Debra Ali

Jun 21 · Replied

Community post

Just popping back to say thank you, especially Clare. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.

Jun 20 · Posted

Cardiology referral letter arrived today and I genuinely burst into tears. Relief I think, not dread, though honestly who can tell anymore. So I've been keeping a little notebook by my bed for the past three weeks. Every time my heart does its weird fluttery thing I write down the time, what I was doing, whether I'd had coffee that day, and roughly how I slept the night before. It started because I kept going blank at the GP and saying "oh it happens, you know, quite a lot" like an absolute idiot. Now I have actual times and dates. 2.17am on a Tuesday. 11.40pm after two cups of tea after 4pm. That kind of thing. The caffeine one is interesting. I haven't cut it out completely because I am not a saint, but I moved my last coffee to before noon and the late-night episodes do seem less frequent. Could be coincidence. I'm writing it down anyway. What I actually want to know before I see the cardiologist is what tests I should be asking about. I know there's an ECG, I've had one of those at the GP already. But I've seen people mention Holter monitors, the ones you wear for a few days? Is that something I can specifically request or does it depend on what they find? Also whether thyroid gets checked as a matter of course or whether I need to push for that. Not looking for anyone to diagnose me, I promise. Just want to walk in there having asked the right questions rather than nodding along and forgetting everything the minute I leave.

Jun 16 · Replied

Community post

Thank you Lorna, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.

Jun 16 · Posted

PSA from someone who has spent too many nights googling at 2am. I started keeping a very boring log of when the palpitations happen. Time, what I'd eaten, how much caffeine, whether I'd slept. Turns out mine cluster around the third coffee and also apparently 3am for no reason whatsoever. Taking this to my GP because I want to ask about actual tests, not just reassurance. There was a thread about this somewhere on here recently. Anyway. Writing it down made me feel less like I was catastrophising and more like I had evidence. Highly recommend being your own very dull data analyst x

Jun 14 · Posted

GP appointment is Friday and I am determined not to walk in there and forget everything the moment she looks at me. So this week I've been keeping a little notebook by the bed. Not fancy, just the time it starts, roughly how long it lasts, whether I'd had coffee that day and how much, and what the night was actually like sleep-wise. Already I can see a pattern that I didn't notice before, a lot of the worst ones are happening between 1am and 3am and I've definitely had more caffeine on those days. Probably nothing, probably something, I don't know. What I want to ask her about, and I'm writing this here so I don't lose my nerve: ECG obviously, but also is there a longer monitor they can fit? I've read about 24-hour or 7-day ones. And what else should I be pushing for at this stage? I'm 52, in menopause, and I feel like I've been brushed off before with 'it's just anxiety' and I'm not accepting that this time without at least some tests to back it up. I know anxiety is real and I know it can cause this, but so can other things and I'd like to rule them out properly. Anyway. Notebook is helping. That's all I've got for now x

Jun 11 · Replied

Community post

Thank you Mara, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.

Jun 10 · Posted

So my GP appointment is next Thursday and I've been properly dreading it. Not the appointment itself, just the bit where she asks "when does it happen" and I go completely blank and say "um, at night, sometimes, or in the day, I don't know" and she writes something vague and sends me off. So this week I've actually been writing it down. Time, what I was doing, whether I'd had coffee, how long it lasted, whether it stopped on its own. It feels slightly obsessive but honestly it's been useful just to see it on paper rather than it all swirling around in my head feeling enormous and terrifying. The caffeine thing is interesting. I've cut right back, just one cup in the morning now instead of three throughout the day, and I can't say for certain it's made a difference but there have been a couple of nights this week where I actually slept through, which hasn't happened in ages. What I really want to ask her about is what tests are actually worth doing. I know they might do an ECG, but is there anything else I should be pushing for? I don't want to go in demanding things but I also don't want to walk out with nothing answered. Has anyone had experience of what gets picked up and what doesn't? I want to go in prepared, not panicked x

Jun 10 · Posted

Hi all. Lurked here for a few weeks, finally posting. I've got an appointment coming up and I'm trying to go in prepared because I know how quickly those ten minutes disappear. So I've been keeping a sleep diary for the past fortnight. Time I went to bed, how long before I fell asleep, whether I woke in the night and what woke me (palpitations mostly, sometimes just the heat), how I felt in the morning. It's been quite revealing actually. I can see a clear pattern around the nights I've had even one coffee after about 3pm. Not going to say that's the whole story but it's something concrete I can show rather than just saying "I feel terrible, I don't sleep well". What I'm less sure about is what tests to actually ask for. My sister had a whole cardiac workup when she had palpitations in her 40s and everything was fine, they put it down to hormones eventually. But I don't want to assume mine are the same without someone checking. Does anyone know if there's a standard thing to request? I don't want to go in sounding like I've been on WebMD for three hours (even if I have 😂) but I also don't want to leave without knowing what the next step is if the GP just wants to wait and see.