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PVC's are now constant
I have had PVCs, PATs,and Vtach leading to SVT since I was 20. I have been to several cardiologist with the same results. Benign. Lately, I had an attack of a few PVC's in a row followed by a tachy rate that I could not count. It lasted for about 5 minutes. It happened again right before a trip to DisneyWorld. It ruined my trip). Again, EKG showed nothing. I do try to eat pretty well, and take supplements. Now I started a new job that I love, but I am TOTALLY exhausted all the time. Plus my PVCs have started coming constantly, probably thousands a day, with couplets, FELT:(kick in chest, sharp pain, tightness for seconds, breathlessness at time of palp). No ignoring these. I had a holtor and an event monitor before the symptoms got too bad and of course only light PVCs showed on the test. My doctor told me everything is benign with a normal heart and that I don't have heart disease. How does he know? My chol. is 240, my LDLs are 138 and my HDL's are low. I have had no stress test or any other. My mother has extensive cardiac disease.
I take 50 mg of atenelol, and .25 of Xanax daily. It is like telling me to ignore a sharp pain. I have high anxiety. Who wouldn't? But I am really tired of being told that it is causing it. I had PVC's first. I wonder why money is spent fixing men who have problems with their sex lives, but I see no one trying to come up with any help for those of us who suffer with this. Any help would be appreciated.
I take 50 mg of atenelol, and .25 of Xanax daily. It is like telling me to ignore a sharp pain. I have high anxiety. Who wouldn't? But I am really tired of being told that it is causing it. I had PVC's first. I wonder why money is spent fixing men who have problems with their sex lives, but I see no one trying to come up with any help for those of us who suffer with this. Any help would be appreciated.
I don't usually post to these sites, but this thread is very good! Bill has hit the nail on the head. I have HORRIBLE allergies. I get shots, take 4 medications, etc. I have been telling my doctor for years that I think my PVC's are related to allergies. When I feel bad from allergy related symptoms, I get PVC's.
I also have the same problem with my stomach. If my stomach feels empty I get PVC's. If I eat too much or the wrong thing I get them.
I have had them for about 20 years. They have gotten worst as I grow older. My doctor had me on BP medication and beta blockers which worked for about 1 year. I went on a low carb diet and they came back and are still going strong even though I stopped the diet.
I have had every test known to man, monitors, etc. Everything is normal. My PVC's also get better with exercise.
My doctor has given me relief and made them easier to live with. Especially keeping me out of the ER!
One thing I would like to see is maybe a forum or yahoogroup that will focus on things that help. Many people have tried different things that helps. I think we are going to have focus on what makes us feel better and all our little tricks to make them go away.
One thing I do know... Doctors are not spending any time working on it. It is very low priority for them!
I also have the same problem with my stomach. If my stomach feels empty I get PVC's. If I eat too much or the wrong thing I get them.
I have had them for about 20 years. They have gotten worst as I grow older. My doctor had me on BP medication and beta blockers which worked for about 1 year. I went on a low carb diet and they came back and are still going strong even though I stopped the diet.
I have had every test known to man, monitors, etc. Everything is normal. My PVC's also get better with exercise.
My doctor has given me relief and made them easier to live with. Especially keeping me out of the ER!
One thing I would like to see is maybe a forum or yahoogroup that will focus on things that help. Many people have tried different things that helps. I think we are going to have focus on what makes us feel better and all our little tricks to make them go away.
One thing I do know... Doctors are not spending any time working on it. It is very low priority for them!
Heart_and_soul, if it makes you feel any better I have these PVCs all throughout the day, on most days. Sometimes I even get them in the early AM before I'm even out of bed. Of course it's unsettling, and it can surely cause any reasonable person to have anxiety. So I had a second holter done for the exact same concerns you have, and it showed the same PVCs, just a bit of a higher count with occasional bigeminy and trigeminy. Again, all benign. Of course we are all different, with different symptoms and underlying causes perhaps. But at least in my case, my mind is at ease about this for two reasons (1) there doesn't appear to be anything I can do to change it other than live a clean life and eat well, exercise, all that... and (2) My girlfriend is an RN/NP working in a cardiology unit at a top cardiology hospital. If she doesn't love me I don't know who does. She has looked through my reports too and she is absolutely certain that I will be fine. So I don't know if that helps you, but at least you can rest easy knowing there are many other people like you that get scared about this, but as far as --anybody-- knows it is in fact benign.
One thing is for sure: BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE XANAX. Addiction to that, however minor or unintended, can be absolutely **HORRIFYING**. Never mind about the PVCs, go look at http://www.benzo.org.uk and read the Ashton report. Talk about it to your doctor and do as much independent research as you can about pros and cons of benzodiazapines, and only then make a fully informed decision about what is best for you and the anxiety that is understandably caused by the PVCs. Hopefully you can take comfort in the experiences of others as posted here (and maybe an online support group is just the thing). Like I said, I have PVCs all the time, and I'm otherwise completely fine (just wondering if they will ever go away, or maybe even get worse over time??). But no xanax required :) Best of luck to you!
One thing is for sure: BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE XANAX. Addiction to that, however minor or unintended, can be absolutely **HORRIFYING**. Never mind about the PVCs, go look at http://www.benzo.org.uk and read the Ashton report. Talk about it to your doctor and do as much independent research as you can about pros and cons of benzodiazapines, and only then make a fully informed decision about what is best for you and the anxiety that is understandably caused by the PVCs. Hopefully you can take comfort in the experiences of others as posted here (and maybe an online support group is just the thing). Like I said, I have PVCs all the time, and I'm otherwise completely fine (just wondering if they will ever go away, or maybe even get worse over time??). But no xanax required :) Best of luck to you!
Hi AnthonEE,
Thank you for your response. I am hoping to hear from others here who actually feel as I do about these crazy palpitations and how they can ruin a day or worse, and how they deal with it, etc. I am very well aware of the possibility of addiction but still having 24 pills left from my 30 count bottle that was filled a year ago, in July of 2006, I am pretty sure that isn't happening at this point. Unfortunately, there are times when I do need it and I am very grateful for it. I don't take anything without researching the living daylights out of it first. :) I am glad you seem to have a good handle on your condition. It is more than comforting to know there are people out there (still alive) and going through what I am. Take care...
heart_and_soul <3
Thank you for your response. I am hoping to hear from others here who actually feel as I do about these crazy palpitations and how they can ruin a day or worse, and how they deal with it, etc. I am very well aware of the possibility of addiction but still having 24 pills left from my 30 count bottle that was filled a year ago, in July of 2006, I am pretty sure that isn't happening at this point. Unfortunately, there are times when I do need it and I am very grateful for it. I don't take anything without researching the living daylights out of it first. :) I am glad you seem to have a good handle on your condition. It is more than comforting to know there are people out there (still alive) and going through what I am. Take care...
heart_and_soul <3
I got to read my holter monitor report. They said that during the time when I marked I was having pvcs (I ony bothered doing this once or twice because it was a "good" day), they said that I was having NO pvcs, nor pacs at the time....that I was in NSR. HAHAHAHAH Like I'm an imbecile. Like after 30 years with these, I am clueless. Maybe I missed the time a bit, but shouldn't they have looked at the REST of the 24 hours? I am SURE they would have found a little something interesting.
I'm so disgusted. I am seeing an "age well" doc right now and hoping once he gets my hormones straightened out, these palps will stop.
Yes, I know they can ruin a day. I'm not afraid of them, per se, anymore. But I feel so funny all the time now. It just doesn't feel right. I do fear that I will have bad days where they will come all day and I will feel disgusting, but that is happening mostly all the time now, anyway. I am trying to lead a normal life and the people I work with don't even know I am standing there, skipping away, but I am not really living. It is not fear of dying, trust me. It is fear that I have to feel exhausted and sometimes nauseous forever. Maybe they will never go away again. Sorry, but it is so frustrating. I am trying to lose about 15 pounds to see if that works. I'll let you know.
I'm so disgusted. I am seeing an "age well" doc right now and hoping once he gets my hormones straightened out, these palps will stop.
Yes, I know they can ruin a day. I'm not afraid of them, per se, anymore. But I feel so funny all the time now. It just doesn't feel right. I do fear that I will have bad days where they will come all day and I will feel disgusting, but that is happening mostly all the time now, anyway. I am trying to lead a normal life and the people I work with don't even know I am standing there, skipping away, but I am not really living. It is not fear of dying, trust me. It is fear that I have to feel exhausted and sometimes nauseous forever. Maybe they will never go away again. Sorry, but it is so frustrating. I am trying to lose about 15 pounds to see if that works. I'll let you know.
Hi everyone,
I cannot believe the number of people who go through what I do and this is only a small sampling. I believe mine started with the use of IVF medications a couple of years ago. If that didn't cause it, that certainly triggered a new and elevated phase of palpitations in my life. It's been horrible and like most of you, I went to the doctor, explained my flutters and chest pain and upper back pain and coughing and sense of doom and extreme fatigue and was put through the typical tests of echo and holter. Holter came back with one episode of SVT which I could have predicted because as one poster so aptly put it, holters are like heart medication; Once you wear one, you seem to feel better! Well, at the time of my testing, I was getting them mostly around my cycle time which of course was not at the time of testing, but now...I get them all month long. Yes, it's worse during and just before the cycle but they are present all month long. I was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure although still having cycles which means, I am guessing, peri-menopause? If anyone has information on what hormone causes the palps or lack of something? I always imagined it was too much of something...not thinking it could be a lack of it. Anyway, I now have the anxiety and do have to take xanax. Just a half, once in a while. Now my struggle is; did the doctor see what's really going on in there or because the holter was done during a calm time, did he not really see and what I have and could it still be a dangerous kind? Ugh! Those who know me think I should get a re-check because it's true, the doctor didn't get a clear idea of what I'm going through. I honestly hate doctors (no offense!) and have a fear of going but the fear of dropping dead is a little bigger. lol Does anyone else agonize over what I do? I would love to hear from you. By the way, if someone does close this thread, I will start a palpitations group over at yahoo groups entitled, "Heart Palpitations Forum" that way we can lean on each other rather than the just the xanax! Ciao for now....
heart_and_soul <3
I cannot believe the number of people who go through what I do and this is only a small sampling. I believe mine started with the use of IVF medications a couple of years ago. If that didn't cause it, that certainly triggered a new and elevated phase of palpitations in my life. It's been horrible and like most of you, I went to the doctor, explained my flutters and chest pain and upper back pain and coughing and sense of doom and extreme fatigue and was put through the typical tests of echo and holter. Holter came back with one episode of SVT which I could have predicted because as one poster so aptly put it, holters are like heart medication; Once you wear one, you seem to feel better! Well, at the time of my testing, I was getting them mostly around my cycle time which of course was not at the time of testing, but now...I get them all month long. Yes, it's worse during and just before the cycle but they are present all month long. I was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure although still having cycles which means, I am guessing, peri-menopause? If anyone has information on what hormone causes the palps or lack of something? I always imagined it was too much of something...not thinking it could be a lack of it. Anyway, I now have the anxiety and do have to take xanax. Just a half, once in a while. Now my struggle is; did the doctor see what's really going on in there or because the holter was done during a calm time, did he not really see and what I have and could it still be a dangerous kind? Ugh! Those who know me think I should get a re-check because it's true, the doctor didn't get a clear idea of what I'm going through. I honestly hate doctors (no offense!) and have a fear of going but the fear of dropping dead is a little bigger. lol Does anyone else agonize over what I do? I would love to hear from you. By the way, if someone does close this thread, I will start a palpitations group over at yahoo groups entitled, "Heart Palpitations Forum" that way we can lean on each other rather than the just the xanax! Ciao for now....
heart_and_soul <3
Still waiting for a response from the good doctor re: large double blinded studies showing PVCs are benign.
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