Heart races at night

[beki]

I am a 43 year old active female. Last year went through non Hodgkin

[Fran71]

Thanks Tickertock!
Since your symptoms sound so much like mine, I have some hope that mine will get better...I don't mind if tachy and PVCs come now and then, even for a few months...I just hope to have long breaks in between....!
What you say about the dosage makes lots of sense. So it means that even if the body adjust to the BB it will "forget" about it quickly if you decrease the dose :-). That is also good news.
You made my day! I know every situation is unique but it's nice to hear of success stories :-). For now, I have long breaks between my PVC crises. I'm currently in one such crisis, so that's why I'm so concerned with my quality of life. But last year I felt so well all the time...Let's hope for the best.

I too am convinced that my PVCs are caused by oversensitivity to adrenaline. I want to tell you a story which sounds weird but is true. I was at the dentist's a few years ago, long before my PVCs started bothering me. As soon as he injected anesthesia my heart started racing like crazy for about 10 seconds. I asked him what the hell he had given me, and he said the anesthesia contained adrenaline. I told him that I had felt it, because it had caused tachycardia. The dentist laughed and said I couldn't have felt it. But I had!! Otherwise, why should I ask him what the anesthesia contained??
I just told this story to my new cardio last Friday, and he told me that it isn't silly at all; on the contrary it is very significant.

Thanks for making my day!

Take care

Fran

[tickertock]

Oh, about your body getting used to beta blockers , yes it definitely can but for me and I'm only speaking of what works for me to avoid this, that is if you start out on 50mg of atenolol daily and after 2 years you find yourself responding less to the 50mg , drop it down to 25mg daily for about 2 months( I know it doesn't seem to make much sense but then your body readjusts to the lower dosage then after 2-3 months you can gradually up the dosage again to 37.5mg daily for a few weeks then get back up to 50mg again daily, these doages are only an example but this way your body doesn't get use to a particular doasge if you alternate the dosages from time to time and therefore keeps you from having to increase the dosage for it to be effective.PLEASE NOTE: Always consult with your doctor before doing this , what works for some or one might not work for you or others. I used to take up to 100mg of atenolol daily, now I alternate between 50-75mg in divided and it's much more effective. AGAIN, ALWAYs consult with your doctor before changing , stopping or alternating the dose of your medications, especially beta blockers.

[tickertock]

Yes I used to be exactly be that way, the least thing like walking up a single flight of stairs, stooping down, or bending, not to mention heavy lifting would start my heart racing and the PVCs would kick in, yet on an exercise stress test it was determined I had excellent exercise tolerance and my heartrate and B/P response to exercise was within the normal range , had excellent recovery also, though it was determined/documented that I had sinus tachycardia and PVC episodes, my biggest problem same to be heightened heart action awareness, with beta blockers(mainly inderal and now for the last 6-7 years atenolol) no tachycardia and only one bad prolonged episode(lasted 5 months in the 1000s daily) of PVCs nearly 5 years ago.I still get the odd PVC but absolutely nothing to speak of. I have found atenolol much more effective in controlling the tachycardia and PVCs than inderal, though I would say inderal had a more anti anxiety and central calming effect.My tachycardia and PVCs are definitely adrenaline and anxiety triggered in most instances.

[Fran71]

Thank you to everyone who has replied to my questions on supplements. I guess we all react differently to them, as we do to any situation and meds. For instance, why do betablockers reduce PVCs in some people and do nothing or even make them worse in others? Does it mean perhaps that there are different mechanisms that activate these naughty cells that fire uncontrollably?
I usually have sinus tachy and PVCs simultaneously, so I guess my arrhythmia is basically related to catecolamines. Maybe that's why, for now, betablockers seem to work, not just for the tachy but also to some extent for the PVCs.

Have a nice day all

Fran

[tickertock]

Funny , my symptoms are very similiar to yours , sinus tach and PVCs occuring simultaneously. I take atenolol 50-75 mg daily in divided doses depending. The atenolol works great for the sinus tach and does help to reduce the pvcs, even though I rarely have either one anymore. Funny thing is that I have always been very aware of my heartbeat from time I can remember whether fast or slow , regular or irregular, however for the about the last 2 weeks is the first time in my 41 years that I am hardly aware of myy heart beating, even if I exert myself or feel a bit anxious my heart is very quiet and I'm barely aware of it at all. I must say it's a good feeling but also strange, I wonder if these palpitations especially when afflicted with them from childhood get better in middle age, I must after all these years( don't know how long it will last)but it sure is a relief for now at least. Good luck to all.

[Fran71]

Hi tickertock!
I loved your post!! I love to hear when someone is feeling better! And it also gives me some hope that my palps may not get worse...I guess the prognosis - I mean the frequency, not the fact they're benign - may depend on the characteristics of the PVCs. My cardio just told me last Friday that his general impression is that PVCs usually get better with age. Maybe since sinus tachy sometimes improves with time, PVCs may improve too when they're associated with sinus tachy.
OK, let me hope, at least!! Nobody can tell...Let's just enjoy the breaks our palps allow us LOL.

Since we both have sinus tachy along with PVCs and the BB kind of helps us with both symtoms, I guess we're having the same kind of problem...Do you have thyroid disease? I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's, but my thyroid function is still OK so it's hard to say whether the thyroid is causing this.

Ps. 41 is not really middle age yet! LOL

Take care everyone