My Heart Is In My Throat...Literally

Nurses General Nursing

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OK...someone please help me. For the past 2 years I have been getting these weird palpatations, and it feels like my heart is beating in my throat. When it happens, I feel very lightheaded, like I may faint. It usually goes away in about 10 minutes. It used to happen every few months but now it happens every few weeks. IT usually happens when I bend down, but somtimes I will be standing there doing nothing. It happened at work and I put the pulse ox on my finger and it said my HR was 185. I checked it myself and got 180. So I had a nurse double check and it was. It happened the other day at my mom's and my HR was 220! It happened again yesterday. Also, I have been getting chest pain...not bad, just noticeable, even without the palpitations. I am afraid to go to the doctor because a) it might be something bad or B) it may be nothing and I will feel like an ass. It is NOT anxiety, either. It happens when I am doing nothing or bending over to tie my shoes. Please someone tell me SOMETHING. HAs anyone else had this?

The bending-over-thing makes it sound like mitral valve prolapse. But, who knows till you get it checked out. Stop the Ephedra and all caffeine and get thee to a Cardiologist!

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Hi Flo,

As all the other posts say, go see your doctor. I would also have them check your thyroid. As someone who has had a thyroid problem all her life, I have had on occasions said same palpitations. No matter what it is, you need to get it checked out.

Take it from me, waiting to hope that a health complaint (no matter what kind!) to go away can be dangerous. If I had gone to the MD weeks ago, my deep chest cold may never have developed into pneumonia.

Best of health!

Kris

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If you are taking ephedra........STOP NOW. If you are a coffee,tea, Pepsi,Coke etc drinker........reduce your intake significantly......Take your pulse during these episode and record it. Go to your doc, and if your doc makes you feel like an idiot ... you need a new doc. You may have mitral valve prolapse. But my guess would be ephedra.

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GASP!!!! You are taking ephedra BEFORE YOU WORK OUT????? Good God almighty woman!!!!

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Specializes in Home Health.

Good Lord Flo, I'm gonna cyber kick your butt right to the cardiologists office!!! Stop the ephedra, and don't wait. You could have any umber of things that affects young people, WPW, mitral prolapse, prolonged QT, we cannot diagnose you here.

Please don't be afraid to find out someting is wrong, what is the alternative, something IS wrong, you ignored it, and kick off! Or WORSE becoe a stroked out gork on a vent for the rest of your days.

Ifr I sound mean....GOOD! This was exactly what a friend of mine said to me when I was afraid to have my BP checked at work, she scared me at the thought of "Having your kids see yu gorked out on a vent" (Her exact words) I checked my BP 200/120!!! Got onb meds and am under control now. She very literally could have saved my life, so I am "paying it forward". No more procrastinating or excuses, GET TO THE DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!! MONDAY!!!

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

You need a head-to-toe checkup.....have you seen a FEMALE practioner? I know with MY experience, they have taken MY complaints MUCH more seriously than their male counterparts and I had good reason to be there. Turned out I was throwoing PVC's all over the place, and while not life-threatening in my case, at least I KNEW I was not NUTS! They need to ensure your thryoid/hormonal health and do a head-to-toe check up. If they fail to find anything chemically, they CAN send you home w/a Holter Monitor so a "snapshot" of what your heart is doing when you are NOT in the office can be taken and evaluated. DO NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER! I wish you well!

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Sounds like Thyroid to me. Check out hypo and hyper symptoms and see if any other symtpoms sound familiar. Get it checked out though and don't let doctors bully you into the anxiety thing if you know that's not correct. Good luck!!

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My Mom had similar symptoms and it was a combination of her thyroid and her pitutary (sp) gland. Get it checked out!

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I know the feeling of being afraid you won't be taken seriously. I have chronic depression, and have had several physical problems in recent years, some of which a cause was never found, and I always felt like a hypochondriac. But my doctor always took me seriously. She is an excellent doctor, and if your doctor is a good one he/she should to.

as for not wanting to go because A: it might be something bad::::::if it is bad, you need to take care of it ASAP *before* it gets worse!

and not wanting to go because B: it might be nothing:::::::at least your mind will be at ease!

BTW, I agree, stop the ephedra, even if you've never had problems before, doesn't mean you couldn't have problems now. That stuff *can* be dangerous, and you don't want to risk your health just because it's been ok till now. Even if it is not causing your current problem, it can be dangerous.

Good luck! Let us know how things go!

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I'm not gonna post any diagnoses, I'm just gonna scare the crap out of you and hope you go to the doctor post haste.

One of my friends had these similar sx when she was 24-25. Long story short, she found out she has severe cardiomyopathy and will eventually need a heart transplant.

It may be nothing. It may be something that can kill you if left untreated. Put the ephedra in the toilet and get to the doc.

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But what I am saying is that this happens when I am NOT taking ephedra. And I don't have any s/s when I exercise. It happens at rest. And what I take has very little ephedra. My doctor is very good, actually and pretty thorough. When I went to her for the hypoglycemia she ordered a BMP, CBC,LFTS and a bunch of enzymes(serum amylase, etc) They were all normal. I was supposed to get a GTT, and an ultrasound of my gallbladder and pancreas(because of RUQ pain that I still get) but I didn't go because my fasting glucose was normal. Also, she freaked me out because she said the hypoglycemia could be from an insulin secreting tumor so I was scared. But I haven't had any sugar problems since August. Anyhoo, I think I am afraid of the word cardiomyopathy, too , even though I'm probably fine. It;s funny...I would tell a pt the same thing everyone is telling me, yet I can't bring myself to go to the doctor! I am such an ass. I will go soon. As soon as the semester is over.

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