About two weeks ago I went to the doctor for a physical well during the physical I told him I was having a very rapid heartbeat after exercising that would not start to calm down till about 5 hours after I was done. Well he set me up an appointment to be seen in the heart center well the first thing they did was a ekg which came back abnormal well then they set me up an appointment for an echocardiogram which that came back good. But the thing is is that I still have the rapid heartbeat. Well I guess I might want to add that I do have an anxiety and panic disorder. But some of the other things I'm dealing with right now is I can't eat with out having irregular heartbeats which I might add are very severe. I have nt eaten in 5 days because I feel better when I don't eat I did go threw this same thing last year for about three months where I didn't eat because of irregular heartbeats but I guess last year I was able to start eating after three months. I know some of you are thinking I would be dead if I didn't eat in three months well I went to the doctor and they told me as long as I'm drinking something then I would be OK and I would start eating again when I was ready and this is coming from one of the best hospitals in the country. But they aren't finding nothing wrong with me. So I guess I was wondering if somebody could help me figure out what's going on here. Because I don't know what to do now

Okay Doug, let's go slow with this. I have some questions that are very important. This is almost impossible to do without a face-to-face history and physical, so bear with me.

First of all, are you on any medications? If so, what?

Second, your age please. This is EXTREMELY important so that I understand your psychological age. I know, sounds kind of weird, but is very important.

Third, it is physically impossible to go for THREEmonths without putting anything but water or fluids in your body, so you had to eat something, maybe you just don't remember.

I am wondering if this is physical or psychological.

What are some of the stresses in your life?

I need to know if you are eating in public, alone, around friends at home, the whole nine yards. Do not be afraid to give a long post, the more information the better. However, please type normally, not like text messaging, it makes it easier for us to read.

We need to do this slowly and you cannot hold anything back. This may take a little bit, maybe a few days, but I am sure we can work through this. Trust me, we can do it.

Well to start I'm 34 years old. And I don't take any medications for nothing. I guess I should be takeing medicine for the anxiety and panic disorder. I have been dealing with the anxiety and panic for three years now. Since I have had this problem I have stopped drinking anything with caffeine and I have really cut back on things with lots of sugar in it and I don't eat nothing that is high in fat. And as far a stresses in my life I guess I can say that being told I had an abnormal ekg really brought on a lot of stress. And having the anxiety and panic disorder is very stressful as well. And as far as where I eat I eat at home or I order out every once in a while. But I never go out and eat I am agoraphobic. So I hope this has answeres some questions for you and if there are anymore questions you may have please feel free to ask. I am very grateful that someone is helping me figure things out here. Oh before I forget if it will help I'm 6'1 178lbs three years ago before this anxiety hit me I was 220 pounds

Hi, doug,
I am not a Doctor, nor a professional in this area.
I do know that when a Doctor, or one Specialist in a certain area cannot find a solution, that it's best to get a different opinion.
I am 64 yrs old.
When you say "one of the best hospitals in the country", you didn't mention which one!
You do need Professional help, and the problem is finding someone who is experienced with your issues. I do suggest going to a different doctor, and getting another opinion. I do wish you the best, and good luck.

Just as it is possible to train your body to do beneficial things through biofeedback, it is possible to train for harmful things too. I have PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (was in treatment for it almost three years) which comes a fair amount of anxiety, stress, exaggerated startle responses, dissociative episodes, etc. If I have been jolted hard enough pyschologically to produce a massive adreniline dump, it takes my body days, not hours, to "stand down". Meanwhile my appetite and sleep are all screwed up too. I have also experienced panic attacks that exactly micmic a heart attack.

At the risk of sounding like I am calling you a wacko (which I am not or if I am then I am one too, Doug!), it is entirely possible that the "engine" to your dilemma is mentally based. It may take a concerted effort between your physical doctors and some really good psychiatric ones to get to the bottom of this just as it did for me too. Otherwise you are just chasing the symptom and not the cause.

It sounds as if the phobia's and anxiety and panic attacks in your life are emotional and they are creating a physical problem. You really need to find a good physician to help you.
What happened 3 years ago to trigger these feelings?

Well there was just a few things I wanted to add. When I say I have these problems they start the second I wake up in the morning. Right when I open my eyes in the morning I can feel my heart just beating really fast. And as the day goes on I start to feel a lot better. Which I find really weird but I guess I deal with it most of the day its at night that I start to feel really good. There was a few things I wanted to add and that is when I said I had an echocardiogram done it was the third on I have had done in my life. The first one I had they told me I have an enlarged heart valve which they told me was no big deal they said it was just slightly bigger then they would like it to be. The second one I had they said things haven't changed so they said that was good. And on this last one I just had like I said before my doctor has not looked at it yet but his nurse said to me that everything looked good. So I hope my doctor tells me the same.oh and another thing I was told three years ago I have a heart murmur

Are you sure there was not a change in your lifestyle, such as more stress at work, moving, loss of a friend either by a move or death, any emotional trauma? Have you always been a stressed person and it would gradually get worse until it got to that point 3 years ago?

Dear doug1972 -

I think you are doing well by being followed by your cardiologist. Since you said you were found to have a heart murmur & some cardiomegaly(enlargement of the heart) This could be why you have an abnormal ekg or ecg. So it looks like based on a "good" echocardiogram, that you are not needing any medication for your heart. I think you should ask more questions of your cardiologist, like for them to explain it & why you aren't needing medication IF you continue to have a fast heart rate most of the day. Sometimes the heart can compensate on its own for tachycardia(fast heart rate) & sometimes not. There are several different dysrhythmias with fast h.r... Some not as serious as others!
Anxiety, espec. Severe & chronic, increases the h.rate.
I think you should be followed by a cardiologist whether you need another
Opinion or not. If this Dr. can't allay some of your anxiety about your "abnormal ekg" then you should see another.

Also, for this agoraphobia. Just because you don't eat in restaurants & eat at home? Some people do that because less chance of getting ill.No joke there!
But this phobia & anxiety is causing stress on your heart. And I don't understand the not eating in general. Could you possibly need to see a psychiatrist? I think so In my opinion. Just becareful of any medications. Be sure to check with your cardiologist or primary Dr. first.

I am an R.N. - not qualified to diagnose or prescribe any course of treatment medically.