Tachy again

[Duchess47]

I have had past issues with tachycardia without any real diagnosis as to the cause.  I have Graves disease but am told that if thyroid is normal I shouldn't have symptoms.  Anyway, I weaned myself off of the beta blockers about 8 months ago.  I have been fine.  I was recently diagnosed with Gastroparesis but do not have diabetes and my thyroid is normal right now.  My question is this.  The other night I woke up and drank a glass of orange juice.  Well, I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but my heartrate went up and just stayed there.  I finally got up to check it and it was 112 which is totally too high for me.  It did go down on it's own after about an hour.  Can Orange juice cause this reaction.  Can it cause this reaction in someone who has some type of underlying medical issues ?  It has been 2 days and my pulse has been normal.  Any ideas?  Also, if food or beverage causes rapid heartrate is there a way to bring it down again?  I've noticed that my heartrate increases a bit sometimes after I eat, but this was 2:00am and it was a definitly higher heartrate.  Thanks

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Hello,

I am not sure how to explain that.  It is normal for the heart rate to slightly increase after food -- increases blood flow to your gut for digestion.  I do not know why it would increase after a glass of oranage juice.  I would guess that it was a coincidence.  You could talk to your doctor about it.  He may want to do a holter or event monitor.  I understand your concern but I don't think this is something you need to worry about.

I hope this helps.  Good luck.

[tickertock]

I'm not a doctor, but my common sense tells that mrbh

[tickertock]

I'm not a doctor, but my common sense tells that the comments by mrbh and what your cardio has told you is probably correct, anything wrong with the thyroid regardless of the the "numbers" can cause palpitations and tachycardia from my understanding.

[wmac]

From my understanding if you drink something cold it can cause tachycardia. Like if it were really hot out side your heart beats faster its trying to compensate and cool off the same goes for if you drink something really cold its trying to compensate and heat it up. I have in the past drank a really cold glass of water and my heart speeds up and if its truley sinus tachy then there is nothing to worry about that is normal.
wmac

[mrbh]

I am not a doctor, but I do have a few comments.

By definition, if you have Grave's Disease, your thyroid is not "normal". The readings might be, but the thyroid itself is not.

A rate of 112 after drinking orange juice suggests two things to me...1) Food allergy, or, 2) Sinus tachycardia.

Why did you go off the beta blockers? If it was without the advice and consent of a doctor, you might have set yourself up for episodes like the one you described.

I have lots of tach and palp issues myself, so definitely have an understanding of how bad and anxious they make you feel.

I hope you are feeling better soon. Good Luck.

[fearfactor]

My HR takes off like a rocket when I eat sugar...so I never do!  I can eat fruit pretty easily except for bananas for some reason and I never drink fruit juices because they do cause the heart racing.  No matter what I eat, even if it's a little bit, my HR does go up considerably after meals, which I hate.  So, I try to eat small amounts throughout the day.

[mrbh]

Yes, I notice a sugar factor as well, and forgot to include that in my previous comments.

[Fran71]

Hi, I have Hashimoto's with normal thyroid values. My endocrinologist says my tachy and PVCs can't be caused by Hashimoto's since my thyroid tests always come back normal, but my cardio says the opposite. I tend to agree with my cardio, though I can't understand why my thyroid would cause my tachy if the hormones in the blood are normal. Anyway, I guess that like mrbh said our thyroids aren't really normal after all!

Good luck

Fran

[netrox]

I get tachycardia (around 110 to 120 bpm) after eating certain foods. I don't know why this happens but I very much doubt cardiologists can do anything about it but prescribe beta blockers to slow down the HR.

[Fran71]

Does anyone get tachy and/or PVCs when taking a very hot shower? I like my shower to be extremely hot...and it often causes some PVCs and tachy! It sounds so weird...I wonder why it happens and if any of you have experienced this.

Fran

[nymomof5]

I very rarely drink OJ because it causes tachy in me too.  Sometimes I can drink it with no problem but alot of times it bothers me!

[jwinst]

I also get tachy when taking a hot shower. I also notice it when I lay out in the sun or go in a hot tub. What is that about??

[Duchess47]

Thank you all for your comments.  I too have heartrate go up when in sun or hot shower.  I had my appointment with neuro doc. the other day and this was one of her questions to me.  Because I have had so many various sypmtoms over the past 16 months, she is sending me for MRI of brain, lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine.  I definitly have Autonomic Neuropathy.  I believe this is generally treated with managmenet of each individual symptom.  It has taken a long time and a lot of doctors and tests, but I am finally getting some answers.  It is so frustrating at times to be sent from one specialist to another.

[11redcat]

Hi,
I'm so glad to hear that someone else has these symptoms that I thought were just "in my head".  I, too, have tachy and palps after orange juice and bananas.  It took me a long time to figure it out. I thought these things were suppose to be good for you!  I haven't ever been diagnosed with diabetes, although it runs in my family, but the older I get, the more I can tell the effects of sugar on my heart rate.  My cardio. has put me on magnesium supp. and that, with eliminating caffeine, has really helped decrease the frequency and strength of my pacs/pvcs. God bless!

[jamie1972]

I'm SO glad I stubled onto this forum today. Just got back to office from lunch, and my heartrate is 110! It scares me to death (poor choice of words) when this happens. I have no known health problems, and was checked out for this and palp. in 1993, with no diagnosis. I even worked for an internal medicine Doc. at the time. He advised me to stay away from caffeine. Man, this stinks! Anyone know anything else?

[soooconfused]

I am sorry to hear your struggles....I have the exact same issue and also trying to find some relief. I get tachy after meals and have thyroid disease. My heart rate increases by 30+ beats per minute shortly after eating/drinking and stays elevated for several hours...it is not just fast but POUNDING/intense. I've unfortunately had this for years. It started in 2001 with my first bout with thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease), which caused me to be temporarily hyperthyroid. The endocrinologist assured me that my heart rate would return to normal after the thyroiditis resolved itself), but unfortunately that was not the case. It used to happen only after a particular trigger food (i.e. glass of wine, rich/garlic foods), but after a couple of years, it progressed to EVERYTHING I eat/drink. It's always good to cover the basics: give up caffeine, alcohol, rich foods, sugar, pop, and anything that you notice may be a trigger food for you. It is interesting that you also have thryoid issues. My endo advised me that we can't blame my thyroid once my thyroid levels return to normal, but my cardiologist doesn't agree. The thyroid is the petal to everything in the body - it is a major influence on the heart. If you have a malfunctioning thyroid, it is anything but normal. Thyroid levels also fluctuate throughout the day. When you take a blood test, it is a picture of your levels at that particular moment in time. I've read many people's posts with "normal" thyroid levels who have a history of thyroid problems and continue to have tachy/palps after the thyroid levels are corrected. I never had this issue prior to my first bout with thyroiditis so if my thyroid is not the cause, it is certainly responsible for setting something off in my body (digestion/hormones etc.). Thyroid also controls metabolism. Try to watch what causes your symptoms. There is no doubtebly a digestion component to it (indigestion, gas, acid-reflux), but what caused all those digestion issues in the first place or the extra sensitivity to the heart could be the thyroid getting damaged. I would suggest giving up sugar, especially at night. Try to eat bland for a while and try not to eat or drink 3-4 hours before bed. Hopefully that will give you some positive results and some comparisons for you to study your symptoms. If you find out any leads.....please please please post again.

Has anyone done any reading on the vagus nerve? It runs from our head to our intestines (or somewhere around there). It has such an influence on digestion and heart..... perhaps there is a link to the indigestion, acid reflux, tachycardia, food thing that so many of us struggle with....?

[7deuceman]

I have recently begun to seek info on 'Vagus nerve/vagus nerve damage' via Google, here is one site to check out: (http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/GrossAnatomy/h_n/cn/cn1/cn10.htm) very informative, but kind of a tough read.

I have had reasonable success slowing heart rate during tachy episodes by massaging the neck near the carotid artery- as a vagus nerve branch is said to be located in this area. (Place right index finger on Adam's apple and move slowly to the right until you feel your pulse. With first two fingers, massage firmly in a circular motion. Only one side of the neck at a time!!!) If you're left handed do the left side of your neck-

At the same time I concentrate on deep breathing and relaxation, lying in a comfortable position, if, in a place where I can do so.  There is a relationship to the heart and vagus nerve for sure and after reading online, it is best to talk to doctor about how it might be affecting you.

As a side note, I have also had success slowing arrhythmia by massaging the center of the abdomen directly below the sterum. And having a cold drink of water, helps too. As one would agree these points are not a cure for all tachy issues- A workup by a serious cardiologist and a Q&A session is best to help find the cause/solution.

Don't give up hope!
Tom/7deuceman

[feed up]

About three years ago I suffered with tachy............130.........and was diagnosed with Graves Disease. I was treated orally and my levels are O.K. now.
My normal heart rate is usually 70 something, but if I have orange juice will rush up around the hundred and sit there for a couple of hours. Makes me wonder where to have it or not.........

[hink32]

A related discussion, i read about foods and tachycardia was started.