I can't take it anymore!!!

[amy777]

I am on a beta blocker 50mg and anti anxiety meds but today was a bad day. I had 3 episodes where I felt a heavy chest, felt like I couldn't breath and then about 30 min later my heart would skip a beat then feel like it took a few beats to get back in rythem. I called my cardio and again was told not to worry. Does anyone have any advice for this.

[MightyMouse]

Many of us on this board experience similar odd body sensations. I know this isn't easy to hear, but you have to find a way to cope and move onward. It's normal to feel scared, but you should know that those sensations are "normal" for POTS. I get them all the time.

Some coping strategies are:

getting help from a counselor trained in working with patients who have chronic illness

support groups for people with chronic illness

talking to others, like on this board, via email, phone or posts to remind yourself that while frustrating and sometimes scary, most POTS symptoms are not a medical emergency.

Additionally, meditation can help. So can listening to relaxation tapes, doing yoga, etc.

Talk to friends. Listen to uplifting music. Read uplifting stories. Keep a journal. Watch silly or fun tv, videos, movies (I like cartoons).

It's hard, but you need to adjust your expectation of "normal".

Nina

[MightyMouse]

Also, this month's newsletter has some great suggestions for coping:

http://www.dinet.org/Fall2004/fall04news3.htm

Nina

[MomtoGiuliana]

Nina's suggestions are great.

You did the right thing to call your doctor, for peace of mind. I'm glad they reassured you.

Try increasing your fluids and salt when you have days like this. It can help with the palpitations (but not always). Remember that your heart is a strong organ. It can withstand much more than we usually realize.

Keep writing to us! Many of us have been there--and survived. But we know how very hard it is when it feels like your body is falling apart. Believe that much better days are ahead.

Katherine

[briarrose]

Nina is right and has excellent suggestions.

If you are still unsure and feeling scared, go to your doctor's office or the emergency room and have it checked out. Sometimes we just need someone to give us a clean bill of health, to hear that were not dying and I think we've all been there.

[justme]

My wife's cardiologist at Mayo said that the beating irregularities you have described are very common in certain patients. He actually knew all the names for them. That was over a year ago, so I don't remember the specifics. He basically said there is nothing you can do about them and that some people are more sensitive to them than others. I actually think he made the comment that healthy people can also experience it, but may not be as sensitive.

[wsc]

amy ~

i don;t have any different advice, but i'm so sorry you are dealing with this right now, and want you to know i'm thinking of you. please take it easy, and take care of yourself. i hope youo start to feel better soon.

[corina]

Hi Amy,

I know this all is very difficult for you, as it was for all of us. And you have found the right people to ask the many questions you must have, so please ask them. And then in a while you'll find out Nina is right, you are going to look for help in accepting your chronic illness. It took me "some" time (I mean a lot of time ) to come to this but in the end all the sudden things that happen to you don't scare you so much anymore and you'll accept them as being part of your crazy POTS.

Wish you all the best,

Corina

[Jersey Girl]

I would drink extra fluids and lie down flat in bed with my eyes closed for about 1/2 hour.until it would pass. It is very scary. I finally got a 24 hour holter monitor about a year ago because of the palpitations and even though it showed a lot of PVC's, they were not life-threatening. It was a little reassuring. Hope that these symptoms don't occur too often. For me it was generally before my period. Feel better soon. Martha