Chest pain, racing heart and breathlessness

Hi buddies,

 

Hoping to get some feedback about how long you experienced chest pain, racing heart and breathlessness, post taper. It has been a huge symptom of mine on and off since the beginning of this journey, but seems to have really intensified since I jumped.

 

It starts with a strange feeling in the back of my throat that causes a dry tickly cough, and tightness in my chest which then manifests into some pretty gnarly anxiety and the feeling that I can’t quite get a good enough exhale.

 

Before I knew I was experiencing interdose withdrawal, I paid a couple visits to the ER, only to find that bloodwork, ECG and chest X-rays were all normal. In COVID times, this is especially troubling (I have been tested a couple of times because my health anxiety went through the roof).

 

I’m only 46 days post taper, and understand I have a long road ahead, but I have spent the better part of today in tears, gripped by fear and dread. The intensity of these symptoms seem to be increasing, which is really messing with me.

 

Any shared experiences appreciated! No horror stories please... my heart can’t take it right now.

 

I CTed off ~10mg diazepam.

 

I had chest tightness/pain and intense+rapid heart beat regularly, pretty much everyday, for almost two years.

 

It got significantly better at around the 18 month mark for me. Then again shortly after the two year mark. I got desparate enough (and I guess brave enough) to actually start going for short walks and losing weight, just trying to get fitter at that point. That definitely helped a lot over time.

 

All in all though, time was a big factor of course. "Thanks Mr Obvious", right? Sorry I can't say anything new about this.

I still get chest tightness rarely nowadays which triggers anxiety, but most of the time it's either from low blood sugar or when my muscles hurt from sports, and the amount of anxiety has decreased significantly, plus my capacity to deal with it and not fall into the downwards spiral that leads to panic attack has increased significantly.

 

 

Don't let the fact that your symptoms aren't getting better yet  mess with you! The way I see it, that's totally normal at that stage. Accept the position you're in and don't worry and ponder "why" and "how". It is what it is and the more accepting and stoic you are in the face of that, the better. Know that it will be chaotic and painful for a long time, but you will get better in time.

I have that issue too. My heart rate gets so high though and the anxiety gets so bad it gives me a ridiculous amount of PVCs and I had to be put on Metoprolol (a beta blocker) to slow my heart rate.

Oh Marwegs, I'm so sorry that you're experiencing this.

 

I'm not sure if you knew, but I got all these symptoms in the summer, when I also didn't know what was going on.

 

I hear that the chest pain can last for a while, which is crazy to me, but I'm hopeful, it doesn't last too long for me, once I'm off.

 

I've had the racing heart since I took antibiotics (prior to any benzo) and then I would get these weird HR increases.

I've had many ecg's, echo and halter monitor, which showed a small amount of PVCs and very rare SVT.

 

The cardiologist said I was fine, but I'm not.

I kept digging into what it could be and found that when I stand up from sitting or lying down, my HR increases by over 30 bpm, sometimes way higher.

This is a sign of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).

The first line solution for that is make sure you're drinking a lot (2-3 litres per day) and have enough salt (at least 3 gram) in your diet.

I wear full length compression stockings and make sure my electrolytes are good.

 

I do have an apt with the top POTS specialist in Canada in a few months (usually her wait is over a year, don't know how I got in so fast)

 

You can test for POTS at home, just by lying down for several min and then standing up for 5, 10 & 15 min to see if you HR increase is sustained to over 30 BPM in that time. The cardiologist I saw didn't know anything about it. Let me know if you find that your HR does increase, as I can find the name of a dr out there for you (I know a good one in Calgary)  - not many in Canada.

 

I've had a weird HR all my life, just never had any symptoms before, as I was always in good shape

 

Sometimes I find that certain foods or just a random time my heart races, it's so disconcerting, but I believe it's just the adrenalin rushes through our body. Oddly, this is what led me to using Ativan, the weird HR increase to 160 out of nowhere. Dr. gave it to me and told me to use it when it happened. I did use it sparingly and then just got used to the heart issues and stopped the ativan, which is when my trouble with the wd started.

 

Hugs to you, you got this, you've always been so helpful and positive, I know that you will get through this.

Look at all the great windows you've already had.

 

WinnieDog

 

Neversurrender- thank you so much for the detailed response... it is so helpful. I’ve been walking several times a week since the jump, and I do struggle to go further than a couple kilometres right now. It has really just revved up in the past few days. I will monitor it and practice more acceptance, as you mentioned. I’m not that good at that!

 

Paxia- I’ve heard many buddies talk about needing a beta blocker. Breathlessness is main symptom, the heart rate issue arose over the past few days. Thanks for the input.

 

Winnie - ah! What a rollercoaster! Thanks, girl, you are always so thorough about your experience, which is so helpful. I did the at home POTS test... my heart did go up by about 22 BPM, and stayed there at the 5, 10 and a little lower at the 15 minute mark.

 

I’m going to monitor it and see. My breathing is really my bigger concern, but hearing that others are also experiencing this is comforting. As with anything regarding benzo recovery, I’m learning that time is the best medicine. I’m praying for more patience!

 

💗