Hi Trina,

Thank you sooo much for your reply. I am now starting to walk and ride my stationary bike very slowly to start out with and hope to get more comfortable. Words cannot express my appreciation for your advice and caring words. I do notice it happens more at the beginning of my period. The skipped beats and how I respond to them is my biggest challenge right now.

Thank you for the invitation to write to you. I am new at this online stuff and not sure how it all works. My 13 yr old helps me figure email out. I've only responded so far. My name is Bri and I would really like to communicate more.

Hello Bri,
I'm glad I could help out and I would love to talk more if you would like to. My direct email is trina83@ameritech.net.
I see a naturalist doctor who put me on herbal supplements, which has helped greatly. But, I am 42 and going thru menopause which had caused the changes in my mood and then the skipped beats. Not fun being female!
Take care and I hope to talk to you again soon. Trina

Hi Bri! Your post described me completely! I wish it didn't, but it did. I have to agree with Trina when it comes to blocking out that thinking. Can't say I necessarily do it, but I try. I haven't really exercised in years and I too HATE being alone for the same reason. I won't teach my 8 year old son how to dial 911 because I feel like he'll have to use it! I know it's crazy to think or even say, but it's in my mind. Where are you in NH? I'm in Maine about 20 miles north of Portland. Anyway, I'm here as well, if you ever need to talk... Take care, Tysmom (Angie)

Tysmom and Bri:

Tysmom- You are in Maine? Wow, I'm fairly close to you. I live about 2 hours away from Portland! I'm in NH.
Bri- Where in NH are you from? I'm in NH too!

kristymay-c,
I'm in California, the bay area to be more specific. I've not been more east than the Mississippi River but I've heard that NH is beautiful. The fear of flying, and traveling on train, and long distance in a car have kept me state bound. lol

Hi Angie,
I went to a website somebody posted in one of the forums called ocdonline.com and read a lot about pure-OCD. I found it informative and helpful. It sounded just like me because I don't have rituals that keep me from activities and that interfere in my life, but I definitely obsess on thoughts ( mostly 'What if') for practically the entire day and every day, and that keeps me from doing the things I want to do and living the life I want to.

I live in CA and on the tv station PBS at 9pm there is a show called Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Dr.Daniel G. Amen. I haven't seen it yet because I think it is new, but it is about how to overcome depression, ADD and anxiety. I'm going to watch it and I hope I can learn something helpful. Thank you for your support. I'm here for you too if you want to talk also.

kitty365 Have just started with a natural doctor and have bad food allergies which is really causing me stress and of course the skipped heart beats and menopause. What herb supplements do you take? Do they help the anxiety and panic?

I am not seeing a Naturopath right now, and I myself am not a doctor, but I researched herbs and talked to friends about what herbs are good for stress and the heart. Rhodiola is an adaptogen that I think is grown in Russia, and it has been researched in a lot of studies to be good for stress and heart rhythms. Another herb great for stress that works with lowering cortisol is an Ayervedic herb called Holy Basil, and it also has been studied a very very long time and is safe. I have two friends taking Holy Basil and they said it works at taking the edge off of their anxiety, and they find it very helpful. Cod Liver Oil is proven to help with depression when taken everyday for a couple months and is also very good for the cardiovascular system and also has no side effects as long as you are not allergic to fish. D-Ribose is another supplement that is a "necessary building block for the formation of ATP, the universal energy molecule in the body..." Physical stress can deplete ATP stores in cardiac and skeletal muscles. B vitamins are very important for stress because they can become depleted also. Magnesium is vital for cellular heart function and in high doses can create a calming effect(and relieve constipation). I take a magnesium supplement called Natural Calm. I used to get muscle twitches all day all over my body for years to the point where I had to see nuerologist. He told me I was fine and the twitches were benign. A year later I started taking magnesium and the twitches calmed down a lot. CoQ10 and L-Carnitine are also necessary for the production of cellular energy in the heart and declines under stress and as we age. Flax and Prim Rose Oil, Wild Yam, and Soy Isoflavones can be helpful for hormones. Those are the ones I found to be most important. And of course a good multi-vitamin.
I hope that helps, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
What kind or allergies do you have? My youngest has multiple and some severe food allergies. I have seen a lot of specialists about her allergies.
Take care. Bri

bri
thanks for the advice. I seem to be allergic to everything. I used to only have tree and pollen allergies now its the oral allergy syndrome, basically the proteins in the foods that mimic the proteins in the trees,etc. I am now having to go off of wheat, dairy and eggs and am having a lot of breathing issues. The doctor is not sure if its copd, asthma and anxiety but I am scared to be alone due to the breathing issues. Anxiety doesn't help and just make my heart beats more irregular.

daffodil,
My daughter has allergies and asthma and I found that raw honey from local bee keepers and high potency probiotics helped her a lot. My family no longer eats wheat because she is allergic to it and gluten containing grains so we eat millet, quinoa, buckwheat, wild rice and rice.
I was having a hard time breathing for months, and then it would disappear and I would be breathing fine. Then the breathing problems would mysteriously come back and doctors kept telling me I was fine. It was not until this site, when I read someone else's story about hyperventilation syndrome did I realize that that is what my breathing problem was. I was so thankful to come across their story.
I am doing the diaphragmatic breathing exercise that the program suggests. My doc told me if I keep it up, doing 20 minutes of the breathing exercise two times a day, that my breathing will improve.
At this time I am scared to be alone. I always have someone with me, but I am now getting out more. One step at a time. I have to remind myself.

Hi Bri, That story about hyperventilation was my story. It's scary, isn't it?! It's so hard to beleive that anxiety can cause what seems like such a illness/disease related symptom! I'm glad you are doing OKay. I'm doing OKay too. I still have hyperventilation, but I know how to control it for the most part and when it's bad, I just tell myself that it's not going to hurt me and that I know what it is.

I am seeing a new psychologist and she highly recommended that I take a Panic Class along with seeing her. She said people with panic and obsessing get great results from the class. And then she goes on to explain that in the class each person has to induce a panic attack by confronting whatever it is they are afraid of. Before she said that I was feeling uncomfortable about taking the class but now I am scared. I am afraid my heart will be racing and skipping and it will all be happening in front of strangers. Right now this is my biggest fear (that I am going to die from it) all the time and I want to learn how not to be so reactive and afraid. Anyone else have experience with this kind of therapy?

i was reading what you have all written and i have the heart skips alot, last nite i went to the ER they were so bad. I have had all the tests and they tell me their nothing. I am 50 and have had them for 20 years and i still freak out about them. I am suppose to exercise but i wont because i think it would cause my heart to really start skipping

I recently am doing better because of a Panic Support Group Therapy Class I am taking through Kaiser Permanente. We all were encouraged to read a book called An End To Panic, written by Elke Zuercher. It is by far the best book or peice of material I have read about panic, anxiety and obsessive worrying (and I've read and bought sooo many on the subject). I would recommend it whole heartedly. She has so much information and many tools. I now understand so much more and it is empowering. The support of a group is helpful also. Good luck to you and thanks for the message. I am here for you, please write again if you would like to. P.S. The teacher and book touch on the subject of skipped heart beats. It's pretty common I'm learning, and that has been helpful to learn also.

As a reply to the original post...

I, too, suffer from skipped or irregular heartbeats. They use to cause me a great deal of anxiety, but after many tests (24-hour Holter monitor, numerous EKGs, echocardiogram, stress test) which all came back normal and a cardiologist who told me that this happens to everybody, I have again just learned to live with them.

Mine will be so bad as to cause me to start to black out. I have to either cough to get the rhythm going again, or bend over or sit down and put my head between my legs. They happen randomly with no stress-related or physical activity. I occasionally have to excuse myself if during a conversation or meeting to deal with them.

So, that's my experience with them. Not fun, but I really feel there is nothing I can do about them at this point since anxiety doesn't seem to play a factor in when they happen.