Struggling with racing heart

Hi all

I've recently gone through a change in medication and have been having a rough time with my anxiety, changed from Mirtazapine to Nortriptyline. I'm 3.5 weeks since off my last med and already up to full dose on my new med and have been for 2 months, so it should be doing its job. Last couple of weeks I started with a very low mood, and then developed into being anxious about something or other all the time.

The problem really kicked off last week when I increased the dose of my new medication and started getting a pounding heart in bed. It is listed as a side effect. I have a lot of anxiety about sleep, but wasn't feeling too bad and managed to dose off for a few hours.

Anyway since then things have just got progressively worse, I'm at the stage now where I've cut back on my new medication to the dose I was originally on where I didn't have problems, but the pounding heart doesn't seem to be resolving.

I'm not worried it's anything serious, I worry because it stops me sleeping and not sleeping, being awake in bed, brings back traumatic memories for me.

I do relaxation exercises several times a day, but because of the nature of this problem it just makes me focus on my pounding heart all the more. I still do it and relax as best I can, but as you can imagine it's hard to relax when your heart is pounding.

At this stage my anxiety about it is probably just exacerbating the problem now. I'm also accutely aware that if I wasn't obsessing about my heart I would be obsessing about something else because I'm just in that frame of mind at the moment. Last week it was the feeling of a lump in my throat, now its the heart.

The problem is the heart thing really is so hard to ignore as its there even when I manage to relax in bed and try to dose off. I'm sure a lot of other people have had issues with the pounding heart, any tips for dealing with it? My usual coping strategies just aren't working very well at the moment. It seems to take several hours of me meditating and relaxing just to quieten the pounding.

Hi Andy,

Have you consulted with your doctor about this issue? He/she could advise you on whether pushing through is worth while.

Since this could be a temporary s/e...you may just need to continue with your coping skills and wait it out.

However, an alternative Rx...or a temporary benzo(?) script might be in order, since this is such a pronounced and troublesome effect...affecting your sleep and overall quality of life.

Make a call for discussion if you've not already.

I hope you get the answers you need!

S.C.

Good news...and plan! :)

Glad you went in. May this be what you need to start feeling your best. :)

Keep us updated on your progress, okay?

S.C.