change of meds /flutters

hi thanks for taking the time to make all of us on this form feel better . first I am 47 have had palps/flutters/skiped beats since i was 23 or younger , pretty much know how they go, i guess am one of the lucky ones i have them maybe once a year but when i get them they stay for 3 months and drive me crazy. when i was younger i had them 3-4 times a week now just once a year but to long. my first question is why are they doing that coming one a year for months than go away for a year? 2. IS THIS NORMAL. 3went to dr yesterday weraing a 24 monitor and he wants to change my meds from timolo to atenolol, whats the difference in the two, will it help with paps better than timolol. 4 i also have a lot of air and beleching with my flutters/palps does that sound crazy. i can handle about 3-4 days of non-stop flutters after that it startes stressing me and i cant handle anymore. just need to know that its ok to have them like i do . i had ekg it was good , ive wore monitor for 30 days last year it was just palps, had echo it was good, had a stress test failed it but heart scann was ok. so pretty sure its just palps will get results back on monitor in a few days i guess, scared to change meds been on theses 15 years . thanks for taking your time . barbara

[Forum-M.D.-MJM]

Hi Barbara,

my first question is why are they doing that coming one a year for months than go away for a year?

We don't know the answer to that one.  Some people are more predictable like stress, menstrual cycles, fatigue, others we just don't know.




2. IS THIS NORMAL.

Perfectly normal. This is just how PVCs act -- we don't know why.

3went to dr yesterday weraing a 24 monitor and he wants to change my meds from timolo to atenolol, whats the difference in the two, will it help with paps better than timolol.

They are about the same.  They are both beta blockers with specificity for the beta one receptor.



4 i also have a lot of air and beleching with my flutters/palps does that sound crazy. i can handle about 3-4 days of non-stop flutters after that it startes stressing me and i cant handle anymore. just need to know that its ok to have them like i do . i had ekg it was good , ive wore monitor for 30 days last year it was just palps, had echo it was good, had a stress test failed it but heart scann was ok. so pretty sure its just palps will get results back on monitor in a few days i guess, scared to change meds been on theses 15 years.

I am not sure what to say about the burping and air.  If you have a normal heart scan, ekg, and echo, it sounds like you are fine.  The gold standard is having symptoms recorded in a log that correlate with the palpitations.  I do not think you need to worry and from your history, they should disappear as quickly and unexpectantly as they came.

Good luck and thanks for posting.

[yellowrose]

plus for got to say i have a flutter 5-6 times in a min, thats what scares me is that ok . thanks again

[ratatat]

Crazy isn't it. I had 2 short lived episodes of a-fib a little over a year ago that converted on it's own. I say that only since one of your questions was regarding changing your meds. One thing to remember is that often peoples bodies change over time, and medications that once were sufficient no longer are, and in addition, some can begin to trigger rhythm issue that did not in the past.

For me, I used to have an exceptional toleration to medications, and I am now finding that I have a higher sensitivity to medications, and they often actually CAUSE palpitations and runs of tachycardia. Our systems constantly are changing and we have to be in tune to that.

That said, don't freak out, just work through it closely with your doctor. One thing that is an absolute is you and your physician have to have a good working relationship and they must be accessible to you as a patient. Be sure when you talk to your doctor that you have a good description of the sensations and I have found personally that logging what I feel, what wa the time of day and what I was doing and had eaten helps them to better understand what may be going on.

Hope you feel better!

[yellowrose]

thank you for the kind words, it helps to hear from others. glad your ok and yes its been long time on one med just hate changing but i know its for the best.glad your doing much better and hope it stays that way. take care

[yllohroe]

Hi, I started having PVC's after the birth of my second child.   With this child (during pregnancy) I had horrible indigestion.  It was so bad, my doc. put me on Nexium during my pregnancy.  Shortly after my child was born, I began experiencing PVC's.  They mostly came at night.  After about 2 months of them, they went away for a year and a half.  Now they are back in full force.  After I have what I call an "episode" where my heart feels like someone reached in and turned it upside down, over and over, I have terrible burping and chest pain caused by air.  I am so glad to hear that someone else is experiencing this.  It is so bad it feels like a heart attack.  Very intense gas pains.  I am sure this is related to the PVC's.  It has to be!  I don't know about you, but I can just tell that the gas is from the PVC's.  It's almost like your heart is pumping air instead of blood or something...weird.  Anyway, hang in there.  
Holly

[yellowrose]

yes you are so right , i started having mine at 23 after the birth of both my children, its been going every since than, its strange how they come for months and full force and than go away for months with not even one in between the months, i ask if that is normal because most that i know has them has them like onec a week or twice they have a few than they go , no mine come and i have them for days like every min i counted and i had 4-5 in a min , thats not fun and when you have them like that its really scarey. they have gotton better , yesterday didnt have them as much, today not sure did wake up with a few but they are not around the hour now , so hope they are going away. have not started the new meds yet going start this weekend like hubby to be home just in case they dont agree with me, am strange i guess. are you taking anything for them and yes i always have the chest air with them , when they start sometimes after a few hours air ges better but does come back ,not sure why but i see others who have the same thing , i do have acid reflux to so adds to it . well i hope you get better , if you need to talk feel free to e-mail me always helps to have a heart friend . ***@**** .