bethanyh Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Over the past month I have had increased trouble with my breathing, feeling as though I am breathing through a straw and gasping at night for air. I was put on a one night nocturnal oximeter and my oxygen level never went below 92% yet I feel like I struggle constantly to breath (day and night). The other absolutely terrifying part of the meter was that my heart rate was between 36-38 bpm every single time I woke up. It seemed to quickly rise into the 90's or above upon waking but this has me completely unnerved and I don't know what to do. My doctor has me on a 14 day heart monitor but it is not the type of monitor that automatically transmits any information. So the doctors will not know what my heart is doing until after I return the monitor...in 14 days. My anxiety is through the roof and my Ativan does not seem to be helping. I had trouble sleeping before, now I really cannot sleep! During the day my heart rate is anywhere from the mid 80's to low 100's and I do have frequent episodes of tachycardia mixed in. This fluctuation seems very dangerous to me. Has anyone else dealt with a low heart rate while sleeping, especially a rate in the 30's? Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mygooddogs Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 You sound just like me! I love my neurologist but he is not responding to my concern. Sometimes I feel like going to the hospital so they can see what I am talking about. It, fainting and " hot attacks" and breathing problems rule my life! One doctor in the ER called it "reflex". He had never hear of Dysautonomia. I don't sleep either. Good luck! Keep me informed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasaHouse Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm still in the diagnosis phase, but my cardiologist thinks I may have POTS. I normally have a low resting heart rate, 54 - 60bpm. My first Holter monitor showed my hr dips into the mid-30's when I sleep and the dr's were not concerned at all. When I'm awake and my heart rate drops in the high 40's, I get really nauseous, sweaty, etc. I'm waiting for my second monitor results now. I really don't worry about mine at night. I'm just happy when I can easily fall asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahA33 Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Bethany, I'm glad to hear your on a 2 week monitor. I didn't know you could see your HR's on them... I'd be checking mine the time if the one's my doctor used showed them I tell the nurses at my doctors office to turn the monitor's away from me so I can't see my BP and HR's when they check them, and at certain doctor's office's, I only let my doctor's check them. I'm sure some of the staff think I'm a pain but their reactions in the past have made me panic. Anyway, I know this can feel overwhelming, and it's really a lot to take in, I remember after I was diagnosed and found the forum some of the members telling me to just keep pushing through and holding on. So I will pass that on to you, not like it's some big secret, but it helped me to hear that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethanyh Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 SusanB: I feel like my cardiologist is not concerned in the least. The conclusion was, "Let's see what this 14 day monitor shows and go from there" I left thinking, and in the meantime, I am to do what exactly?! Very frustrating. My cardio is somewhat familiar with POTS but only on a surface level.CasaHouse: I have days like you are describing. There are days when my heart rate never seems to get out of the 60's but I have a ridiculous number of daily palpitations so I feel like all the skipped beats are the main contributing factor to that. Good luck with your diagnosis and hopefully you will be able to get on the right treatment path.Sarah: Thank you for the encouraging words! I am not able to see any info. on my 14 day heart monitor, it was just the overnight oximeter reading that I could see. My 14 day heart monitor is a ZioPatch, apparently fairly new on the market and it only consists of a computer chip within a patch, there are no wires, no electrodes, or visible reading of any kind. I wish I could see my pulse rate...then again it would become my obsession for the next two weeks! I am just concerned that my heart rate is so incredibly low overnight and that I have to wait it out over the next two weeks until I send the monitor back to the company for results. It is very unsettling but this seems to be my only option at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parages Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 I just finished wearing a heart monitor (3 week study) two days ago. I've been having the same issues of being short of breath, my situation is a high BPM but low blood pressure. Doctor didn't seem too concerned with the high heart rate or low BP but it does seem to like it would put strain on the body over a long period of time, it's honestly one of my biggest fears that I'll just have a sudden heart attack or stroke. Yet none of the doctors seem to be overly concerned over it and just tell me to drink water and eat salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethanyh Posted May 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Granted, I have not received any medical training but I feel like the doctors are not concerned at all about my situation and I am left to wait it out. It would just be nice to have a doctor say, "I am not concerned about your 36 BPM and this is why" but as we all know, most of the time that is not the case. 10 more days of wearing the monitor before I turn it in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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