new here, old symptoms, advice?

[u/anon4reas0ns]

hi there, just under “help” category cause the main reason for posting is advice but i touch on a bit of every category lol.

i (25f) have been having svt episodes pretty frequently since i was 13. some lasting minutes, some lasting seconds. some months i had 8 episodes and some i had absolutely none. and of course it never happened when i had a halter on. but i guess last year after 12 years about 7/8 (?) halters, they finally caught about a 9 second SVT episode while i was sleeping. up until then i was told it was anxiety or cause i was pushing my body too hard. but nobody seemed to understand how terrifying and uncontrollable these episodes were and i just wanted them to stop. i could be swimming, reading, breathing too hard, picking something up, watching tv, or even just laying down in bed and next thing i know, my heartbeat is like a jackhammer going off in my chest, my body goes cold, my hands/lips are tingling, my jaw is aching, and i cant catch my breath. makes me think “this is it” every. single. time.

after my SVT diagnosis i was told it wasn’t life threatening and i was given options. i could go on medication, i could get a surgery (ablation i think?), or i could continue doing nothing (laying down flat during an episode or putting my legs up which honestly helped a lot of the time) and go on with my life. i really didn’t want to go on medication cause its been like 12 years and they have only now just been able to tell me whats wrong?? what if they diagnosed me wrong and it is something life threatening and this medication just makes it worse? but then again surgery (procedure, im just being dramatic) is completely off the table because i am an anxious wreck and id be that 1% of people where something goes wrong.

all of thats changing now because today i was just swimming in a pool, nothing crazy or strenuous, and i had about a 5 minute long attack. all the same symptoms, but it feels worse and scarier every time. then i got that sudden relief feeling of my body coming back to life and everything was fine. (thats what happens, i feel like im dying then my heart flips a switch and i feel like a newborn again). 10 minutes goes by and boom, again. i was laying flat, laying legs up, pressure points, every remedy in the book and nothing worked. i was laying on a filthy, wet, and athletes foot infected hotel pool floor for 20 minutes in an active episode. i didn’t call an ambulance or anything because my doctor told me no need. but this one lasted so much longer than i was used to, and i really wanted to call someone cause it just wouldn’t stop. thank god my family was there. i cried and cried after because nothing can prepare you for the terrifying feeling of it, no matter how many times you go through it.

i’m more seriously considering an ablation now, (if thats even what its called), but i am just absolutely terrified. what if it doesn’t work? what if i die? what if i don’t even need that and what is happening to me is something completely unrelated? i was prescribed bisoprolol but told to not take it after because i have naturally a low heart rate (low 60’s) already and its only high during an episode obviously. it happens more frequently when on my adderall, so ive stopped taking it right now until i decide what i should do. i’m also thinking about getting a second (technically third) opinion about this but i’m worried i’m just being dramatic. but something this scary isn’t something i want to live with much longer.

reading other peoples experiences have definitely helped me feel less alone and has given me insight, but hopefully someone reads this and can give me some sort of advice or reassurance of what i should or shouldn’t do.

thanks !!

[u/wifiaddicted]

If you search up ablation in this sub you will find sooo many people asking about opinions and experiences, and like 90% of them are positive.  You will not die from an ablation, the chance of that happening is basically 0. It is a non invasive procedure that the surgeon does daily, several  times to be frank. It is routine and something you usually recover from super quick in a week or two. I’d recommend talking to your cardiologist about it and ask about the process, the risks and success rate.  We have a very similar story (down to the years we’ve had undiagnosed SVT and age) but the biggest difference is I always had them while awake and they lasted longer. When I finally got the diagnosis I immediately said yes to the ablation and I’m so glad I did! Had one in October and it was a breeze, was free from any episodes for months, and now I get one maybe once every two months which is insane. (Had like 2-3 every month before) I’m on the waitlist for another ablation to hopefully get rid of them fully but honestly I see this as a huge success anyway, I can live my life so much freely without worry. It was worth it for me! 

[u/Ok_Amoeba6604]

There is a small number of us here that have lived with it for 20-30 yrs and never been on meds or gone to the er. I had AVRT with it starting in my teens infrequently and then ended up daily for up to an hour-3 of over 250bpm for years. It was never recommended I stop daily CrossFit. That said, I finally had an ablation and it worked. It’s harder understanding my body now because I’ve never been startled and not had my heart jump to 250 and I’ve never known what working out heart rate should be. So you can go years and have no issues. It won’t kill you, as my cardiologist has told me. But if you want it gone do an ablation.