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Heart Palpitations Forum >> Symptoms and other concerns >> pounding heart, tapered Ativan - RLR
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Message started by jothenurse on Jun 20^th, 2010, 6:50pm

Title: pounding heart, tapered Ativan - RLR
Post by jothenurse on Jun 20^th, 2010, 6:50pm

Why does my heart pound so with just mild exertion? I'm out with my dog and I do have a little incline and right away my heart starts pounding. The only thing that I am getting better at is not letting myself totally panic and end up with it going way up in the 150-160's as it has in the past. This morning I took a half an hour walk and it went pretty well. The other day I mowed my lawn (self-propelled mower) and I do have some inclines. This made my heart pound, but again, I went slowed and kept telling myself my heart is ok. I just don't get why it pounds so easily - I know I am out of shape compared to how I used to exercise. The other thing today is that I tapered my Ativan - am now .25 mg at 6AM and .25mg at noon. I can't believe that that would have much impact. I just decreased the am dose from .5mg to .25. My doctor said I could just make then prn because I am on a low dose, but I am tapering it. I just want to be able to run and hike again.

Title: Re: pounding heart, tapered Ativan - RLR
Post by daybyday on Jun 21^st, 2010, 2:52pm

Hi Jothenurse.

Keep us updated on your Ativan tapering. I tapered my low dose clonazepam just a tad the pm. dose as I sleep ok, mornings to late afternoon are more anxious thoughts.
Hearts must race so easily because 1. we think about it most of all things. 2. over sensitive to thinking tells our heart to rev up.

Doesn't the ativan calm your heart racing? Clonazepam does for me and I chose it because I read it is good for anxious with cardiac symptoms. (racing) I just keep worrying that if I wean off my racing will come back. Yet I have at times felt happy happy late evening when the am dose should have worn off and my heart is just fine.
There is that power of thoughts again. :)

I need to do some consistent scheduled walking myself to strengthen the heart, since it is a muscle. I'm rather uncoordinated :) so walking is best exerecise for me and I really like it as I look around at the scenery. I'm not into machines and gyms. No $ for that in this economy.

Title: Re: pounding heart, tapered Ativan - RLR
Post by jothenurse on Jun 26^th, 2010, 8:31am

This past week I have done the .25 mg at 6 AM and .25 mg at noon of the Ativan. Today I hope to discontinue the noon dose. My doctor assures me that this is such a little dose that I should not have any withdrawal. I may feel more anxious, because I have an anxiety disorder. She did say if I did have withdrawal, that there really is not much more I can do with a taper, but that I really shouldn't have any problem with it. Just more anxiety because I know I'm not taking as much of the ativan.

Title: Re: pounding heart, tapered Ativan - RLR
Post by RLR on Jun 26^th, 2010, 11:38am

Okay, the heart is simply responding to the demand for work. It does not indicate a problem at all and is extremely common in persons who do not regularly exercise. Evidence of accelerated pulse of increased cardiac force, ie poudning heart, is merely the body's way of increasing blood pressure and oxygen flow in order to meet the demands of exertion on the body.

Your Ativan withdrawal schedule is just fine and no complications will occur.

I see nothing here at all to suggest a problem.

Best regards and Good Health

Title: Re: pounding heart, tapered Ativan - RLR
Post by jothenurse on Jun 26^th, 2010, 1:33pm

Thank you for your reply. I did stop the .25mg of Ativan at noon today. Have the anxiety, but I'm thinking that it is because I know I am tapering off the ativan. So, now I will just be taking the .25mg in the morning. The psychiatrist stated I could just stop it, but it might make me feel better to take the morning dose for this coming week, then try stopping it and just taking it prn. I was going to see how it went with my discontinuing the noon dose first, even though she said it was such a minimal dose that I did not have to taper anymore.