adrenaline surge anyone? Options

[FreakedOut]

Anyone experience something similar to this?

A feeling similar to when you are swinging on a swing (that funny feeling in your stomach) but this feeling starts in the lower back or lower stomach and travels up to your head, followed by intense dizziness and either tons of palpitations or very fast heartbeat?

I usually get three of these surges/rushes in a row followed by the extreme dizziness and/or other symptoms

When I've been able to take my blood pressure it's been higher after one of these - usually by about 30 to 50 points or so.

I have not associated these rushes with my other lengthier 'attacks' yet (I have another post that talks about extreme dizziness, nausea, and palps but no flushing or sweating). I do not sweat with these rushes either, nor do I turn red. I just get short of breath.

I hope to hear from some of you that this is normal and not some dreaded disease.

Thanks so much!

[frisbee293]

Anyone experience something similar to this?

A feeling similar to when you are swinging on a swing (that funny feeling in your stomach) but this feeling starts in the lower back or lower stomach and travels up to your head, followed by intense dizziness and either tons of palpitations or very fast heartbeat?

I usually get three of these surges/rushes in a row followed by the extreme dizziness and/or other symptoms

When I've been able to take my blood pressure it's been higher after one of these - usually by about 30 to 50 points or so.

I have not associated these rushes with my other lengthier 'attacks' yet (I have another post that talks about extreme dizziness, nausea, and palps but no flushing or sweating). I do not sweat with these rushes either, nor do I turn red. I just get short of breath.

I hope to hear from some of you that this is normal and not some dreaded disease.

Thanks so much!

Yes, I used to get these, too. I'd feel like I was on a scary ride at the amusement park, where I was at the top and then plummeting to the ground. I remember I couldn't even describe it to my doctor, it seemed so weird, yet it was definitely real. I used to get palpitations and chills with it, too. I'd feel lightheaded, also. For me, doing a lot of relaxation stuff helped--breathing, and relaxing my muscles a lot. I'd get short of breath, but usually not at exactly the same time. I'd experience some symptoms separately, and some at the same time. I wouldn't feel hot, either--usually very cold when I had these symptoms.

You might mention the spike in blood pressure to your doctor--but I know we can have big swings, especially if we're stressed.

Try not to worry--mine passed after a while.

Frisbee

[arla]

These plus the anxiety that goes along with them were the worse peri symptom for me.
I would get that feeling (it felt like a rush to me) and then my heart would race, I would get breathless, dizzy and sometimes I would experience tingling in my arms and legs (really a panic attack). I never experienced any sweating or feelings of heat with these rushes. During peri, I found that it didn't matter if I did deep breathing or distracted myself, most of the time they would progress into a panic attack. I also experienced them while in the car, grocery line, dentist's chair or when I first got up in the morining.
Since being post, if I become overly anxious (which I still do occasionally) I seem to be able to better control the anxiety. It is hard to explain but it just doesn't seem to progress into a panic attack anymore. Therefore, I believe these surges of adrenaline are most definitely hormone related and not "all in my mind" as one doctor stated or controllable.
Freaked Out, I know it is hard to remain calm through them but a lot of women here seem to suffer from them. Of course you should always check with your doctor but they do unfortunately appear to be a part of peri.

[Floater]

Yes, I have had similar experiences also. And mine were often brought on my nothing whatsoever. I had a few during the peri years, and then when my periods stopped they became unbearable to the point where I was agoraphobic. I was terrified of leaving the house and having one of these attacks in public!! I did take myself to the ER during one of them, only to be told I was having an anxiety attack! And I was like "WHAT??!!??" I had never been an anxious uptight person before!! Any my BP had spiked also during this attack. I got to sample my very first Ativan during that ER visit!!

I now believe, wholeheartedly, that this wasn't true "anxiety", it was caused by hormonal imbalances. Perhaps my body was releasing adrenaline and giving me the physical symptoms of anxiety and panic, but it wasn't caused by moments of high stress, it would hit me whenever. I had several of these attacks accompanied by ice cold flashes, which are much more unpleasant that hot ones!!

In order to bring about some normalcy to my existence, I did opt for anti depressants and BHRT, which have given me my life back. I don't get panic attacks anymore, occasionally I will start to feel anxiety during high stress moments, but find I can breath my way out of them now. I am not afraid to leave my house, and in fact enjoy being out and about again.

I am sorry you are another who has to suffer with this, which I think is the worst of all the symptoms. Makes you feel like you are losing your mind!! Give me hot flashes over this anyday!!

[Lady E]

I used to get these every morning when I first woke up.Magnesium helps!

[lizardlover42000]

I USE TO GET SURGES THAT FELT LIKE I WAS DROPPING 6 STORIES IT WAS THE WEIRDEST FEELING, TAKE MY BREATHE AWAY. MAKE ME ANXIOUS. YOUR NOT ALONE TAKE CARE TERRY

[CarolH]

That fight or flight response? It passes within moments but oh, how I hate them. They happen out of the blue but they don't progress into anything more so I'll consider myself lucky.

[Tay]

Mornings...mornings...mornings... that's what my brain kept repeating as I read your post FreakedOut. It got to the point where I hated the idea of going to bed because I knew what the morning would bring. I'd wake up and BAM! The jitters would begin followed by the rocking boat, elevator ride...however you want to term it. Yes, they abated after a while, but I agree with Floater. This isn't typical anxiety, but rather hormonal. Like our bodies way of waking us up, but not gently...rather like a flood of high octane and sends us into overload.

Tay

[genielisa]

I've had this happen too. The funny stomach feeling and then my hands and feet tingle and get hot. They start to sweat. Then my heart races. I've also been chilled to the bone after one -- to the point of chattering teeth.

Thankfully I've only had a couple of these.

My GYN said no way hormones can cause this. So I went to an internist who is a lady who's already been through the "ride". She said yes it is possible for hormone spikes to cause this. She ordered all the heart tests and everything came out fine.

I thought it was funny she said she thought the forties were horrible but the farther away she gets from them the better she feels.

[FreakedOut]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. I've been really freaked. I've had the two situations going on for the past month...the 'rushes' followed by short, intense dizzy spells and palpitations or racing heart....and then two LONG situations - one where I would get dizzy spell after dizzy spell along with trigemeny PVCs (every 3rd beat), nausea, headache and high BP. Also had to pee alot. The second lengthy spell I had a more-or-less prolonged dizzy spell along with very bad nausea, racing heart and pale face. I got a headache afterwards. Both of these went on for about 1-2 hours.

It was the two lengthy ones that had me really concerned. Now that so many of you have reported the shorter ones, I feel more comfortable assuming the longer ones were just BAD versions of the shorter ones, since they were all kind of happening around the same time - even though the longer ones didn't start with the rushes.

[FreakedOut]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. I've been really freaked. I've had the two situations going on for the past month...the 'rushes' followed by short, intense dizzy spells and palpitations or racing heart....and then two LONG situations - one where I would get dizzy spell after dizzy spell along with trigemeny PVCs (every 3rd beat), nausea, headache and high BP. Also had to pee alot. The second lengthy spell I had a more-or-less prolonged dizzy spell along with very bad nausea, racing heart and pale face. I got a headache afterwards. Both of these went on for about 1-2 hours.

It was the two lengthy ones that had me really concerned. Now that so many of you have reported the shorter ones, I feel more comfortable assuming the longer ones were just BAD versions of the shorter ones, since they were all kind of happening around the same time - even though the longer ones didn't start with the rushes.

Forgot to say, that I haven't had any of these spells for almost 2 weeks now except for getting short dizzy spells during exercise and my usual 500,000 palps per day So I'm feeling much calmer.

[peri1961]

Pretty freaky, arnt they! I thought I was dying if that helps. I had a 2 yr old at the time and really thought I would not be around to raise him. I was 41 and had never experienced anything like an adrenaline rush in my life. I ran to the dr totally freaked out with bp spiked, etc. Had an EKG, and all was fine. Diagnosed as anxiety.
I really think that the AD has helped control these symptoms. Havent had internal jitters in a long time either. I am on Celexa(I hope I sp correct) $4.00 at Wally World. And it is working well for me. I am not even on the full dose. Was on Paxil. Too expensive for this point in my life. I am not as hungry on the Celexa as the Paxil. DH is noticing bits of weight loss too. I mean bits, not alot.

[FreakedOut]

Pretty freaky, arnt they! I thought I was dying if that helps. I had a 2 yr old at the time and really thought I would not be around to raise him. I was 41 and had never experienced anything like an adrenaline rush in my life. I ran to the dr totally freaked out with bp spiked, etc. Had an EKG, and all was fine. Diagnosed as anxiety.
I really think that the AD has helped control these symptoms. Havent had internal jitters in a long time either. I am on Celexa(I hope I sp correct) $4.00 at Wally World. And it is working well for me. I am not even on the full dose. Was on Paxil. Too expensive for this point in my life. I am not as hungry on the Celexa as the Paxil. DH is noticing bits of weight loss too. I mean bits, not alot.

Hey, I find that ativan is a wonder drug!!! I had so many palpitations today, that I was constantly short of breath, dizzy and had chest pains that went up into my neck. Went and sat at ER just in case. I'm sure if I'd have passed out that someone would have notified one of the nurses to come and get me. They started abating a little 3 hours later so I had my hubby pick me up, only for them to start again with a vengence when I got home. Finally took an ativan, and they're either gone now or they're much less noticeable. I did have them take my BP at ER and it was low, so it wasn't stress causing them this time....

I'm so $$%^^$%%$$#&$$#$%(**&^* sick and tired of this s**t.

[Tay]

Freak I understand completely what you're feeling, and how frustrating it all is. A few months ago I was dx'd with a whacky thyroid, which caused my heart to race, hands to shake. I saw a cardiologist (whose also an internist) and was told my heart rate was a constant 135 bpm, also had high BP, but that too was caused by the thyroid. I was given an anti thyroid drug, plus inderal to help alleviate the symptoms & reduce the racing heart etc.

However, every morning I still get the adrenaline rushes, (where I feel my heart is pounding or beating more rapid) but I never know what it's caused by. Do I need to take inderal or...is it just the adrenaline surge? Most of the time, I wait about an hour to see what happens. I take my BP and if it's normal but my heart rate is up, I take a smidge of valium. If the BP is higher than it should be, I then take some inderal. 99% of the time it's anxiety related because, while my heart rate is up, my BP remains normal.

Anyhow, I certainly understand the power of the 'wonder' drugs, but I also remain very respectful of them. For myself, just a very small dose of valium (2.5mg), is enough to ease the anxiety, but I sure can't wait for the day when I wake up and not feel like I'm hot wired...

I'm so glad they're helping you too!

Hugs
Tay

[FreakedOut]

Tay, it's good they found your thyroid problem. You may be in the process of going hypo. That's what happened to me....I had absolutely 0 symptoms other than losing 10 pounds per week over a 2 week period. Lost all of my pregnancy weight in 2 weeks! Thought it was the breast feeding, but it was actually my thyroid dumping T3 into my system due to being under attack. 1 to 1 1/2 months later I was EXHAUSTED. My TSH was 51 when I was diagnosed. Been on levothyroxine since. They keep checking my thyroid, but everything's stable on that front.

You may still be having some thyroid symptoms in the morning. I always feel fine in the morning, my evenings are the WORST! I usually get progressively worse over the day and feel most symptoms in the afternoon/evening. After a good night's sleep, I'm not bad. My blood pressure is always lowest in the morning as well, even though most people say it's supposed to be the highest in the morning. I'm all bass-ackwards.

I'm to the point where I just want them to RIP my ovaries OUT to stop all of this, but I'm so afraid of what will happen in menopause because I've also been experiencing on-and-off dry eyes, mouth, nose, throat, esophagus, skin, vagina, etc and am so afraid it will become a permanent problem once the estrogen is gone.

[peri1961]

freaked, have you gotten on a good magnisium supplement yet? If not, do it right away. Slo-mag, Mag ox are all good. Even just get the cheapy brandjust to start to get it in your symptom.
Natural Calm is good too.

I am out of my mag supplement. Went to CVS and they were out! I am currently using Mag OX. You can google it

[Tay]

FreakedOut...you are both my savior and my clone. Yes, my T3's were bonkers...altho I was still within normal range (highest normal was - ahhh...87? or was it 80?) and my T3's were 88. As my cardiologist said, I had my toes over the line, but not my whole foot. I'm so truly grateful to have finally found someone who understands what I feel. Like I'm standing on a live wire that sends jolts through my body. Feels like anxiety, but a different type. My hands shook so bad I looked like a junkie in need of a fix. I was given Tapazole to seal the leak, and put on inderal as well. (I'm better, but it's still not all gone, even after 3 months...sigh)

HOWEVER, she also told me that I now stand a very high chance of having it go the other way...and could actually end up becoming hypo within the next year or so. (right now I'm termed as mild hyperthyroid). When you replied to my post, you about knocked me off my chair, and I've never been so grateful to see another 'me', in my whole life.

BLESS YOU!!

HUGE Hugs;
Tay

[FreakedOut]

FreakedOut...you are both my savior and my clone. Yes, my T3's were bonkers...altho I was still within normal range (highest normal was - ahhh...87? or was it 80?) and my T3's were 88. As my cardiologist said, I had my toes over the line, but not my whole foot. I'm so truly grateful to have finally found someone who understands what I feel. Like I'm standing on a live wire that sends jolts through my body. Feels like anxiety, but a different type. My hands shook so bad I looked like a junkie in need of a fix. I was given Tapazole to seal the leak, and put on inderal as well. (I'm better, but it's still not all gone, even after 3 months...sigh)

HOWEVER, she also told me that I now stand a very high chance of having it go the other way...and could actually end up becoming hypo within the next year or so. (right now I'm termed as mild hyperthyroid). When you replied to my post, you about knocked me off my chair, and I've never been so grateful to see another 'me', in my whole life.

BLESS YOU!!

HUGE Hugs;
Tay

You're very welcome Tay! Yeah, I didn't feel very good then either. You'll probably feel great once it goes hypo and you're using levothyroxine to replace the hormone instead of trying to block it.

However, I don't believe I've ever felt normal since my diagnosis. I think I started into perimenopause shortly after having my daughter so I've been suffering for a long time. And things have been escalating on the dizzy front to the point where I'm extremely worried. I started looking at my previous echo and stress test reports and I had a massive jump in my RVSP between echos and I had an upsloping ST depression on my last stress test - all of these tests were done 3 years ago and my doctor never told me of the Right Ventricular Systolic pressure jump nor was I told about the ST depression. I should have been having regular echos and stress tests based on those results and changes. I'm seeing my cardiologist again on Thursday and I will get more extensive tests done.

[FreakedOut]

freaked, have you gotten on a good magnisium supplement yet? If not, do it right away. Slo-mag, Mag ox are all good. Even just get the cheapy brandjust to start to get it in your symptom.
Natural Calm is good too.

I am out of my mag supplement. Went to CVS and they were out! I am currently using Mag OX. You can google it

Peri1961, I take a calcium/magnesium supplement - 500MG calcium, 300MG magnesium. Is that enough? I could go out and get a separate magnesium, but I'm not sure I need to. How much do you take per day?

[peri1961]

I do take a seperate Magnisium. I just bought Slo-Mag a Wally world. It helps alot. i recommend it

[Webalina]

Starting up this older thread again because I want to see if this is what's going on with me.

I've been having these sensations in my chest for a couple of days now where I'll get this "exploding" feeling. I say that because it almost feels like one of those big fireworks is going off in my chest. They're pretty frequent too, one happening every minute or so, although it comes in waves where I won't have any for a while then have several. It doesn't hurt at all, but it feels really weird and scary. It makes my heart beat and my BP go up several points. I notice it gets worse as the day progresses. Didn't have any when I woke up, but more this afternoon. Oh, and I'm due for my period any minute now. Haven't started missing any yet.

I'm under a lot of stress right now -- and not the kind where a bath and a cup of tea will help. Trying to pack my house up to move with no job, no money and a house foreclosure in the next couple of weeks a real possibility. So I'm pretty sure my symptoms are adrenaline-related. My question just is -- when you ladies are talking about adrenaline surges, are my symptoms pretty much what you're having? A lot of you talk about having them at night. Mine are all daytime.

Thanks for the help PS!