2 posts shown.
Yeah, my doctor mentioned that Cipralex might slow down my heart rate a bit—and my psychiatrist said the same thing. So, basically, I’m supposed to spend about a week tracking my pulse and keeping an eye on my heart rate to see what's up. She also made it pretty clear that if this stuff isn't sitting right with me, we can just pivot to a different antidepressant altogether. 🙂
Anyway, thanks for the input. 😉
I’m really hoping someone can weigh in here because I’ve been obsessing over this lately 🙂
So, look—my panic attacks weren't always this constant thing. Back at the start, there was like a year and two months between the first one and the second, but lately, they’ve been hitting me left and right. It usually goes down like this: I start shaking like crazy, feel totally weak, and my heart just starts hammering against my ribs—like, seriously fast. I actually ended up in the ER a couple of times, but my EKG came back perfectly fine every single time, so the docs basically told me it was just the panic talking. Eventually, they gave me a diagnosis of anxiety and depressive disorder, so I started seeing a psychiatrist four times a month and got prescribed Cipralex.
Anyway, I feel like things are looking up a bit—honestly, today was actually one of those rare days where I felt pretty good and in a decent mood—but there’s this other thing eating at me. Just out of habit, I checked my blood pressure and heart rate today, and my pulse was sitting at 49 bpm, which feels kind of weird, right? Then, on my way to campus, I had to sprint to catch the train, and once I finally sat down, I could feel my heart absolutely pounding in my chest. Of course, I immediately spiraled into a panic, feeling all hot and sweaty, but I managed to sit tight and calm myself down. Also, I get this random pain in my left arm—not like the whole arm, just this one specific spot that fades quickly. And this little notch in my sternum—you know, the little spoon-shaped bone?—has been acting up lately too.
So, what I’m wondering is: is it possible that all this physical pain is just tied to my own head? Like, is it just my fear that something bad is going to happen? I’ve read that stress can cause all sorts of weird physical stuff, but could this be related to circulation or something else entirely? Or is there a chance it’s something more serious...