Today, my doctor ordered me an EKG to help my health anxiety. I have panic attacks and feel like my heart is out of rhythm, but my doctors have all told me it’s just in my head. I got the test results. I meet with the cardiologist next week to discuss surgery. FML
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Thanksgiving
Questions about your love life, a burnt turkey and the cousin who knows everything: Thanksgiving, a contact sport.
Today, after months of my doctor telling me that my heart palpitations are simply due to anxiety, and that I'm perfectly healthy, I decided to weight train to face my fears. Two hours later, I was in the emergency room. FML
Today, my doctor said I "might" have an enlarged heart and an irregular heartbeat. It "could" be seriously life-threatening and I "should" go to a specialist for further tests. My insurance refuses to cover my consultation with the specialist because the doctor's wording is too uncertain. FML
Today, I went to see a doctor because I have been feeling of pressure in my chest. After running numerous tests, I was told I was perfectly healthy and had nothing to worry about. I made it as far as the front door before I collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital. FML
Today, I woke up my friend and had him take me to the ER. I had trouble breathing and my chest hurt, so the doctor put me on an EKG and took X-rays. I had strained my chest lifting weights at the gym earlier that day and pulled a muscle, and now thanks to my massive anxiety I have a $700 hospital bill. FML
Today, I went to see a doctor due to some gastric distress I have. I came out with directions to buy a blood pressure monitor, I'm prohibited from doing sports, and have a possible diagnosis of arterial hypertension which I am way too young to have. FML
Today, I’ve been getting my ass handed to me by my anxiety for nearly a year. I talked to my doctor about starting meds. I got so terrified of the possible side effects that I not only had an anxiety attack, I also had a panic attack. I still couldn’t bring myself to take the pills. FML
Today, I went to get Covid test because I had chest pain and shortness of breath. Turns out, I just have depression and anxiety. FML
Today, I had a heart attack. At the hospital, the doctor compared my heart to a stressed out 60 year-old's heart. I'm 17 and I don't even have a job yet. FML
Today, I finally went to the doctor's about my severe anxiety. I'm so used to putting on a happy performance around people that she didn't believe anything was wrong with me. FML
Today, after months of being told I have pneumonia by different doctors, I decided to go to another hospital with better staff. There I learned that I will actually need to have open heart surgery to replace two valves in my heart. FML
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Top comments
Lobby_Bee 18
Sounds like your doctor's medical degree is also just in his head.
Leviathene 34
Good luck OP
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Comments (14)
Lobby_Bee 18
Sounds like your doctor's medical degree is also just in his head.
Summaria 10
Well actually having a heartbeat slightly out of rhythm is pretty "normal" for someone suffering from severe anxiety. I'm not sure what the term would be in english but here that is known as "stumbling heart". So i really hope that the doctors took that into account before considering a surgery. And yes: This is a condition that's "just in ones head" and will cancel out in almost all cases when (or if) the anxiety disorder is gone.
Leviathene 34
Good luck OP
RichardPencil 32
Brain surgery? Then, you’ll both be right. Your problem is real and it’s literally in your head.
ajh1800 25
Did you miss the part where he said his "HEART was out of rhythm"?
RichardPencil 32
The heartbeat is regulated by the brain stem.
Yudith 28
Good for you; they finally found it! I just wish I could have the same luck as you instead of fainting and having the baffled doctors say it's "viral, whatever, just lie down". I'm sure you will feel a lot better after your surgery.
BatCatTaco 13
Look into POTS (Postural tachycardia syndrome). It took them over 15 years to figure out that's what I have. Don't give up! I know it's frustrating.
Chazzster 32
This is an example of the patient being a lot closer to the symptoms than the doctors. A doctor is not always right, some are better than others. My dad who recently turned 89 has had an issue with his heart that if he gets upset his heart goes into arrhythmia and he would pass out. Then while passed out the heart would recover normal rhythm and he would survive. He lived with this all his life from being a young man until in his late 50’s it got worse and had to take a medical retirement and start taking medications. But he is still getting around even now! Self-service for heart arrhythmia: If you feel your heart “flutter” or begin skipping a beat - Immediately cough real big. Repeat if necessary. The strong chest muscle activation triggers a tiny electrical current through your heart that resets the heart. It works! It could save your life. Then see a doctor...
yarani 26
Wait, so this doctor also thought it was just in your head and only ordered the EKG so you'd shut up about it? Good on you for not giving up!
TheHarvardian 25
I'm sorry. :( That really bites. I'm super worried about something like that happening to me too. I went to the ER because I was having heart palpitations and they couldn't find anything wrong and just shrugged and told me to see a cardiologist, which I can't afford and my insurance doesn't cover.
Gloria DiBlasio_1442619339 4
Good on you for not giving up! Five years ago, I felt like I'd had an explosion inside of my neck. I went to the emergency room three times. I was told it was stress the first two; and even though I refused narcotics, I was told I was shopping for pain meds. I'd also visited several GPs that agreed. By the time my primary doctor came back into his office from vacation, I also had a cycling of numbness and unbearable burning and spasm in my right arm. HE, the NINTH doctor that I'd seen, ordered an MRI. It turned out I'd ruptured a disk in my neck, and the innards of that disk were sitting on the nerve leading into my arm. The nerve was slowly dying. I had surgery two days later (the day after seeing a neurologist), despite not having time to stop antiinflammatories. It was ruptured THAT badly. If he hadn't ordered that MRI, my arm would be completely paralyzed and the neck pain likely would have made me jump off a bridge. Instead, I now live a mostly normal life. ALWAYS trust your gut until it's proven beyond a doubt to be wrong.
DanielleinDC 34
Doctors sure do love to tell women "it's all in your head," even when women know something is wrong. And sure enough, something is wrong. At least you found out, even if it means having surgery--which sucks. Best wishes for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.
dwight7476 11
It’s always good to get a second opinion