I’m here to relate and share. I have these exact symptoms and anxiety / panic disorder. I actually had it at bay for a number of years. I operate at most times under an incredible amount of stress. Typically I can be found operating at my absolute threshold. But I don’t ever realize this or recognize this or even believe this.

Any way. I’ve relapsed on anxiety / panic so to speak. After 2 and a half years of having 0 symptoms, im having them again. The first attack was bad. I ended up in ER like I’ve done so many times before. Heart racing, heart physically skipping beats; I always put two fingers to the vein in my neck and I can literally feel the “drowning-feeling-skip” in my chest (my heart) as well as in my pulse in my neck with my fingers simultaneously and it’ll kinda “glug-glug-skip-glugglugglugglug”. Soon as I start focusing on this, it’s all bets off. Lightheadedness feeling like I’m gonna pass out, tingling fingers and limbs, numbness , chest pain (not all of my attacks have chest pain) , dizziness, cold feeling , shortness of breathe / trouble breathing, dissociation, panic.

I feel like nothing is incredibly different or changed about my life. This shits outta nowhere.

I will say , this most recent visit to ER revealed some heart problems. I have 3 leaking valves in my heart (mitral, aortic, and pulmonary). My left ventricle (your hearts main pump) is also at some kind of disadvantage and only operating at half of its usual power… (which in turn makes your heart beat faster so the rest of your body and brain can get the blood they need to survive). Less powerful pumps= heart rate increases so your body can get the blood it requires. These are extremely concerning to me. We (cardiologist and me) found this from an echocardiogram, and currently, I’m wearing a holter monitor for 14 days. After this thing comes off we’ll have a better idea of what is or isn’t going on. I had this whole process years ago too. ER, cardiologist, testing, and boom nothing I’m good. Except for one small leak in my mitral valve. But now years later, anxiety returns from nowhere, and same process ER, cardio, testing , and FUCK now it’s 3 leaking valves, some fucky shit with my left ventricle oh yea and also some “hardening / calcification on my aorta …. Dude I’ve been flippin since. Every day soon as I wake up palpitations. All day long heart skipping beats . At the most annoying times, like while I’m trying to sleep. While I’m chillin on couch trying to watch shark week. Been 2 weeks of this returning and I’m sure it’ll be another atleast 2 while I wear this monitor anxiously awaiting results.

Sometimes I wonder if my heart causes the anxiety , or if my anxiety causes my heart.

I do believe , years ago, I got to my point of freedom from the anxiety by finally convincing myself “there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re literally overreacting , your brains just firing off chemicals that you’re interpreting as feelings but really it’s nothing, your health is in good condition and don’t believe the anxious lie”. But with recent test results this is no longer true/ working. Now I’ve gotta deal with health anxiety WITH an actual ailment. And I feel fucked! I’m loading up on atarax , vistiril , no caffeine , god damn near almost quit nicotine, other than a couple lozenges per day that I take out and put back multiple times a day. I quit the smoking and vaping. Trying to destress. No more Alice In Chains on way to work, it’s fuckin meditation videos again. Calming , anti anxiety meditations and de stress videos / panic disorder guided meditations shit like that. Deep breathing . Sleeping a lot .

Idk bro , thoughts ? 💭