Hi Shirl,

I know what you mean - I too am tired of them, and its only been 9 months or so. They just drag you down dont they. How can one function properly...its like having constant hiccups but with panic attached to it.

I want to offer you something...but am myself trying all sorts of thing.

What seems to be helping for 1/2 hour or so is drinking ice cold water.

So many people have different stories of what helps them...some have been able to rid themselves of these things after years and years.

For today, I have had about 5, in comparison to my usual 100's a day ...is it sipping iced water, or is it the homeopathic tablet I took, It is supposed to take about a week to work through and I have to say, I feel a lot better in myself. Placebo? Maybe, but until a few weeks have passed I cant tell.


I do know the more they upset me, the worse they are.

Is the nitro for the pain or the palps.

Have you tried taurine? Some swear by it.

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EDIT: Just looked that up and it seems people with angina take it before doing something that may bring on angina pain. Does he think you have angina Shirl?

Shirl, when RLR gets back, I am sure he will have some advise and maybe explain things for you. He is away till about end of April. I think he keeps most of us sane.

I know it is hard when a doc says nothing to worry about. I think they mean medically...of course we cannot help but notice and get that automated panic that comes almost without thinking.

Have you read Claire Weeks' books at all. Also, have you joined out face book palps group for a bit of support? the link is in my first post

Thanks Typer and KCHendrix,

I appreciate your kindness and understanding.  I just feel like my life is really over.  

Why is this our lot in life?  I just dont' understand.  I feel like I'm being punished. I've lost my faith, my hope and joy.  

Thanks again for your support.

Pitterpat,

How do you stay so positive?  You are right...these things haven't killed me yet (physically), ----but mentally I'm almost gone.  But, thanks for the encouragement.

Okay, I've read your complaint. Initially, I'm constrained to point out here that you're sort of drawing your own conclusions about the circumstances and to some extent, basing your cynicism of your cardiologist on his response to your complaint. In other words, you complain of chest pain with some of the palpitations, so he prescribes nitroglycerin and now it serves as the evidence to contradict his statement that you're fine. According to you, prescribing nitroglycerin now proves that a problem exists. This is not a very logical argument since your only basis for doing so is some awareness that the drug is used to treat persons with heart disease. We use this drug for many reasons, the greatest extent of which lies beyond your knowledge and experience with it.

I would just comment here that physicians aren't in the habit of tricking people or otherwise being disgenuine. We're not about to tell a patient that everything is fine when all along we know it to be something entirely the opposite. That just doesn't apply to physicians and there is absolutely no reason for us to do so. It's drawing the comparison between keeping a patient in the dark to prevent worry rather than explain the truth and treat the issue. This simply doesn't merit any weight at all.

It's obvious that you're frustrated and exhausted, but I will tell you that the increase in such emotions is precisely the type of response that will worsen the symptoms. There's nothing physically wrong with your heart and your cardiologist has confirmed this to be the case.

The problem here is that you're must realize that you're determined to prove that you're right and that the medical community and all the tests are wrong. You believe that an underlying condition exists which is causing the palpitations and until you come to the realization that there is no direct relationship between physical symptoms and physical disease, you won't be able to turn the corner to improvement.

The fact that you "need a cure" is what drives most patients who experience palpitations to strive for a physical cause and inquiry about a pill to make it go away. The problem is your anxiety disorder and the manner in which it rules your life. By example, you were frightened of the pain the palpitations were causing and subsequently now can't take the nitroglycerin because of the potential side-effects and what the drug may be "doing to your body."

The plain fact of the matter here is that you're afraid. You're afraid that something is dreadfully wrong with you and that life has become fragile, with caution imposed upon every aspect of life that you once enjoyed but now cannot because of the potential calamity that the symptoms could suddenly bring upon you. This is a misperception and you've unwittingly allowed it to become the pattern of your lifestyle, to which you voice frustration to the medical community for not locating and resolving what you yourself believe to be the cause. Do you not see the contradiction here?

If the tests reveal no pathology, then there is none. That's a fact and not supposition open to cynicism. Simply because your symptoms persist does not in any way mean that the problem is there but the doctor can't find it. By analogy, it's like having the engine replaced in your car because the tires are out of balance and then returning to the mechanic time and again to state that the problem still exists and you've already paid to have the engine tested four times, despite the fact that the mechanic has repeatedly informed you that the engine is not causing the problem.

The more you develop resentment over your symptoms, the worse they will become because it's not your engine. You need to come to the realization that there's nothing wrong with your heart and nothing will ever happen to you as a consequence of this type of disturbance.

You are attempting to profess the accuracy of your gut instinct over that of the medical community. You trust more in your own impression of the issue than in the expertise of those trained to deal with such matters.

If you want the circumstances to change, then you must learn to change your position on the matter. You must learn to trust in others and avoid being guided by misperceptions that are based entirely upon irrational fears and the absence of direct knowledge about the subject matter.

People with anixety disorder feel constantly afraid to take certain action for fear that movement in any direction may upset the delicate balance that exists. This is due to actions prefaced upon feelings rather than logical fact. It is the over-analysis of life circumstances to the extent that absolutely anything can result as a consequence of your decisions, most often negative consequences.

You're going to be just fine, but you need to slam on the brakes and take a look at the position you've become affixed to by comparision to the facts at hand in your situation. There is no crisis in the real sense, only that which you've proclaimed. The emotional exhaustion is not due to any real underlying crisis, but one which you've manifested and the inability to gain relief from the source you feel is responsible for doing so.

Best regards and Good Health

Okay, I understand your sentiments but you are making associations between your mother's condition and the presence of benign palpitations that is entirely incorrect. The factors related to the production of a cerebrovascular event or stroke have nothing to do with the presence of palpitations of the type you are experiencing and although I'm unfamiliar with your mother's case, would not have been contributory to her unfortunate demise. Certain pathological cardiac arryhthmias can indeed cause blood to pool in the heart's chambers and sometimes produce clot formation, but this is entirely separate from the type of palpitations folks are experiencing and describing on this forum. Other factors relating to blood clotting cascade play a major role in the risk of stroke.

And indeed I do not suffer from palpitations but I treated patients with them for more than 40 years. Experiencing palpitations of this type does not confer any type of advanced insight into their nature or cause, but merely the aggrevation, frustration, anger and even despondence that the condition can bring about in many sufferers. I need not experience the palpitations to have been subjected to these emotional factors by my patients, to which I have developed enough connection and empathy to create a website where they may visit to try and better understand the condition.

I trust that you find the information sufficient and you should be aware that the "cure" already exists and it's not in the form of a pill. It originates from within each of you and the road to resolving the incidence lies in your ability to better understand the nature of the palpitations rather than let your fears guide you down a relentless path that only serves to perpetuate their existence.

Best regards and Good Health