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New to SVT and PVCS....Please help

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Posted 2/13/2007 10:37 AM (GMT -8)
Hi Everyone,

I was diagnosed 3 months ago with having SVT and PVCs. I have had the svt since i was 15 i am now 27. The docs misdiagnosed the svt for many years and told me i was experiencing panic attacks! Usually the svts would last for 5-15 mins but 3 months ago i had an episode which lasted for more than an hour and i ended up in hospital where i was given adenosine. I have just started a very very low dose beta blocker. Since the diagnosis I have also started getting tons and tons of PVCS which scare me even more than the svt.

It has been just over 3 months of fear for me, i am constantly waiting for the next SVT. I can get upto 50 pvcs a day and each one leads to a full blown panic attack. I am too afraid of leaving my house, i don't sleep as i tend to get more pvcs at night when i lay down. I'm finding it difficult to eat as that also triggers svt and pvcs and I am now so underweight.

I just wanted to hear how others are coping with the SVT and/or PVCs. I really need to know that i am not the only one with the svt and pvcs. sad

 

Posted 2/13/2007 12:12 PM (GMT -8)

Hi sb, Welcome to Healing Well forum, we are happy to have you join us here.  I am so sorry for all you have gone through and all you are still going through.  I dont have PVC's so I cant relate there but I have had a few SVT's that my pacemaker has picked up on...I just recall some really fast heart rates, this super sick feeling and it did feel as if it were a panic attack...but for me it is hard to tell them apart as I do have a panic/anxiety disorder.

Being misdiagnosed is the worst thing but now you have some validation for your symptoms.  I assume that you have a Cardiologist who is following your cardiac care...and when you do find out or realize that there is something wrong with your heart it is common for us to develop or start to have anxiety over the condition.  I think if you read through alot of these posts here you will find that most people do have panic and anxiety in common when it comes to heart problems.  Since you have been living with this for so long and it apparently has come to disrupt your life to a great extent as you explained in your post I wonder if you have considered seeing a psychiatrist regarding this.  They would be able to help with referring to counseling which is good for people with chronic health problems, and also they can prescribe an antianxiety medication that would help with some of your symptoms hopefully. 

I have taken the liberty of pulling up an old thread from the forum here regarding PVC's.  It is locked due to length so it cant be posted to anymore but you can go and read through it and see what others had to say regarding it.  I am sure you will get more suggestions from some of our other members.  Take care

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=42&m=534417

Posted 2/13/2007 1:22 PM (GMT -8)
Oh God you remind me of me!!!! I was just recently diagnosed too and just started on a low dose of beta blocker. Everyday Im thinking about it and my heart, and Im always paying attention to the heart beat and how fast its beating etc. Its crazy. My anxiety makes it so much worse. Please try to stay calm, do whatever you have to. You will be ok, Im sorry this is happening to you to.
Posted 2/13/2007 2:58 PM (GMT -8)

Thank you.

Neurogurl: Hi there! I'm sorry that you have SVT too. It's so scary isn't it? I still can't believe i have it sad   If you don't mind me asking what beta blocker do you take? How long are your svts? And do you get the PVCs too?

Els: Thank you for your kind words. I'm so glad i have found this forum. I think you are right about seeing someone regarding the anxiety but i don't think i am ready to see someone yet. As i was misdiagnosed by docs for so long I find it very difficult to trust medical proffessionals. I remember telling my docs that the fast heart rate was definitely not a panic attack but they never believed me. One doc even told me to "snap" out of it!! I ended up sufferring alone at home for many years because i was too embarrassed to speak to my docs.

Posted 2/15/2007 6:52 AM (GMT -8)

Hi sb, I can fully understand you’re not finding any trust in doctors at this point after all you have been through.  And never should any doctor tell you to "snap out of it" that is just cruel and mean to say to someone regardless of the situation.  I don’t know what happens to some of these doctors along the way but it does seem that some of them lose their sensitivity and compassion towards helping others. 

When I was 19 I went into my primary care doctor's office and saw one of his partners as he as out of the office that day, I had been running a high fever and having abdomen and back pain.  She told me that I was just constipated and try taking an enema and sent me home.  She was actually angry with me for wasting her time with such a trivial thing as this and I did leave the office embarrassed.  The next day my fever got much worse and I started to hallucinate so my boyfriend called my mom and they took me to the ER where they found that I had a raging kidney and bladder infection.  It was so bad I had to spend 5 days in the hospital because of sepsis and I ended up with 60% kidney damage in my right one due to that.  I changed doctors after that even though she wasn’t my primary doctor...I wanted to make sure that I never had to run across her again in the future.

Now with all my disorders I have Multiple Sclerosis and Multiple System Atrophy along with my heart problems I have had several doctors that I have run across that were like that, especially during the diagnosis period of the MSA which was really involved.  I started to see a Psychiatrist soon after that and a counselor who specializes in medical illnesses and all I can say is that they both have been really great.  The care and concern for my mental well being has always been first and for most in their minds.  So there are some really good doctors out there you just have to look for them and know that if they don’t work for you then you have the right to move on to the next one as they do work for you not the other way around.

Take care
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