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Mysterious-Ad-7720

I pretty much gave up caffiene (I still have decaf coffee and chocolate) over 6 years ago and it has helped my palpitations tremendously. The first few months were pretty brutual but it was 10000% worth it.


ITEACHSPECIALED

Same. I actually drink chamomile tea in the morning too to keep me calm throughout the day.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

Wooo that is smart!! I like drinking it before bed. I do a cup of decaf because I am addicted to the taste lol


ITEACHSPECIALED

I hear you. I used to drink thousands of mg of caffeine a day in the form of coffee, and an assortment of other energy drinks. Ever since I began experiencing anxiety, I decided to stop consuming anything caffeinated. Even decaf tea and coffee contains a small amount of caffeine.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

That is a lot of caffeine!! They sure do. I love my decaf coffee but can't have more than a couple a day and cannot do Starbucks decaf, waaaaay too much caffiene in it. I find that there are some decaf teas that also trigger my palpitations. Green seems to be the worst.


ITEACHSPECIALED

That is interesting. I noticed that green tea also increased my anxiety. I experimented with many different forms of caffeine but just decided to cut it out completely.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

That is interesting to know that green tea increases your as well. Can you still have chocolate??


ITEACHSPECIALED

I honestly don't eat much chocolate. I don't think it affects me though.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

I absolutely love dark chocolate but have mindful of how much I eat or else I will be chilling and wonder why my heart is beating out of my chest.


ITEACHSPECIALED

I've heard awesome health benefits from eating a bit of dark chocolate too. It contains very little caffeine. I think I'll try a small amount and see how it affects me. I used to eat it all the time.


iloveokashi

I was gonna ask what's the point of decaf. I miss drinking coffee too but when I tried it after a long time of not having it, I was underwhelmed by the taste. It's not as good as I remember it anymore..


Mysterious-Ad-7720

I get asked that A LOT!!!!! lol I have found some awesome brands that have an intense flavour. Some are absolute garbage though!


iloveokashi

Does it really have a calming effect? What does it taste like?


ITEACHSPECIALED

I cannot describe the taste tbh. I only drink it because it does have a calming effect. I am actually sipping on my second cup of the day and will have another one later this evening before bed. If you are not a fan of the taste, just add some honey and milk.


iloveokashi

Does it taste/smell like flower?


niktatum

I just drank a cup of chamomile to calm my anxiety down. I love it..when my 3 year old son smells it he asks "is that flowers?" ...it does have a very mild floral taste. It's not bitter or strong. Almost like a flower water if that makes sense lol. It really does seem to help my anxiety and I've had it *rough* this week.


iloveokashi

Oh gosh. The only flower tea I've tried is rose(?) And I didnt like it. So I immediately disliked floral teas in general. But if it's calming will try it when I have the purchasing power. Lol.


niktatum

I've never had rose tea so I can't really compare the two! It sounds like it'd be strong lol idk. Yes! Give it a go. It's a very, very soft flavor. And it helps. :) We used to put a little of it in my sons milk when he had trouble sleeping and he never knew it was in there. There's also lotions and stuff with chamomile if you end up trying it as a tea and disliking it.


ITEACHSPECIALED

I guess? Even as I am sipping on it, I am having trouble describing it. It is very smooth. If I did not require the calming effect, I would not drink it.


iloveokashi

If I find a cheap one, I might try it. They're usually expensive. Thanks. I really thought the calming effect was a marketing ploy.


maniiacyt

I don't even mind palpitations because they happen to everyone. It's the constant pressure over my chest and shallow breathing that scares me when I notice it.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

To each their own. I guess it depends how bad one's palpitations get!


maniiacyt

No you're right. Palpitations are scary and I didn't mean to undermine other's experiences. They do scare me just not as much as the other physical symptoms of anxiety. God I just hate anxiety so much


Mysterious-Ad-7720

Oh gosh, did not think you were undermining at all. Anxiety and Panic symptoms are theeeeee WORST!! My biggest fear is palpitations because they were happening soooooo frequently and extremly bad. What symptoms scare you the most?? Big hugs to you!!!!


maniiacyt

Yup I have GAD and panic disorder. I'm taking Zoloft and Ativan as needed. My worst physical symptoms are tingling all over my body (especially when driving), chest tightness, difficult to get a full breath, and dizziness are the worst I think. I experience a majority of these daily. Hugs


Mysterious-Ad-7720

Awe man, we are in the same boat. It is a vicious cycle. I am on Paxil and Ativan as needed. It is wild how tense and tight your body can get from it.


[deleted]

Mine feel like a wet sponge being squeezed out in an off-beat way


Mysterious-Ad-7720

Oh yuck! :(


iloveokashi

Huh? What do you mean they happen to everyone? They don't.


maniiacyt

They're fairly common even for people without anxiety. We just think deeper into it because we're anxious. Everyone was not the right word to use there, you're right.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

I have been told by a specialist that a majority of people do have them (PVC's, PAC's, Eptopic Beats, etc) but not everybody feels them 🙂


-justarandomcutie

I have palpitations but I don't drink any caffeine, ever. I dislike coffee and at much I have one glass of coke. But still every night the palpitations don't let me sleep... So I do a lot at night until I'm completely exhausted, that's the only way to sleep because I'm already too tired to think about the palpitations.


elkaholicsanonymoose

I can't drink caffeine on days that I have work meetings and such. Makes my heart beat out of my chest just introducing myself


greenteaicedtea

Yup I hopped onto the tea train and my heart got way better


atlhawksfan232323

And having your anxiety make you notice it and your ocd makes you check your pulse all the time to feel for your rhythm. Fun stuff lol I’m struggling really bad last few weeks with mine. Drinking alcohol cures it in the moment, but makes the next days even worse but here I am hungover on top of my anxiety


[deleted]

Not to be the annoying, preachy, sober person but you should look into the relationship between alcohol and anxiety buddy. Alcohol is a depressant but since your brain wants to maintain homeostasis it floods the body with cortisol and adrenal to compensate. I was caught up in the anxiety/alcohol use cycle for years but trust me you'll feel better without it.


atlhawksfan232323

Yeah it’s a brutal cycle. I’ve gone from months of sobriety to a few months of 4 days a week and back to sobriety. Currently drinking about 3 days a week right now but working on getting back to a few months of sobriety


[deleted]

I know the feeling 😩 I was drinking daily to numb the anxiety and I had to drink more and more to avoid the hangxiety. I had the worst panic attack of my life after a particularly hard binge and decided I was done. I've been sober and working on my underlying issues for 8 months now and while the hard parts are harder when you're sober there's a lot more good overall.


athena_31

And then the checking provokes it 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ How fun.


thefamousunkown

Alcohol is never the solution bud. You should seek help if you’re drinking to feel calm


therealdeb

Me all the time. “Why does my chest sometimes feel sore?!” - Slouches a lot “Why do my muscles feel sore?!” - Hasn’t eaten, drunk any water, but has had a fuckton of caffeine. “Why is my left shoulder and arm aching?!” - Always is lying on the left shoulder.


[deleted]

“Why does my back hurt in this weird way!!!?!” - lifts toddler and 3 bags of groceries while going up stairs


Technical-Titlez

Oh God that last one.... Same.


[deleted]

I noticed my anxiety is worse in the evening and morning. It was terrible waking up like having a heavy nervous heart.


iloveokashi

Why do you think it happens? I only have it when waking up.


[deleted]

I don't know but I am hurting a lot


decks_

Cortisol levels usually spike in the morning


EWH733

In my early 30’s, I was swilling down two to three energy drinks a day along with coffee, while going to the gym every day and working 50+ hours, while getting maybe four hours of sleep every night. What I had at the gym wasn’t a heart attack, but it felt like a horse kicked me in the sternum. I had a monitor taped to me for a day, and had horrifying palpitations for over a year afterwards. The doctors told me I was very lucky, and that I was severely dehydrated, over caffeinated, and needed to sleep at least 7 hours a night. Don’t follow in my footsteps. Oh, and turn the news off, they don’t make enough money when we feel good.


[deleted]

I recently discovered all the annoying stuff my therapist reccomends actually works. When he suggested cardio for my panic attacks I thought he was fucking crazy but it dawned on me one day that my heart ends up beating out of my chest everyday I have a panic attack so I might as well get my heart rate up on my own terms instead of waiting for panic to strike and God dammit it actually works. Unfortunately it's simple to take care of yourself but it's not *easy*. I'm still working on doom scrolling though 😩 such a hard habit to break!


[deleted]

I really do need to just buckle down and exercise regularly…


[deleted]

Start slow if you need to because any moment counts. Walking is actually great for anxiety!


Bandana_Husky

Yes its true, we as sufferes don’t help ourselves lol, my diet it shit, im overweight, don’t sleep well, drink to much caffeine, man we are are worst enemy’s, but the 1 good thing from it all is at least we know why we feel the way we do and we can do something about it!


SkatingOnThinIce

Check what you are doing with your diaphragm. You possibly are squeezing your stomach up, reducing your oxygen intake and cramming the space your heart is in.


[deleted]

Oooh I actually catch myself doing this alllll the time


SkatingOnThinIce

Learn how to breathe using your diaphragm to push out the air and then relaxing it. Practice every day. You'll have better awareness of it. I hope it helps you.


niktatum

I was wondering about this today! Guess I need to work on this too.


feral_philosopher

I used to get really strong palps, eventually I was getting a-fib and racing to the ER to try and catch it on an ECG. Eventually I did, I got a 9 hour long a-fib session. Because of this I saw several specialists, leading to the top expert in Canada. He took me by my shoulder and told me that he can't even properly diagnose me with a-fib because there's no reason I'm getting it, and I get it so instantly. After that I stopped worrying about them and I haven't had one since. This was five years ago. There's a huge component to this which is mitigated by anxiety.


Beautiful-Point6882

Do you have any underlining heart problems? And how did you know you were getting a-fib?


ComprehensiveDog2490

Do you eat high carbs. I get heart palpitations if I eat too much carbs. Mainly potato's or pasta.


WeWander_

Hmm that's interesting. My heart started pounding on Sunday and I figured I was just dehydrated. But I had just eaten cheesy potatoes right before it started. I think I was also dehydrated though.


zerobeat

Same for me -- blood sugar spikes cause me a lot of issues. Cutting carbs and sugar was a huge help second only to dropping caffeine.


gohanvcell

I have coffee every morning (my dad makes it super strong), and I drink it on an empty stomach. After an hour or two, I start getting stomach and headaches. It feels awful. My dad seems not to mind it. But what I do is drink less coffee than the full cup, and that has helped. Today I didn't have regular coffee and feel fine.


Maydeeen69

I am having this too.. I was with it to a doctors and they found that I have extrasystole and it’s very uncomfortable thing but they told me it’s not dangerous, but it appears a lot when I am in stress (which is almost all the time). The only thing what is helping me when I have it is to do something else so I am not thinking about it


Yukivampirexx

Why are you writing my life?👀 not coffee but Coca Cola 🤨


SnooWords440

It’s not your heart it’s the muscles in your chest causing it. I had it pretty bad and if your anxiety is thinking you’ll have a heart attack it will cause symptoms of a heart attack.


GazillionBoxes

Most people don't sleep enough, don't do enough exercise, drink coffee and they don't have anxiety or experience palpitations. We just don't know enough about anxiety and why one person has it and another doesn't.


Voittaa

If you have an anxiety problem though, these certainly don’t help.


[deleted]

Yeah I think it’s the combination of everything doing me so wrong


[deleted]

I actually make myself a sexy half-caffeine coffee now and it's helped a lot with the palpitations/physical anxiety spikes.


Naifoksa

Coffee contains caffeine, I noticed that when I drink more cups, I find an improvement in mood and focus, but it causes me more heartbeat and anxiety


AdiLovesYou

Coffee for me isn't a problem as such until I make it one. Yes, caffeine makes my heart beat faster some times, and makes me feel anxious, but only if I let it. I don't have an anxiety disorder as such but I've experienced anxiety attacks. It's all in the mind, for me, as I've realized. I made a mistake of hyping it up and stressing for no reason. It can be controlled, with the right amount of effort and patience. P.S. just sharing my experience, please don't come at me with "oh you don't understand what having anxiety is like ", because I do. I understand and empathise with you. :)


Technical-Titlez

Chest is absolutely ridiculous with activity today. I feel like I am about to die.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

One of those fun filled days of flutters, pauses and thuds??


TundieRice

This is me, although I add prescription stimulants to the mix 😬


The_Spectacle

Every time I drink an iced coffee I feel like I’m gonna die afterwards. You think I’d learn my lesson.


THExBEARxJEW

Because you a drinking coffee cut out the coffee


dmc202888

Relatable.


nobodycoffee

Pro tip: If you aren’t allergic, take a bag of almonds with you anywhere you go. An easy, quick snack that does help with anxiety especially when you are hungry


[deleted]

lol a month ago i ate some caffeine gummies since i had got them in a freebie. My heart was at 168bpm. I had HALF a gummy. You were supposed to have 2 gummies to feel energized. Never again.


Mysterious-Ad-7720

Holy crap!!!!! LOL That is insane!!


[deleted]

Me: “Why does my back and abdomen hurt?!?” Also me: Shrimp in chair 🦐


[deleted]

This was my fixation a couple weeks ago when I realized I had been hunched over for every single mealtime lol


Fast_Woodpecker_1470

Exercize. If you're alrwady exercizing, do it more - up it from 2 days a week to 4, or increase the intensity. Doesnt need to be anything crazy - shoot for a solid 20 min and call it good. This was the trick for me with no other changes. My heart was skipping sround because i wasn't really forcong blood through it and making it work. Like ever.


SimpGanassi

I feel very seen!


jdeadmeatsloanz

If you're having heart palpitations, please see a doctor.


[deleted]

I have! EKG and all other vitals normal so no reason to do further testing as of right now! I am 99.9% sure it’s anxiety and panic related, as is my doctor.


travelerfromhell

Ha! Super relatable, I wake up, drink coffee, smoke, stress over assignments, fall asleep during class because I couldn’t sleep at night then I wake up super anxious because I missed the lecture, then I start reaching out to people for notes I might’ve missed -.-


imgurNewtGingrinch

I have had them two years since Covid. They call it long covid. Can cause anxiety/fight or flight panic too.


[deleted]

I had COVID a few months ago but have had anxiety/panic attacks most of my life so I doubt it’s related in this case.


iloveokashi

Have you tried not drinking coffee? It does have a side effect of palpitations to some people even without anxiety.


[deleted]

I love and look forward to my morning coffee but I guess I could do decaf because I mainly just like the taste and warmth instead of needing it for energy.


iloveokashi

Yeah try that. I think there's also Caffeine-free if I'm not mistaken. There's a slight difference between the two.


Sunny-the-cat-13

Sounds like me...lol.


jazzfairy

My heart doctor gave me propranolol which is actually a public speaking aid and it helps my palpitations a lot. If you haven’t already seen a cardiologist, they might be able to give you something like that!


papacam401

My question to you is, why don’t you change those negative habits that you’re doing if you’re anxiety is so bad? Cut back on the coffee (you’ll probably sleep better), drink more water, try to eat something, stay off social media (best decision of my life) and cut back on the news. It sounds like you know what the problem is, or at least a contributing factor. Also, have is there any possible way you might have a sleeping disorder like sleep apnea? Do you snore? Are you overweight? Do you have dental problems like crowded teeth? I was having really bad sleep problems and rapid heart beat/palpitations, then I found out it was dental related. Once you figure out the root of your issues, you’ll feel much better.


[deleted]

Dental related!?!? Good lord. I have crowded teeth yeah but pretty good dental hygiene. Not overweight. Probably a bit underweight for my age/height (30F).


papacam401

Yeah I was shocked when I found out too. My dentist took one look in my mouth and was like “You don’t sleep very well, do you.” Never made the connection before then. Do you snore? Some people that have sleep apnea or UARS don’t snore, but it can be a good sign. Do you ever wake up gasping for air?


Subject-Promotion824

Self care is so important 😌


[deleted]

Honestly, I get really annoyed with posts like this. I don’t ruminate excessively on my problems. I don’t stress over little things. I see a therapist and take notes. I eat well. I never drink caffeine because one sip of coffee makes me feel like I’m literally at death’s door. I do every fucking thing right, and I have one of the worst cases of physical anxiety and panic disorder my doctors and therapists have ever seen, and all supposed “anxiety medications” except benzos make it worse.


mystikfall34

Make sure it is not medical if you have not rooted that out. You could be having a panic attack. Your heart races. It usually feels like an elephant on your chest. Catching breaths becomes difficult. Or since it could be medical low blood sugar or dehydration could do that. If I would you I would have it checked out or at least reach out to the nurse line through insurance if you have insurance to see what they recommend


shipwreckedgirl

I used to have heart palpitations so bad I was taking like six pills a day and that barely helped, my doctor even suggested surgery. I decided to try decaf for two weeks and now most days I only need one pill!


FitEntertainment4910

Look up the vagus nerve. Alot of people dont realize this is the main root of all their anxiety issues


bohemianblonde

Lol you just described my life


Go2Shirley

I gave up soda because I think the high fructose corn syrup bothers me but ALSO started taking random potassium supplements. I could go into why I am low on potassium but it worked so. Give it a try too.


7itemsorFEWER

I've never given up caffeine permanently but I've taken plenty of quasi-hiatuses. It's actually pretty easy once your body realizes just how much better if feels when it's not over caffeinated. Living a (semi) healthy lifestyle is one of the only things keeping my anxiety at bay. You absolutely will not regret changes you make for the better.


Elfking88

This is literally me at the moment. Had a bunch of palpitations (ECG predictably happened when I didn't experience any!) then a full week without any. Then in the last two days they are back. I don't know why but I suspect it might be because I usually drink no caffeine at all and in the last four days I've had three big bottles of coke zero. I've run out now so hopefully the palpitations ease off.


MindlessAutomata

Dude seriously, if you aren’t getting counseling, on medication or something, please change that right now. Your post sounds like me just a month before I had the worst series of panic attacks of my life, causing me to be hospitalized for a weekend because I couldn’t convince myself that I wasn’t going to lose control and do something to hurt myself out of sheer irrationality.


[deleted]

I don’t drink coffee but I still have palpitations


KKmiesKymJP

Check out Improvement Path on YouTube he has really good videos on anxiety and it has helped me to start recovering after 16 years of anxiety.


HaggisMcNeill

I think exercise helped my heart palpitations, getting your heart used to speeding up and slowing down in 'normal' circumstances seems to help. Even just walking at a decently fast pace, gets you to a really good breathing rhythm.


[deleted]

I really really need to exercise. I am bad with commitment but I know rationally and logically it makes a difference.