Where do I go? Who should I see? I'm going in circles!

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colby88

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Hi,
You state you take Xanax (an anti-anxiety medicine), are an anxious person and can't sleep due to panic attacks. However, you're convinced it's physiological in nature.

Clearly a Dr. has prescribed Xanax for your anxiety symptoms/sleep and chances are you could be building up a tolerance to this medication or experiencing withdrawals on days you are not taking it. Benzo's can be tricky and addictive. Perhaps your brain is wired to only sleep when you've taken Xanax? Hopefully a pyschiatrist or Dr. is monitoring your use of Xanax?

If I were you I would consider your age as a factor as well. 47 yrs. of age could be the start of menopause which in itself could be contributing to all the symptoms you describe. Also, if you are an anxious person to begin with then you're sensitive to every body symptom you feel and this is corabination with the "change of life" could be making you even more anxious which is bringing on panic. Not to mention ecalating your worry factor!

I would advise having your primary care Dr. do a complete lab work-up, an EKG (to check your heart), and then if tests come back ok, I would consider seeking out a therapist or Psychiatrist who could better advise and help you as it's most likely an Anxiety Disorder.

Good luck!
 
I don't know who to see to get some answers.

About a month ago, I amped up my workouts. I had been pushing it hard on the elliptical then decided to try and start running again. So I did and pushed myself pretty hard. I'm 47 and I guess my body isn't able to assimilate the abuse I used to dole out upon it when I was younger.

Anyway, I began having heart palpitations but was able to sleep at night. Then a Labor Day weekend came and we were out with frienRAB drinking beer at cookouts and not staying well hydrated. And then the palpitations exploded! Went to the ER one night and was told everything was fine, I was having benign PVCs. So I started to change some of my habits, drink more water, lay off the pop and caffiene, no alcohol. The PVCs, while not totally gone, are much reduced. But what I have now is very disrupting and disconcerting and I don't know what kind of doctor to see to help me figure this out. My primary doc keeps concentrating on my heart but I truly feel my heart palpitations and increase heart rate is a "result" of something else happening in my body.

Anytime I lie down, whether it be for a nap but especially at bedtime, I keep getting these panic feelings that are keeping me awake all night. As soon as I'm about to drift off to sleep, I get a jolt that brings me out of my almost sleep with increased heart rate (not high just increased) quick breathing and sometimes a rush to the head or a swimming feeling in my head. And this can happen over and over and over all night long. Sometimes I can take enough xanex to knock it down so I can fall asleep. But if I wake up, the moment I am conscious, it will start all over again. I can't keep popping xanex all night long!

What is this? I have an appt with an endocrinologist but I'm not sure that is where I should start. Should I see a sleep therapist or go to a sleep study center? I keep feeling hopeful that it will pass because I feel calm and symptom free all day. But as soon as I lay down, it starts. It doesn't have to be nightime, anytime I am laying down trying to sleep it will start. I'm tired and I'm frustrated and I don't know where to begin. I feel like I'm running in circles trying to make a move to make myself better. Any suggestions or advice?
 
One more thing....

Because you associate the panic with sleep, subconsciously you are most likely anticipating panic when you go to bed so you are keeping the panic cycle going.

Often times with anxiety/panic our brains "remeraber" where we felt that way and the next time you are in that location (ie. your bed) you feel the same old symptoms rear their ugly head again.

Curious if you've felt the panic back at the gym since this seems to be how it escalated? I think you mentioned you were on the eliptical when the palpitations really increased to the point that it caused you intense worry?

Also, I'm not surprised about the alcohol/palpitation/panic scenario. When I drink it makes me feel my heart beat more as well and even more so if I'm already nervous/anxious prior to having a drink.

Again, good luck!
 
Oh and do need to mention, I am a very anxious person! It has gotten better actually. But most of my 30s and 40s I spent on hypochondria anxiety. Everything I felt, every call back from the doctor, everything immediately meant I had some life threatening disease that I would literally worry myself sick over for weeks till tests confirmed it was not. And I transferred it onto my children as well. I spent a lot of life and energy on fear and hypochondria and worry. Now that I feel like I'm not as bad, I am having some kind of anxiety/panic when I need to sleep. And it's becoming a vicious circle. The less I sleep the more anxiety I have.

Please help with any info or advice!
 
See about getting into a sleep study along with your Dr checking your heart out also. It wouldn't hurt to get your thyroid checked , it could be just anxiety, but I would have these things ruled out for a peace of mind

Keep me updated
 
Thanks for the insight Colby88.

I didn't get the PVCs when exercising. Only at rest. The xanex I am taking is .25mg and I have been trying to keep it to only that dosage for fear of dependency. But I guess I'm already there.

I saw my dr. this afternoon and she told me to try .5mg of xanex since the .25 is such a low dose as it is. She wanted to give me some Arabien but I didn't want to go down that road just yet. I was on Webmd and person after person talked about all the weird and dangerous things that they did during the night while taking it. Would that happen to me? I don't know. But my husband is far too sound of a sleeper to keep an eye on me or the kiRAB if I should decide to go out for a cheeseburger at 3 am.

I had gone to the ER a couple of weeks ago with the PVCs and they did a blood workup and all levels were normal. Even checked me for previous heart attack and that was clear. The monitor showed benign PVCs. So nothing was abnormal in a routine blood panel so now I want to see what my hormones might be doing that's why I chose an endocrinologist before cardiologist. Is it my female hormones and perimenopause? Is it something else haywire and causing adrenaline spurts or causing me to be hyper sensitive to the my body? I don't know.

Once I find out if there is anything physiological going on or not, I will see about other anti anxiety meRAB. I just hate thinking about that. My dad suffered his entire life with depression and anxiety with no relief till the day he died. Maybe he had something physiologically wrong with him and no one ever bothered to explore it further. Maybe there is something in our makeup that creates this feeling and just constantly throwing pills at it with never finding out if anything else metabolically or hormonally is causing it is a crap shoot. I want to be as healthy as I can, not just masking some ill with prescription meRAB. I hope to have a lot more life to live and certainly don't want to be changing meRAB year after year because they may stop working or causes unwanted side effects. I hate this and sincerely hope it is perimenopause because then there may be light at the end of the tunnel. But if it's insomnia or chronic anxiety then it pretty much sucks.
 
Iris,
It sounRAB like you're on the path to unfolding the mystery so hang in there! A question you may ask yourself is: Did I have the PVC's prior to starting the Xanax? Reason being, sometimes meRAB can affect your heart rate/rhythm. Just a suggestion. This happened to me when I was put on a very low dose of a beta blocker for my anxiety. I developled PAC's and I didn't have those prior to the medicine so I talked to my Dr. about it and he ordered a heart monitor. Soon after I stopped the beta blocker and I've never had them again.

Also, the fact that you mention your Dad's anxiety is very interesting as studies are now showing that anxiety, depression, panic, etc... can most certainly be hereditary. I would mention this to your Dr. as well if you haven't already.

In the meantime continue to exercise, do relaxation exercises, cut out caffeine, chocolate, and unwind before bed. If you go to bed at the same time every night and can't sleep then get up and do something (ie. read) away from your bed until you feel tired, then try to go back to bed and sleep.

The endocrinologist will check your thyroid which could also be playing a role in this. Make sure he does all the proper tests. You may have a thryroid issue and the thyroid regulates everything in our bodies.

Be well!
 
Thanks again colby88!

The pvcs started after I increased my exercise regime. I had been working out indoors on an elliptical. But was getting bored with it so decided to take up running again. I used to run daily up until my boys were born then I gave it up. Well, I guess it proved to be more of a challenge than my old body could handle. With it being summer and hot, I sweated more, didn't up my intake of hydration and also was cutting calories to lose my perimenopause spare tire. That is what brought on the pvcs and I only began taking xanex for those. I don't want to do a beta-blocker because I have blood pressure on the low end and don't want it made lower.

But what I'm concerned about is did I do something to my body that that I now cannot reverse? Did I muck up my hormones or metabolism and it won't go back to normal? That is why I chose to start at the endocrinologist. So many of our hormones affect our brains and our overall general body functions. My primary doctor simply focuses on the heart as if hormones are infallible in their self regulating ability that it couldn't possibly anything hormonal causing my issues. And I think they very well could be if they are out of whack. And the fact that I'm almost 48yrs old, not only are my female hormones whacky but could be affecting all of my adrenal hormones as well.

So I will begin there and hopefully get some peace of mind. But yes, I am very aware that anxiety and depression can be hereditary. And I have tried pretty hard to not let it overtake too much of my life. I watched it paralyze my dad. He lived such a tormented unhappy life because of depression and anxiety. And he never ever found any relief from the meRAB prescribed. So that is why I wonder if he didn't have something physiologically wrong with him and anti-depressants had no way of fixing it. If I've learned one thin from my dad's life is I will not just simply take a pill from a doctor expecting it to solve a problem. I am very much against treating the symptom without treating the root problem, if one can be found.

Thank you so much for your responses. I appreciate it.
 
I called the endocrinologist that I had set an appt with for October and they can now get me in on Monday. I don't know if that is where to start. But my symptoms seem to be something physiological, something haywire inside my brain or body.

Last night I took some benadryl for a change in sleep inducer and was totally calm. My body was so relaxed, my eyes were so relaxed and stayed closed and everything felt perfect for sleep yet my brain would keep nudging me back awake or just not allow itself to cross that line into sleep. I slept 2 hours and laid quietly and quite peacefully in bed the rest of the night listening to music. But never fell asleep, just laid there with my eyes closed resting.

I don't know what the answer is. Is it just anxiety? Is it some underlying problem? And the frustrating thing is everything takes so long to test for and get results back. There is no instant relief.
 
I can relate to your issues:) All in all, going to the Endocrinologist to make sure all your parts are working as they should be is a good idea. As far as the, what I believe to be, panic attacks from the sound of them. I would make yourself an appointment with a therapist or Psychiatrist. Maybe before bed try different yoga poses to see which one works for you (you may be suprised to see how different poses can put your mind at ease). Take the breathing in yoga to bed with you & maybe it will help your head, it did mine. Good Luck & remeraber, you're not alone:)
 
I have the same issues with the health worries. I've been convinced that I was having a heart attack; ER visit negative, had colon cancer; colonoscopy negative, and the latest was I really thought I had a brain tumor; head CT scan, negative. The problem is I'm 48 y/o, and certain physical sxs are going to crop up. In re: your panic/anxiety, I'm the opposite, I suffer with anxiety/panic, all day, and at night, it seems to calm way down. I think a sleep study, and a consult with a Psychiatrist and supportive psychotherapy may be a good idea. When I had my first bout with anxiety in 2000, I also had problems sleeping, and my Psychiatrist prescribed trazadone. I know this was a long time ago, and there are probably a lot more drugs available, but it really helped me. He told me it doesn't put you to sleep, it jus kind of allows you to sleep; it made sense to me at the time. You may want to ask a Psychiatrist about that. Good luck fighting this thing.
 
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