i may kill someone. i’m just saying.

better day. i slept 12 hours last night. perhaps that is overdoing it slightly. it is nice and sunny today, thankfully. haven’t felt much like running this week so i’ve taken a break, which is unheard of for me.

i’m having heart palpitations (they’re called PATs, not serious, not even very interesting from a cardiology point of view), and they’re tiring and irritating. waking me at night. starting at about 4:30 pm everyday and continuing off and on through the evening and into the night. i wake up in the morning feeling fine. then it starts up again.  today i’m doing a day without any coffee or tea of any kind, no decaf, no green tea, nothing. to see if symptoms are any better. and frankly i’ve got a gigantic headache. no caffeine! i usually have one cup of coffee at breakfast, and then drink tea ALL DAY LONG, literally one cup after the other — herbal, smoky, green, mint, don’t care what kind.

quitting tea is unlike quitting drinking. i hate the sound of the kettle boiling. husband is trying to make his cups discretely when i’m out of range. he’s just gone out now to buy me more tonic water before i turn inside out with irritation. i’m a bit tired and headachy and eating chocolate hasn’t helped. i may be in bed tonight at 8:30 pm again if this keeps up.

oh there’s the heart thing now, starting up, 5:30 pm.  so a bit later today than usual. grr.  the last time i had a prolonged spell of this, it lasted 6 weeks…  this time it’s probably been 3 weeks already. i will stay off the tea for a week to see if it helps at all, and i may kill someone between now and then.  i’m just saying.

alcohol is a common aggravant of this condition, at least i can cross that off the list …

Belle

I want to put this online, to hold myself accountable. I want to document the noise in my head. I'm tired of thinking about drinking. date of last drink: june 30, 2012

  • yikes! i haven’t checked the blog-world in a few days. my twin had something similar, brought on my stress and caffeine. he took some meds for a while…

    hope you are feeling better. no drinking, it’ll be a huge HUGE letdown, trust me. xx

  • I had them last night, which was unusual…hadn’t had them in months. They were probably stress related, as they left after we finished couch shopping. My dad’s were caused by a thyroid condition. I understand they have a lot of possible causes, but I sincerely hope you get to have your tea back. Feel better.

  • Please don’t kill anyone…but if you have to whack someone upside the head to get you through the day…I’m sure they will understand.

    • i actually feel much better now that i know it’s probably the tonic water and not tea. a life without (or any caffeine) would probably prompt me to whack someone! and there’s only my husband available. i’ll try again tomorrow, tea free and tonic free, just to be sure …

  • It could be PAW’s http://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/post-acute-withdrawal.htm
    I was suffering from palpitations brought on by anxiety earlier this summer when I went back to work and someone mentioned this to me, it helped me not to stress about it as much when I realized that I wasn’t unique and that once again this was part of the process.

    I drank two 2 liters of Diet Pepsi yesterday and was so wound up at midnight, it was ridiculous. Time for a change, time for some headaches of my own.

    • thanks for this : ) i’m pretty sure it’s PATs (paroxysmal atrial tachycardia) – i’ve been to see a cardiologist before (2005) and this seems to be the same thing. it’s irritating but not dangerous. If it could be triggered by tonic water makes complete sense… Thankfully i’m not anxious. i’m happy to not be a soda drinker, but i do love my tea!

    • Homocide…. Oh that’s too funny! and in this day and age, we are all consenting adults… But it’s a strange reaction to sobriety to go and bat for other team. ha ha, Paul.

    • ack, no joking! well unfortunately this makes the most sense, as it’s been bothering me more since i quit drinking … fuckers! i like tonic water! but i love tea more, so i guess this could be good news. just gave my glass of Tonic back to husband, and instead of drinking it he’s poured them both down the drain… well, tomorrow i’ll be tea and tonic free and see how that goes! Thanks Jen for the ideas …