire41 Bri77
Posted
Good point!
Mandie29 Bri77
Posted
That's a good point. I should be getting an electrocardiograph on monday. Hopefully after that I can convince myself that my heart is ok. It's just so hard.
Mandie29 Aclaire41
Posted
Thank you for this information! I'll def be looking into it.
Bri77 Mandie29
Posted
I get the same symptoms. The episodes of heart rate slowing down just started for me not long ago. I have always had the fast heart beat and the feeling of skips when I have anxiety spikes. However I guess symptoms can change over time or you just get new ones. I went to the dr because of the change in symptoms, the episodes of slowed rate, so he is doing an event monitor on me for 30 days. He said he's pretty sure it's my anxiety but to be 100% he'd do the monitor. I'm noticing some patterns with the symptoms, (associated with nerves) so now I feel lIke the monitor is unnecessary, but I'm sticking with it to be safe. You're definitely not alone with those symptoms. I just started Buspar today. Fingers crossed in a few weeks I'll notice a difference. I hope you find a med or a coping mechanism soon and feel better.
Mandie29 Bri77
Posted