Hi RLR and everyone on the forum

I have now been struggling with anxiety and palpitations day and night for nearly 2 years now and I now have a new problem to contend with, horrendous missed beats.  I am not getting them everyday but  probably a nasty one about once a week.  A few weeks ago I was bending down to get something out of my wardrobe and when I stood up it felt like my heart had stopped and there was this horrible hollow feeling in my chest and then my heart started up again and I felt a bit dizzy.  I was so terrified that it set of a panic attack and what was even worse that my husband wasn't in the house at the time and I just didn't know what to do with myself.  I had no other problems that day after the missed beat, but I'm really worried that they mean there is a problem with my heart.  I am now absolutely terrified of them and spend my  whole day waiting for the next one and it is making my agoraphobia worse because I'm scared I'm going to get one when I go out.  I am still managing to get out and walk my dog though, I have to!

I am still having trouble at night too with waking up from horrible dreams with my heart pounding or racing and I often wake up feeling terribly hot.  I also sometimes wake up in a terrible fright and then my heart rate shoots up until I've calmed down.  Sometimes it feels as if my heart goes faster at night than it does durning the day, I'm really worried I'm wearing it out!  I am  spending a lot of the day feeling my pulse in my neck to make sure it is steady, it is driving my husband crazy!  I seem to have developed a health anxiety about my heart which is totally ruining my life, I wish I could just come to terms with my palpitations and stop panicking about them but I just can't cope with them.  I have got this underlying fear that I have got an un-diagnosed arrithyma and this is what is causing my palpitations and what caused the tachycardia which set of my panic attacks in the first place.  However, I have done a bit of reading up on the perimenopause (I'm 41) and it seems like palpitations are quite common during that time and I keep waking up feeling boiling hot, I have never had that symptom before, it started when I was 39.  I have not yet been back to my doctor because I have not had time but do you think I should go back and ask for a 24hr holter monitor test?  My ECG which I had done in October 2010 was normal.

On a positive note, my 11 year old son who has been suffering from M.E. for 18 months is now really improving and is attending school more so I'm hoping that my stress levels might go down a bit now!  I just wish I could get over my heart attack phobia so that I can enjoy life again, especially as my  son is getting better and I want to get out of the house with him.  I am so fed up with  spending all day with a feeling of doom waiting for the cardiac arrest to happen, it is torture.

Any help or advice would be most appreciated, and I do apologise for the long rambling post but it feels good to offload,  especially as my family are not understanding about my fears, except my husband who is very understanding, at least I can talk to him without being made out to be an idiot!
stressed lady :'(