help! haven't started taper..waking up early in the mornign w/my heart racing.

Hello,

This is really scaring me and I would love for some advice or info from you all...

I have been on a benzo since Feb. 1st, 2010 started on lorazepam and now I'm on clonazepam...(.25mg morning, .125mg in afternoon, .375mg at night)

I have woken up the past couple of nights with my heart racing and it is really scaring me to the point of possible full anxiety attack.

I have been able to talk myself out of an anxiety attack and I've tried breathing techniques to slow my heart rate down....sometimes it helps.

Is this what doctors would call break through anxiety or is it just the clonazepam?.....

Good job not letting your awareness of your racing heart turn into a full-blown panic attack.  There are a couple of reasons why morning anxiety is fairly common and they apply to people not on or tapering benzos so it's hard to tell what 's causing it in  your case.  About all I know to do is what you already did: not get freaked out about it.  BTW, there are several threads on this Anxiety board about this very subject.  Here's one Matteo started:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=15138.msg225825#msg225825

Thanks for the reply...

I'll take a look at the threads...I really appreciate the help

ljmnva

Can I suggest a cardiologist and use a heart monitor for 24 hours???... Never Take heart issues lightly....... I did and it was lyme disease...,,,, Giving me AV Heart Block 3....... No Pulse for long periods of time...yowza!

Just my 2 cents from my experience....

Hello Gman7470,

Well, it's funny you say that because I have a stress test tomorrow (4/8/10)....

I have had some issues with my heart but they believe it is related to the anxiety.

thanks for the info and advice~

Hi Ljmnva,

How did your stress test go?  I hope and trust that everything was fine and it was anxiety causing all the symptoms?  I had a stress test about 4 weeks ago now (I've been suffering from dreadful anxiety after being on Klonopin for a few months...just got worse and worse) and everything was fine with my heart.  It does help enormously to put your mind at rest once you know that everything is okay with your heart.

Let us know how you got on, hun 

Yes, tell us how it went!

my doctor made me do the treadmill and after 10 minutes? had me lie down for a ekg... It felt like anxiety overload...heart beating like crazy and laying there.

That's exactly how I felt after my stress test too, Gman    I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest...lol...but it soon calmed down...anxiety overload is spot on though!

Hope to hear back from you soon, Lj 

Hello Gman & Bevoir,

I think I owe you and everyone else on this forum a little background info....

Back in Dec. I thought I had a pretty big anxiety attack (while driving - had to pull over) and when I could I drove myself to the ER....

This anxiety attack was a little different in the fact that the symptoms were different.  ER folks sent me home after they checked my heart and said must have been an anxiety attack....

At the end of Jan I had another attack (again different symptoms) and drove myself again to the ER...this time they did a chest x-ray and an EKG....they sent me home again stating that they could not find anything.  On Feb. 1st. I had another attack and this time in the ER they found an irregularity on my EKG and sent me to a cardiologist.  This was also where I was given a prescription for Lorazepam....

When I met with the cardiologist she asked that I wear a heart monitor for one month.  Which I did but everytime it went off my anxiety kicked in...

My primary doc refilled the lorazepam and said that I could take it 2 times a day one in the morning and one at night.  After a month before my cardiologist appointment my primary doc asked that I come in and see her.  She began to tell me that Lorazepam can be addicting so we needed decide if I wanted to be put on Zoloft or try nothing at all...I did not want to be on anything...  She also told me to just cut my dosage of lorazepam in half for five days and be done with it...  Well...never experienced hell before but I'm sure I was in it....I could not work for five days and on the 5th day my primary doc squeezed me in and said that I was not experiencing withdrawal but break through anxiety and reinstated me to clonazepam.

So...ever since all of this my heart has been racing out of the blue which in the past even before Dec. I NEVER felt my heart racing (only during an anxiety attack which did not happen very often).

So I have had a few different heart tests the last test was the stress test.  I was very anxious but everything turned out okay...however I do have a strange heart issue called inappropriate sinus tachycardia.  just means my heart is very sensitive to stress and anxiety any hormonal changes or any type of adrenaline spurts...

over all she said my heart is very strong and healthy but I need to get my stress and anxiety under control.  I am on a beta blocker...very low dose 12.5mg a day...

I want to thank you for asking and checking in on me...it really is nice to have people in your court who are experiencing the same things and can calm each other down just by saying " I know exactly what you're talking about "....

thank you!!

Hi ljmnva,

It sounds like you have an anxiety issue that effects your heart, this is good to know.  In a perfect world, you would have been informed and educated as to how you could live with this by employing calming methods which give you the power to control it.  Instead you were given a drug which has landed you in hell, I'm sorry but I'm furious!

It breaks my heart to see so many people given this sentence, it truly does. 

The best thing you can do for yourself is to taper off and learn the tools to help you with your anxiety.  We have lots of helpful information on the anxiety board if you want to check it out. 

Pam

Benzos will increase anxiety after a short while when they wear off.  They work well for very occasional use, but when used continuously they will disable your body's own anxiety-control mechanism and you'll experience increased anxiety over what you would have had before.

I went down a similar road as you, and got started on Zoloft which made things 100x worse.  I recommend tapering off the klonopin.

Are you taking *any* other meds?  Blood-pressure, hair-growth, acid-reducers, etc?  How's your caffeine intake and diet?

Thank you Pam!

I pray that I am able to get off this drug soon and start life again...I feel like I have been in a holding pattern of ups and downs.  I would like nothing more than my life back....

I know that the taper process could and/or be just as rough as the lorazepam but all I can do is take it slow (not fast like before) and pray for the best.

Thank you again,

ljmnva  (leta)

Hello Hopeful77,

The other medication that I'm on now is a very low dose of a beta blocker 12.5mg a day.  Otherwise I take vitamins (have most of my adult life).

When I was in the ER on Feb. 1st that was the last day of coffee for me too...

So I'm not on much except this awful clonazepam...

Can I ask you a question?  How was your withdrawal taper?  I guess what I'm asking is how were your symptoms?  Where you able to live life (work)?

Thanks for asking!

ljmnva

Hi Lj,

I'm sorry to hear about all that you have been though and that you were put on Klonopin.  But I am glad to hear that your heart is strong and healthy.

I am currently doing a slow taper off of Klonopin (from 2mg down to 0.5mg) and although it's not easy and I have s/x which includes anxiety, I am able to work and continue to function.  I manage to walk at least 4 times a week (which helps) and after learning to accept that this is the way I'm going to feel for a while until I am off this drug and begin to heal, things have gotten a little easier. 

You will find tons of support in here and lots of useful information in the anxiety forum, which you may find useful.

Hang in there and know that you can do this and will get through this.  We are here to offer you support and advice whenever you need it.

Thank you for your support.

I am trying to work through some anxiety issues with a therapist and I pray that I'll be able to start a taper soon.

It is nice to hear that you are making your days and able to deal with the withdrawal symptoms.

I will have to work through the taper too so any positive stories I can read the more confidence I will have to drudge through it....

again, thank you very much for your help and support~

lj

Hi leta,

Lots of people work through their tapers and withdrawal symptoms, here are some links where they've talked about it.  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=14347.0

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=19146.0

There are lots more, this place has been around for almost 6 years, so many people have asked the question. 

Pam

Thank you Pam~

I read the links you gave me...they were very informative.

I pray I have the will power to do what some of the forum members did to get by at work.....

Thanks again,

lj

I know you can do this, Lj    If I can, you can too.

We are all here to support you.

Just take each day step by step, hun, and you will make it through.

Thank you Pam~

I read the links you gave me...they were very informative.

I pray I have the will power to do what some of the forum members did to get by at work.....

Thanks again,

lj

I'm glad I was able to go to work each day, if I hadn't of done that, I might have never left the house!  It's hard to do, but the distraction is helpful because it gets your mind off of your symptoms. 

I do too I wake up with a rapid heartbeat maybe it's a inter dose symptom ? it quickly goes away when I stir around.

still not liking that feeling.