If it wasn't for my heart, I don't know if I would have ever developed anxiety. It all started in beginning of October 2007. Two days after I got back from my honeymoon, I was driving home from work and BAM! I was hit with tachacardia and felt like I was going to black out. I had shortness of breath moments before the fast heart rate, so I took my inhaler thinking it was my asthma. Boy was I wrong, but how was I to know? I was speeding down my side street to get to my house when I really should have pulled over. My heart-rate had to be around 180 at the time, and I went to the hospital and they were unable to figure anything out. I followed up with my new family doc the next day, and was put on a 24 hour holter monitor. They found my issue. I had developed atrial fibrillation and a tachacardia. It most likely developed because of my hypothyroidism I didn't know I had either. I then seen a cardiologyst who then sent me to an electrophysiologyst. I was put on Toprol XL and Flecainide. This brought me a lot of relief and the scary symptoms I was having didn't happen as much. But I hate taking medicine and I wanted to get rid of this a-fib once and for all (being i am only 22). I was taken off my toprol and flecainide for a week before my catheter ablation (12/17/07) procedure to correct my arrythmia. That was one horrible week. A day before the procedure I was on my way home from work again and BAM tachacardia hit again. My heart was flying so fast I had to pull over and call EMS. If I had kept driving I don't know what would have happened. (this is where I developed my panic attacks as far as driving). I had the procedure, and it was a success. For the next two weeks as my heart healed, I still had a faster heart-rate and atrial flutter (this was to be expected though during the healing time). I had been through so much worries and over stressing from Oct to December 17th that this is where the anxiety originated. I had never had anxiety before the a-fib hit me. Some people couldnt understand why I was feeling this way considering I the procedure was successfull. They obviously didn't understand that I (in a way) lost trust in my heart and was so scared I was the 1% chance of everything that could turn into a complication. I was fine, but the anxiety made me think otherwise. I came back to work 4 days later, but had to call someone in 3 hours into my 8 hour shift because I had this feeling my heart was going to go into tachacardia again. At that point I beleive it was the anxiety. I had called my doc and she gave me a 10 day supply of xanax and said she wanted to see me in her office within the next week. I took off two weeks of work total because I kept having panic attacks everytime I thought my heart felt strange or just some random feeling inside that freaked me out. I was in and out of the hospital because I was so scared of every little thing I felt. Besides for the a-fib which I am now cured of, I have had asthma all my life. I seem to have developed a fear of my inhaler if I feel I have to use it while driving. And of course I beleive that was triggered by the fact the first time the tachacardia happened while driving, I had taken my inhaler. So if I happen to need my inhaler while driving, I think back to when my heart acted up and I automatically get the fear that it will speed up uncontrollably for no reason. I saw the doc and she put me on Citalopram. My body doesn't ever have side effects to medicines so I panicked when I had a ton of side effects from this medicine. It was new years eve and I was riding with my dad to his brothers house for the party, and he was talking and all of a sudden I got really hott and felt like pins and needles and electricity was traveling all through my body. I freaked out because I didn't know what was wrong with me. (Later on I had read that Citalopram can create feelings of electric shock over the body upon the start of the medication as chemicals changed in the brain). Thats when I went to the hospital because I let all these side effects scare me into thinking I was having a heart issue. They told me to follow up with my doc and try either Zoloft or Effexor. My doc had put me on Zoloft. I was terrified I would have the same horrible symptoms that I had with the citalopram. (By the way I had pretty much 75% of the side effects listed for the drug!!) I have now been on Zoloft for 3 weeks and the only side effect Ive had is insomnia. So I went from heart arrythmia to anxiety, and anxiety to bad asthma for 3 weeks because I was too stubborn to get seen for it and wanted to wait for my follow up appointment in the second week of Feb. Finally I couldn't breathe enough that I decided to go in. I had let the asthma get so bad that I had about 10 different weezes going on at the same time. Now I am sick with the flu and it seems to be effecting my anxiety. I need a break in between all of these health woes! First the arrythmia, then anxiety, then asthma, and finally the flu (everything right after another). I can actually breathe now, I am on prednisone to help with my asthma. The Zoloft is a great help and keeps my progress with the anxiety. I started off having two anxiety attacks a day, and now they are down to two a week I would think. The severity of the attacks have gone down, I still have somewhat of a problem with the driving, if the weather remindes me of the day the tachacardia hit me, I will start to panic. I will pull over and check my pulse. It doesn't help that it takes 25-30 mins to get to work! After the ablation procedure the anxiety/panic disorder was so bad that I would be afraid to take a shower thinking I would randomly pass out in the shower and nowone would hear, or if they did my family would have to bust down the door and see my naked body. I would get in the shower and try and get out as quick as possible. I would pull the curtain closed, but keep the door open in case I needed to call out to someone. In the middle of the night I was afraid to get out of bed or off the couch because I thought if I walked to the bathroom I would pass out. Thankfully after taking a few more showers after the procedure I was staying in the shower longer then realizing it was actually relaxing me. I am now over the showering fear at least! Showering was one of my favorite relaxation things to do so I was darned if the anxiety was going to take that away from me. I still take the rest of my xanax the hospital gave me when the anxiety really gets to me, but I only have about 5 left and barely use them. The Zoloft has helped me a long way so far and I am greatful. I still have anxiety moments but Its still going to take some time before I can trust my health again. I work at a hotel and most of the time we are the only one working the entire hotel. Once and a great while I will work the morning shift and the manager will be there, as well as housekeeping, etc. I work mostly 3-11's and a couple 11-7 night shifts. The night shifts are the hardest with this anxiety, I get on the phone and call a friend or my husband (but that only works so long till everyone is sleeping). I am supposed to deliver receipts under the room doors in the middle of the night but the anxiety gets to me and I just don't do it anymore. I have considered leaving my job and finding one where I could work with a crew and always have someone working the shift with me, but I like where I work and I don't want this anxiety to stop my life. My panic attacks (the full blown ones) consist of: cold sweat, sudden feeling of being hot, tingling head to toe and slightly elevated heart rate. I get scared and automatically think "hospital hospital hospital". But as soon as it subsides I am fine. Before the Zoloft I would take roads to work that had a hospital on the way in case I had an anxiety attack and decided I couldn't make it to work. That part was the most irritating to me, I don't like to think that way. I need some breaks in between all these health issues please!